Growing up in the Depression

[Rusty_OToole]

Being frugal was most common long before the depression, even for the relatively well off. I mentioned before my mother's side of the family were farmers, small town shop keepers, teachers and the like. My mother was typical in being careful to get her money's worth, that is what people did back then. On the farm they did not get electricity until the 1930s. They used coal oil lamps. You would put a new wick in the lamp and trim it as it burned down to keep the flame even. When the wick was too short to reach the oil you threw it away and put in a new one. But my grandmother would sew the new wick onto the old one and use it until the joint wouldn't go through the burner, then cut it off. This way she saved 2 inches of lamp wick. Lamp wick cost 5 cents a yard.

She made her own clothes, knitted socks for the family, canned vegetables preserves and pickles, she could cut down a man's coat or suit to fit a boy. Her family lived well, they never wanted for anything, because they never wasted anything. Mother was proud of the fact that they had a telephone and an automobile right through the depression which was more than a lot of their neighbors had.

Late in life after grandmother's brother died, his farm was sold to a doctor who bought it as an investment. He never farmed the land, it went all to weeds and the house slowly deteriorated. I remember driving past the place when it was badly run down. Grandmother looked at it and said "those people will come to want some day". I knew exactly what she meant.

Edited June 25, 2021 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[TAKerry]

My dads parents were farmers in MD. They sold their farm and moved to bigger and better things in Nebraska where they purchased a large farm. I assume they were 'holding the mortgage' as the stories I was told were the MD buyers defaulted. Thus my grandparents had to move back to MD. I often wonder what my life would have been life if that move back never happened. They were also very frugal. It wasnt until the mid 1960's that they had an indoor bathroom ( dad put one in for a Christmas present one year). At one time power lines were ran across their farm and they received a significant amount of money for the right of way. My grandfather wanted to build a new silo, my grandmother wanted to divide the money amongst the children (whom were all adults). Stubborness runs in my family. The money sat in the bank until my grandmother passed away then my grandfather had a new silo built.

[60FlatTop]

On 6/24/2021 at 2:04 PM, edinmass said:

He grew up on a farm in upstate New York.

When the wealthy people couldn't pay their property taxes my grandfather bought the big house in town and moved off the farm. Growing up we were sworn to secrecy about how much he paid. He kept the farm for another 35 years. The Old Gray Mare still lived in the horse barn when I was a kid. I was about 12 when my grandmother gave me the 1919 Buick they left behind. They were afraid I would get it running and engage the buzz saw blade attached to the driveshaft.

 

 

 

[Captain Harley]

From what my dad (1915-2004) told me about living during the depression.  He nor his family were not much effected by the calamity.  Grandfather was a railroad man and had been since the early 1900's.  With his seniority on the Seaboard Air Line Railway he didn't have much to worry about.  Dad said he never really had a problem finding a job.  Some were as a soda-jerk in his early teens, ran a pool hall during high school years (open it up in the AM, let one of the local hustlers run it for him until after school)

and finally getting a good government social service job in the later 30's.  Mom (1918-2002) came from a farm family of 12 kids and also never talked about any real hardships growing up in the depression.  Dad also worked as a "part time bootlegger" during the 30's, but that's a whole 'nother story.😊

 

Capt. Harley😉

 

Skirts are for women and not car fenders!