Remembering the Great Depression
My great grandparents came to Canada from Eastern Europe after WWI. Sadly, both have passed on, my grandfather a couple decades ago, and my grandmother not much later. These were simple people, not too religious, unpretentious, barely political, and always looking to enjoy life in it’s simplest forms.
I remember their story-telling vaguely from my youth. They loved to talk about the railroad, or how they worked the land to make their farm. Recently, I wrote to my mother, lamenting that they were no longer with us to share their insights from the Great Depression. This is what she replied back with,
I remember Grandma saying that during the Depression, you could never get three things together – meat, potatoes and bread. Also, Grandpa said it was sometimes months before you saw an actual dollar bill. I imagine a lot of barter and trading was going on, eliminating cash. It can toughen people up.
This is exactly the sort of anecdotal expression I miss from them. I hope everyone takes the time to talk to their parents and grandparents about WWII, the 70s, Vietnam, The New Deal, etc.
What prompted this post? Jörg Guido Hülsmann during a Lew Rockwell podcast, talking about hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic.
