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I'd be a farmer. What I do now is what I would have done, then.
A White tractor sure beats a team of horses, though!
If i had to step back in time i would probably do the same thing that i'm doing now. Overall, it's not such a bad life. As a Master of a trade you enjoy a little more freedom and variety than someone doing the 9 - 5 thing everyday.
It would be harder though. When i started out as an apprentice we still did a lot of our finish cuts with a hand saw. It was important to have a connection with a good saw sharpening man that could custom cut a thirteen point fine. I've still got that old signed edition Henry Disston in the shop somewhere but i haven't used it in years.
Nowadays it's all power tools. The work isn't as hard on the body because the machine takes the beating and not you. Production is four times what it was and i'm able to work with a degree of accuracy that i would never have been able to attain back in the day.
It's really all a series of tradeoffs. The pace of life was slower back then but the standard work day for a tradesman was 10 - 12 hours a day/five days a week. Saturdays you worked at least half a day. You worked hard an died in your 50's or early 60's because you were all used up.
I kinda like the way things are today. You bang the job out and it leaves some leisure time to enjoy the other things life has to offer.
I saw this thread this morning a went to youtube and found this video. The songs been running through my head all day. Funny stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfRdur8GLBM
I think I would have been a blacksmith or a farmer if I had the land. Even though I'm pretty much cityfolk (suburban folk, I guess) I've always liked being outdoors rain or shine and growing things. No, hobofinds, I don't grow my own LOL
The only reference for me to take a step back in time is my grandfather. He finished 8th grade, went to work at Homestake Gold Mine, joined the Calvary at Ft. Meade, S.D., transferred to the Army Air Corp. when it was first introduced, and retired from the Air Force. I am sure I would not have taken a different route given the opportunities available, the economy, and the wars we were fighting. Everyone of the generations before me sought security to make a living and then freedom in retirement. Guess I am following the same road map even to this day.
Part of the training in the Calvary was winter expeditions. A popular story he told was spending a month during the winter riding to Ice Box canyon and surviving the winter. Wool socks, wool blankets, wool clothes, and half a pup tent were their survival gear back in that time. They were tough and acclimated. Why did I pick this life style a 100 years ago, I own a cabin in Ice Box Canyon complete with a wood burner, Gore-Tex, and other modern luxuries to make life a little bit easier. We still fight six foot deep snow on the level, feeding the horses, etc. The difference is we have a barn, modern machinery, and chain saws. I have a walk that might take a day to get home, he had two weeks of dealing with mother nature to enjoy the warmth and comfort of his bunk. We are sissies compared to what previous generations experienced.
I would be a wizard.... and, I would turn anyone I wanted to into a newt.
Prize Fighter / Professional Wrestler, Promoter.. ..yes it was around then..lol..it started in the Circus...
I want to be a lumberjack!
If the lumberjack job didn't pan out, I would work in a factory making sweets for Miss Truly Scrumptious.