Getting by during the Great Depression

[Big Man]

I recall many stories that my grandmother told me about life during the Great Depression. One of the stories was how some of the men in the community would get coal to heat their homes in the winter.

Freight trains hauling coal cars passed through on a regular basis. Just up the tracks from the depot at Nebo, the railroad ascended a grade, causing the trains to slow down considerably. The men from the community would hide in the bushes along the grade and when the train had slowed enough, jump on the train and throw off chunks of coal. Then, before the train reached the top of the grade (where it would gather speed again), they would jump off and walk back down the tracks picking up the coal they had thrown off.

Anyone else have an interesting story about getting by during the Great Depression?

 

[BakingInPearls]

My Great Grandfather lived on a farm but to make extra cash he made hooch and was the local dentist. It helped that he could get them rip roaring drunk and then just pull which ever tooth out that was hurting them, sadly though one or two people came back saying he pulled the wrong one! Woops!

 

[LizzieMaine]

My grandfather did a lot of things to get by -- he played semipro basketball for a dollar a night on makeshift courts in drafty lodge halls, and to the end of his life he had a bad scar on one knee which he got from crashing into a sizzling woodstove just out of bounds during one of these games. He also led a six-piece dance band that played for club dances and cheap vaudeville around Maine and the Maritimes. (He was a trumpeter until someone belted him in the mouth during a particuarly rough engagement, and he had to switch to the drums.) He unloaded tapioca boats as a longshoreman, breathing in dust that would contribute to the emphysema that would eventually kill him. He helped build roads on the WPA. And he helped out his brother, whose taxicab business was a front for his -- ah -- beverage distribution enterprises.

After a decade of this sort of thing, when he started running a gas station fourteen hours a day in 1940, it was practically a vacation.

 

[Minerva]

My father and his brothers apparently spent the duration of the Depression thieving.

He used to tell this one every year during Christmas dinner:

Now, he grew up in New Orleans, which at that time was where most of the bananas for the US were imported. The problem was, while importing the bananas, a lot of other wildlife got imported. If the workers saw any tarantulas in the banana bunches, they'd have to toss it overboard.

So, to get back to the story, he and his brothers would take turns crossing the river and watching for the banana boats to be coming up the river. When the boat passed by, whoever was on watch would call out, "Spare some bananas?" to the workers they saw. The workers would take a big bunch, call out "tarantula!" and toss it overboard.

Then the boy would have the task of getting this huge bunch back across the river in a tiny boat and hauling it back to their house, preferably without losing any bananas. Once they made it back, the bunch was hung up on the back porch so they could just grab one on the way in and out of the house.


He always said they did this because they were poor and needed food. My research indicates his family was rather well-off for the time period (their father's bootlegging activities seem to have paid well), and the boys probably just liked stealing things. They also went out and caught things in the bayou to stock the family restaurant and sell the extras to the other local restaurants -- crawfish, usually, or shrimps.

 

[LocktownDog]

Mine's not as respectful. Apparently my great-grandfather used to steal eggs and hens from local farms. Before his death, he also admitted to stealing from churches and driving the goods across the Hudson to pawn them in NY. His father had been arrested and deported from Ireland for stealing from churches also many years earlier.

My grandfather said his dad used to hire him out as a laborer. He was 7 or 8 years old and already sweeping floors and mucking stalls for an extra few cents or free food for the family. I can't even imagine having to send my youngest out to bring home extra cash.

 

[Rachael]

My grandparents moved the family from Vancouver back to Missouri since that's where his family lives. They lived in a converted chicken house, and he had work cleaning ductwork at a local plant. When that wasn't enough, he dug ditches as well. Not glamorous or out of the ordinary, but my mother will always treasure the violin he bought her for Christmas one year.

Gram always served Sunday dinner on the good china and crystal, no matter what. She said there was no sense having nice things hiding in a cupboard. I've always admired that and kept her tradition.

 

[Flivver]

My grandfather scrimped and saved all through the 1920s in the hope of starting a small business. Both he and my grandmother then worked in a local cordage works. In 1928 they bought a small dairy farm in north central Mass that supplied "raw milk from 'culin tested cows" to the local community.

As it turned out, business was good for them through the depression, but the farm also proved to be a lot of hard work. My Dad, who was 10 in 1928, had to deliver the milk using a horse and wagon before he left for school each morning. When Dad turned 16 in 1934, my grandfather bought a used 1928 Ford Model A Coupe to ease the job of delivering the milk. He hacked up the rear part of the body to turn the car into a pickup.

But because of the success of the farm, my Dad had a new bicycle, a car to use and a college education. In spite of this, my Dad remained very frugal throughout his life...remembering the lean years of his early childhood.

 

[Forgotten Man]

I LOVE these stories! This is what I really enjoy!

