I wrote the below on my Facebook page two years ago.....and today it showed up in my "memories". I was pretty proud of what I put on paper.....so thought I would share:
I'm old enough to remember when folks saved most everything. My great aunt had a ball of string she saved....and everyone saved Christmas wrapping paper.....don't rip it...remove it at the seams. Most was held together by strings....as tape was not yet available. (another story) There was allot of family jokes about using the Wards and Sears Roeboucks catalogs in the outhouse.....and who had the softest paper. My grandmother spread newspapers on her linoleum kitchen floor to preserve the wax and keep it clean. Everyone had a garden.
My Grandpa and my Dad scoured the Mpls STRIB Sunday paper for business deals and opportunities. The want adds we're their livelihood and like Facebook marketplace in todays time. They traded hay, hogs, cattle, machinery and anything to make a buck....and could pick it up...pay cash and haul it. A big accomplishment in those times. Lots of haggling about prices....you had to drive a hard bargain to make a buck.
One odd thing was that lots of men thought of themselves as businessmen....and wore suits and hats each day. My dad and grandpa wore a suit every day....and also had coveralls and overshoes to put on when they would load cattle or hogs to handle. Maybe not every day....but it was common. Seemed to me that Businessmen / farmers wore western style hats allot. Almost all the workers wore coveralls to protect their clothing and to keep warm. Engineer boots were popular with truckers.....and kids. I was proud to have coveralls and engineer boots. lol. Maybe it was just a local thing?
We all bought blue jeans that were too long....so we could grow into them....and everyone had patches on the knees. We would roll up the cuffs a few times....so the pants would last us a a few years with any luck. Every kid worth a lick owned a 6" jack knife.
I remember when folks would wash up really good each day with a wash cloth and wash behind your ears....and your private parts...cause you only got a bath once each week. Then, nobody could go outside until their "pores" closed.....whatever that meant? Old ways. Grin. Almost any kind of injury called for a dab of the Watkins Salve in a big red tin that lasted three lifetimes. I wish I still had that can.....remember it well. Kinda like iodine and mechirichrome for cuts and such. (where are those things today?)
I can still remember when most of the land owner / farmers had a small spare house in the grove for the "hired man". This guy, and sometimes his wife and kids, would mostly work for room and board.....and a few dollars here and there if the farm was profitable or for shopping in town. Lots of hired men just got a roof over their head and 3 squares each day. It helped to have a likable personality and some loyalty. I can remember my grandpa and my dad buying some gifts for these hired men. Usually a coat or some gloves or a hat or something like that.....sometimes a pint of blackberry brandy, etc. Lots of poverty....but I don't think people thought they were poor....it was "normal" to do without. Not many folks had extra money until after WWII. Lots of "hand me down" clothing. Having decent boots or shoes was a big thing. Lots of re-soleing shoes and replacement heels back then....and the cobblers joints were many.
I have my grandfathers book that tracked all their farm expenses for the years 1925 to 1934. Big expenses were overalls and coffee, sugar, flour and kerosene.....for lamps. My grandpa bought cigarettes and chew...I think some of those costs were about a dime. Chore gloves were about 10 cents too.
Lots done on the barter system back then. Not much money traded hands. One farmer would work for another farmer....and vice versa. Kept track on who owed who by a days work......not hours. When debts were squared....they dated the page and crossed it off. I wrote about this before....but the saying "He's OK in my book" came from those times and folks whom kept a book on their transactions with their neighbors.....and you best keep your word.....as your ability to barter with the neighbors depended on it. Folks needed each other.....or they would send their kids to work for the neighbors to repay a debt, etc.
I admire the folks that could live under those circumstances.....and I think they could prosper if they had a good head on their shoulders. I'm not sure todays Americans could deal with life the way it' was back then......but LOTS of the world still lives this way.
OH....and Let's Go Brandon