topic Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION in Community Chat

FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

Oznell — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 00:03:11 GMT

Photos of the world turmoil during the Great Depression, are so poignant.

After the Crash, many jumped freight trains, desperately looking for work. These are Canadian men thronging these boxcars.

Families struggled to survive. People and faces, all telling different stories:

After the collapse, the overwhelming desire to find work--

Relief workers, in Australia, I believe--

Job seekers resourcefully turned themselves into living billboards, hoping something would turn up as they walked the streets--

If you could play an instrument, you might be able to turn an honest penny..

Even wee children worked, if they could find anything...

Frustrations boil over, in Depression-era France--

Love the introspection of this one, by D. Lange.

Here's Dorothea Lange, below, brilliant photographer who was responsible for many of the most unforgettable photos of the era, including the one above of the man with clasped hands and holding a tin cup.

Lange depicted great hardship, and great inspiration in her famous Depression images. And she was undeterred by the permanent limp she sustained from a bout with polio.

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

SaveTheTurtles — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 00:16:09 GMT

@Oznell Don't these pictures speak volumes? My parents were born using this time period and I have heard first hand how hard life was. Thank you for sharing these.

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

Kitty Galore — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 00:16:58 GMT

so very sad 😔 the faces in these people says it all ......grief, depressed, beyond sadness. my dads family , grandparents lived through the Great Depression . I can remember the stories they told about how life was during it My dads family more so then my moms , her family had it much better , they had money. My dad told of having to put newspaper in his shoes as a child cause they had holes , they had no money for new ones with 4 children. Many times they would have only one meal a day . Work was very hard to find although my grandparents did find jobs here and there when there was any.

eventually things got better and my grandfather got a very good job and the economy got better. My father even was able to go to college , the first in his family. My dad told me years ago he prayed our country would never go through that ever again it was so awful and it changes you forever.

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

We rescue cats — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 01:03:30 GMT

Lived with my mom's family so they all lived the depression, as was my mom, she was born in 1921. Nothing was ever taken for granted, everyone worked hard for anything we had. Thank you for the reminder.

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

Daisy Sunflower — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 01:15:03 GMT

I felt like crying as I looked at the pics.

I wondered what ever happened to them and their families. Hope things got better for them and they all lived a happy life.

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

lovesallanimals — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 01:18:03 GMT

These photos are so heartbreaking. I also wonder what became of these people especially the children in the photos.

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

bmorechick — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 02:45:19 GMT

@Oznell thank you for this difficult look into the past. My mom was born in 1924. She told stories of standing in bread, soup, meat lines in Baltimore City. She never threw food away, rather "cleaned out the fridge" by eating a few day old leftovers that we spoiled kids wouldn't eat 🙄.

Sadly, these images of hunger and poverty are very real for many many families today. You would think we would have figured it all out by now...

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

Susan Louise — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 02:57:54 GMT

@Daisy Sunflower wrote:

I felt like crying as I looked at the pics.

I wondered what ever happened to them and their families. Hope things got better for them and they all lived a happy life.

@Daisy Sunflower Same...

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

CalminHeart — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 11:01:16 GMT

@lovesallanimals wrote:
These photos are so heartbreaking. I also wonder what became of these people especially the children in the photos.

My dad was a child during the depression. He grew up to be a motivated, strong, highly educated, fantastic human being who did so much for his 7 kids and wife. He and Mom were happily married 66 years when Mom passed. I'm still grieving losing him at Christmas 2023.

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

781Florist — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 14:48:17 GMT

My mother and father were both born in 1929. My father never spoke much about the depression so I don't know how hard his family had it, but my Gram was frugal until the day she died and could make a meal out of whatever you handed her.

Mom's father (my beloved Papa) was a U.S. Mailman and had employment all through the depression. He and Nana never bought a home (they probably could have bought several during the depression with their income security!) but they were happy renters.

Their landlord told them that their ability to pay the rent was the reason he never lost his property.

Some of these pictures made me appreciate just how authentically the movie "The Grapes Of Wrath" portrayed the time and the people. Such incredible suffering on a global scale.

Almost all of those who endured this terrible chapter have since gone to their just reward.

May they rest in eternal peace, comfort, and the loving arms of God.

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

Carolina925 — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 11:44:31 GMT

Thank you so much for these, @Oznell . With our education system no longer teaching history, I feel it's so important to find a way to teach how hard our ancestors fought to merely survive.

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

PamfromCT — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 12:13:25 GMT

There might be some who don't realize the depression was not only in our country - it was worldwide. In a twist of fate, it was the horrible WWII that created jobs and lifted the Great Depression. We in CT contributed by manufacturing at Pratt and Whitney Aircraft, Hamilton Standard, Sikorsky. That was also the period when many women entered the workforce, working in factories, as so many men had gone off to war. Again, the doors began to open for many women through that time.

My mother was born in 1919, and lived close enough to work in one of these factories during the earlier days of WWII. Yes, my petite and sweet little mom. It was a time of desperation for the country, and she spoke of there being anti-aircraft guns on the roof of Pratt and Whitney, a major source of supplying aircraft engines for our country.