My mom's folks are still with us... and they've told me some things about the Great Depression. My grandfather told me how he and a brother had to sleep out in an inclosed type of porch out side the house... they made it a room for him and his brother... he slept on the top of a chest type of thing out there... and my great uncle had to sleep on the floor. I recall they didn't always know when the next meal would be... some days, when they thought they were going to have to skip a meal, there'd be a knock on the door and they'd open it to find a bag of groceries! People helped people back in those hard times... those who could help, did in smaller cities.

I recently watched a movie that I would recommend if any can find it... saw it on TCM a wile ago. It's called "Wild Boys of the Road" and it's a story about two boys who run away from home so their folks wouldn't have to go poor feeding them... lots of real type of shots, they end up riding trains most of the movies... seeing these great old steam trains and the old box cars is just amazing... but, it paints a very realistic picture of the hard times that people were going through on the east coast.

 

[Erik]

Some great stories; thanks for sharing.

Minerva,
You're story involves your father and uncles "asking," not "thieving." Of course, there may be other stories...

 

[Joie DeVive]

When I was a kid, every summer we visited my Grandfather and I was treated to stories like those above. How I miss those days.

My Grandfather and a couple of his brothers were supposed to have been in the CCC. They joined in their teens to get out of the house so their parents would have fewer mouths to feed, and they sent most of their pay packets home to help out the family.
There is a romantic story that comes out of this time period. Supposedly my Grandfather didn't get many letters from his family, but his tent-mate got many from his own family. So, my Grandfather snitched one of his friends letters and wrote to the girl asking her to write him. That girl was later to become my Grandmother.

At other times during the Depression my Grandfather rode the rails from town to town looking for work and odd jobs. At one time he landed in Chicago in the winter and swears he would have frozen to death on the street if it weren't for the Salvation Army. Later in life (I think in his 50s or 60s) he got in a fist fight in a bar with a fellow who claimed to have stolen the money for his drinks from the Salvation Army.

My Grandfather also did a fair amount of poaching (hunting without a license) during the Depression. It's said that my Grandfather and his gun often were the difference between his family eating and going without food. I remember the story of a farmer who would illegally hire my Grandfather to hunt the pheasants in his fields. My Grandfather got paid and got to take the birds home and the farmer could get rid of the birds who were eating his crops. I guess sometimes the local police would show up and the farmer would stall them so that my Grandfather could sneak out the back of the field.

Of course to give you an idea of the times, my Grandfather was quoted saying that one "wasn't a real American until he spent a night in jail." lol

 

[The Shirt]

I know that my father's first bed was a drawer from my grandparent's dresser. And he used to regale us with stories of how delicious lard sandwiches were. I wish more of them were around in the family to ask.

 

[Boxerken]

I've heard many stories from my dad about growing up in the 30's and it was very hard times. My dad came from a family of 13 in rural Kentucky. There was no work at all except on the farm and school which most kids only went to the 8th grade and then you had to work at home to help feed everyone. The one story i'll never forget is christmas, if they were lucky they would get a new pair of shoes, and if they were really lucky they might get an apple and orange. Dad always smiled though when he told me about going to someone's house on saturday night to listen to the radio, the best night of the week. They lived like that for better than 10 years, but then the war came and everthing changed.

 

[Tourbillion]

I am sure that times were rough for a lot of folks, but remember, when unemployment was 25%, the other 75% were still employed. Although if unemployment were that bad today, it would be a lot worse (terrifyingly so). Incomes were often much lower, but since it was a depression, prices actually went down too, unlike today. I'm worse off than anyone from my family during the depression--doing better than the tramps of the era though. The folks that were hit hardest were those in agriculture or factory work. Those folk really suffered.

I am not sure that you could call my Dad's family "getting by." My Grandfather owned a successful air conditioning concern, and my grandmother was in aviation. She coordinated test pilots. I believe that my grandfather's business wasn't as good for a while, but with the depression era government building, he did get work. He lost his shirt during WWII when he couldn't get materials any more, so he went into television sales and repair after the war.

They also had a boarder, and my dad collected scrap metal and had a paper route. He even got a ride to school when it snowed with a teacher who was a neighbor. So the stories about walking to school barefoot in the snow aren't true in his case (my grandma ratted on him). Also, his best friend's dad owned an Italian restaurant, so he got free pasta after school. It is amazing he was so skinny!

My mom's family had jobs during the depression too, though they weren't as well off. Her parents were still in school, but their families were OK (just not rich at all). One GGF was a butcher, one a barber (his wife was a dressmaker too), one a policeman, and another got a railroad job (after his newspaper failed). My grandmother lived in Utah, and mentioned that the Mormon women's charity was very generous there, so no one in their community went hungry.

