While on self imposed R & R, I spent some time reading articles and watching videos about the Great Depression of the 1930's. I have very little understanding of the Stock Market nor do I care much about the politics of the time. My focus is on how the average citizen managed to keep body and soul together through those hard times.
One reoccurring theme was having cash on hand. Banks closed their doors and folks could not access the money in their accounts. People lost their entire life savings, not to mention their homes. Renters were evicted because they had no money to pay their rent. Those who had stashed cash in their mattresses probably didn't have enough cash to last for years but chances were pretty good they had enough to at least give them time to make rational decisions on what to do before the cash ran out.
Those who lived in the country fared better than the city dwellers. They planted gardens, kept chickens for meat and eggs, had a cow for milk and butter and raised hogs for meat. Many of those interviewed who lived through the Depression said they didn't know there was a Depression because they had plenty to eat. And they had products to barter for what they couldn't buy. They would trade eggs and butter for sugar and coffee. They sometimes paid the doctor bills with vegetables from their gardens. They were cash poor but they had the means to work around that.
Those in the cities felt the effects of the Depression sooner and to a greater degree than the country folks. Jobs disappeared. Food became scarce. In February of 1931, desperate to feed their families, citizens of Minneapolis rioted, smashing the windows of closed grocery stores and running off with whatever food they could carry. This was repeated over time in many areas of the country.
In the cities, soup kitchens run by churches and private charities were opened to feed the masses of hungry people. Bread lines formed as people stood in lines for hours in hopes of being given a loaf of bread or other food to feed starving families.
Those who had a variety of skills were better off than those who knew only the skills required to do the jobs that no longer existed. A man who knew how to shingle a roof, clean a chimney, do maintenance work on a vehicle could earn cash or barter his services for food. Women provided laundry services, baked bread and cakes to be sold, did sewing for those who didn't know how. The more skills a person had, the better their chances of survival.
People learned to 'make do.' Lacking money for new clothes, holes were patched, seams were taken in or let out as needed to make a piece of clothing fit, holes in stockings were darned. Mothers used whatever they had on hand to fashion clothing for their children - old sheets, flour sacks, etc. Old cloth coats were taken apart and turned inside out to sew new coats or jackets for the children. Scrap fabric was saved and turned into quilts. Nothing was wasted.
Broken tools, appliances, furniture were not thrown out but were repaired until they could no longer be fixed. People glued soles back onto worn boots. Others lined the insides of their shoes with cardboard to cover the places where holes were worn through the soles. Children wore shoes only in the winter, for there was no money to buy new shoes and they weren't to be worn out in the warmer months when kids could go barefoot.
Today we live in a disposable society. We break the Mr. Coffee, we buy a new one. We have more shoes than any one person can ever wear out. We have clothing hanging in the closets that aren't worn because the fashion of the day dictates these items to be 'out of style.' We firmly believe that the supermarkets will always be open, filled with every imaginable product to eat. We rarely carry cash, choosing rather to whip out our credit cards to pay for nearly everything. And we no longer know how to can tomatoes or sew a seam or bake a loaf of bread.
If we ever have another set of circumstances resulting in another Depression, I fear most of America will be in a world of hurt due to a total lack of knowledge needed to survive.
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This is what happens when you give over control of your life to others, Vicki, whether it be to Del Monte to can your veggies, or to the bank to "safeguard" your money. There's an incredible amount of "normalcy bias" out there. It's scary, as when the S finally does HTF, these people won't be able to survive unless they become a part of a marauding band that steals from those who prepared. Even then, there just won't be enough "stuff" to keep our massive population alive. People will kill to live ONE MORE DAY.
ReplyDeleteThe Great Depression hit at a time when people were still close enough to their roots to be able to adapt. A person may not have known how to can, but Mom did, and could teach. Most work was still physical enough that a man could go from digging ditches to working on a farm to building a house. Most everything was made to be repaired, and thus lasted "forever." If The Great Depression happens again, our society is totally screwed.
This isn't pessimist, but a realist speaking; humanity has never been more vulnerable. I see it as being on the precipice of something horrifying.
