From: Kenneth Landreth
Columbus
Yes, it’s me — I’m back with another letter. There will be a few people out there that will remember what I’m writing about: the Great Depression back in the 1930s. Do people remember those days? I do; I grew up in those.
We did not have running water and only one light in each room. If Mom had to iron our clothes, she plugged in the iron into that socket — there were no wall outlets, no telephone and no cellphones, either. We did have an icebox to keep things cold and we bought ice for that when we could afford it.
We had a bathroom — it had a big tub, and we heated water on that small kerosene stove that mom cooked on and then carried the water to the tub and poured it in the tub. People only took a bath once a week, usually on Saturday night so you would be clean for church come Sunday.
Now don’t forget the outhouse. That was a very small building and it had a bench to sit on and there was a hole on top where one sat. Now, it might be raining, snowing or 20 degrees below zero, but if one had go to the bathroom that’s where one went. Now, the nice part was there was always a Sears Roebuck or Montgomery Ward catalog laying on the bench to look at and wish you had what you found in them.
I stated earlier — no phone; if one needed help, you ran to your neighbor. You see, everyone knew their neighbors and we all helped each other. Do people know their neighbors?
How about the washing machine? Mom had two wash tubs. One she washed the clothes in and one she rinsed the clothes in. How did she wring out the clothes? Why by hand — then she hung them on the clothesline with clothespins. Remember the clothespin? It was small, but it could hold a lot of weight.
Now, do people remember the marches, the protests, the riots, the lines of people lined up for just a bowl of soup or maybe a slice of bread?
Look at what is going on today — large groups of people protesting. Ladies and gentleman — is all this happening again? Could people and their families go back to how I grew up? I could, because I have been there. How about others?
