While doing some background research on Toledo and the Toledo State Hospital, I came across a bit of trivia. While searching libraries and documentation online for historical information about the city and the hospital, I found the Biennial Report of the Toledo State Hospital for the reporting period ending November 15, 1909. Here’s a link to the extracted page of the report.
In the report is a record of Joseph Plenzler for working on remodeling the cottages on the campus in February and March 1908. He earned $132. Using an annual rate of inflation over the past 100 years, he would have earned over $2,850.53 today for this work!
August 16, 2010 at 10:34 pm
…he probably deserved 10 times that amount!
August 21, 2010 at 11:48 am
I find the effect of inflation interesting. I know our grandfather considered himself a mason (listed on a census as such). Wonder exactly what work he did for the Toledo State Hospital? That place alone is interesting, and in some respects, creepy because of how those with mental illnesses were treated at that time. From what I’ve read, it was one of the more “progressive” hospitals of the time.