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Emma - Barradale Farm wrote

I might rope my family into joining this experiment over the school holiday for a couple of days at a time. Should be super interesting, the children love to cook and I love them not using screens! ????

Have you watched the British ‘The Wartime Farm’ on YouTube? It’s wonderful though a little later then your upcoming study. I love all the series that particular group of historians do, they are absolutely brilliant!

Blessings,
Emma

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Diana wrote

I am almost 71 and had forgotten that we always washed hair in the sink because back then women didn’t shower but took tub baths .????

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Grandma Donna wrote

Emma, I hope that you do, and it turns out fun for the family.

Diana, yes and now you have a memory once forgotten. :) It just feels better to me now that I have made full circle with washing my hair. It was a bit awkward at first but now I have improved. :)

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Sheri wrote

I am so looking forward to this project with you and Chip. Today I’m going through my clothing to thin things out , as the wardrobe in the 1930’s would be a lot less. I will be putting things away that don’t belong too. But I have a quick question , how did women not get too cold after to washing their hair in the winter? My mom told me she remembers putting her head in the oven to dry her hair. But I thought maybe you might know of a better way. Thank you so much for sharing all your wisdom . Big hugs ????

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Grandma Donna wrote

Sheri, that is a good question. If it was very cold they would probably wait. We did not wash our hair as often long ago but didn't go as extremely long as Lena in our diary. I remember wrapping my hair with curlers with a cloth wrap. Flannel is good for this. Just this morning I washed my hair and being that we just started our 1930s practice month and it was cold this morning and needed a little heat I went and stood in front of the heater and kept changing position so to dry my hair. Hair tends to dry quicker than one thinks due to body heat from our head. It dried and curled but it was a flop on getting it to look like the pretty 1930s hairdo. I will keep trying. :) Thank you for asking. ,

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Andrea wrote

We are so excited about this study and I couldn't sleep last night thinking about more changes to make and things to improve upon. I remember washing my hair in a sink and taking baths when I was younger and I'm only 40 years old. Hah! So many people we know are very mixed up in their wants, needs and desires. It's such a shame and the stress it's truly causing on their families is even worse. Thank you for inspiring me to go back to washing my hair in a sink and air drying it. I do miss warmer weather for it makes it so much easier to get it dried quickly and help the hair to retain more of it's natural oils. I have the hot milk cake recipe from your site many years ago. It is so delicious and simple. Can't wait for next years study!

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Stephanie wrote

I started my practice month too! I have a Saturday Evening Post subscription that gives me access to the archived issues, and I went and took a look at the late 1929 issues to see how they were thinking about the market crash the month before. No sign of a change in late '29, but that makes sense because most people wouldn't have been feeling it yet. They were still advertising very luxurious items for Christmas. The Post was weekly back then, so changes should be reflected quickly when we get to the thirties.

I've found thirties' music and radio shows. When I told my husband about my Sunday matinees with cartoons, he said Don't forget the news reels! I found a few on youtube. I've been putting my daily routine in order to be more like the thirties, and I've been looking through 1930's recipes and the portions are so small! Another thing I am adjusting to. There is so much to think about and do.

I own a 1930's toaster and waffle iron that I bought a few years ago. Those are going on the counter. For the study, I bought a vintage tablecloth since it seems like most people didn't put their dishes on the bare table. I've been telling everyone about the study since I am so excited about it, and someone asked if they could give me a 1930's dress for Christmas! It's a new dress made to look like the thirties. I think it's lovely and can't wait until it arrives. I hadn't thought about dressing like the 1930's, but now I think I will join Grandma Donna in getting a new hairstyle. I bought a sock darning egg and needles because I want to learn how to darn socks.

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Hilogene in Az wrote

Oh, I am really looking forward to this next year! My grandmother and great aunt told me about picking up coal that had fallen off coal train cars during the depression. My grandfather graduated from medical school in 1910, and married my grandmother maybe 1918-1919. She told me most folks couldn’t pay for his services during the depression but would share food, he kept doctoring and they survived. He was a company doctor and the company provided his house, I don’t know if he also had a salary. But I know times were very hard then. My mother was born in 1922, so would have been 7 in 1929. Wish she was around to tell me more about those times,

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Margaret (in New Zealand) wrote

I once knew a couple (both gone now) who bought a home in the 1920s. The man's father advised them to pay off their mortgage as fast as possible so they could have financial stability in hard times. They did this (it probably helped that they had no children) and were able to survive the Depression living off their extensive vegetable garden. When I knew them (in the 1980s) they were living a contented simple comfortable life, and kept growing vegetables until they were no longer able to physically do so. I've always felt they made great role models :)

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Grandma Donna wrote

Thank you all for your comments, we are all learning so much from these comments.
Margaret, this was very wise advice from the Man's advice and probably saved them from hardship.
I am reading all of these comments they are so important!