 

[Moby]

My Mom told about throwing rocks at the passing freight trains in hopes that the engineers and firemen would throw coal back at her. Then she would pick up the coal and bring it home for the stove. I suspect the engineers and firemen were onto the scam.

My Dad told about buying broken pasta during the Depression because it was much cheaper.

 

[Joie DeVive]

I've heard lots of stories of how normal individuals helped each other through the Depression.

My Grandfather (the one I mention above) often hitchhiked from place to place looking for work. After the Depression, he always picked up hitchhikers, even into the 1980s though his kids tried to convince him not to. He replied that others had helped him when he needed it, and he was just returning the favor.

My Grandmother (Other side of the family) always told the story of how her mother would share whatever she could with the tramps who came to the house asking for food. I guess the men would sometimes draw a picture of a cat outside the gate as a symbol that this person was kind and would help, but also that she had just done so, suggesting trying further down the road so as to not tax one person too much, or that's how the story goes in my family anyway.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Great stories... I'm diggin' this chat!

My grandfather (Me Mudda's side) worked in a rail yard during the Depression... the later part since he was only a kid towards the start. He did that after school I believe. I recall him telling me what he'd like to eat at break time... Milk Toast! Hahaha, toast in milk... can't imagine that being really good but, I'm not goin' to knock it till I try it! I recall him always putting black pepper on cantaloupe, and salt on apples... something he picked up during those times.

The Mormon Women's charity was and still is the "Relief Society" and since I'm a member, I recall my mother and the other women in the church always making meals for those who were sick, or out of work or what not even to this day! The church did a lot for people during such hard times, a tradition that has carried on since the early days of the church. And during the Depression, that was their real time to shine!

 

[Eyemo]

Slightly off topic

How I got my surname…

A story on how my Great Great Grandfather visited America…and came back a changed man!

During the gold rush years, my Welsh Great Great Grandfather was a Sailor. He sailed on cargo ships. On arriving in the US , he and his friend had heard about this amazing gold rush. They flipped a coin on whether to stay as sailors or to take their chances as prospectors. The idea of getting rich on gold was too much for them….so they jumped Ship.

Apparently they walked for weeks, sleeping in pig sheds and stealing food….all the typical clichés of life as a foreign hobo.

Just typical of our families luck, by the time they got to where they were going…there was no gold!

So back they went to the port, to catch a ship back to Wales…But, hold on, they were now know as two sailors who had jumped ship…. So he changed his name from Pugh to Pugh-Jones…and came back to Wales.

Wish I knew the finer details of this story..

 

[Lauren]

My dad's side of the family grew up in Missouri on a farm during the depression. They were really poor- all born out there with no birth certificates or anything because they couldn't afford hospitals and they were too far away. One of my great uncles told me that every morning their dad would give them each one bullet to get their breakfast, and if they missed they'd use rocks or whatever! Don't know if it was true or not, but made a good story- he always was one for telling tall tales, though lol

 

[Mid-fogey]

I asked my...

...wife's friendly, talkative grandfather how it was in Athens Ga. during the depression once. All he would say is "it was hard" and then he clammed up.

 

[jtcarrey]

My grandmother told me that when the depression hit, her and her family had to move off their farm in North Dakota and move into a dark dirty apartment building (6+ people in a single mind you) and they struggled, but they NEVER had a frown on their face, they got through it! They fought through it! My grandmother had many weird foods which I grew up eating. At least, they're weird to most people but to me they're normal. I'd kill for a can of sardines right now LOL and salted watermelon (makes it sweeter!), pickled herring, liver pate, although I hate liver... but the pate is awesome, and the way she made her meatloaf, omg... she put onions and cheese in it, it's SO good... she also always made me dover sole (my fav fish, a very healthy fish too) and I grew up drinking raw milk in her house, and eating brown eggs. My neighbor Nancy told me that bread pudding was a treat whenever they'd have it, and one day, they had a serving of it on the ledge, well a little rat decided to try it when they weren't lookin' and man were they disappointed, they had to wait another month or so before they could afford to make it again... My grandma also learned how to drive in an old Model T (omg!!) and curled her hair and wore dresses til her death. She gave me a locket with a photo of her and her sister with curlers in their hair, I take it with me everywhere I go. I miss her so much... *cries* sighs! I wish my grandma was still around, I'd have so much to ask/show her now, but I'm sure she's watching me from heaven.. (ok I went off topic but I do that often haha) lol Did I mention she worked for Hughes aircraft riveting? hehe yep, she was an original Rosie the Riveter and she and her sister met their boyfriends (also brothers) at this job. ahhhh! Oh and she also learned to write in shorthand and gave me her books, I should learn... she also worked for the county typing. She did what she had to to stay alive ya know.