Growing up was fun in the Depression and beyond.
Yes, we shopped in neighborhood stores. There were not any supermarkets or grapes from Chile! The food came home to a pantry and ice box.
Our clothes were mostly handmade and recycled as "hand-me-downs," or cut up for quilts.
I remember one vacation we traded houses with my aunt and uncle in Middlefield (about ten miles away).
We were more creative about playing. We had fun playing hopscotch, jump-rope, hide-and-seek, etc. There were not plastic toys or video games.
There was only one car per family, so we walked a lot. There are so many power boats today that have spoiled fishing on the Round. Let's clean up the water.
I like to think of the 1930's and 1940's as the "good ole days."
Now that we are 80, I think that we have always lived green without knowing.
4 comments:
Life did use to be simpler didn't it?
I read somewhere recently that the average child gets 70 NEW toys a year. HOLY MOLY! Is that a lot of waste or what? No wonder more and more kids today have ADD etc, they never had reason to have to be creative and learn how to play, the toys did it for them. Just a side tangant on your grandmothers very neat ponderings.
We always read about how difficult the Great Depression was. Maybe that's because we've become so spoiled to think that we need everything we see and need it instantly. What happened to enjoying the simple things in life. Thanks for posting what your Grandma said. I really enjoyed reading it!
i, too, appreciate this post and the reminder that simple doesn't have to mean sad or boring. what's sad to me is that, now, when families attempt to simplify--whether it be fewer toys (for the kids or the adults), hand-me-downs, or using items until they are no longer usable instead of replacing them because something "better" has come along--they are seen as out of it, uncool, or (sometimes) just plain strange.
here's to the simple life!
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