Grace
My name is Grace. My father
lost his job at the bank in the small town where we live. America is in a
depression, and many banks are closing. When Daddy worked at the bank he could
do all the jobs, from sweeping the floor to locking and unlocking the vault
where the money was kept. I plan to help Daddy find another job, one that is
even better than his job at the bank. Momma says I am an optimist because I
always look for good in any situation.
Helping One
Another
by Collette
People living in our area of the state
did not experience the horrible dust storms of the other regions. It was
possible to grow gardens and even crops here. What communities endured was
different, but people all shared a special quality found throughout the
country: compassion for those struggling with day-to-day trials of surviving
without much. Churches all over the country opened their doors to provide food
for hungry people in the community or the many transients on their way to find
a better place to live.
My dad’s neighbors shared food. If a cow
or hog was butchered, everyone turned out to help and shared in the bounty of
meat. Women continued to can vegetables and fruit. My dad doesn’t like pears to
this day because of how many he had to eat from the tree in the yard. (He also
wasn’t fond of Jell-O because it was inexpensive, and a new food Grandma fixed
too often.) He doesn’t remember being hungry, unlike so many other people in
other areas of the country.
When money became scarce for families,
they bartered for food or services. Doctors might be paid with a chicken or
eggs. If a woman’s husband left to look for work, a box of groceries might
appear on her doorstep to help feed her family until he returned. Clothing
could be found for those passing through who needed something for winter.
Families and neighbors took care of each other and shared the burdens.
That is the really positive thing from
the Great Depression: people caring for other people. What a shame we don’t see
more of that today. They remain a proud generation who did what was right
because it was the right thing to do.
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