My Mom was one of 3 Girls and 4 Boys. They grew up without a Pot to Piss in or a Window to throw it through. Her Father left the Family and my Mother had to take care of the Household. Her Mother was in bad Health so it fell to her to take care of everyone when she was only 16 or so. She had to quit High School and get a menial Job to help the Family survive.
I ended up hearing about the Depression until the day my Mother died. Heck, when I was Born we lived in a Brownstone Basement with no Heat. My Dad got $3 off the Rent because he took out the Trash for the entire Building.
My Parents had to heat up Water in an Iron Cistern which also gave the Apartment some warmth. There were Rats as big as Cats in the Hallway and my poor Mother suffered from Pleurisy because of the living conditions. It also worsened my Older Brother’s Asthma symptoms. We eventually got out of there when my Father was able to get a House on Long Island with the GI Bill from his Navy Service in WWII.
I can’t imagine that the Young People today would even survive such a situation. They haven’t a clue of what real suffering is, nor do they seem to care unless it’s a Lion in Africa or a complaining Minority blaming everyone but themselves for their bad station in Life.
Then again, they aren’t worried about eating having to eat Mayonnaise Sandwiches and wiping their Rear Ends with discarded Newspaper either.
Sorry, didn’t mean to get off topic on a “happy” Thread.
That was the difference between city and country in that era. My dad came from a large family that farmed. Patched hand-me-downs or flour sack fabric remade into clothes, nothing much in the way of material possessions whatsoever, they had little money. But, they did own the farm. ate well and were generally happy. Didn’t really know they were poor because everyone they knew was in the same boat.