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​BACK IN TIME - TO A PLACE & A STORY
 

​During the hottest season on record, I think of the Voell homestead method of beating the heat - pulled shades, closed curtains, and lots of fans.  Pure and simple.  More Wisdom and Advice from the Great Depression Years by Lisa Bedford reminds us how our parents and ancestors survived another time of great challenge. 
 
Out of necessity, life was simpler like #15, an age-old air-cooling method before electricity-eating AC.  With canning season around the corner take note of #6 and #7.  #20 and #32 trigger memories of tuna casserole, radish sandwiches and P.B. & J., #26 reminds us that ‘retirement’ is a new later-in-life notion, and #35 and #40 demonstrate the ‘art of survival’.
 
As your family gathers for summer reunions and special events use these valuable memory starters to uncover stories of times experienced and remembered by a passing generation – before it’s too late!

More wisdom and advice from the Great Depression years
From:  http://thesurvivalmom.com/survival-wisdom-great-depression/

1. 1.  Families traveled to wherever the work happened to be. They stuck together as much as possible.
2. Life insurance policies were cashed in to try and survive for just a few months longer in their “normal” worlds.
3. Meals were simpler than those we eat today and, therefore, cheaper. There were virtually no prepared foods at grocery stores.
4. Families learned to shop at the very last minute on a Saturday night to get bargains on fresh produce that would go bad over the weekend. (Stores were closed on Sundays.)
5. Learning how to forage and find edible plants helped many families fill their dinner plates. Things like nuts and wild asparagus were treats and often entire families would grab a pile of gunny sacks and head to the good foraging areas for the day. Finding free food was how some families survived.
6. Housewives were judged by how many jars she had “put up” during harvest season. Women would show off their full pantries with pride.
7. To add different types of food to their meals, families swapped produce with each other.
8. For many, there was no electricity or a refrigerator, so you just cooked only what could be eaten at that one meal.
9. In some communities, there were group gardens on empty lots. Everyone had their own small plot and could grow whatever they wanted.
10. Many worked multiple part-time jobs, waking up before dawn and falling asleep long after dark.
11. Those with just a little bit more than others found odd jobs around their homes or property to provide employment to others.
12. “Depression Soup” was a real thing! It contained anything and everything you might have in the kitchen or was donated by others. To this day, some say it was the best soup they ever tasted.
13. Some enterprising women would wake in the early morning hours and prepare dozens of meals to sell to workers from their vehicles.
14. Fabric feed sacks were recycled and became “feed sack dresses.” For some, it was an embarrassment, an obvious sign of poverty, but others wore them with pride. A family with many chickens, and therefore plenty of feed sacks, might be the best dressed in the neighborhood!
15. Hanging wet sheets over doorways was a way to cool down a room or house during the summer. Hot air was slightly cooled as it passed through the wet fabric.
16. Some communities organized “surprise parties”, in which everyone would pull together a large amount of food and other necessities, including cash. One by one, each family was selected to be the recipient of the surprise party.
17. A jack-of-all-trades could often find work when others couldn’t. It paid to know a bit about plumbing, carpentry, painting, and home repairs.
18. Stories from the Great Depression years are filled with incidents that illustrate one act of kindness after another. In spite of incredible hardships, people could still find ways to encourage others with words of blessing or unexpected help.
19. Missions were there to feed people but many of those missions eventually ran out of money.
20. All food was made from scratch, and this fascinating book chronicles the culinary history of the Great Depression.
21. To what extent any individual or family was affected by the Great Depression depended on large part where they lived. Not all areas were affected in the same way.
22. Hunting and fishing were major ways in which families were fed.
23. Everyone, including the kids, found ways to earn money. There was a team mentality that brought everyone together for a common goal.
24. Unfortunately, loss of income wasn’t a good enough excuse to not pay rent or the mortgage, although some landlords, in particular, were willing to extend credit.
25. There was virtually no sense of entitlement. Everyone knew they would only survive if they worked hard to do so.
26. At this time there was no such thing as “retirement”. Everyone worked until they became physically unable to continue.
27. Some towns had “welfare budgets”. Money was loaned from the town to individuals, but there was a strict keeping of books. Some towns even published in their newspapers how much each person owed and repayment was expected.
28. There was a sense of dignity in even the lowliest of jobs. One woman tells the story of a notions salesman who visited their home every few months. He looked very dapper and wore expensive looking clothing, even as a door-to-door salesman.
29. The Great Depression affected people in all walks of life. Only the most elite were immune from its effects.
30. When banks closed, you were left with, literally, only the cash in your pockets or hidden away at home. Everything else was GONE.
31. Many discovered strength through optimism and looked at their disadvantages as personal challenges that could be overcome with ingenuity and hard work.
32. Foods that would normally have not been eaten became commonplace at the kitchen table, such as bean sandwiches and codfish gravy. Recipes from this era provide a fascinating look at the day to day life of average people.
33. Many mothers learned to “not be hungry” as they gave larger portions to their husbands and kids.
34. Food prices at that time were fairly high when compared with wages. For example, a general laborer made $2 per day. The WPA paid $1 per day. But bread was 10 cents a loaf, milk 8 cents a quart, and eggs 7 cents/dozen.
35. The seasons determined what you ate.
36. Walls were covered with everything from mud/clay, scrap pieces of wallpaper, newspapers, and tar paper.
37. Homemakers still took pride in their homes, keeping them as clean as possible, even those who lived in areas affected by the Dust Bowl. One mom made a couch from old bedsprings and stuffed homemade cushions with unginned cotton.
38. Many spent their days walking the streets looking for work, anything at all that could bring in a few dollars or cents for their families. Often a “job” was just an individual task, payment was made when the task was completed, and the worker went on to look for the next job.
39. People were grateful. Grateful for any kindness, any blessing. That attitude carried many of them through the Great Depression years and they now look back on them with fondness.
40. The hardened end of a slab of bacon was sold for almost nothing and could be used to season just about everything in the kitchen!
41. There actually were government inspectors of different types during the Great Depression years. They had the authority to shut down many different types of home businesses. Some did, some didn’t.
42. The Sears Roebuck catalog was truly the book of dreams for many people — not just kids!
43. Stories from the Great Depression years are filled with incidents that illustrate one act of kindness after another. In spite of incredible hardships, people could still find ways to encourage others with words of blessing or unexpected help.
      

A Must Read for Family Historians  

Were your ancestors part of the great dust storms of Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, the Dakotas and Texas?  A national book award winner The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan provides an historical backdrop that gives voice to survivors of the epic natural disaster – The Great American Dust Bowl.     

Let us know how we can help capture your family story. 
 
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