There were likely less franchises and chains so every town had their own one-off local Diners instead of Dennys, had a shoe store instead of Amazon etc. The ex

There were likely less franchises and chains so every town had their own one-off local Diners instead of Dennys, had a shoe store instead of Amazon etc. The extent to which chains/internet has elliminated these mom and pop stores is staggering... and also why there was so much "self-employment" back then Disclaimer: I'm making an intelligent guess here; these views are not (AFAIK) backed by any study