Choose your option:
1. Talk to a relative about their experiences during the Great Depression and share how the Depression affected him or her.
2. Current recession: How has the most recent recession affected you and/or your family, how might if affect your future plans.
3. Respond to a story found at: http://www.erroluys.com/WhatLifeWasLikeintheGreatDepression.htm
For full credit, answer must be reflective. Respond to classmates' posts when appropriate. Please post by Saturday, December 11, 2010.
70 comments:
The most recent recession has affected many people in many ways. It has taken a huge toll on the housing industry which caused people to suffer everywhere. It is probably the thing that affected my family the most, when the housing industry collapsed the prices of the houses collapsed. When the houses price's went down the money lost on the house was not of the banks money it was the equity that you put into the house. So if you bought a house for 1,000,000 dollars and you put in 400,000 dollars for equity as th ehouse prices go up the money you put in goes up too it's the same as an investment but the problem is when the prices of the houses collapse so does your money. This affected my family the most because we used money in the house to do things like go on vacation or stuff like that but when it collapsed the money was gone and everything became much tighter.
2. The recent recession has affected by family, but not to the extreme of how hte depression affected the people during that time. The recent recession though has made my family cut back on things like turning the heat down and we changed almost all of our lightbulbs to the energy saving kind just so that we can spend less money. We also are now constantly unplugging things like the cable and the tv when they aren't being used. This is similar to a degree to the time during the depression when people started to conserve the things that they had. The current recession as is going to affect my choices for college. With schools being so expensive and having less money to spare the amount of money that i get from colleges and their fees are really going to be a big factor or where I choose to go for college. This is also similar to the drepession since at that time many kids stopped going to school in order to get jobs to help out their families. Overall the recent recession is affecting me and my family similarily to how if affected people during the drepession.
Hunter French
Class 1
I wanted to respond to the story of James San Jules and his father who was "probably a millionaire" before the banks crashed in 1929. What interested me most about his story was when he explained that before the banks crashed money hadn't meant anything to him - it was just there, something he didn't need to worry about or really think about. It wasn't until after the economy collapsed that he began to understand both the value of money and the meaning of being poor. I can relate to this in that for much of my life growing up money didn't mean anything to me. It meant buying birthday and Christmas presents, it meant a new pair of shoes if I had been saving up. Recently, however, my perspective has changed. As college looms nearer money has gained new value to me. I've even had to get a job to help offset college costs. The recent recession has also opened my eyes to the value of money. Like Hunter, my family is doing everything we can to cut down on expenses. We've been switching out light bulbs, we've been turning down the heating and wearing sweaters, we've been taking shorter showers. In short, my life may not be completely and utterly altered like San Jules, but the recession and simply growing older has provided me with new insight into the worth of money and it's affects in my life.
To correlate with Josh's comment, I also find that the housing industry has tooken a huge hit. I recently saw an article regarding houses in the south, and i can relate because I was born in Atlanta, GA. The price of a 5 bedroom 6 bath house down there has tanked down to $350,000. Likewise in the north, that same house would probably be originally worth a $1,000,000 now looking at $650,000; still a "bloated" price. Personally, the recent recession hasn't affected my family that much. Considering the facts that the bounce in the economy now has sent our original depleted, family stocks and shares from undervalued to excelling value. I think in someways the recession was a blessing. Though, it may not seem like it. I feel that the recession made everyone more conscientious and on top of their game, when it comes to finding ways to save money like hunter described with energy saving lightbulbs. Something like that in most cases where human beings like ourselves become more conscientious leaves a trickling effect for many areas of concern such as the environment, creating jobs etc.
-Mason West
Upon reading "I Used to Beg for Food," I was baffled by the extent of the effects of the Depression on some people. The story says, "He [Pearson] was sixteen when he first rode the rails in 1930 and would continue to hop freights until 1942." This really struck me for a couple reasons. First, Pearson was only sixteen years old when he lost his job and had to fend for himself by hopping freights. I am sixteen now and I cannot fathom surviving on my own, especially with literally no belongings or money like Pearson. The story also mentions that Pearson "rode the rails" from 1930 to 1942. For twelve years he had to live on next to nothing. Again, this really amazes me because twelve years is a very long time. To be living the live of "riding the rails" for twelve years seems excruciatingly difficult and depressing, with a constant fear of starvation and homelessness. Just a few weeks ago, I was in New Haven sitting outside at a restaurant when a homeless person came and asked for food. Moreover, I recently saw a commercial that said one in four people struggle with starvation. And like Hunter and Mikaela, I know numerous people who have had to cut back on daily household expenses. The recession of today has clearly taken a toll on many people. The effects of it can definitely be seen all around the country. However, as bad as the recession of today may be, I do not think it is as detrimental to citizens as the Depression was. Unlike Hunter, I do not think that the Depression and today's recession have similar effects on people. The severity of the effects of the Depression definitely outweighs the effects of this recession. Yes, the recession is certainly affecting our country and has caused setbacks and obstacles for many people, yet the effects of the Depression were undoubtedly more widespread and destructive, in my opinion.
