He, together with a sibling and hand wagon, would get pushed out of the house on an early, dark winter morning to travel a mile to the railroad tracks. They would then scrounge along the rails to find little lumps of discarded coal, load up the wagon, out-race the yard bulls, and head home with their prize.
With the coal deposited in the kitchen stove, morning breakfast for Grandfather and meager heat for the household was forthcoming.
The gist of this, and many other episodes of survival during the Depression, is that poverty is not the excuse the Leftists would have you believe. Sense of nuclear family, religion, and perseverance led this and other families to success in the long run, to achieve a piece of the American dream, and to see the offspring do better than the parents.
For other examples...immigrants,who came here from other nations, first wound up living in slum conditions, which were far worse than ANYTHING ever even imaginable in the second 1/2 of the 20th century, nor in this one. Also there were absolutely NO "safety net" government programs!
Were there crime in these areas? Yes, and gangs too.
OTOH,most poor families ( few of whom had much of an education )and poor kids strove to do better, saved what little money they could, and over time rose in status and did better. The money they made was used to SURVIVE and buying something frivolous was not just frowned on, but usually harshly punished.
Your father was poisoned?
Regards,
That was my experience as well of my parents that came of age during the Depression. Instant gratification because you were poor? Quite the opposite. My folks never bought me candy or gum or stuff. Once I started earning my own money my Dad would try to get me to not splurge so much on getting 25 cents worth of penny candy.
“You spend it on candy - and that’s gone in ten minutes and you have nothing to show for your hard work. Save it up for a bike or something that will last years.” (I still have that bike btw!)
The urban poor today are different than the poor in the Depression.
The first, most obvious point, is that you mention a father.
The second was a general lack of dependence on the government—you depended on family and neighbors who shared a similar circumstance.
Times change and social standards change.
Plus, like all studies that are grand in scope and scale, your experience is going to be different.
Your family experience is the same as mine. Dad was a little kid, but Grandpa had a wife and an ill FIL to support during the Depression. He worked multiple jobs; he’d do pretty much ANYTHING legal, LOL!
“Sense of nuclear family, religion, and perseverance led this and other families to success in the long run, to achieve a piece of the American dream, and to see the offspring do better than the parents.”
Sadly, missing from SO many kids’ lives these days. Thanks, Feminists! Thanks Hippies! Thanks, Socialists!
*SPIT*