October 29th, 1929
It's called Black Tuesday. My Grandma was eight years old, and her mother was ill. I don't think anyone could have predicted what that day would do to America, or the entire world for that matter. It's a period of time that has always fascinated me. To have virtually nothing, to live not from paycheck to paycheck, but from day to day, not knowing if you could find work or food, or even see the next day.
Growing up we had a coffee table book about the Great Depression. In it were articles written by and about families who lived through this time and the little things they did out of necessity. For example, one of my favorite articles was about a woman who spoke of how she saved her bed sheets. When they were worn out in the middle from sleeping on them for so long, she would cut right up the middle where it was thread bare then sew the two edges together in the middle putting the thread bare portion on the sides therefore lengthening the life of the sheet. A brilliant solution to a very real problem. Another article spoke of the origins of biscuits and gravy as a staple meal.
Often times we would be sitting around the dining room table eating dinner together and I would share one of the stories I had read in that book. I remember more than once my dad saying to me, "Your Grandparents lived through those times. Those stories are their stories."
As I'm writing these tales from my Grandmother's life I'm reminded of the abundance of what we have today, and I am grateful.
The stories of our Nation are also stories for each and every family living in America today. What happened that day effected the World and should not go without notice.
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