blindhog
Flats Captain
Fried softshell turtle is good!Cooter stew, turtle meat based. Sounds like it could be a leisurely meal that one could even serve in a shell.
OP-ED 50 Survival Lessons From The Great Depression: The Horrifying Things Americans Did When Money, Jobs, & Hope Disappeared
- Thread starter CaryC
- Start date
CaryC
TB Fanatic
Have to consider: Will there be a government to enforce child labor laws?
2) would a child working with their family, picking peas, gathering eggs, carrying cabbage to the store, etc..... be considered child labor laws? Or would it just apply to hiring children for a wage to work in a factory 12 hours a day, 6 days a week.
3) just because there is a law against it doesn't mean it won't be done. Murder, child sex slaves, etc. going on now with those laws and the ability to enforce it.
CaryC
TB Fanatic
Never forget Kudzu. I bet you never thought you'd look at a vine that grows about a foot a day with saliva dripping off your lip.
CaryC
TB Fanatic
Around here there were no deer herds during the depression. The reason: The Indians would walk off in the woods set a fire form a ring and then kill anything that came out. Very effective. To effective.
But like you said took forever to rebound. MS is now the 2nd most populated state in the US behind TX.
CaryC
TB Fanatic
Of course using an old telephone to gin up an electrical charge to stun the fish was/is illegal.Using DC voltage?
Yes....
“Telephoning” for Catfish: DIY Electrofishing, Southern Style - FISHBIO | Fisheries Consultants
If you can think of a way to catch a fish, chances are a fish biologist has probably tried to use it as a sampling method, no matter how crazy. […]fishbio.com
But then again so was using a basket with Cotton Seed Mill Cake.
And the old reliable Dynamite.
Didn't stop anyone. Had to eat. Next to moonshine, which you sold without a federal seal, fishing was about the best source of food. Had two cousins go to the state Pen over in Sunflower county for making shine. Rather than fish.
raven
TB Fanatic
in 1967, I was 13 and worked for Quico Corp on a farm driving tractor, loading empty bins, and delivering them to the migrant farm workers . . . unsupervised . . . alone most of the day. not family - a corporation.
Its still in business. look it up.
Grew up eating frog legs. My uncle thought they were the best. My cousins went jobbing for them for Memaw. I know what a croaker sack full is. LolCooter stew, turtle meat based. Sounds like it could be a leisurely meal that one could even serve in a shell.
1911user
Veteran Member
Parents were born in the mid-20's. Father grew up on a dairy farm near Wichita Falls, TX. Apparantly they did fine during the depression with the small dairy. He only graduated 8th grade, but was always good with math.
Mother grew up in dust-bowl SW Oklahoma on an 80 acre farm. Like in the Grapes of Wrath, she saw many load up and head elsewhere, mostly to California. They had a dairy cow, a few pigs, many chickens, and a big garden. They sold/traded many eggs. Canning and preserving was a given. Grandpa lost some money in a local bank that closed. He worked WPA and mostly farmed cotton. My mother and her sister hand picked cotton dragging the heavy bags along with some hired help. They had a small windmill electric generator on the farm. It charged a battery used for a radio. Electricity came to the farm in the late 30's through CREC. It was oil lamps before that. She went to a small country school and graduated high school at the end of WW2. I grew up close to the 80 acre farm and where the school had been. I heard many depression stories and saw many bad dirt storms. I know the blowing dirt was much worse in the late 20's and 30's. My grandparents stayed in that same farm house until the late 1970's. Both lived into their 80's and mother died at 94. Father died at 74 with heart issues.