The current recession has affected my family in some ways more than others. Both of my parents have been lucky enough to keep there jobs and have a steady income over the past 2 years. This doesn't mean that things haven't changed throughout the house. We buy less food at the grocery store and use less water and electricity around the house. We don't nearly go out to dinner as much and usually cook at home. We also buy more used items like sports and musical equipment and electronics. Traveling less , using less gas and finding cheaper ways to do everything lately is what has kept my family and most other families to stay away from debt and foreclosures. I think that the biggest mistake people have done before the recession was buying things they couldn't afford and thus creating debt and then when the recession started their debts grew so much they had to sell their house and couldn't afford cars or most things they had before. I know the economy here and in China has affected everyone in the world but America has been one of the hardest hit because we are known to buy a lot and save enough. If we could learn how to spend money more wisely and to be smarter with our money it wouldn't have been as big of a problem. All the simple things my family has done to save money has allowed us to keep doing the essentials like buying things we need more than things we want and hasn't affected how we live our normal lives as much as others.
-Stefan H
1. After talking to my mom about my grandma's (who passed away) experiences during the Great Depression, I learned a great deal about my grandma's experiences and how much the Depression affected her and her family. No one in my grandma's family was employed; there was no work even available. My grandma's father, my great-grandfather, would take his leftover lira (Italian currency) and wait in lines at the seaport for hours upon hours. Sometimes he would spend all night waiting for one sack of potatoes or one sack of wheat to use for meals for the entire week. My grandma's family survived the Depression on only these items. However, these items were in the worst shape possible; most of these sacks were filled with bugs and soils. Besides the lack of food, my grandma's family was unable to afford electricity during the Depression and other household items. My grandma's family learned how to make their own clothes and own soaps to help them survive. Since no one could afford medicine, many people were getting sick with tuberculosis and my grandma witnessed many of her friends and neighbors die around her. I know that the Depression was the hardest thing that my Grandma had to overcome. However, like Mason said, I believe that both the Depression and the recent recession have both been a little bit of a blessing. Both the Depression and the recession have changed the way that people acted; people became more conscientious of how their money was spent and using their own resources to help them on a daily basis. I also agree with JoJo that the Depression took a much harder toll on the people that were affected by it than those who were affected by the recession.
Amanda Stanton
Class 6
I believe the most recent recession has affected everyone in one way or another. Like Stefan and Hunter's families, mine has decided to cut down a lot on the non-necessities. This includes not going out to dinner or ordering take out as much as before. Instead, we cook more at home. It's a small thing, but it does save money. Furthermore, we have significantly cut down on gas due to the rising prices. We car pool a lot with friends and family and avoid going places unless we really need to. Being a new driver, it's definitely hard for me to judge how far the gas in my car can take me. I need to reserve gas and strategize where I go. Also, the recession has affected my family by causing us to stop buying brand new items such as cars, musical instruments, etc. Instead, we buy some things used. This recession is all about conserving money in preparation for it to get worse. We are not in a depression right now, but by cutting down ahead of time, we might be reducing the hardship we could potentially endure if the economy does get worse. The recession has also affected my future plans because, as mentioned by Hunter, college is expensive. Considering tuition is now a major part of deciding what college to go to. We have to think about if we really want to graduate and start life with $80,000 in debt. It's a tough decision, but I feel like the entire recession is. It's a series of tough decisions every American must make. There are sacrifices we may not want to take but are ultimately unavoidable.