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

DrakesMomma — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 12:26:51 GMT

My Daddy was born in 1931. He never spoke of hardships growing up. My aunt did tell me some things. Papa was a farmer. As children they would have biscuits and coffee for breakfast. On Sundays they would have ham with their biscuits. They never had gifts for Christmas until the year Papa grew tobacco. That Christmas they had stockings with an orange and an apple. They lived in rural Tennessee. An orange in December was a big deal. The love and the joy of that morning were still with my aunt when she told me of it more than 70 years later.

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

Estellee — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 14:19:26 GMT

My parents also grew up during the Great Depression. I think that is what made them appreciate the value of a dollar. They talked about their lives in their large families and their brothers and sisters seemed happy and content.

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

Kitty Galore — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 14:28:44 GMT

@DrakesMomma wrote:
My Daddy was born in 1931. He never spoke of hardships growing up. My aunt did tell me some things. Papa was a farmer. As children they would have biscuits and coffee for breakfast. On Sundays they would have ham with their biscuits. They never had gifts for Christmas until the year Papa grew tobacco. That Christmas they had stockings with an orange and an apple. They lived in rural Tennessee. An orange in December was a big deal. The love and the joy of that morning were still with my aunt when she told me of it more than 70 years later.

@DrakesMomma Your orange in the stocking reminded me that my dad and his sisters would get an orange in a stocking , which of course was not like the fancy sticking we hang today , they were my grandfathers socks ! They were so thrilled to get that orange. It was considered a treat at the time . My dad always put an orange in my brothers and my stocking , it's not that we didn't have oranges anytime we wanted . It makes me tear up thinking of that now ...

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

Desert Lily — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 15:32:25 GMT

@Oznell I wrote a series of 4 novels that are set in the 1930's, & I've done extensive research of that era, including the Dust Bowl, the WPA, Hoover Dam, etc. One novel started in 1905 in San Francisco which included the SF earthquake, & the characters moved to NV during the Great Depression. The novel I'm writing now starts in NV during the Great Depression with a couple characters from the series & will move through to the 1960's.

I set many of my novels in the 1930's because I feel that Americans of that era had such perseverance & the American spirit to press on.

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

twinsister — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 15:52:53 GMT

These pictures are so sad and heartbreaking. They have such a look of despair and defeat on their faces.

Both of my parents lived through the depression. My mom was born in 1912 and was lucky to have a job then. She said every night when she left work there was a line up of men selling apples for 10 cents. My mom felt so bad for all of them, so every night she would pick two men and buy one apple from each of them. The next night she would pick two different men and did the same every night of the week.

My father was born in 1903 and his first wife died during the depression, leaving him with two very young children. He was a house painter by trade, but there was no work available during that time. He had to move back home with his mother so she could help him with the children and he got a job polishing caskets to support his family.

Reading these posts and remembering what my parents told me, really puts things in persepctive. I will try to think of this and not complain about trivial annoyances.

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

Zhills — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 15:55:34 GMT

@Daisy Sunflower wrote:

I felt like crying as I looked at the pics.

I wondered what ever happened to them and their families. Hope things got better for them and they all lived a happy life.

Fortunately, the WPA and other Government programs were formed under Franklin D. Roosevelt and it provided many jobs.

A swimming pool was built in the neighborhood where I grew up. It sat unused for years...but, it provided work and fed people!

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

DrakesMomma — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 15:58:43 GMT

@Kitty Galore wrote:
@DrakesMomma wrote:
My Daddy was born in 1931. He never spoke of hardships growing up. My aunt did tell me some things. Papa was a farmer. As children they would have biscuits and coffee for breakfast. On Sundays they would have ham with their biscuits. They never had gifts for Christmas until the year Papa grew tobacco. That Christmas they had stockings with an orange and an apple. They lived in rural Tennessee. An orange in December was a big deal. The love and the joy of that morning were still with my aunt when she told me of it more than 70 years later.
@DrakesMomma Your orange in the stocking reminded me that my dad and his sisters would get an orange in a stocking , which of course was not like the fancy sticking we hang today , they were my grandfathers socks ! They were so thrilled to get that orange. It was considered a treat at the time . My dad always put an orange in my brothers and my stocking , it's not that we didn't have oranges anytime we wanted . It makes me tear up thinking of that now ...

@Kitty Galore - Growing up we also had oranges and apples in our stockings. Until we figured out our son was allergic to apples he had them also. After the apple allergy I began putting a pear and an orange in his. Papa had pears in his orchard. The tradition is still with us. Our son is 23.

Re: FACES OF THE.GREAT DEPRESSION

Trailrun23 — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 18:46:06 GMT

The first thing I thought of was The Grapes of Wrath when I saw these pictures. My mother was born in 1922. She was old enough to be aware of how the country was suffering in so many ways. She told me about my granddaddy putting cardboard inside her shoes so the holes wouldn't allow her feet to get dirty from the gravel roads. She told me about all the ways he was ingenious in making things work when there was no more left of something. A childhood like that shaped her whole life. We always had slivers of soap saved; she saved foil, paper bags, almost everything if it could be used or re-used or repurposed. The children raised by depression-era children will always have a part of that mindset in them. i hate wasting food or anything else; I like repurposing things when I can...i am a saver, not spendthrift, even though I don't have to be. So thankful for what i have today and I am glad I was raised not to take anything for granted. A strong work ethic was instilled in almost everyone in my generation and sad to see it has withered considerably.