I have a copy of a memoir from a familiy member talking about rural life just 100 or so years ago & there wasn't anything easy sounding about it. People who romanticize the past are mostly retarded. What's interesting IMO is the origins of words & phrases that are still in use today even though the reasons for their origins have kinda been lost.
Salary - payment in salt
Shelling out - handing over lots of wampum due to inflation in supply
Ragging on someone (picking on them) - a reference to a woman being "on the rag" prior to the invention of tampons