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Lissa wrote

Ken Burns did an amazing documentary on the Dust Bowl. I borrowed it streaming from my public library. Just shocking, horrible times. Some of you might enjoy.
Looking forward to the milk cake recipe.
Hope everyone stays healthy this week

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Becky Sue wrote

Thanks for the great post! I am looking forward to the depression era study.

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victoria wrote

The information about the candle rims so interesting. Not only does it burn steadily but it also eliminates the messiness with all those drips running down the sides and sometimes even down over the holder.

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Darlene from Ohio wrote

Hello~

I went on newspapers.com to see if the local paper was there. I found it, but there are only three years, 1897 to 1900. I was hoping to be able to use that source to read about my area back in the 30's. I am going to have to work a little harder. ;-)

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Jackie wrote

I'm really looking forward to this new study. The depression years and the war years are my favorite historical periods to study. I also like the pioneer years. My maternal grandparents were married in 1919 and my mom was born in 1925. I have a lot of my grandparents furniture which I'm guessing was probably purchased in the '30's and'40's. My grandmother was extremely frugal and did not buy things frivolously. She always bought good quality and expected it to last her lifetime and most of it did! My mother told me that when my grandparents married they didn't have much so they bought some furniture from an old lady's estate sale so some of the furniture may be even older.
As I look around my house I don't see many things that were not or could not have been available in the 30's. Of course, I live in current times and have many modern conveniences but, for example, I have a refrigerator (not an icebox) but not a microwave, and i have a modern washing machine but not a dryer. My grandchildren were amazed that I didn't have a microwave. "But, Nana, how will you cook things and warm things up?". ????. I'm not sure how the financial aspect of this study will play out as I assume that most of us have jobs or adequate income for our needs which the people in the Great Depression did not. I wonder if there is a comparison made between wages, prices, etc. between then and now? That would be interesting.
Anyway, I love these historical studies and am anxious to get started! ????????

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Karen wrote

I feel the new study is very timely Donna and thank you for doing a lot of work that we will benefit from.

For hair washing I have a portable shower that pushes onto taps and that saves a lot of water compared to the shower over the bath.

Looking forward to changing things this year as I am able

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Anna wrote

My parents were born in 1921 so lived through the Depression years. My f-i-l was born in 1917 and literally went hungry often through those years. In fact, his neighbors fed him and his sister or they might not have survived. My m-i-l left school after 8th grade and worked as a hired girl on a farm until she married at 21 with one half day a week to visit her parents. My mother's family fared better than most as grandpa had a couple of businesses providing necessities i.e. gas, fuel oil, auto repairs and ice (most people used ice boxes not refrigerators). My father's family lived on a crop share farm and my grandma often said they really didn't notice much difference through those years as they were pretty self-sufficient. They farmed with horses and heated with wood from the farm so only fuel would have been kerosene for lamps and gas for car. It also helped they had three sons otherwise known as free labor. Neither of my parents ever went hungry or did without any necessities.

To be honest, life in rural and small-town Southern Iowa, was not much changed during my early years. We lived in town and walked everywhere. Mom would pull my sister and I (13 months apart in age) to town in our wagon and then load shopping into the wagon for the trip home. In the winter she used our sled for the trip. We walked to school in all weathers and to church on Sundays. In fact, in earliest school years we walked home and back for lunch so two trips per day. I think it was only 5 blocks to school and 6 to shopping.

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Karen..NZ wrote

In reply to Sheri re drying hair in cold weather
When I was a child we had open fires and in the Winter would sit in front of the fire ( it had a spark guard) and read a book or watch TV until or hair was dry.
These days I air dry my hair as even though I have a hair dryer I never remember to use it.
I have noticed if you wash your hair early evening or later then I don't sleep well that night probably because the hair may feel dry but underneath near the scalp it may still be slightly damp

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Texasilver wrote

I washed my hair in the kitchen sink as we had only one bathroom for my mother, & 4 children when we were growing up. I don't use the sink now as I don't have to share a bath w/ 4 other people. I have long hair & it seems to tangle less in the shower.
One of my grandmothers was born in 1900. She said she & her family did not suffer during the economic collapse in the 1920's. She lived on a dairy farm in Dallas. My maternal grandmother & my mother did suffer. They were poor & my grandmother had mental illness. I look forward to your study of this time period.

