My grandmother graduated college in 1929 at the start of the Great Depression. Grandma went on to teach in a one room school house and raise my father single-handily after her marriage fell apart. She was a remarkable woman who never seemed flustered or worried. She canned, made her own bread and had a stack of used tin foil that I was fascinated with. She made her household budget work to the point that the house was owned outright and all cars were bought with cash. I graduated from Grandma’s alma mater in 1992. I often compare myself with Grandma and wonder how she could have been so calm. Then I realize she grew up with a different attitude. She grew up during harder times yet that was life for her. So when I start to get burned out on prepping and learning the old way of living, I have to step back and think how blessed and easy I truly have it. I found this article on 8 Lessons from the Great Depression and I think it sums up the spirit of the people during that time. Included in the article are some great links. I think if I implement these traits into my life, I will have a fresher, more optimistic outlook. 8 Lessons Learned from The Great Depression - Graceful Little Honey Bee
My parents were from the same era as your grandmother...Pop born in 1900 and Mom in '14. Some of those things in the article remind me quite a bit of my dad...especially the resourcefulness that actually led me to prepping as an outgrowth of a strong hesitation to discard anything that I thought might have some use (whether it was the intended use or not) in the future. My mother and older siblings always laughed and said I got that from Pop. Great article overall and all of those are characteristics that a prepper should take to heart.
My Dad grew up during that era. Some things he did I thought were a little strange, but when I realized why he had picked up the habits he did, I understood a little better. He used to use a double - edged razor. The razor blades could be resharpened to some degree by rubbing them around on the inside of a glass. For shaving cream, he saved the ends of soap bars when they became too small to use for bathing, collected them in a small dish. A little water and a shaving brush lathered up nicely when brushed on to the beard. Didn't like paper towels - convenience was expensive. There were probably more that I can't think of right now.
Lessons that should be emphasized in public school, at home and on the job daily. There should be motivational posters everywhere instilling these very attributes into every American.
Yes I agree the basics of reading writing, history and math should be taught in school but beyond that indoctrination with posters, slogans and emphasis on certain ideas allows human beings to pound each other into conformity. Its just human nature. We do better as small tribes so that if we cant conform we can join a tribe that we do conform too. Can't take the emotion out of the monkey. You can try to be rational but mostly we aren't because our basic decisions are made at an inarticulate part of our brain and were formed in our early years. That is why our parents and grand parents are so critical to how we grow up. I also think we change over time. I know I went thru a phase where I didn't think gardening and stocking goods was important. So getting the basic training is good but thumping the people around you over the head with it isn't good. @Motomom34 highlighted this on another thread about taking the people around you on a journey and learning when to lighten up when prepping becomes a burden. It is the same with teaching basics of any skill. Good to know and then let people take their own journey.
I had a friend who grew up during that depression. He told me " Life was hard, then I learned to scratch around in God's Good Earth and grow food". A subtle hint to gardeners!
Lesson 9: When the stock market crashes because the private banks remove their call margins and they stand to benefit by drafting legislation they present to government, who then pass it into law unchanged and even unseen --we should be worried. When a charismatic man wins the Presidency because he's a lifetime banker and has ties with the money trust dynasties, don't cheer and be thankful, be very worried. When the corporations grow in power exponentially and all restraints are removed, allowing them to buy every aspect of government for themselves...be extremely afraid. And, when these banking cartels and their corporate partners buy up all the media outlets at bankruptcy auction for pennies on the dollar and influence the minds of every citizen for the rest of time, you should be scared out of your mind. Of course, if the banking cartel did their job right, and all of their minions fulfilled their roles as planned, you will most likely only be thinking what they want you to think right now. (Fixed it for you.)
My grandfather said that one the most important lessons he learned from the depression was that when the banks closed in 1933, all of his savings were gone, but all of his debts were still owed. Sounds a lot like Greece in the present time. A lot of people he knew lost their homes and farms through foreclosure and had the money in the bank to pay the debt.. They could not get it out and lost everything. He said that about 1/3 rd of all the farms in Minnesota were lost in one year. Do not know if that is right, but it was what he believed to be true and he lived through it. He kept as little money in a bank as possible and did not believe in mortages or debt.