Justina Paproski
Class 4
The recent recession has definately affected my family. We are trying to save our money and only spend it on necessities. For example, my family used to go out to dinner a couple of times a month. Now, we rarely go out to eat, because we can cook meals at home that will cost a lot less than a restaurant. Also, my dad always talks about how people at his company are constantly being laid off. Because of this, he puts in extra hours so that he can try hard to keep his job. This affects my family, because my dad gets home late at night so I barely get to see him. In addition to this, the recession has caused my family to hold off on home repairs, like painting our house. We are trying to conserve our money and only buy the essentials. This recession will affect my future. Just like Hunter, an expensive college is going to be difficult to pay for. The prices of colleges are going up, and wages are going down. The recession does not make it easier to pay for these expensive colleges. Even though finding a job is difficult nowadays, I will need to find a job to help pay my tuition.
Jess Haitz
class 1
After reading "My father was probably a millionaire", I was very surprised to find out just how much the Great Depression changed James San Jule's life. I agree with Mikaela, how it was interesting that before it happened, money didn't really mean anything to him, but in the end it greatly altered his way of living. Instead of going off to college and law school, he ran away with nowhere to go and not knowing what to do next. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for the kids our age, nearly 250,000, who ran away and lived their young lives on the railways. Instead of having the convinces we have today like housing, food and education, they lived in the boxcars of the railroads, often had to beg for food,and didn't get an education because many schools shut down as a result of the depression. When looking at the comparisons of the lives of these teens and our lives during the recession, I agree with Jojo that the effects of the recession are definitely not as extreme as those during the Great Depression. The recession has caused many problems for many people,and has caused economic troubles throughout the country, but not to the extent the Great Depression had on the people during that time.
-Erin T
During this current recession, my family, although we haven’t been extremely affected, are experiencing some minor hardships. In the article, Jule says, “I didn't think much of money in those days. It was just something we had." I can completely relate to this. When I was little and the economy wasn’t that bad, I had no worries at all. My parents covered the cost of everything, and both of them had a steady job. The only thing my dad asked us all to do to save money was to turn off the lights before leaving a room- that was it. He never told us not to buy a couple treats at the grocery store every time we went shopping, and we were free to spend money on countless things we wanted, not necessarily needed. We had little worries about the future because we were sure of our economic stability. This all changed. In 2007, my mom gave birth to my beautiful sister, Sophia, and she resigned from her job as a result. Now, our only source of income comes from my dad. My dad is maintaining a good job and paycheck, but the company he works for (Pepperidge Farm) isn’t hiring or giving anyone a raise. Although my dad is still able to work there, he needs to work extra hard and take less time off. The quality of our lifestyle depends on the money he earns. However, my parents are urging us to help out in any way we can. We are spending less on food, clothing, gadgets, etc., and we are mindful of the money we are spending on the littlest things, even as little as a pack of gum worth less than a dollar. It all adds up! As Stefan says, “I think that the biggest mistake people have done before the recession was buying things they couldn't afford and thus creating debt and then when the recession started their debts grew so much they had to sell their house and couldn't afford cars or most things they had before.” I agree with this, and I think that my family is mindful of this when we are making bigger investments, such as college. Three people in my family, including myself, are going to be in college all at once, so this will definitely affect my life now and in the future. My parents are using a more “cash on the barrel” approach when it comes to paying for all the expenses, so they want each of us to get a job- it doesn’t matter where it is- to help them out. My mom says that she doesn’t want us to need to continue to pay for college after we graduate. That may be risky, especially if we lean too heavily on loans. Overall, each of us has to be more careful when it comes to spending, similar to how it was during the depression.
The current recession hasn't really affected my family. Like Stefan, my father did not lose his job. HP bought the company he was president of and they kept him on the team to sell his software. When they bought the company we got his share of the stocks and then paid off the rest of the house. Another thing was that we did not buy a new house. We lived within our means and did not buy lots of new things. A lot of people who got hit the hardest were the ones who bought more than they could afford like fancy cars, or a new house. I have been told that some families buy a new car every few years or move into larger houses often. We have lived in the same house the whole time we have been in New England(17 years), and only buy a new car when the ones we have cost more to fix than a new one. I think that it is this lack of large spending and getting into debt that served my family best during the recession.
As for my future plans, unless I want to go to a really expensive private school, the only factor as to if I can go there is if I get in. Scholarships are very nice as they lessen any financial burdens, but we don't need them to completely pay for my education as my parents have been putting aside money every month since I was born.
