I have always been fascinated with history and might have become a history teacher if there had been any possibility of making substantial money at it. Growing up in the 1950s and ‘1960s in rural Texas the lessons of the U.S. “Great Depression” were still fresh in the memories of my family, so our frequent family get gatherings produced many stories from those days, some of which were “not so good old days”.
I want to relate some of this story for the benefit of those preparing for possible future, harder times:
There was no money. For a few years before 1920 Grandpa Robert had been a successful cotton farmer and had put away his profits in the local First National Bank. But after boll weevils hit Texas, the soil was depleted and cotton prices plunged, he had to move on to other pursuits. My uncles often said the only time they ever saw Grandpa cry was when the bank went bust during the run of 1929. He had been standing in a long line of farmers and townspeople for several hours before the announcement was made that the bank was finished. On the other hand, I believe the bank still held a partially unpaid loan on his 87-acre farm which he and Grandma had bought in 1914 for $500. LESSON: Be flexible, and don’t count on the bank.
It was actually Grandma who made the deal for the farm, as when they looked at it only a quarter of a mile from their rented farm, Grandpa said it was too expensive, and he would not borrow the additional money to buy it. But Grandma knew the potential the land possessed. So after Grandpa left for a long day in the fields, Grandma walked back to the owner’s house and cut the deal. When Grandpa came home that night, he was surprised, but pleased at the same time. LESSON: A woman’s intuition and business savvy is a valuable asset.
I am not sure how, but the bank did not foreclose on that farm during the lean years and Grandpa at least paid the taxes religiously. Grandpa always said, “If you pick up all the pecans each year, you can at least pay your taxes.” And if the money was not plentiful, what the family had went to pay their obligations. The bank president reportedly told him, “Robert, just do the best you can.” And he did. LESSON: Be careful to preserve and conserve every resource.
The family of 9, with 5 boys and 2 girls was flexible if anything. When the railroad started buying coal from a small mining operation in the town 4 miles away, they found that the miners needed props and caps to keep the shafts open. The woods in their bottomland became the source of materials for a small new industry: sturdy young willow trees, cut to order, became prop timbers, and flat sections of cottonwood trees, cut like cedar shakes were the caps. These were delivered by wagon and mules and later with their used Model T dump truck. Unfortunate in the early 1930s the railroad converted from coal to oil fired locomotives and the prop and cap business ended. LESSON: Find out what others need and provide it. But don’t count on it lasting forever.
Grandpa always had two teams of mules as well a few working horses. These were critical to plowing, cultivating, and harvesting as well as other pulling chores. When the dirt road into town got wet, and the nearby clay hill was impossible for the automobiles to climb, the boys were always ready to give a pull with a team of mules, day or night. LESSON: Animal power multiplies human power and sometimes is better than mechanical power.
Their bottomland held another treasure: sand and gravel. Grandpa and his brother had a conveniently located sand pit, near a road and could dig sand and gravel by shovel. They could deliver it to most any construction site in the county. When one of my uncles wanted to go to college, Grandpa traded sand and gravel to the local college for tuition, instead of cash. The college used the sand and gravel to build a rock wall around the football field so they could enforce admission fees at the games. You see, Texas football has always been a popular sport and the college knew it was losing a lot of revenue by letting the fans stand outside and watch thru the wire fence. LESSON: Think outside the box; when possible find ways to barter for what you really need.
Corn was always a staple crop for the family, the first among several important plantings. Down in the fertile bottomland a harvest of the dried ears of corn were said to be able to fill a whole wagon with the produce from only one row of corn. The corn was carefully stored away in the corn crib and used as needed all year long. One of my uncles was often designated to periodically pull out some corn, shell it in the hand-cranked sheller, and then sack it up in two equal bags. The bags were lashed together by rope and thrown over the rear of the mule. Then he rode the mule into town to have the corn ground into meal at the store. The miller kept a portion for his trouble, and my uncle rode the mule back home with the corn meal. This corn became the basis for a week or more of meals of cornbread and beans, the main fare for the whole family. Sweet corn could also be cooked, then cut off the cob and dehydrated in the sun in a day or two. Stored completely dry in canning jars, when reconstituted and cooked it was a delicious treat. LESSON: Corn can keep you alive; it must be the first among survival grains.
Grandma must have been an efficiency genius. She always had a pot of beans on the back of the stove. Unlike many of their city cousins, the family seemed to always have enough food to get by. The relatives from the bigger towns would come out to the farm on weekends to visit, eat and to stock up on the abundance. LESSON: You can survive indefinitely on cornbread and beans, and if you have food, your relatives will want to visit often!
Christian charity was always a part of our family values, and it was particularly applicable to any extended family in need. No passing stranger was refused a meal. And in a couple of instances young men in their teens with no family stayed on for a year or two, working, eating and sleeping like one of the brothers. LESSON: Alliances and charity are okay, but everybody must work.
| My uncles were good hunters always seeming to know which woods contained a few squirrels, an opossum or raccoon; additionally they always seemed to know when certain landowners were away from their property. The family joke was that a boy would be given one cartridge for the single shot .22 caliber rifle, and the family would be disappointed if he came home with anything less than two squirrels. My dad knew how to get a squirrel out of a hollow in a tree by climbing the tree and using a length of barbed wire stuck in the hole and rotated around and around. The hunters from town always gave him a nickel or a dime for climbing the tree to help them get their squirrel. LESSON: Hunting is a skill that must be developed, but there are other ways to get game besides shooting it.
Canning was an important skill practiced anytime there was excess. The garden produced large quantities of beans, peaches, and other fruits and vegetables. The dug storm cellar just outside the back door was always packed with jars of fruit preserves, jellies, jams, and vegetables. When the wild plums on a nearby place became ripe, the neighbors sent word that the joint harvest could begin. Half gallon canning jars were helpful when feeding a family of 9 or 10. Canning a batch of 50 or more jars (quart and half gallon) of each commodity was not uncommon. Used sparingly it could last until spring. LESSON: Use all food sources available and think big if you have a lot of mouths to feed.
Things were different back then. When times were hard they just “made do with what you had” and or did without. Shoes were for school and church only. When possible barefoot was the order of the day. After shoes were well used, they were re-heeled and re-soled. Family members handed down clothes and shoes to younger members as a matter of course. Without electricity kerosene lanterns had to suffice. Fire wood had to be kept split and dry. Kindling was critical. A smoke house was essential for preserving pork. Butchering hogs was almost always in November and December. Apple butter made in the fall can last all winter in 1 gallon crock jars. And it tastes great on bread, toast, hot cakes, buckwheat cakes, etc. Unlike regular flour pancakes, making buckwheat cakes requires a bit of yeast. But once it is started, more buckwheat flour can be added daily and the yeast will keep multiplying. LESSON: Make do and work hard.
Baths were for Saturday so you would be clean for church. Outside showers were standard as long as the weather permitted. Well water was for drinking so a swim in the nearby stock pond or down in the creek often substituted for a real bath. Fishing was an important skill essential for providing supplements for much needed protein and vitamins. An outhouse was standard for the family with both white and red corn cobs being carefully conserved to use in place of toilet paper. LESSON: Living well does not have to mean living in convenience and luxury.
Nobody wants to return to the challenging times of a hundred years ago, but living the survival life is a challenge that can be mastered. To be prepared we must study, practice and preserve the knowledge used by our predecessors and be willing to innovate, working and praying constantly.