What did old folks do back then?

Social Security was instituted when my grandparents were in the middle of raising their family. That puts it in the class of things that were long before today's youth can remember - things they now take for granted. Now, I suspect we ought not take Social Security for granted given the finances of the equation, but that is beside the point in the point I am making. What did old folks do  back in those day. There comes a time when you physically cannot work any more, but you still have to eat.