2. The current recession has greatly affected how my family lives our daily lives. My parents rely on me and my sister to pay for ourselves when we go out with our friends because their money must be put toward more important things for our family. We go out to eat less than we used to and make more meals for special occasions. When buying more expensive and extravagent gives we use Ebay or other places with discounted prices. Instead of being a 3 car family, we have reduced to being a 2 car family. To further save money, my family has stopped leaving lights on and unplugging cords to save our electrical bill. Although both my parents have kept their jobs, I have gotten a job to help out with expenses and be more independent with my spending in the future. I will make smarter decisions with things I buy and make sure it's something I know I will use. It is important that we stay in this money saving routine until we can get out of this recession.
Maddie Dorso class 1
Reading “35 Cents for Three Weeks’ Work” made me recognize how many aspects of my life I take for granted. Similar to what Jojo described of Pearson, I can't imagine what it would be like to have to support myself at just 14 years old as Vic Williams was forced to do with his 16-year-old brother Burton. They left the comfort of their home in the hopes of earning a decent amount of money, only to find that after three weeks of picking cotton they were paid a mere 35 cents. I realize how fortunate I am in the sense that I am not obligated to have a job in order to help support my family. I am also grateful for the amount that I get paid from occasionally babysitting or petsitting. It's unbelievable to me that I can be paid $10 an hour, whereas Vic and Burton received only 35 cents for 3 weeks. Furthermore, after reading about the experiences of boxcar boys and girls, I am thankful to simply have a roof over my head, and the security of a consistent education. I am also glad to have had a relatively stress free childhood in comparison to kids on the railroads whose "memories are a mixture of nostalgia and pain; their late musings still tinged with the fear of going broke again" (erroluys).
In relation to the current recession, I have new respect for the financial decisions that my parents have to make. As Mikaela described, the idea of college and life without the support of my parents has caused me to reconsider how I spend and save my money. I know that it is in my best interest to understand now how to invest in order to support myself in the future.
Hannah Maret
Class 6
2. The reccent recession, I agree with Josh, has affected many people in different ways. May it be through cutting back with money or just being more careful on how you spend it. Or just watching your other family/friends suffer around you. Either way the experience will change you. This recession has hurt my own family a good amount, but not as drastically as it had way back then. First off there weren't as many homeless or jobless, although the number is pretty close and the government hasn't passed any current bills that helps us get more jobs, reflecting on the idea that the government stays out of buisneiss. Futhermore, I agree with Hunter on how like most families back then we have also cut back and been a lot more conservative to strech our own money to the last penny. Also, this has affected my college choices. Now I feel more oblgied to receiving a college scholarship through not only soccer but also hopefully achademically as well. In conclusion this recent recession is affecting my family in similar ways it had affected other families so long ago.
Well All my grandparents that were in the great depresion are dead. But i remember some stories about how it was a very bad situation for them and one story about how at one time it was so bad for them at christmas, all there parents were able to get them for chritmas were an orange. Also how the saved everything and never threw any of there stuff away because everything was very important to them so they did not want to throw anytrhing out. When my grandma was still alive i remember her basement and attic was full of junk that she did not even need anymore, but cuz she had to go through the great depresion she basicly horded everything because it was all so important to her and stuff.
I chose to read the story "My Father Was Probably A Millionaire" and this story stuck out to me for many reasons. The boy talks about how his father had a load of money and he was set for life. He had two great colleges to go to and had a plan. I found this story to be very similar to the way most of us live in this generation. Like the boy in the story, we tend to not think about what we have and how much wealth we have compared to others. We don't have to worry about half as much as the people did during the depression. However what enlightened me the most was how money can drastically change your life and no matter how much money you have, it wont necessarily save you. For instance, the boy in the story's "life [was] blasted out of existence" because of how the depression affected him. I also agree with Mikaela in that most people don't think about money and saving until it's gone and this can happen at any given time.
Nicole
Class 6
2. As with many of my classmates, the recent recession has affected my families spending. Both of my parents were able to keep their jobs, so the impact was not as substantial for my family. However, we still continue to cut down spending on things such as heat, clothing, and luxury items. Also, we do not go on vacations during school breaks.
From this recession, my parents also required me to get my own job in order to pay for a portion of my first car, as well as some insurance and gas money. Although I was reluctant, working towards buying my first car taught me money management and responsibility.
Similar to Hunter's post, I think this recession will affect my future college plans the most. I will probably choose a college that offers the best scholarships and lower tuition. Also, I will have to research which schools will give financial aid, as my sisters had to do. Overall, I may not be able to go to the best college I am accepted to because of the cost.