Mother grew up in dust-bowl SW Oklahoma on an 80 acre farm. Like in the Grapes of Wrath, she saw many load up and head elsewhere, mostly to California. They had a dairy cow, a few pigs, many chickens, and a big garden. They sold/traded many eggs. Canning and preserving was a given. Grandpa lost some money in a local bank that closed. He worked WPA and mostly farmed cotton. My mother and her sister hand picked cotton dragging the heavy bags along with some hired help. They had a small windmill electric generator on the farm. It charged a battery used for a radio. Electricity came to the farm in the late 30's through CREC. It was oil lamps before that. She went to a small country school and graduated high school at the end of WW2. I grew up close to the 80 acre farm and where the school had been. I heard many depression stories and saw many bad dirt storms. I know the blowing dirt was much worse in the late 20's and 30's. My grandparents stayed in that same farm house until the late 1970's. Both lived into their 80's and mother died at 94. Father died at 74 with heart issues.
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@1911user - we might know some of the same people, probably now deceased. Dad grew up on a farm in west central OK and while they didn't go hungry, meals were pretty monotonous. Grandparents had a small farm, but Grandpa had also taken out a loan for farm equipment right before the crash. they held onto the farm, but times were tough.
Mom was born in 1929 and was left on the hospital steps (literally almost). Lived in foster care, then an orphanage until she was adopted at 12. She did go hungry - which probably explains why I am the way I am if you believe the epigenetics stuff. We always had a well-stocked pantry when I was at home, and even up until the time Dad passed.
Mom was born in 1929 and was left on the hospital steps (literally almost). Lived in foster care, then an orphanage until she was adopted at 12. She did go hungry - which probably explains why I am the way I am if you believe the epigenetics stuff. We always had a well-stocked pantry when I was at home, and even up until the time Dad passed.
It's fading everywhere, but the small family farms still use child labor...the government has tried a couple of times to shut it down. But as long as the kids are in school (or being appropriately homeschooled) and there isn't any obvious negligence or terrible judgment on the parents part of what the kids are capable of, they didn't have a leg to stand on.
I read an article yesterday showing the archeological evidence of Danish children (where child labor was a long standing tradition, with kids as young as FOUR working up to 12 hours a day!) having severe bone damage and remodeling in their spines as young as 8 or 10, due to carrying heavy wheels of cheese, pails of milk, etc.
Long before I read that I've tried to make the kids helping us (our own, and now the granddaughters) be aware of *how* to lift properly, but also to NOT push themselves to lift and carry things that are too heavy. Yes, all three girls can lift more than their own bodyweight, and the 9 and 8 year old love carrying their 50# 5 year old sister around on their backs...but I actively discourage that!
There are *tons* of jobs on a small homestead that are appropriate for children. When we butcher chickens, all three girls pitch in, and they *work*! This year, the two older ones graduated to actually cleaning plucked birds, while the 5 year old leaned how to cut feet off...two demonstrations, and she'd find the joint and sever the foot with one stroke!
None of them complain, because they see the adults working hard, and we let them trade off. This year, Grandpa taught the two older ones to drive the Ford 8N tractor to the field to help him catch the next batch of birds and haul them down. At 73, he still doesn't have any gray hair...but I think he developed some trying to keep the ADHD 8 year old focused while driving the tractor!
They help with planting, weeding and harvest. The 9 year old LOVES to dig potatoes...so every few days she gets sent to the potato patch with a half bushel basket and she digs them and carries them to the house. Her younger sister declared herself the sweet corn harvester, so I taught her how to tell if an ear of corn is ready, and she has picked many dozens just before supper.
The best part is how proud of themselves they are for being able to independently do a job, and do it completely and well.
I grew up in a financially comfortable suburban home, and my Mom over-compensated for her abusive childhood by coddling us. Plus, she was an OCD perfectionist with an extremely high drive and energy levels, so when she did ask us to help, we never could do a good enough job to satisfy her, and she would redo it! I coped by spending as much time as possible at the stable with my horse, and although my room was never clean enough to suit her, my horse, stable and tack box were organized and spotless! But it really made my life more difficult than it could have been...I had to develop my own work ethic and learn how to stick to a job after I got married.
My adopted brother (3 years younger) was the opposite. He let Mom do everything for him, knew exactly what buttons to push to get her to let him quit any moderately demanding job, and was an alcoholic by the time he was 17. He had a good paying job as a prison guard (and was living proof of the studies that show prison guards in general are as crazy - or crazier - than the inmates!)