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Tandi wrote

Wonderful post as always. I've been reading online some firsthand accounts of life experienced in the 30s. This story made me realize that one thing of the 1930s I want to start doing is getting to know my neighbors more and helping out. (I've always done it some, but not with all my neighbors). My next-door neighbor works from home but her husband hasn't worked since 2020. One thing she does is hang her washing on the line because they don't have a dryer and even if they did, I think to save on electricity she'd still do that. Anyway, when the wind blows her newly washed clothes blows off the line because she doesn't have clothespins! So, I'm going to get her some :) I think it's the small everyday things that add up and make a difference in our lives.

"Mr. Brenner said he learned first-hand that simple things live the longest, such as when a father takes time to teach a child how to fish.
Today, he misses those days gone by. "What happened to those wondrous years when people used to care about their neighbors? People live side by side today and seldom ever speak. We had hardships, but we cared. One time my mother had the flu, and our neighbors cleaned our house and sent in dinner too. If a father in the neighborhood was hurt and couldn't work, neighbors found enough food to share with him and his family."

Looking forward to another exciting history filled year.

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Gail wrote

Hello Donna,
I found the hint about the candle so enlightening,( so to speak, ) I never knew that.
2023 will be so interesting, even though, in our home we still have many mod cons.
I like to adopt as many of your practises as I can, but need to be mindful of the fact my husband prefers the conveniences of these modern times.
I look forward to another one of recipes, in the hot milk cake. One of the things I like to do is to prepare our food as much as I can from food we have grown. Now the summer is here we try to go fishing at least once a week to supplement meals.
Blessings Gail.

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Laura Lane of Harvest Lane Cottage wrote

I'm excited about this new study. I learn so much from you and Charles. I hope to study on my own, too.

Have you seen Clara from Great Depression Cooking on YouTube? She's passed now, but her grandson made videos of her cooking things from and sharing stories from growing up during the depresson.

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Grandma Donna wrote

Laura, I loved to watch Clara when she was still living and grieved with her family when she passed away. We purchased her dvd and book.

Emma, yes we have seen wartime farm and all of the series that Ruth Goodman has made, we love them and recommend them to anyone. This was before we removed our television from the house a few years ago. :) We have the book the wartime farm that they.

Jackie, there are some comparison charts online if the search has the right key words. Unfortunately we are seeing that many people do not have the jobs and wages to keep up with the cost of living now. I do not know how young people get a footing anymore setting up a household. To get a job these days is not easy since they have gone mostly to online registering for a job, it is very intimidating to many people trying to apply, the questions endless and seems quite impersonal.

I love all of these wonderful comments, I hope everyone is enjoying reading the comments as much as I am. Even though I am having problems keeping up replying, please keep telling your stories, this is where the history is. :) Grandma Donna

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Ann E. wrote

I can't wait and I certainly can't wait to hear the 3 things you learned that you never knew!!! And didn't anyone freeze their booties off taking a wash-basin bath? Looks cold to me. LOL. I'm always cold! :)

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Grandma Donna wrote

Ann E. Queenie in Larkrise to Candleford took a washbowl bath while wearing her Chemise. :) I love that movie series. I removed our shower curtain today. Now it is tub baths and washbowl baths for one year and 28 days.... I will let you know how I stay warm taking a bath, not sure I will stay warm. I think that is why many bathed in front of a fire.

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Ann s wrote

Hello all, there is a very interesting Canadian book called Ten Lost Years, which gives highlights of different people (a chapter each) andhowthey survived during the 1930s.
These are true stories and photos from that time, very enlightening! Ann lee s

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Ann wrote

Sorry …..Ten Lost Years byBarry Broadfoot, Available through Amazon.ca
Great read true stories of surviving the 1930s.

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Bobbi in Virginia wrote

Donna and Charles, I am so excited that you have decided to study the Great Depression years. That is my favorite time in history along with the WWII years. My father was born in 1923 and my mother was born in 1927. I loved it when my mother would tell me stories about growing up in the great depression. They were both very frugal all of their lives and I am glad that I listened and learned all of the frugal practices. I have many books about the Great Depression and many cookbooks that were written during that time. The thing that I keep thinking about regarding that time is that unlike today, people didn't seem to complain about what they were going through, they just did what they had to do to survive. Also, if you look at all of the pictures of the soup and bread lines, everyone was dressed in the best clothes that they had even if they were patched or ragged, they were clean. What a strong generation of people.

