I was born and reared on our family farm near Salado and finished high school at Salado High in the early ’40s. I recall two types of memories of the Depression. One was the way people’s lives were affected and the other memory is the experience I received while growing up in the turmoil of the Great Depression.
Most people learned quickly that you dealt with what you had, you bought only bare necessities, you did not complain and you shared with family and friends. A gift of 25 cents was a treasure. Most gifts were pieces of candy or fruit.
One case of helping each other was about our neighbors. Their home had burned and they were living in a shed that had been their barn. Before the seventh child was born the father died of heart trouble. The neighbors got busy and built the family a small house before the baby was born. No one knew much about insurance in those days, so the material was paid for by friends and neighbors and the labor was free. After the baby was born my mother and I went to see them and when asked where the baby was, a box was pulled from under the bed and there was the new baby boy having a safe place to start his life. One of the boys of that family is still a close friend today and owns the farm where they managed to grow up without welfare. The mother was a relentless worker and washed their mouthes with soap if they used profanity. My friend says that to grow up under those conditions you share everything and own nothing.
My grandparents had moved to Belton on Sixth Street, and Highway 81 came within a few feet of the kitchen door. Many men were trying to get somewhere and they were called tramps, hobos and other names. One would knock on the door and ask for food. My grandmother never failed to give the visitor biscuits and gravy. As soon as he was out of sight another, who was watching down the street, would knock on the door.
Most of our food was produced at home and preserved by canning or drying. We had no electricity. no plumbing, and the only water was a hydrant on the back porch. Cooling of food was limited to a metal set of shelves with a sheet around it, the bottom of which was in the water container of the shelf unit and the evaporative action kept milk fresh for a few hours. There were no utility bills except some oil for the lamps and gasoline for the water pump engine, which was rather modern at the time. Kerosene was a nickel per gallon.
We had good luck happen. Salado schools consolidated with outlying districts and two school buses were purchased and my father got the job of driving one of the buses in 1929. The job paid 30 dollars a month and he kept this job for several years. Needless to say, we fared much better than most people because jobs were not available until 1932 when the New Deal started with projects such as WPA and CCC. Teachers were paid a salary of 60 to 80 dollars and most schools would not hire married women as teachers.
Some kids had no shoes and were barefooted in winter time. If I had an apple to eat, some child would ask for the core. I have been asked for my chewing gum. I had my lunch stolen at school a few times.
Some good may have come from all this turmoil. When we entered WW II, there was a generation of men and women who were patriotic, willing to work, and were not afraid to be hungry, dirty or scared. Americans were ready to do whatever it took to protect our country.
To those of you who have fallen to a low level in your life, I offer my sympathy, and I know you are learning what I learned a long time ago. To those of you with good jobs and one or more family members working: lend a helping hand to your friends and neighbors and be thankful for what you have.
