The Great Depression Through a Little Girls Eyes

July 19, 2012

My mother was just 3 years old when the Depression began in October 1929. She recalls her earliest memories fondly of working in the fields with her father gathering whatever seasonal crops that were ready for harvesting. Picking cotton, beets, tomatoes, apples, and the list goes on and on. They "followed the crops" from state to state.

These were not bad memories for my mother. On the contrary, she absolutely loved this time with her father. He wouldn’t let her pick grapes because it was too dangerous. One had to use a special sharp curved knife for that, but she got to lay the grapes out on a large wooden board so they would dry out.

My grandfather would bring his jacket along so when she got tired, she could rest in a shaded area cuddled in its softness. My mother told me she lived in a government tent in a camp. Can you imagine that?

She went to different schools when they travelled through six different states, all were one room. She talked of "relief," "stamps," hand-me-down clothes, and especially the old jalopy that they travelled in with two adults and six children.

I’m just so amazed at her! I think it made my mother strong and made her love all kinds of people.

Some good books on the Great Depression you might want to read are: The Depression and New Deal and  The Great Depression by Elaine Landau.

Colleen J.
Raytown Branch