He lived with (and off) Mom, and she raised his daughter from the time she was 8 months old...her "mother" wanted to be a businesswoman, and dumped the baby on Mom. (Mom was 75 and had early Parkinsons at the time)
He never did learn how to do *anything* for himself. He inherited the house and property, and its heartbreaking...Mom and Dad were SO fussy and particular, maintaining every detail of what they built. It now looks like poor white trash live there, and I can only imagine what the inside looks like.
I firmly believe that, like many other vital habits, the time to learn good work skills and develop the ability to persist until the job is finished is in *early* childhood! And no, most kids WON'T like it, or appreciate it, at the time!
Making sure they get "paid" is important... yes, family should pitch in on everyday chores without expectations of a reward (aside from the intrinsic reward of a job well done), but many parents make the mistake of expecting the kids to work larger jobs (mowing the lawn, washing the car, weeding gardens or flower beds) without any type of compensation. Unless money is very tight and the kids understand that's the reason, it just breeds resentment.
And it doesn't have to be money! We've gotten a ton of willing help from the oldest granddaughter because she loves to play Minecraft on my tablet! So we made a deal; she can earn Minecraft time at a 2:1 ratio by helping with whatever needs to be done. 1 hour of work earns 30 minutes of Minecraft. I was surprised at how happily she accepted the idea!
When our kids were helping us on the farm, we WERE dead broke. But we'd make sure to take them back to the pond for a swim after haying, or invite a friend over for a weekend after a major job was done. They grumbled a bit, especially as they got older and saw their town friends didn't have similar responsibilities...but every one of them thanked us for raising them that way before they turned 25! They all have a much better work/life balance than we managed at their age, but none of them is comfortable sitting around for long.
I really fear for many families, though, when TSHTF...for many teens, the shock is going to be existential. (And a whole bunch of adults, too!)
Summerthyme
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King Samson
I'm Here
If you live in a house in a suburban neighborhood, it's the same thing.
it's chores, and everyone has to do them.
raven
TB Fanatic
I was a townie. I lived in town. I wanted spending money so i got on my Sting Ray bicycle. Crossed the bridge over the river and went to work on the farm.
That is child labor.
(it was not that unusual)
I was in town, before I had a driver's license it was dragging a mower behind my bike to mow yards.
We had rent property, I rode all over Lake Charles mowing and fixing things.
We had rent property, I rode all over Lake Charles mowing and fixing things.
TerriHaute
Hoosier Gardener
My parents married in 1933 so they were young adults during the depression. I was not born until 1952, so it was well after the depression and WWII. My grandparents were gone by then and the parents did not say much about those years to me. My dad told me one time that the reason he and Mom got married was because he found out Ohio Bell was hiring, but they would only consider married men. Mom and dad eloped secretly and did not live together at first and then when they did, they lived with my paternal grandparents. My mother's parents were dirt-poor farmers in a two bedroom house with several other children still at home. Dad did get the job and worked there until he retired at age 65.
The folks were always frugal, paid cash for everything, did not trust the stock market in any way, shape, or form and I know that was a holdover attitude from the Depression. For their Golden Wedding anniversary, for fun, I gave them a few shares of stock in a gold mining company. They were horrified. They kept the shares briefly out of politeness to me and sold them as soon as they could. Later when I saw the episode of Everybody Loves Raymond where Raymond gave his parents a several month subscription to the Fruit of the Month Club and they hated the idea of having to deal with fruit every month, it reminded me exactly of my parents reaction to the gold mine shares.
The folks were always frugal, paid cash for everything, did not trust the stock market in any way, shape, or form and I know that was a holdover attitude from the Depression. For their Golden Wedding anniversary, for fun, I gave them a few shares of stock in a gold mining company. They were horrified. They kept the shares briefly out of politeness to me and sold them as soon as they could. Later when I saw the episode of Everybody Loves Raymond where Raymond gave his parents a several month subscription to the Fruit of the Month Club and they hated the idea of having to deal with fruit every month, it reminded me exactly of my parents reaction to the gold mine shares.
