Wilhelm: Similarities between New Year's 1974 and 2024 include concerns over Inflation

Fifty years ago, turning the page from 1973 to 1974 was both similar to and different from the current change in the calendar.

Like today, Sandusky and Ottawa county residents were concerned about prices, especially at the grocery store. An Associated Press survey showed that market basket prices were an average of 13% higher than early in 1973.

The cost of grocery staples jumped in early 1970s

Staples like milk, butter, and eggs led the list of high-priced items. The average price for a quart of whole milk was about 42 cents. Similar but different.

One really major similarity was that there were links to inflation problems in the fighting in the Middle East, just not quite so directly.

Issues in Middle East led to fuel issues at home

Back in 1973, In response to U.S. support of Israel in what was called the Yom Kippur War, the Arab members of OPEC, led by King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, decided to reduce oil production by 5% per month on Oct. 17.

On Oct. 19, President Richard Nixon authorized a major allocation of arms supplies and $2.2 billion in appropriations for Israel. In response, Saudi Arabia declared an embargo against the United States, later joined by other oil exporters and extended against other countries.

This caused the energy crisis. The embargo was lifted in March of 1974, but it caused the United States and other nations to re-think their dependence on the oil from the Middle East.

In the news as the new year began was the fact that the City of Fremont’s income tax collections for the previous year topped $1 million for the first time. Despite that, Mayor Walter Oxley warned that a recession could severely affect the city’s income tax picture. Soaring oil prices played a big role in a recession that lasted until early in 1975. By the way, current city tax collections top $11 million annually.

Oxley, many will recall, took the job of mayor almost a year earlier after the sudden death of George Demmel. With an emphasis on teamwork, Oxley and seven widely known councilmen — Joseph Lauer, Robert Schumm, Norman Bray, George Gruse, John Rettig, Raymond Sprunk and Robert Zilles — were sworn into office as the new year began.

In the retail world as the year turned from 1973 to 1974, Terri Tyler Street of Shops in Potter Village Shopping Center was advertising “After Five Dresses” starting at $13.30, blazers for as low as $13.50 and winter coats for $34.30.

Meanwhile, parents who had shopped for Christmas in another Potter Village store, “Hobby Center,” were taking stock of the decision to buy the kids such treats as the Hasbro Weebles Airport featuring five Weebles and luggage for $8.41, the Ideal “Quickflip Volleyball” game for $3.99 and the Playschool rescue center for $11.96. That rescue center featured a first-floor fire station, a lift ramp for the fire truck and a “door that swings around for stairs to the second floor.” Not exactly the high-tech toys available 50 years later.

Roy Wilhelm started a 40-year career at The News-Messenger in 1965 as a reporter. Now retired, he writes a column for both The News-Messenger and News Herald.

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Wilhelm: 1973 saw higher prices, conflict in Israel, energy crisis