Ordinary People Living in Extraordinary Circumstances

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

I was a “Depression” baby
born in 1929-
Times were hard, jobs were scarce,
but I managed to grow up fine.

My father lost his job at Goodrich,
as the economy took a downward spin.
To put food on the table, he found
a job delivering milk.- much to his chagrin.

Times were hard for the working class,
but they learned to help each other out.
When dad could no longer make payments on our house,
the owner requested that we stay
’til the economy turned about.

Both of my parents had a “sweet tooth”
which they tried to satisfy
Mom would bake her chocolate cakes,
and candied orange slices dad would buy.

A lollipop was a rare treat-
a much appreciated event;
so, if dropped in the dirt,
you brushed it off,
and back in your mouth it went.

We kids found joy in simple pleasures,
like greeting the ‘Ice Man” on delivery day.
Everyone had “Ice boxes” to preserve their food
(no refrigerators on display).

While the Ice Man delivered the
large block of ice to the house.
we would scoop up the chips left behind.
It wasn’t exactly a “snow cone”,
but joy came in whatever form we could find.

No TV, cell phones, or I Pads,
Can you imagine such a catastrophe?
No computers to send e-mails,
and we never heard of a CD.

Letters were written by hand,
so communication was slow.
Mail was delivered direct to your door-
through rain, sleet, or snow.

Doing laundry was an all-day chore,
No automatics,- clothes were put through a ringer,
and you had better pay attention as you worked,
or you could damage a finger.

We had no clothes driers-
Clothes lines were strung in the basement ceiling.
Weather permitting, we hung our wash outside.
(No secrets then, it was all very revealing!)

Sunday afternoons were spent socializing.
Relatives and friends would drop by.
All of this stopped when television came along-
We said “Goodbye” with a sigh.

I thank God for His blessings.
‘though not rich monetarily-
We were rich in all the things that count;
Christ, friends and family!

Tags: #Depression, #Goodrich, #Working Class