I must have been in junior high or early high school when I got an assignment to write about the Great Depression. It seems like we were encouraged to talk to our older family members to get their recollections.
I remember “interviewing” my grandmother. She was born in 1925, so she was a young child during the Depression. I only remember a few things she told me:
1) They were more fortunate than most because they lived on a farm, which gave them access to milk, eggs, meat and a garden.
2) Since they had dairy cattle, they had milk and cream. They learned to drink, and eventually preferred their coffee with only cream, no sugar. This was noteworthy to me because, by then, I liked coffee with lots of sugar and cream.
3) They had simple meals. Meat and potatoes were most common because those things came from their farm. They didn’t waste anything, so they had liver, pig's feet and other things that most people wouldn’t choose today.
4) They didn’t have a lot of possessions. They valued the family getting together on a Friday afternoon for coffee as the highlight of the week.
I’m sure they told me much more, but I have forgotten it. I’d love to find the paper I wrote, and even more so the cassette recording I made of the interview. I would love to hear their voices again.
When my wife’s grandparents passed, comments were made about the shelf filled with empty prescription bottles, tins of buttons, or ball of rubber bands. It is hard for me to imagine the extreme frugality they learned to live with.
All these memories came flooding back to me when my aunt (who now is in her 80s) sent me a Zero Hedge article titled “50 Survival Lessons from The Great Depression: The Horrifying Things Americans Did When Money, Jobs and Hope Disappeared” by Tyler Durden.
The article described “fifty fragments of wisdom” that “were paid for with calloused hands and sleepless nights,” representing “the collective survival manual of a generation that faced the abyss and chose, defiantly, to keep walking.” I could list a few of the fragments of wisdom, but they can all be summarized by saying they did what they had to do to survive with whatever they had available. In my grandparents' case, for example, they adjusted their diet and expectations to maximize what they had available. More importantly, like the first point I mentioned (and as I recall, the first point they made to me), they acknowledged they were better off than most because of their occupation (farmers). I don’t know for sure, but based on how I remember them, I suspect they were generous with their friends and neighbors as well.
We are not promised an easy life. We happen to live in an affluent time in an affluent country. Like the Great Depression, that could all change in a virtual instant.
“Then he said to them, ‘Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’” - Nehemiah 8:10 ESV
“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly, the right hand of the Lord exalts, the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!” I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord. The Lord has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death. Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” - Psalm 118:1-9, 14-24
When you turn your heart toward God, whatever is going on in the world becomes bearable and joyful because of your hope in God and the knowledge that you will spend eternity with Him. That is the lesson my grandparents taught me about growing up during the Depression.
