The Good Old Days
Letters from my Grandmother
 
 
March 30, 2001
"It was bad times through the thirties.  Was 1929 I think when the stock market went bust and people in it lost everything.  Course we didn't have any but it caused bad times, no work and no money.  What work there was pay was so low, of course things you bought were cheap but not much money to spend. "Your grandpa worked for $1 a day sometimes when he didn't sharecrop.  During the thirties, before WW II in 1941, the government had what they called the WPA, was government jobs, forestry work, building roads, bridges, different projects.  They wouldn't give your grandpa a job, guess cause we lived in the country. "They had what they called soup kitchens in the cities for people to go to for one meal a day, for the younger boys 16-21 they had CCC Camps was called.  They were furnished tents to live in and travelled from one place to another to work projects in forestry, planting trees and many different kinds of work for a place to live and meals.  Maybe they got $1 a day.  Would be gone from home months at a time. "Your grandpa sharecropped raising corn and tobacco.  The landlord furnished a house to live in but when we left Indiana for Michigan in February, 1938 we had never had electric in the house or water.  The last place we lived we had a nice spring house close by where we got our water.  It came from the hill above and was good cold water.  Was running water from the spring where we could put foodstuffs to keep it cold.  We did get a round copper clothes washer in 1937.  It had a gasoline engine.  You stepped on foot pedal to start it.  Was November, 1940 after we moved to another farm from that we had electric and he put an electric motor to run it, that was a big day.  We had running water at kitchen sinks but no bathroom.  This was second farm we lived at in Michigan.  The first we moved to from Indiana was owned by a man in Brookville that had a variety store.  It was a good-sized house.  We had a pitcher pump in the kitchen.  Well was just outside kitchen door in enclosed porch.  No electric at this house so we pumped water into a tank to cool the cans of milk.  A young couple of neighbors, he was our milk man that picked up our milk each morning.  Alice and Wayne Almond, we still keep in touch after all these years. "We only had regular kerosene lamps in Indiana.  Then at this place we got alladin lamps, used white gasoline, made a better light.  We raised sheep, had milk cows, grew corn, oats and soy beans.  This is first time we had a radio, was a floor model, took a battery like a car and would have to have it recharged, seems like every month at least... "Several farms nearby gathered maple water from maple groves and made syrup and maple sugar, that was real tasty.  People at this farm before us had made maple syrup there was lots of buckets and spikes to put in the trees in a storage room. "We moved from this farm at Union City to one at Bronson where I wrote of earlier, to where we moved and had electric.  Moved November, 1940 and your dad was born next November, 1941 and World War II started 7th December after.  We were able to get a electric radio and frigerator, electric iron and electric motor for washing machine and didn't need kerosene lamps no more. "We were finally able to buy a farm close to Coldwater and left the rented farm at Bronson, Michigan in February, 1943.  The house wasn't as nice but had nearly new nice red barn.  We raised sheep and had milk cows.  This house was on a corner at crossroads and country school house across the road is where your dad started school.  Still no bathroom and deer was seen a lot at this place we lived. "The war years got to be everything rationed, nothing was hardly made except for war effort.  Couldn't hardly find clothes for kids or grown-ups, had to make everything last.  Gas was rationed, no cars to buy if you had the money.  You had to have stamp book and points for each one in family.  Nearly everything was rationed.  Course we being on a farm we had vegetables, eggs, milk and butter we didn't need to use stamps for.  Raisins, sugar and many things we used stamps for.  Lots of times no coffee was to be had in the store.  And if you saw a line of people at the store everybody would go.  Might have coffee, soap powder or something you needed may have come in. "Then the war was over in `45 and things was improving.  We sold the farm in November, 1948 in Michigan and cows, chickens and furniture and moved to a house at Newport Richey, Florida.  Your dad had just had his 7th birthday.  Your grandpa had gone to Florida that fall and bought the house, it was furnished and had lots of all kinds of citrus in a big yard and this is first place we had electric and running water.  Bathroom, hot and cold water all at same time.  Also our first telephone.  And the regular monthly fee for local calls was $1.00 and got it on a post card.  In some ways you must pretty lucky don't you think, even with our high prices. "The Bravards I think was known of their wanderlust.  Your grandpa couldn't find work that paid enough and I think he missed farm life.  He left, came back to Indiana.  The kids and I stayed till March and he came after us.  We lived in Dublin till fall `48 when we moved to the farm house. "Hope this isn't too boring.  In writing I can visualize like it was yesterday and it's been 70 years..."
This is from one of a series of letters my grandmother wrote about her life in Indiana in Michigan.
The Bravard family in 1946
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