Costs are a rough estimate. A full barrel of flour went for around $7.00-$7.50 on average. Mama Roxie reported that her parents bought it that way rather than in parceled out sacks which didn’t store as well–plus you got a barrel!  

Documented cigarette costs aren’t as easy to locate, but 5-10 cents a pack is sometimes claimed.  

Costs tended to be 25-225% higher than average at company stores.  Buying in Charleston and ferrying goods upriver had the potential to be profitable.  

Okay, but what’s the deal with the bananas?

Tom liked bananas–and he liked to share them around when he had the opportunity to do so.  

Bananas started as an expensive fruit* but exports to the US were up and prices were down in 1910.  Availability would drop again by 1950 due to the spread of Panama Disease in the then popular Big Mike strain.  

I can’t find specific 1912 retail prices for bananas, or for the shoe last, but ten dollars worth of goods in 1912 would be comparable to at least $334 in 2024 or $1900 if the average earned wage is considered. 

*If you’re interested in the origin of the term Banana Republic and the history of imperialism in Latin America, Mother Jones brought this up in a speech in Charleston that we’ll illustrate when we get to that point.  Want a good historic read in the meantime?  You could do worse than Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala by Stephen Schlesinger.

And if you want a quick dive into the history of double acting baking powder (fairly new at the time), the Wikipedia article is interesting.  It appears that the idea for baking powder is based on a Native American leavening process.

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