The Grapes of Wrath Revisited

A Question
This post is being set up so readers can  post their own answers to the question below that was first posted in a separate forum and that I am now posting here so that others can benefit from the tales of The Last Great Depression.  I am hoping that in this way others may find some ideas that may help during these most difficult times that are sure to get worse before they get better.
Note: All comments have been posted “as is” for the exception of any spelling corrections. Any one wishing to post their comments can do so at the bottom then I will review them and post them here on this page.

Man forced to make his children beg

Willie Nile – Hard Times In America

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This was the original question:
I am curious to know if anyone in this group feels that we are headed for an economic depression? Also does any one here have survival stories of the last depression from their grand parents?
Hunterseeker

Nov. 24, 2008
I am 58 years old, who grew up poor or so I thought at the time. My parents were both born in the late 1920’s, so they grew up with hard times. They both grew up on farms, with multiple families living together. Each family working and bringing in what they could. The funds were pooled and the bills were all paid and everyone fed.

My mother was the 4th child of a total of 7 children. They lived in a 5 bedroom no bathroom farm house. They used an outhouse, burned wood for heating and cooking, and thought they were all kings and queens. My grandparents both had their parents living with them. My mother told many stories of never having less than 10 people at the table at any meal. One of her grandmothers did the cooking. One did all the sewing and mending for the family. My grandmother took care of the kids and did what she could to fill in where she was needed. They worked out a system. One of my great-grandfathers had retired from an iron works place so him and my mother raised the garden. As the kids got older they were all assigned chores to get done. All of the girls helped during the summer with either weeding the garden or canning. My mother always said there was always at least 3 incomes. On Saturdays the adults went to town to get what else was needed that they could not raise for themselves. They usually had a few things to barter with. Such as butter, eggs, milk. My one great grandmother was a seamstress so she even used her talents to earn a little extra money to help out. Usually her money was used to buy things that were needed for her supplies (needles, thread, zippers, buttons, etc). Somehow everyone did what they could.

My mother, who passed away last year, learned to not only how to raise a garden but how to can, make butter, butcher (when necessary), sew and crochet, as well as how to take care of the things that she acquired. When she was in high school she too went to work. She passed her talents on to me. She left me with quite a legacy. She taught me how to not only take care of the things that I have but how to sew, can, freeze, take care of a family on little or nothing, raise a garden, barter and butcher if necessary. I have always used my talents as I was growing up and wondering how these things were going to ever be used in my life. Now I am so glad that she just kept insisting that I learn my lessons well.

My father, now deceased 2 years, was also raised with a grandfather living in the house. He was also raised on a farm. His main job was to be a companion to his grandfather who was ill. He had what they used to call Old Timers Disease, today it is call dementia or Alzheimers Disease. His grandfather loved to fish, raise pigs and a garden. So those were the things that my brothers were taught. On my fathers farm they had cows, pigs, chickens. They also used milk, eggs, butter, chicken to barter with. Especially with the neighbors. The neighbors would all get together when it came to butchering time and they all helped each other. Everyone that had a freezer would have it filled for winter. Mostly the eggs and chickens were used to barter with for things like flour, sugar, and other baking or cooking necessities. My grandmother couldn’t sew, so she would use eggs and chickens to barter for mending being done, or quilts being made. In that neighborhood, everyone’s talents were bartered for things. Dad always told the story when all of us learned to drive that the car never went to town empty. Every kid in the neighborhood that wanted to go to the game on Friday night all piled into one car. The next week someone else would drive. So we car pooled way before it was fashionable.

I am so thankful that my parents raised my 3 brothers and I poor because we all learned our lessons on how to survive. We sold any extra veggies that we raised, the money used to buy shoes or things that were needed for school. The neighbors got so they looked forward to our veggies all summer. Growing up, I made all of my clothes with the exception for under things, from the time that I was about age 6 or 7. Sewing to me is second nature. When I was in high school I really became obsessed with sweaters. I soon learned to knit. My mother taught me to crochet. So survival is very easy for me.

When raising my girls these lessons were taught to them. So hopefully they won’t have to bad of a time. My hubby and I live on less than $800 per month now. Because of his disability and the job market in our area, I am unable to work so we just make do with what we have. The bills get paid. We have plenty to eat. We don’t have a mortgage because my parents left me their mobile home. There would be no way that we would be able to handle a mortgage. But my brothers are also very helpful.

I guess I had better quit before I write a book, or maybe I already have. Huntseeker you can use whatever you wish from my post.

God’s Blessings to all.
Carleen from Southwestern Michigan

Nov. 23, 2008
Hunterseeker, please feel free to use anything that I post…thanks for noticing’ me….(as Eeyore would say)

jillygal “a Note of hypocrisy in our present day leaders when they ask us to sacrifice and pull together for the good of this country when they are privy to private jets and other perks that are flaunted.”– a NOTE of hypocrisy?? How about in-your-face? Their arrogance is just unbelievable. Talk about being out of touch….if they had not made their own circumstances it would be bad enough, but now they want us to give them money so they can fix the problem they wrought. I don’t think so. We need someone else to take over.

China is growing, growing, growing…they are where we were in the 50’s as far as pollution, etc. They need to get it together. I was lucky enough to go to China in 2007 and never realized that Beijing was surrounded by mountains until it rained one night and we woke up to blue skies and beautiful mountains…things are so cheap in China that it even overrides the cost to ship it here. It was great as a vacationer to make some of the purchases that I did, but wow—

And nightree, you said just what I mean when I say we cannot lose our manufacturing capabilities. As much as I want to see the Big 3 “pay” for their stupidity, that punishment is merely cutting off their nose to spite their face. We need them….I live in Detroit and my dad was a 30 year man at GM.

