The Great Depression, life of a farmer
Uploaded by pshinckley10 on Mar 25, 2017
Farming life is hard work, but the rewards for my family have served us well over the years; however, sometimes I think we, the farmers, are the forgotten population here in Oklahoma. It seems as long as I can remember since the end of World War I we have struggled, and our efforts to gain support have been unheard. The 1920’s were difficult; however, there was a glimmer of hope for relief with the McNary-Haugen Bill which would allow the government to purchase the surplus of farm commodities; however, this was vetoed by our WONDERFUL (not) President, Calvin Coolidge. It is now 1929, and things seem to be getting worse every day.
My wife, Wilma, is an amazing woman, who works hard to take care of our three children and myself. We sustain our family by raising most of our food, canning fruits and vegetables for the winter months, and living from our garden in the summer months. We have chickens who produce eggs and poultry, cows who produce milk and beef, pigs who produce pork, and a very nice garden that supplies our vegetables. We also have a large 160-acre farm, growing wheat and cotton crops to help sustain the family. My wife is a hard worker who helps in any way she can to help sustain our family. She will even find creative ways to cloth our children, by piecing older clothing together to make new clothing. We also have the support of many of our friends and neighbors, who like us are going through very difficult times. We band together to help each other out, and to have fun and try to forget about the stress of our daily lives. We get together often to play games and allow our children to interact with other children. One of the favorite past-times for the adults is listening to the radio. We would listen to comedy shows and hear our President speak of the country and plans for something better.
I recall hearing a radio address from President Hoover in late 1929, where he had pronounced the economy, “sound and prosperous”. I don’t know what land he was living in, but my family did not feel the, “sound and prosperous”, we were struggling to make ends meet. There was a sense of fear and uncertainty, and talk among...