Jessa Mason
Class 1
Like many other families, the recession has affected my family. Because my dad is in the marketing and advertising industry, he lost business when other companys could no longer afford to pay for advertising. This resulted in my father and his business associate to work without taking a paycheck from their company for about a year. Money became tight for my family and we had to cut back on many of the frivolous unnecessary things that we once had. Luckily we were able to keep our three cars unlike a few of my classmates. But I had to get a job to be able to pay for my own gas and have my own spending money. I could no longer rely on my parents to supply me with money. We also stopped heating our pool because it raised our gas prices exponentially. But over the past year my father and mother have both received more work and we are much better off. For a time we were unable to eat out very frequently, but now it is actually a possibility. The time in which we had no steady income was not a good one, but the situation has improved greatly since then.
The recession is bound to affect most families currently residing in the US. My family, taking much similar actions to those of Hunter's, has cut down on using the heat, stopped going out to dinner on a regular/weekly basis, and becoming conscious of what is necessary to buy and what isn't. The hardest thing that my family is facing is paying for collage, with the taxes rising and the housing industry collapsing. In order to save money for this efficiantly, my family along with many others cut down on actions which conditionally seem small and ineffective, but add up in the end when that time to pay for college and other immense expences come along. Families with multiple children and a lower income are going to have a much harder time dealing with this. Parents even with an average income start putting money away monthly for their children's school expenses when they still have to save up for themselves when they retire because some funds aren't enough to live realistically in this crashing resession. It has forced citizens to become more aware, practical, and ultimately less materialistic about what is absolutely necessary to buy what isn't. We are breaking life down to its ultimate simplicity and luckily still remaning content. the recession is a wake up call... maybe we need to cope with what we, as a human race, have provoked and accept it. There isn't much else we can do.
---Julie
The recession has caused my family and myself to be more aware of our spending. The fact that my brothers are freshman in college this year along with the holiday season beginning, my parents have been trying harder then ever to save money. My mom has reduced the amount of food and the number of trips she takes to the grocery store, my dad actually plans to quit smoking cigarettes because they have become too expensive for him to continue purchasing, and they have flat out told me that I shouldn't expect too many things this year for Christmas because of the fact that I'm older now and they wish to save money. My dad owns his own business and it is obvious that he has been working longer and harder. My mom is a hair stylist and she has been working more often than usual as well. I'm currently in the process of finding a job because I know that I shouldn't be expecting handouts from my parents as often as I used to.
My mother actually wanted to upgrade our kitchen and bathrooms but right now, our family has been focusing on purchasing essentials and holding off on the things we simply want.
As many people have already said, it is a rough time economically for many families. The recession affects ones family in every possible way, for the main reason that almost everything is affected by money. The biggest affect this recession has on families is the mental aspect, with the lack of money and fear of unemployment stress is a constant burden in everyones life. For many people the holiday season is a season of stress itself, and the recession makes it that much worse. I am very thankful that at this bad time, the recession does not affect the sale of sewer and pipe lining, my dad's occupation. My life has definitely changed in the last year or two, but nothing like many other suffering kids. Life Stefan, I have only suffered minor changes like less Christmas presents and more pizza nights. I am very thankful that my dad is not greatly affected like most of the industries in America and around the world. I will value everything I have at this special but costly time of year, and be sure to remember and reach out to the others that are less fortunate than myself.
-Will Fletcher
Class 4
Day to day I never notice how much the recent recession has impacted my family; however, looking back there were many aspects of my life that have drastically altered.
Although both of my parents have been fortunate enough to keep their jobs, living in separate houses has had a major effect on our lives because of finances. Due to all the lay-offs over the last few years, my parents have reduced their spending and only purchased necessities and kept any and all spending to a minimum, much like Justina's family.
Although my immediate family hasn't been too affected by this recession, my uncle has been out of work for the last two years and is often struggling to get by. This can show how one setback in the economy can affect many people. My uncle was a construction worker, but as the economy worsened, people began building less and less, thus he loses his job. Because he loses his job, businesses lose him as a costumer and everyone begins to suffer. This just goes to show that although many people have had only to cut back on extra spending, many people have lost almost everything they have depending on what profession they have/had, how they planned for any financial difficulty and how they changed their ways as the recession began.