I'll freely admit it; I'm less prepared than I'd like to be. I am, however, better prepared than many. Until the SHTF, I'll keep prepping, and learning from folks like you.
Pete, your comments are spot on. We live in a world of people who don't have the foggiest notion on how to take care of themselves. They expect someone else to do the work rather than taking the responsibility for the care and feeding of themselves and their families. Don't have food or a place to live? No problem. Just go sign up for welfare.
DeleteI know people who might have everything in the cupboard to make bread, but would starve because they don't know how. I know people who can't figure out how to sew on a button. I know people who, for crying out loud, think meat magically appears in stores already wrapped in plastic and eggs originate in their cartons. Milk comes from cows? Impossible. Plant a garden? Raise their own food? Not going to happen. Why bother when they have Super Walmart. I expect that by now you know this lack of ambition and refusal to learn is a huge irritation to me. :)
I totally agree with your remark about being a realist. The sad fact that so very many live in a land of unicorns and rainbows where the sun shines all the time. They believe - sincerely believe - they don't need to put forth any effort because someone else - ie., the government - will surely see to their needs in a time of crisis which they also believe couldn't possibly ever happen.
None of us are as prepared as we would like to be. But we who are aware are working to do the best we can to not only take care of ourselves, but to take care of our families, while the rest pretend nothing is wrong. God help them. And us.
Sad but true, Vicki. I think things would also get dangerous fast, as morals are as lacking as skills.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Gorges. When folks have no moral compass to guide them, things go downhill fast. If there are no consequences for actions, the actions become worse and worse. God needs to be reintroduced in our schools, our churches, our homes and our lives. Soon.
DeleteI agree. Our president has no moral compass & things are going downhill fast. We are seeing no consequences for his actions & lies, and his actions are becoming worse & worse. You are spot on, Vicki. Stock market WAY DOWN today. PREPARE for the worst. Hope for the best.
ReplyDeleteAnon...If you think I blame our president for all of our troubles, you are sadly mistaken. I was talking about the skills that have been lost over generations - the common sense skills that are needed should our country find itself in another depression. This has nothing to do with politics and because this is my blog, I will not debate politics here. Any further attempt to trash our president will be deleted.
DeleteVicki~ I was talking with a friend yesterday. She told me tests had come back for one daughter about some serious food allergies. I told her go back to basics with foods she can eat, then purchase the components in bulk. Break the items into small sizes and vacuum seal them. I said the sooner the better due to the weather issues and crop failures. Her Mom was there and said she could help her can any food she wanted and let's get started on the list. Red
ReplyDeleteRed...That is excellent advice. Is it my imagination, or are there many more kids now with food allergies than in years past? I have a grandson with an allergy to bee stings and a granddaughter with a peanut allergy. Aside from those two, I don't recall anyone in my entire extended family with allergies. They are the first generation in my family who have eaten more processed food than the others. We were raised on 'from scratch' cooking and I suspect we both continued that practice. Makes one wonder.
Deleteread that a lady took a trip to europe with a group those with food allergies were able to eat anything over there-- bread and dairy and suffered no ill effects things sprayed on our crops and genetic engineering, antibiotics given in mass amounts to food animals
DeleteVicki,
ReplyDeleteYes, I'd say you and the others have summed it up well. As a whole, most of our society has a terminal case of normalcy bias coupled with no skills, no desire to learn, and no morals. There are a few of us who happily prepare and are ready and willing to learn and work. But due partly to having lived in a high tech and disposable society for so long, we don't even know what we don't know. Things our ancestors and the Indians knew. The kinds of things that might even make a difference between life and death. There is so much to learn, and it's hard to admit we don't have time to learn it all. I think we're going to have to develop strong community ties again.
Oh, and people will most definitely be begging God to be part of their lives again. But I think He's going to give them time to make sure they really want Him.
Jennifer...It seems we don't learn from the past. Our lives can change in a heartbeat and it doesn't need to be a Depression to do it. If we don't know how to do stuff, how on earth will we get along if technology goes belly up. Or if the grid goes down for any length of time. Or if the weather messes up our crop production. Any number of things could send us on a downward spiral. I pray that doesn't happen - but it could.
