Gabriela Duda

What people wore

Festive attire for unmarried women

In the Bărăgan region during the interwar period, unmarried women often wore silk dresses in bright colors, silk stockings, and leather shoes on feast days to attract suitors.

Getting around

Bus travel demanded frequent social stops

Early bus drivers in the 1930s often had to stop for thirty minutes at popular roadside pubs because passengers demanded refreshments, even if it meant risking a riot if the driver refused. These early bus journeys between villages and cities typically took 3 to 4 hours, depending on necessary mechanical tweaks and passenger-requested stops.

At the table

Mamaliga as a staple rural food

In rural areas, families often relied on cornmeal porridge called mamaliga as a daily staple, sometimes consuming up to 3 kilograms per person during heavy work days. It was frequently eaten with simple side dishes like vinegar-sprinkled fried mamaliga, crushed garlic with pickles, or a fruit-based stew called chisälita.

Music

Signaling with the tulnic alphorn

In western Transylvania, young women used the tulnic, a wooden alphorn up to nine feet long, to signal to each other across valleys.

Daily life

Limited infrastructure in Bucharest housing

In 1935 Bucharest, 60 percent of buildings were not connected to the electricity grid, and water was frequently supplied by public wells rather than running water. Many suburban homes were simple earth-and-wood structures.

What it cost

The high cost of footwear

In the interwar period, a pair of shoes cost 605 lei, which made footwear difficult to purchase for many ordinary workers.