And back to greed, I blame it all on Gloria Vanderbilt, who brought her designer jeans to the masses and started the whole ‘bling’ mentality that has not stopped since.

Man, I’m on a rant tonight!! I feel better now. Thanks.
gaild13
Nov. 22, 2008
The Grapes of Wrath was required reading when I was in high school but I don’t know about other parts of the country. It does seem so long ago though — (the Depression, not my high school years, LOL)– I’m not sure how people are relating to it even now. There wasn’t the technology — I’m not talking about computers or cell phones, but even the technology to apply to farming, crop rotation, etc — the Dust Bowl probably wouldn’t happen again given what we know now about agriculture.

Nope, our GREED is going to do us in. And I know that a lot of people want to give their kids what they didnt’ have, but at some point, sanity needs to take over. Are we going to continue to buy our kids their groceries when they are in their 40’s? Time to stand on your own two feet. If you’re a Boomer, then most likely your kids are either grown or close to it. Do your kids a favor and give them what they need — the old saying from the 60’s—or was it the 70’s — roots and wings.
It does not HELP your kids to give them everything. Then the items have no value. If you work for something you will take care of it and cherish it and understand it’s value.
gaild13

John Steinbeck & The Grapes of Wrath

Nov. 22, 2008
Welcome to the Q&A gaild13. Keeping up with the Jones’ is what got many people in the spot their in. The quest for the American Dream is the other, especially knowing you could not afford it!!! Let us not let the Mortgage Lenders off the hook either. They are responsible since they were governed by the Greed Factor! THEY KNEW that many of those people would not be able to keep up with the payments yet they Tweaked the applications to be able to push the papers through and thereby get THEIR COMMISSION! Do you honestly think they were thinking of that persons quest for the American Dream?
Your right, our greed is what is going to do us in. As for our kids you have to bear in mind what I had said on a previous post and that is that the current generation has grown up with a narcissistic attitude towards life. They walk around thinking they deserve everything and that Mom and Pop are going to give it to them so what can be expected?
The FDR angle might have to be resurrected!
Oh well that’s enough for now. Well gaild13 if you would give me your permission I would like to post your comment on my blog. You can look on one of the previous replies and you will find the link.
Hunterseeker

November 22, 2008
You certainly have my permission, Hunterseeker, to use anything from any of my posts. I’d like nothing better than to help everyone understand what’s coming and how to deal with it. Sadly, I agree with you about the younger generation. Even up here where it’s so possible to get so much from the land, my own grandchildren survive on frozen pizza, them dam ‘lunchables’, sugared cereals and juice “drinks” which are nothing more than colored sugar-water. All of which not only fills up the garbage dump, is ridiculous in cost, provides little nutrition, chemicals you can’t pronounce and on and on. They come out to visit me and are so amazed that it looks like there’s nothing to eat and yet in a short time there is a delicious feast on the table. Still, I just can’t get them to “GET IT”! My prayer is that when they need it, some of the things I’ve been trying to teach them will have sunk in.

A good recourse for making do, besides being a fun read, are the Foxfire books. Good chance your library has them as well as a whole section on ‘do it yourself’ references. Even if you don’t think you need the knowledge right now, you soon will. If you don’t have a job, make your job learning, gathering and storing.

As for The Grapes of Wrath – remember how it all started because the people couldn’t afford even seed for their farms and gardens? They borrowed from the banks – the banks took their homes – and everything went to hell in a hand basket. Sound familiar?
Love to all! Gramma
GrammasCabin

The Face of the Great Depression

November 21, 2008
Absolutely yes! That’s why it scares the heck out of me when so many people just don’t understand what that’s going to mean. While I’m one of the luckiest few on the planet to live where there are (for now) plenty of unpolluted fish, game and wild greens & medicines if you’re willing to spend the time and effort to hunt, gather and “put up” for the year, our town has been living in a depression ever since Bush gave the fishing and logging industries to big corporations from the lower 48 back in the 90’s. Our population of 3500 is now at less than 1100, the young families just had to leave. A full 53% of the kids in our schools are from low-income families, coming to school hungry with next to nothing in their lunches. Many families are just plain cold and the fishermen can’t afford the fuel to catch what fish our government let’s them have. Heating fuel is $5.38 up here, gas is $5.08. And there are just no jobs to be had. I’m lucky enough to having been substitute teaching for several years but even the teachers are behaving and I’m not working more than a couple days a week this year.
I worry about those who say they’ll save their soap scraps “in another life”. That “another life” is here – now! I not only save my soap scraps, I make my own. I never, I mean never buy packaged or canned food. If I can’t make it I don’t need to have it – plus my guess is that the food I prepare for my family is much healthier. Whenever I have extra anything it goes in the canner. If I make a pot of spaghetti sauce, stew, ham & beans, I make enough to eat now and fill the canner for later. When I get wild game I chop the bones and simmer them on the woodstove for soup stock to can and all the scraps are turned into dog food. All my dry goods are purchased in bulk through a co-op that has grown astronomically in our little town lately. If I can’t afford a whole bag of milk powder or whatever I find someone else who can’t afford it either and we split it. Even our Salvation Army has put out a notice that they are unable to provide the usual holiday food boxes this year. It’s getting scary. Sad to say, the next thing to go will be visiting on this computer – internet costs $50 a month up here but I’m hangin’ on as long as I can!

I pulled “The Grapes of Wrath” off the shelf the other day. I recommend everyone read it again, although it’s hard to read given the present circumstances but history is definitely repeating itself.
I worry so much for all of you in big cities down there. It’s going to get rough for us up here but we’ll find food in nature. Most of you don’t have that option so please, be careful, save your pennies – help each other!
GrammasCabin