In terms of my future plans, this recession is greatly affecting my ability to go to college. Before and during the beginning of the recession, my older sister and brother were attending college and have only recently graduated. My parents helped support them through college and they may only have a small debt to pay from their loans comparatively to what I will have to pay when I graduate college. My parents still have three more children to support through college and even though the recession is worsening, the price of college continues to rise. By the time I am able to attend college, I will have to pay much more than my sister and brother did and I will have less money to spend, as well. Through this recession, I have learned that I will have to be careful with the money I have now and begin saving for my future in case something like this were to happen again.
Colleen Cosgrove
Period 4
My grandpa talked to me about the Great Depression, and said that his family was only slightly affected. He grew up in brooklyn, and his father lost a job because of the crashing economy. However, his father found another job selling and making plastics, and became quite successful. My grandpa said that the hardest part of it all was seeing the poor people on the street with their children, and seeing the long lines of men trying to find work. He peddled apples with another teenager, and made a small amount of money. All in all, my grandpa survived the Great Depression, and I'm lucky that he had the life that he did. If he hadn't, I could be in a completely different lifestyle and economic status than I am.
Jake Tolson
2. The most recent recession has not extremely affected my family but we have made some changes. This winter my parents have avoided putting on the heat until absolutely necessary. So my family members have been forced to wear multiple layers, and use lots of blankets. Like Stefan's family we have cut back on luxury items. Even though my family is fortunate enough to be minimaly unaffected by this recession I still try to spend as little as possible. Like when going to the movies, I don't buy snacks anymore instead I bring my own. And my family does not go out to eat often, mostly eatting at home. Like many other we buy used items instead of brand new, and carpool. My family has been trying to save as much as they can, but the recession has not hit us that hard.
-Taylor Smith Period 4
The Great Depression molded the minds and behaviors of my grandparents who grew up in New York City. My grandmother just turned 90 years old and she still talks about what it was like growing up during this time. Although my great grandfather was a shoemaker and had a job at this time, it did not pay enough money to support his wife and his six children so every 6 – 8 months they had to move to a new apartment because they could not pay the rent. Similar to Amanda’s grandparents, my grandmother and her sisters learned how to sew their own clothes and make simple household items to save money. Also, similar to Rick’s family, Christmases were very modest. My grandmother and her sisters and brothers could each get just one gift at a local toy store for a nickel. They even waited till late on Christmas Eve to buy their Christmas tree because then they could purchase it for almost nothing and, of course, they had to drag it for blocks to their apartment building in the snow and carry it up five flights of stairs. My grandmother always says that, “It really didn’t matter as long as we were all together.” Family meant more than any material possession. She also mentioned that if ever they had a little extra food or clothing, it was always given away to someone in need because there were just so many people without the basic necessities. My grandfather, on the other hand, did not talk much about the depression, however, it effected him most of all. He saved every penny he earned and worked until one week before he died at 85 years old. Right before he died, my mom asked him about his youth and why he moved away from his four brothers and three sisters who he rarely saw in his later years, and he responded, “You don’t understand, you had to go where the jobs were. I would hear about one single job opportunity and show up at the company early and there would be over 100 men waiting in line for that same one job.” See Jake, maybe when your grandfather was looking at the long line of men trying to find work, my grandfather might have been one of the men in that line.
Lisa Ferrari
My grandmother was born in 1925, in Connecticut, and she was raised on a farm. Surprisingly, when the depression hit, her father's general store was still successful. Obviously they weren't rich, but the store stayed in business and my grandma worked there, without getting paid to make sure that they made profit. Nothing really changed through that time, the farm supported the family, while the store paid the bills, so they really didn't have much economic hardship. And as she grew older, the family continued to be alright. It was one of the only stores in town so it got the most revenue of anything. they just lived off of what they had, they reused as much as possible, and didn't really buy much, but they didn't mind it, so they survived. Now, she is experiencing this recession and she already has the experience necessary to cope, which has helped the family greatly.
My grandma and grandpa were born during the time of the recession. When I spoke with her she said it was truly very different from now for her. She remembers growing up with few toys, and that both her parents worked as much as they possibly could. Similar what Hunter said, how his family cuts back on heat, my grandma said they did cut backs as well. She said certain foods they would not buy a lot, if ever. Jojo talked about starvation and use of food. This correlates to what my grandma was explaining to me in terms of how they really did watch what they bought and when getting back into the swing of things, (as of before the depression.) Stefan said that both of his parents have not lost their jobs during this most recent recession, my great grandparents were lucky that they never lost their jobs. They had tough times where they had to use significant cut backs on most things, as said before. Unlike ricky's story, my grandma was able to receieve a single toy on christmas or most years. Her most memorable one was a doll. It had a blue dress on with blonde hair. The doll was small, a little more than 6 inches, but it meant the world to her. She had it for so many years and still remembers finding it when about to move into her most recent house. It just showed how much the small things meant to her and the rest of her family, while times were rough they stuck together.
