In 1976, a gallon of gasoline cost 65 cents.

The cost of visiting an Alexandria physician was $8, and a postage stamp cost 13 cents.

During that same year, Dr. David Steele of Alexandria began a discussion with friends about the prices of everyday items and the prices they’d pay for those same items in 30 years.

Eating breakfast with Alexandria natives like Dave Wilson, Maurice Matthews, Bob Miller, Martin Koob and Max Branch, Steele found himself wondering about the cost of everyday life.

He assembled a team of local teens and friends to help him and soon began recording the 1976 prices of items such as gasoline, coffee, light bulbs, dental work, telephone service, postage stamps, donuts, beef and Kleenex tissues. He used only Alexandria stores and vendors.

He found a loaf of Wonder bread for 49 cents in 1976 and kept record as the sticker increased over the years. Today, Steele has recorded the 2008 price for a loaf as $2.09 - an increase of 327 percent.

Gasoline averages $4 per gallon across America, equating to a 515 percent increase over the 1976 price of 65 cents a gallon.

Steele did not factor inflation into his prices, he just wrote down what each item cost in April of each year.

Over the years, Steele’s project was challenged by the changing times. Stores closed, items went out of production and new technology changed the way people used everyday items.

Heating oil, for instance, was widely used in American homes throughout the ’70s and ’80s and sometimes in the ’90s but disappeared in the 21st century. Steele’s records show that heating oil was no longer available in Alexandria in 2008.

Other inconsistencies made Steele wary of his project. “A breaded tenderloin was 65 cents, and it went up to $5.29. I’m not sure we can compare them because we had to use three different restaurants over the years,” Steele explained.

Steele neglected the project and did not record prices for 2001 and 2004. He originally planned to end the project in 2006, after 30 years of record-keeping, but soon changed his mind. “I’ll probably keep going,” Steele said.

While most items, including groceries, rose in price over the past three decades, some decreased, Steele said.

“The cost of cars have gone down.”

Steele said he’d recently learned from Alexandria care dealer Tom DeVoe that the cost of a car today should equate to six month’s pay