CaryC
TB Fanatic
I use to love picking strawberries, in my German Aunts patch. Plumes off wild plume trees. Yeah it was great. Never had much in my sack. But I didn't eat much supper either, so guess it was a trade off. The barter system in action.
Oh, yeah... I'm doubling the size of my strawberry beds next year because we (hubby and I) may have gotten one quart out of every five produced. They had fresh strawberries for breakfast until the plants stopped producing, and then switched to raw peas!
Summerthyme
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They won't be for long.
Wildweasel
F-4 Phantoms Phorever
Ever hear the stories about how the railroads brought deer from Indianna to the area by the boxcar loads? Stop every so far and release a carload of them to restore the herds in PA and upstate NY.
I've never heard if it was state-sponsored herd restoration, altruism by the railroads or the railroad executives wanting deer to hunt.
Save your gum wrappers, regardless.
1. Gum Wrapper as a Resistor
In some vintage electrical setups, people have used gum wrapper foil as a makeshift resistor. The foil’s resistance changes with its thickness and length, so you can cut and roll it into a coil or strip it into a thin layer to match a desired resistance value Antique Radios. This is more of a novelty or educational hack than a precision component, but it’s a fun way to demonstrate how resistors work.
2. Gum Wrapper as a Capacitor
The paper backing of the wrapper can be used as a dielectric in a capacitor. By placing two conductive layers (e.g., copper tape or foil) with the paper between them, you can create a simple capacitor. The capacitance depends on the area of the conductors and the thickness of the paper.
3. Gum Wrapper in a Microphone
Hackaday has shown how to make a ribbon microphone from a gum wrapper. The foil is soaked in hot water and acetone to remove the paper backing, then corrugated and stretched between magnets. As sound waves vibrate the foil in the magnetic field, they generate a small electrical signal that can be amplified
Hackaday. This is a more advanced build but a great way to explore audio transduction.
4. Radio Construction Tips
If you want to build a full radio from scratch using gum wrapper parts:
While gum wrapper components are creative, they’re not as reliable as commercial parts. For a working radio, you’ll still need standard components for tuning, amplification, and output. The gum wrapper parts can be used for educational or novelty purposes, or as part of a larger DIY electronics project.
If you’re interested in a hands-on build, start with a simple AM radio kit and replace some resistors or capacitors with gum wrapper versions to see how they perform. This approach combines the fun of recycling with the satisfaction of building electronics.
Building a Radio from a Gum Wrapper
You can absolutely turn a gum wrapper into part of a radio project — the key is using its conductive foil layer and paper backing to create components like resistors, capacitors, or even a microphone.1. Gum Wrapper as a Resistor
In some vintage electrical setups, people have used gum wrapper foil as a makeshift resistor. The foil’s resistance changes with its thickness and length, so you can cut and roll it into a coil or strip it into a thin layer to match a desired resistance value Antique Radios. This is more of a novelty or educational hack than a precision component, but it’s a fun way to demonstrate how resistors work.
2. Gum Wrapper as a Capacitor
The paper backing of the wrapper can be used as a dielectric in a capacitor. By placing two conductive layers (e.g., copper tape or foil) with the paper between them, you can create a simple capacitor. The capacitance depends on the area of the conductors and the thickness of the paper.
3. Gum Wrapper in a Microphone
Hackaday has shown how to make a ribbon microphone from a gum wrapper. The foil is soaked in hot water and acetone to remove the paper backing, then corrugated and stretched between magnets. As sound waves vibrate the foil in the magnetic field, they generate a small electrical signal that can be amplified
4. Radio Construction Tips
If you want to build a full radio from scratch using gum wrapper parts:
- Use the foil for resistors or inductors.
- Use the paper for capacitors.
