The title of this piece says it all! This past week I have been reading about the Great Depression. I personally did not live through the Great Depression, but I am sure that part of my upbringing was the result of lessons learned by the older generation during that time.

I remember that my grandfather had a job. Grandma and Grandpa were a young couple raising three children. They purchased a house just before hard times hit so having a job was a big deal. It meant that they were able to make their mortgage payments so that they could keep their house.

I heard them talking about an aunt and uncle who were not so fortunate. The husband lost his job and they lost their home. They were never able to purchase another house until their daughter was grown and had a job to help make mortgage payments.

Every once in a while I choose to read about the Great Depression just so that I am aware of how lucky we are these days. The strange thing about the depression was that the people did not seem to be unhappy. They simply made do with what they had and made the best of things.

I shudder to think of living through rough times like that generation had to. There was no welfare system as we know it. People helped each other. They pooled their resources. Every able-bodied man was expected to work.

If a town had a welfare budget it was used only as a last resort. Records were kept. The amount of money that any family took was a matter of public record. It was posted in the annual report for everyone to see. Anyone who accepted help was expected to pay it back as soon as they were able to. One gentleman commented about what a relief it was to see a credit after his name when the annual report came out in the book I have been reading.

Life today is so much different. Now it is almost a badge of honor for some to boast that they do not pay for anything. It makes those of us who work for a living a little disgusted. Ads on television tell people how to get things for nothing. They even tell people it is their right. I do not feel this way. I do not feel that society owes me anything. I was raised with that depression mentality that meant you worked for what you received. I was taught to make do. I was taught that it was not disrespectful to wear hand-me-downs. I was taught to use every scrap of food to its fullest. I am sure that my own children learned from our meager farm budgeting procedures.

There were times that we did not receive a second check during a month. The advance that came in the first monthly check had to last for a whole month. I remember going to the grocery store with a small red calculator. I think it probably would go up to close to one hundred dollars, but I never needed it to go that high. I was lucky if I had $20.00 to spend for two weeks. If I was purchasing for a longer period of time I might have $40.00.

With that calculator I rounded up or rounded down depending on the price of each item. I was able to come very close to my total that way. I definitely could not exceed the amount of money in my purse or I had to put something back.

Even if I had a check I knew what I was able to spend. Every penny it seemed was accounted for. There had to be enough money to cover all of the bills for the month. Going without electricity or fuel was not an option.

For years we had no insurance. My husband always said that if an emergency arose he would sell a cow to pay the bill. We did not run to the doctor for anything that was not absolutely necessary. A trip to the Emergency Room was a bill that we would have to make arrangements to pay.

In the book that I am reading a young girl told how she made a dress for homecoming for $1.20. She bought yards and yards of muslin and used crepe paper for trim.

I was never in that position, but I did buy some drapery material to make a dress for New Year’s Eve. It was a sort of Champaign brocade that made up beautifully. I managed to center the design so that the front and the back matched. I wore it when we went out and no one was the wiser.

Probably the reason we made out well was that we lived on a farm. We raised our own vegetables and picked whatever fruit we could harvest. I learned to can so that my cellar was well stocked. We invested in a freezer so that food could be preserved in that manner.

I actually chose a freezer over a dryer at one point to make my life easier. Hickory Heights still had its original wiring. The fuse box did not allow us to add anything more. It was either a freezer or a dryer. I chose the freezer because that allowed me to preserve our own food as well as purchase items that were on sale and store them. The clothes would dry on their own. I hung my laundry outside during all seasons of the year. During the winter they freeze-dried. During the spring it often took several days before the clothes dried.

I would not trade my experiences for anything. I did not feel that I was cheated at all. I felt that I was doing the best by my family that I could with limited resources. I learned to reuse and recycle before it was popular. My conservative ways helped me become the person that I am. Old habits die hard. I still reuse and recycle all that I can. I still budget my money and make do. It is simply a part of my life.

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell, PA. Contact at hickoryheights1@verizon.net