Small town Iowa, in 1929...I'm positive. Often, unless a date is written on the back of an old photo, we guess, but the photos themselves, leave us clues. I see my mom as a baby here, so no doubt about the year. I love this, for many reasons. The people in it, first and foremost, but there's so much more.
Grandma is the tall one...she was 5'10". My mom, at her tallest, was 5'8". That aside, I'm kind of fascinated by this photo. 1929...the beginning of the Great Depression. Obviously, there was nothing "great" about the Depression...just what it was called. I wonder what their thoughts were...beyond the day...beyond the moment. There was much that was newsworthy going on in the world in 1929, but I didn't know them then, so what was their focus? My guess...the practical.
There is no indication of affluence here, so maybe counting their nickels and dimes, was paramount to making sure there was enough food to go around for the week. I'm sure a garden flourished somewhere in the yard, and canning the resulting efforts of their hours spent in the garden, helped them to have some healthy eating options to enjoy, throughout the long winters.
This was the generation of grandma shoes, a tissue, and/or a hanky stored in the cuff of one's short sleeve, and when the boys of this generation turned into grandpas, they sat on their front porches by their radio, in their shuffle-around, slip-on slippers, while reading their latest copy of the Reader's Digest.
People bemoan the passing of the "old days," believing life was more simple then. Never, has life been simple...for any generation. Nor, will life ever be simple. Let's not delude ourselves. And so it goes.
Comments
Post a Comment