- Combine with other scavenged materials (wires, batteries, diodes, transistors) to form a simple AM/FM receiver.
- For better performance, add shielding and proper grounding.
While gum wrapper components are creative, they’re not as reliable as commercial parts. For a working radio, you’ll still need standard components for tuning, amplification, and output. The gum wrapper parts can be used for educational or novelty purposes, or as part of a larger DIY electronics project.
If you’re interested in a hands-on build, start with a simple AM radio kit and replace some resistors or capacitors with gum wrapper versions to see how they perform. This approach combines the fun of recycling with the satisfaction of building electronics.
Have you seen the streets of every big Demoncrat run city? There ARE zombies already.
Summerthyme
Wyominglarry
Veteran Member
Since, before Y2K I wish I had a dollar for every person that told me they are going to survive by going hunting.
West
Senior
Depends if they like long pork. Its possible. Just don't eat the brains and livers.
West
Senior
Yep; love them and also gator tail. Dad used to go frog hunting.
My children helped around the house from the time they could walk; a toddler can bring the wastebasket to the central collection point, and loves to do it. I rotated their jobs and told my son there is no "woman's work"; that his wife would probably work, as I was, and so he shouldn't expect her to do everything. As it turned out, for a while, she was working and studying at the same time, so it was good he had learned how to do everything. It makes me so happy when I visit them and see they live in clean, neat and well organized homes.
CaryC
TB Fanatic
Don't think anyone is "expecting" a great depression (when there is no money in circulation) but rather some kind of national disaster, and financial is only one, but this time it could be hyper inflation (way to much money in circulation).
We haven't had anything really big in a long, long time. While not having a national disaster is a good thing. I think everyone just has the feeling that it's time and we are past due.
And like this article, what can you, will you do to survive. And our forebears gave us an example.
Dobbin
Faithful Steed
I was about to relay Owner's story of the "Boy in the field" which is Owner's "Depression Era Life as it Was" story. But I find I've related that and more.
See BLOG - My Fear Is About How Bad It Could Get
The big advantage for Owner's father was for him it was still "Small Town America." A concept which sadly has been lost, both in your progress, and the loss of "country placed" AND the rise of instant satisfaction of the "Electronic Age."
People don't go to meetings one on group anymore. Rather they see it "live" via Zoom or other media. Thus you see others only as those In That Environment and never anything else. Certainly not as neighbors.
The personal distance is telling. And evident.
Dobbin
See BLOG - My Fear Is About How Bad It Could Get
The big advantage for Owner's father was for him it was still "Small Town America." A concept which sadly has been lost, both in your progress, and the loss of "country placed" AND the rise of instant satisfaction of the "Electronic Age."
People don't go to meetings one on group anymore. Rather they see it "live" via Zoom or other media. Thus you see others only as those In That Environment and never anything else. Certainly not as neighbors.
The personal distance is telling. And evident.
Dobbin
raven
TB Fanatic
as far as hyperinflation is concerned . . .
have you ever heard the story about the frog and the pot of water on the stove?
No, that's called a solid work ethic no matter what the age.
Great grandparents and grandparents went through the depression. We had a 10 acre “ hobby farm “acre and 1/2 garden fruit trees pigs and chickens. Remember grandparents teaching me how to cook and sew buttons and patches from scratch, make bread,can vegetables and make crocks of pickles and kraut. When I was 10 I started working for a neighbor that had a dairy. I put the milk bottles into the washer 2 1/2 hours a day for 25 cents an hour and a gallon of milk a day. Hunted and trapped till I started chasing girls. I think the biggest problem today is if someone gave most people flour sugar yeast dry beans and pasta and fresh vegetables they would have absolutely no idea what to do with it and would either try to sell it or throw it away.
My parents were born in 1921 so old enough to remember the whole Depression.
Dad's parents were tenant farmers, farming with horses and the labor of grandpa and 3 sons. Grandma always said that nothing changed for them during those years other than drought. She always mentioned as a highlight of the year, taking the horse and wagon to the timber and loading it with nuts. There was a picnic lunch and only "work" picking up nuts which is what made it special to people who worked like slaves 365 days a year. Three sons all graduated from high school.
