A Collection of Life Stories from the Great Depression

Reader Contribution by The Mother Earth News Editors
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This story is from Virginia Grace Abraham, submitted as part of our Wisdom From Our Elders collection of self-sufficient tales from yesteryear.

I cared for Mary Virginia Smith for more than two years when she was in her late 80s. Mary raised her children during the Depression on Black Oak Farm, owned by the Lyon family in Loudoun County, Va. As was the tradition, each of the Lyon children was given a farm. Mary’s husband, Geoffrey, was farm manager for the dairy, crop and animal farm. Mary raised and butchered chickens and turkeys, gardened, canned, made butter, soap, lard, sausage and more. She told tales from her childhood of her father being a horse trader and her Mother had orchards. The only staples they purchased were sugar and coffee.

The funniest story was one regarding Mary’s daughter, Blanche, (she liked “Bunny” better). Bunny’s husband came from Georgetown, D.C., during hard times to work on the farm and stay in fighting shape, (he was a boxer). Legend has it that Geoffrey was as big as a horse and could, indeed, pull a plow if necessary. When Mr. King arrived at the farm he eloped with 13-year-old Bunny overnight. To inform Geoffrey that his daughter had wed, the boxer climbed a tree and shouted down rather than risk the punch!

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