The 1920s were an era of fun, prosperity and dissipation.
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Having just come off the back of World War I, the economy was low and people were feeling down after the loss of a generation of young men.
Once they hit the '20s the war was over, and there was a huge feeling of relief and a temptation for people to party and enjoy life.
As we head into the 2020s, Lithgow Living History active member Vicki Hartley said, she hoped the new decade brought back memories of what a fun era the 1920s was.
"The 1920s brought that feeling of fun and joy.
"I'd like to hope the 2020s brings the community together and people will get out there and start to be a lot happier and brighter.
"I think after these fires and the ongoing drought and anxiety they've caused, we need a bit of a lift," she said.
Vicki said she had seen plenty of changes in the last decade from communication, sporting improvements in town, to tourism and shopping.
"Lots of things have changed and altered in the last decade. I rarely even use a phone anymore both personally and in business," she said.
She said social media had become such a popular and easy way to communicate along with texting and emailing.
"I definitely use all three a lot more than I did 10 years ago," she said.
In terms of changes around Lithgow itself, Vicki said after lots of decades of trying it was exciting that the town finally had its own heated pool.
"The last generation of Lithgow kids that have had to learn to swim in cold water is over!" she said.
She said over the last decade it was obvious that things changed.
"Over a decade you're going to see things change for better or worse.
"I think change is inevitable and change is something we have to move with and glow with in order to grow and move forward," she said.
"If things don't change everything stagnates, change is a good thing."
Vicki said even the way we use money had changed in the sense that we "don't use money anymore".
"There's very few times where I will pay cash, everything is now card or on the phone, money is becoming redundant," she said.
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She also said their had been a massive decline in face-to-face interactions with people.
"We shop online, order our groceries online, banking online we don't actually go out too much anymore and walk up the street and say "G'day how're you going?" to someone and stop and have a chat.
"It's a little bit sad.. in a country town those interactions are really important especially to older people," she said.
On the shopping part, Vicki noted that shop fronts were doing it a lot tougher than they did 10 years ago with the increase of online shopping.
"It makes the "shop local" reminder even more relevant because supporting a local business benefits the town.
"The number of empty shops is also a reflection of a changing economy and people's shopping habits and I think that's going to continue to increase," she said.
In the next decade Vicki hoped to see a lot more colour, art and creativity happen around Lithgow.
"It's been nice to see art slowly creeping in with installations up and down Main Street.
"It makes Lithgow look brighter and more attractive," she said.
She also said the face of the CBD had altered greatly with changes to Cook Street Plaza and other areas of town.
Vicki said she would like to see tourism progress in Lithgow even further than it has in the last decade.
"I think tourism is going to be our growth industry, our future.
"It's now a prominent part of Lithgow's business and leisure than it was 10 years ago," she said.
She said Lithgow was lucky to have a number of events and attractions which boost the town.
"We now have Ironfest, Halloween and Back to Hartley to name a few and the Blast Furnace Park, Hartley Historic Village, the Foundations at Portland, Lake Lyell and Lake Wallace which are all wonderful tourist attractions in themselves."
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