Dashed hopes, less sex, even more Sisyphean labor for women—what the histories of the Depression era tell us about middle-class families in crisis, both then and now. Full Story »
Posted by David Fox - via Give Me Something To Read
A somewhat rambling article. First it asserts the Great Depression wasn’t as bad in reality as its mythology. Then it spends paragraphs illustrating that it was, indeed, very bad. But once past the confusing parts, it’s a riveting description of the effects of the depression. As a depression baby, I remember the time expended on basic activities just to save a few dollars, like my mother working 12 hours a day for weeks in a hot kitchen pickling and canning vegetables from the garden. Pickles and vegetables we now buy at supermarkets.
During the depression my parents were offered a home for $3,200–which they couldn’t afford. Today that same home is worth about $700,000.