THE DIRT ROAD WONDER – Thrift is not a bad word

I am a child of the Depression.

During those years, a lot of families were in dire circumstances, and some went hungry.

President Roosevelt started work programs for men, but there were still a lot of men that couldn’t get a job.

In the large cities there were soup lines where you could get a bowl of soup and a piece of bread free of charge, but no such programs were in the small rural towns.

Those families survived by being thrifty and frugal with what little they had.

That did not stop neighbors helping neighbors when the need was great.

One tradition that came out of that time was taking food to the home of a deceased person’s family.

The reason for that was that people did not have enough food or money to feed all the family that came to the funeral.

There was no such thing as a credit card to charge what they needed.

The only money you had was in your pocket, in the bank or in a fruit jar buried in the back yard and most of the time that was very little.

The person in the neighborhood that had a car would let their neighbors ride into town with them.

I never heard of anyone charging for the ride because they would say “Shucks, l was going anyway”.

I see people today walk by a penny on the ground and never bother to pick it up.

That was not the case when I was a child.

If you found a penny you could buy a piece of candy and if you found a nickel, you could buy a whole candy bar.

Finding pennies was like finding treasure when we were kids.

If you find a dime that has a hole drilled in it, I can tell you the reason why it is like that.

Long ago country women would get a hole drilled in a dime, run a string through it and wear it around their ankle.

This was to ensure that they would never be broke.

I have also heard it was a good luck charm.

When I was a child, my mother took me to Tallahassee Federal Savings and opened a savings account for me. They gave me a bank that was shaped like a fat little book with their name on it. I was supposed to fill it with change and bring it back and they would put the money in my savings account.

They were the ones with a key that opened the bank.

That would keep me from “borrowing” from it when I wanted something.

This was to show me how my money would grow when I put it in the bank and earned interest on it.

I don’t know of any banks that still do this, but it was a wonderful way to teach thrift to a young child.

When World War II came along, there were lots of jobs and the soldiers in the service sent their allotment back to their families.

If a family was thrifty, they had no trouble making a good life for themselves.

If not, they suffered.

Just remember that old slogan, “It’s nifty to be thrifty”.

‘Till next time keep on the sunny side gwynnkidd@gmail.com

THE DIRT ROAD WONDER – Thrift is not a bad word

DESTINATION: Going ‘Way Back When’ at the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement

Stamp Out Hunger food drive takes place May 14

Stamp Out Hunger food drive takes place May 14

Recommended

Gadsden Veteran Service Office to be closed for a week in May

Ask Judge Smith – Republic or Democracy?

Popular News

Newsletter

Category

Site Links

About Us

Welcome Back!

Create New Account!

Retrieve your password

Are you sure want to unlock this post?

Are you sure want to cancel subscription?

THE DIRT ROAD WONDER – Thrift is not a bad word

Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Gadsden County Times.

Subscribe

DESTINATION: Going ‘Way Back When’ at the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement

Stamp Out Hunger food drive takes place May 14

Stamp Out Hunger food drive takes place May 14

Recommended

Gadsden Veteran Service Office to be closed for a week in May

Ask Judge Smith – Republic or Democracy?

Popular News

Newsletter

Category

Site Links

About Us

Welcome Back!

Create New Account!

Retrieve your password

Are you sure want to unlock this post?

Are you sure want to cancel subscription?