Melva Anderson, 82, of Murphys remembers the depression years from the small farming community of Wilsonville, Nebraska. "The depression didn't affect us as much as some people," explained Melva. "We did get government canned goods and my father got help from the Conservation Corp. Men came out and helped him plant his grain because there wasn't much money for anything. Because we were a farm family with cattle, pigs and a big garden, we didn't go hungry. My mother had a hired girl to help, but she had to be let go."Farm families were used to conserving and Melva's family didn't feel the shortage of gas since they still used horses.
Kathryn Puterbaugh, 84, (pictured), of Sonora, described in "friends and neighbors" magazine typical meals during the 1930's while living in Denver, Colorado. "Dinner: Monday through Thursday, leftovers from the weekend (usually) soups which were made from leftovers; on Fridays, fish; on Saturdays, corn bread with syryp and one link sausage; on Sunday, whole fried chicken pieces or pot roast.
"We had hand-me-down-clothes and shoes and no radio or TV. When World War II began...and later living on my own, I remember standing in line for food and ration stamps, sharing living quarters due to the housing shortage, sharing rides due to auto and gas shortages-and mending runs in my nylon hose with nail polish."
We take American affluence for granted, but it hasn't always been so!
To be continued-
No comments:
Post a Comment