life a century ago

My mother was born in 1910 so when I came across a list today of various elements of life in 1910 it caught my attention.  The average life expectancy was 47 years. Fuel for cars was bought in drug stores, and speaking of drugs - marijuana, heroin and morphine were all available over the counter in drugstores.  So does that mean that Colorado, Washington, etc. have taken a giant step backwards in legalizing marijuana? The average US wage was 22 cents an hour, but eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.  I remember my mother talking about the cook/housekeeper who worked for her family for many years. Occasionally mom would bake a batch of "Mrs. McGowan's cookies" or reflect on something domestic that the housekeeper had taught her. This never struck me as too unusual.  My grandfather was a minister and I guess I just assumed that having household help would have been the norm.  I was more surprised, some years later, to discover, while doing some genealogical research, that my grandfather (my father;s father) actually married the live-in help.  Theirs was a much more modest household, my grandfather was a carpenter, but they evidently still had help.