I had a great aunt who likewise lived thru the Great Depression. She and her husband lost everything when FDR closed their bank and it never reopened.
Thus she never again trusted banks. Kept cash hidden away in corners and cubbies all over her apartment. When she passed away my mom and my grandmother found a very substantial sum hidden under the mattress, in a tea kettle, under a loose floor board, etc. etc.
There are many old homes around the country where large sums of money or valuables are hidden. One old home in my hometown of La Crosse, Wis. that was in the process of being torn down had thousands of dollars worth of very old, silver dollars fixed to the insides of the walls. I never did find out who profited from all that silver.