Mom's parents lived in town and grandpa owned a gas station which also ran a tank wagon delivering fuel oil and an ice delivery business. Mom's main comment was that there was little available to buy even though they had money. I recall grandpa coming home for lunch in early 1950s and telling us that the last debt that he'd carried from the Depression had been paid that morning. Mom and 4 siblings all graduated from high school and grandpa served on school board for 25 years, was mayor for few years and later on county board of supervisors ... he had a 6th grade education.
My father-in-law was not so fortunate. I was told by a lady who was their neighbor during the Depression that her mom fed f-i-l and his sister or they would have starved. His dad was a mean sob who once went after f-i-l with a crowbar and would probably have killed him had not two other men stopped him. He finished 8th grade.
My m-i-l finished 8th grade and immediately started working as a hired girl which continued until she married at 21. She was a remarkable woman who could turn her hand to about anything. Once we were there for a Sunday dinner and just before supper time her uncle, his wife and two adult daughters arrived and she fed all of us without batting an eye. Somehow the leftovers intended for six stretched. I never developed that talent. She taught me how to dress a chicken amongst many other things.
I'll add a note that finishing 8th grade in a country school back then was probably close to what a high school graduate has today minus electronics. They could all read and do math and in Iowa had to pass a test showing that plus other subjects.
I've never gone hungry but one winter my dh and I ate beans for our main meal of the day, every day. A friend cleaned apartments after tenants moved out and was allowed to keep whatever was left behind. She found a closet full of commodity dried beans and shared them with me. BTW that was before food stamps and people were given commodities such as dried beans and powered milk (that I could never get to reconstitute). Dh and I weren't aware of welfare, so I don't what all was given just the two items my friend shared from that closet.
Dad's parents were tenant farmers, farming with horses and the labor of grandpa and 3 sons. Grandma always said that nothing changed for them during those years other than drought. She always mentioned as a highlight of the year, taking the horse and wagon to the timber and loading it with nuts. There was a picnic lunch and only "work" picking up nuts which is what made it special to people who worked like slaves 365 days a year. Three sons all graduated from high school.
Mom's parents lived in town and grandpa owned a gas station which also ran a tank wagon delivering fuel oil and an ice delivery business. Mom's main comment was that there was little available to buy even though they had money. I recall grandpa coming home for lunch in early 1950s and telling us that the last debt that he'd carried from the Depression had been paid that morning. Mom and 4 siblings all graduated from high school and grandpa served on school board for 25 years, was mayor for few years and later on county board of supervisors ... he had a 6th grade education.
My father-in-law was not so fortunate. I was told by a lady who was their neighbor during the Depression that her mom fed f-i-l and his sister or they would have starved. His dad was a mean sob who once went after f-i-l with a crowbar and would probably have killed him had not two other men stopped him. He finished 8th grade.
My m-i-l finished 8th grade and immediately started working as a hired girl which continued until she married at 21. She was a remarkable woman who could turn her hand to about anything. Once we were there for a Sunday dinner and just before supper time her uncle, his wife and two adult daughters arrived and she fed all of us without batting an eye. Somehow the leftovers intended for six stretched. I never developed that talent. She taught me how to dress a chicken amongst many other things.
I'll add a note that finishing 8th grade in a country school back then was probably close to what a high school graduate has today minus electronics. They could all read and do math and in Iowa had to pass a test showing that plus other subjects.
I've never gone hungry but one winter my dh and I ate beans for our main meal of the day, every day. A friend cleaned apartments after tenants moved out and was allowed to keep whatever was left behind. She found a closet full of commodity dried beans and shared them with me. BTW that was before food stamps and people were given commodities such as dried beans and powered milk (that I could never get to reconstitute). Dh and I weren't aware of welfare, so I don't what all was given just the two items my friend shared from that closet.