,flpie,$z ptrath Official Organ Of The Slavonic Benevolent Order Of The State Of Texas, Founded 1897. HUMANITY
BENEVOLENCE
VOLUME 58 — NO. 11
BROTHERHOOD
Postmaster: Please Send Form 3579 with Undeliverable Copies to: SUPREME LODGE SPJST, POB 100, TEMPLE, TEX 76501
ARCH 18, 1970
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK Do not forget the District I meeting at Lodge 39, Bryan, Sunday, March 22, • • Your editor certainly enjoyed the meeting and fellowship at Lodge No. 6, Sunday, March 1, and No. 35, Sunday, March 8. • ATTENTION, ALL MEMBERS AND READERS: Donations for furnishing one room in the S.P.J.S.T. Rest Home No. 2 in Needville, Texas, are being accepted now. The cost of furnishings for one guest is $400. Please send donations to: Mr. Charlie Matcek Route 2, Box 213 Wharton, Texas 77488 Phone 532-3681. • • You better prepare yourself to be more of a neighbor in the 1970s, because you are going to have more neighbors — and younger ones at that. Whatever else the near future may hold for American families, you can be sure of two developments: —By the end of the decade, there will be a lot more families — probably 11 million, or 25 per cent more, married couples. On the average, the heads of those families will be a lot younger than today's breadwinner. The reason is simple, Zags the Ins-
TOMORROW. I'm sure the Sun will shine tomorrow, Though now the raindrops fall; That happy thought dispells all sorrow, To me, that's all in all. Tomorrow my life starts all anew, There'll be no lonely days, Sun of my life, my love for you Will shine on me always. Someone to share troubles and joys, Someone to love me too, One who through love sweet guile employs Serenity to woo, I will take this lovely, fragile hand And place within its care My future, my love; and with this band Secure by fortress fair. —Otha Charles Mefford titute of Life Insurance. Youngsters born in the post-World War II "baby boom" are now reaching adulthood and marrying by the millions. Demographers foresee a population of perhaps 225 million Americans at the end of the dacade — or 22 million more than today. But that doesn't mean 22 million more children. Although at least 43 million babies are likely to be born during the 1970s, the number of children under age 5 may increase little more than 2 million,
Young adults in their 20s and early 30s will, reflect much of the population again. The 25-to- 34 year olds will account for about half of it, as their numbers rise to about 11 million. There will also be a substantial increase at the other end of the life cycle — about 31/2 million or 18 per cent more Americans aged 65 and older. But the 1970s will bring only small gains in the number of middle-age Americans — the stage of life when most people reach the peak of their careers and earning power. In fact, the 45-to-54 age group (including many "depression babies" of the 1930s) will shrink somewhat. Income Boom -- Family income and living standards are expected to rise significantly. Half of today's families live on $9,000 or less a year. By the end of the decade, many more will have incomes of $15,000 or, more, with onethird getting at least $20,000 a year. Just as their incomes will rise, so will the average family boost its life insurance protection coverage — from today's $19,900 to some 40,000 in 1980. With income on the rise, spending patterns will change. As families become more affluent, they devote relatively less of their paychecks to necessities and more to so-called luxuries — goods and services that make life fuller and more enjoyable. During the