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Sarah wrote

Dear grandma Donna, this will be so interesting. I wonder if you have diaries to go alongside this period of study? A good book, but set in England in the 1920's is 'A child in the Forest' by Winifred Foley. She grew up in very difficult circumstances with a father who was a miner and there were often strikes so money was very limited. It's a very interesting read!

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Grandma Donna wrote

Sarah, Yes I do have diaries that will go along with this study period. :) Reading about the 1920s is a good thing for this study because many that were living in the 1930s were still living the same or similar as they were in the 1920s. Thank you for your comment.

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Little Penpen wrote

So interesting about the candles. I've been burning more candles lately and am on always on the search for dripless candles. I'm going to pay attention and be extra careful with my new tapers, to see if I can get them to burn without dripping.

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Grandma Donna wrote

Little Penpen, let me know how it does for you. This works with all candles, as far as I can tell the tapers were more of what they used in the past. If anyone knows let me know.

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Stephenie wrote

I love your enthusiasm for learning about history. That hot milk cake looks delicious. I will try the recipe when you post it. Like you, I only use one or two lights at a time. I also turn on my hot water heater once a day, and keep it off the rest of the time.

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Diana wrote

Hello, Donna. As always, your posts are a joy to read and learn from. I had no idea about the way candles burn. It's fascinating. I would like to share with you and your readers a great resource for publications from times past. It is the Internet Archive. It can be accessed at archive.org.
One book I've enjoyed reading is Household Engineering; Scientific Management in the Home by Christine Frederick. She was an efficiency expert who published her book in 1923. Efficient practices in the home were very popular in the 1920's as homes became more modern. It also contains descriptions on how to make older homes more time and energy efficient. It is written in such a way as to impart a great sense of value to the running and keeping of the home and treats the homemaker as a person of great worth and as a business manager in a sense. This book would have been available to people in the 1929-1935 time period you will be studying and may have influenced how work got done. The best of luck to you and Charles in this new endeavor.

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Cindy wrote

Have you read “A Nickel’s Worth of Skim Milk”? It is from a little boy’s point of view of the Depression. I have read it many times. Especially when I am not thankful.
My Dad told many stories.

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Grandma Donna wrote

Thank you Cindy, Diana and Sarah for the book suggestions and Lissa the suggestion of Ken Burns dust bowl Documentary. Thank you to all for your comments and stories. There is so much good information coming from this comment section.

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Darcy wrote

Hello, Grandma Donna! My grandmother was born in 1920 and remembered the Great Depression very well. She remembered eating lots of potatoes during that time. She also told me about taking a bath in front of the fire in a tin tub. Her mother (my great-grandmother) died of kidney failure in 1933, leaving a husband and 6 children. My great-grandfather was often out of work and would take whatever work he could find. I am looking forward to this new historical study. It will be very interesting!

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sara wrote

I was reading about the air drying of hair and I realized that I have been air drying my hair nearly my entire life. There was a period when I was in my 20s and early 30s where I would blow it dry for a little while but as my hair is quite thick blowing it out would take forever and I am not that patient! I also really hate the noise of it so 60 years of mostly air drying. Sometimes after i wash it it will still be damp eight hours later but I have never found it to be uncomfortably cold. I have always thought that my hair looks its best when I dry it naturally and even when I get it cut I don't have it blown out as I never like the way it looks.

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Paula Alexandra Santos wrote

Hi, Grandma Donna!
Around here we are seing what we can change and improve next year. We want to save more and spend wisely.
Reading your post, it seems to me that some of the bad things of the 20's, sound a lot like the bad things of these 20's, so lets hope and do what we can to get through these troublesome times.
I believe that we can learn a lot from the past, but many aren't willing to "loose" their time looking at what our ancestors went through.
Have a blessed week!
:)

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Christina Davis wrote

Great pick of era to live. Recession predicted and inflation to continue. Love money saving ideas and wondered what brand covered dish you have used for the hot milk cake .
Thanks for you interesting studies!
Tina

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Grandma Donna wrote

Christina, the bowl and lid are 1930s Fire King Philbe Sapphire Blue Ovenware. Thanks for asking. :)

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