DeleteI wish I had learned more from my grandparents. They managed to not just survive, but live and raise families with very little. They knew how to do stuff. I am fortunate to have had parents who taught me some of what I need to know. You do an excellent job on your blog of giving us information on a variety of subjects that will be helpful during bad times. But folks have to want to learn and I think that for many, they just have no interest. They believe things will continue as always - nothing bad will ever happen - at least not to them.
One of the biggest mistakes we as a nation have made is excluding God from our daily lives. Prayer in schools is no longer allowed. Most religious references have been removed from public view. Christmas Nativity scenes, for pity's sake, are not allowed because someone might be offended. Many ministers now preach 'feel good' messages rather than the fire and brimstone sermons of the past. No wonder we are on the verge of becoming a Godless nation. You are absolutely spot on in saying that folks will be begging for God's blessings again. The sooner - the better.
Sorry to spoil your fun but The Great Depression will never happen again. Why? Because our economy is off the gold system and our government can print out as much money as they want. Did anyone starve during The Great Recession? Sure there were sad stories BUT the good old US of A bailed out most everyone. Food stamps, extended unemployment benefits, Section 8's, heat assistance, low income housing.
ReplyDeleteYou can come out of your caves now. Ain't gonna happen. Plus ALL banks are now FDIC up to $250,000 per person. Everyone will get their money back.
It's going in to debt that is the killer.
Not the stock market.
As long as people are stupid, they'll suffer.
Anon...I believe I have told you before that this is a blog written for common sense, like minded folks who are smart enough to prepare for whatever life hands us and for the exchange of helpful information. What this blog is not is a debating society. You are entitled to your opinion. I am entitled to delete any further comments from you that are geared toward arguing subjects that are of no interest whatsoever to me.
DeleteVicki, I sure do wish I was as smart as the person who commented above. I think we should admit that we are wrong. They are right. They have completely convinced me that they have a better understanding of what is really happening in our country and the world around us. Admit it, Vicki, we are just uninformed and don't know what we are talking about.
DeleteBy the way, I just picked a 2 gallon bucket full of purple pod string beans to can...just in case.
Have a nice evening and a big chuckle. Oh, and don't forget...be aware and prepare for what could never happen again. CW
CW...Yep. What do we know. We are just a couple of dumb hayseed hicks from fly-over country. Couldn't possibly know what we are talking about!! Isn't that just typical of the smug superiority of our betters? I have fooled with that one as much as I am going to. Next time I will just delete his sorry backside.
DeleteGood for you on the beans! Me...Friday I plan to start canning chicken for what obviously could never in the world happen again. :)
At least we will not be the ones standing in line for a handout or digging in a dumpster for supper. There is that. :)
There you go again. Another stop and think posting. I saw a movie on the depression on Amazon Prime if I recall. You are right the rural folks did have it better. If and when everything goes upside down, you just as well bend-over and kiss your ass good bye. I'm no way even close to where we should be, but I am way better off then most.
ReplyDeleteOh FYI i am doing on post on family tree update. It will take a few days to write up. Juggling several things currently. Kind of on a small overload. :)
Rob..If you think you are going to die when the SHTF, you might as well just crawl into bed, pull the covers over your head and wait for it. But if you have the mindset that you are going to fight and do whatever you have to do to make it through with your family, you have a better chance than most. Nobody is as ready as they would like to be. I might be long in the food department, but I am surely lacking in others. That's something I need to keep plugging away at fixing. We just do the best we can with what we have to work with. And keep praying.
DeleteI will watch for your family tree post. It will be interesting to me to see what you have found. I haven't taken the time to work on mine for a while. Maybe this winter.
There is a book called Droughts and Dreams by Matt Redhawk. It is a collection of remembrances from people who lived through the Great Depression. Red
ReplyDeleteThanks, Red...I will see if I can find it. That sounds like something I would like to read. I found a bunch of YouTube video interviews of people who lived through the Depression and the Dust Bowl. It was fascinating to hear how they managed to live during those times.
Delete