Katie Shirley
Period 4
The recent recession has affected my family in many ways. Like Madeline, my father works in advertising through his own company called Research Solutions, and he lost many clients that ended up not being able to pay him for advertising, therefore losing business. We have, like others, cut down on non-necessities, and found ways to save money for things like gas and food. My mother's old car, a Toyota Matrix, had to be filled up every two days after her commute to the Bronx for work. After we bought a hybrid, she doesn't nearly have to fill it up as much. We rarely eat out. My brother who lives apart from us in his own apartment in Milford also has made similar changes.
I talked to my grandparents about their experience during the depression. My grandpa was born in 1932,but was able to recall his parent's experience. He told me that in 1929, his parents were engaged to be married. At the time, my great grandpa worked for a newspaper in CT. Immediatly after they were married he lost his job,due to the depression. Finally, he was able to find a new job,but they were forced to move all the way to yonkers New York. He worked there and so did my great grandma. My great grandpa was trained to be a Lino type machine operator. In 1932, things started to look up for them,and they moved back to CT where my great grandpa was able to find another job.
Both my grandma and grandpa told me that although they do not remember the years of the depression because they were too young, they still learned growing up to never waste anything. They learned to be careful with their money. They were also taught to never throw away food because there are people starving, and we shouldn't waste. My grandma said that even if she had a hole in her sock,it would be patched and she would still wear it. She also said that her mom would wash off peper plates and use them again.
From interviewing my grandparents i realized that the depression did not only effect the people who lived during it, but it also effected the generations to come.
Option 1:
Although my grandmother passed away a few months ago, after talking to my dad I learned a little bit about her past during the Great Depression. Her family, like Amanda’s grandma’s family, was greatly affected. She lived in Southern California with her mother, sister, and father. Her father and mother both lost their jobs. The stress that the Great Depression caused led her father actually became abusive to the family. Ironically, as many people at the time traveled to California, my grandmother, her mother, and her sister fled to New York. So my grandmother had to leave everything behind with no job and no father. So rather than having developed traits of hoarding from this time period, my grandmother was very accepting of letting go. Up until her death she lived by herself with just the basic life necessities. The Great Depression indeed made her a stronger person. I feel like this relates to our current recession. America’s current state may be hard now, but in the end it is bringing people together in hopes of change’ economically and socially. My grandma ended up having a very happy ending with a successful career and a long, happy life. Hopefully my generation’s life will be just as positive.
Lauren Bauer
Class 4
The recent recession has effected me much like Hunter. My parents both still have there jobs but because of the recent recession things like going out to eat and turning the heat up a little when it gets cold are history. also the topic of college has become more and more painful for my parents because of how much our college funds have dropped. Although we still have a good life and we are no where near having to beg for food or leave our home. it really has just caused us to cut back our spending and look at what we really need a little more.
The recent recession hasn’t drastically changed the way my family lives. Like Hunter’s family my parent’s switched all the light bulbs in my house to CFL’s and we have tried to use the lights only when we need to, and that has saved about $10 a month, after a while it adds up to a lot of saved money. Last year my parents bought a wood stove so we use it to keep the house warm without letting the heat turn on all at the cost of the dead trees we found when we first moved in. Recently the price of gasoline has risen so now we use one car and we only go out when we need to. Right now my family and I are only buying what we need rather than what we want so over our vacations we take fewer trips than we used to before the recession.
The current recession might affect my future plans because like many of my classmates have said that college is more expensive than ever so there will be more money to off than other students had to pay. In order to save up more money, I would have to get a job soon to help out my parents pay for my education.
Edith Campos
Period 4
2. Like the majority of my classmates, the current recession has affected my family. As Stefan said, it hasn't hit my family very hard. My dad still has his job, but it's always nerve racking to know that so many people are getting laid off because you never know who it will happen to. My mother has taken up a part time job to earn extra cash. Also, like many of my classmates, I have gotten a job. I use the money I make on things I want because my family only pays for what is a necessity. Also, we are paying for my sister's college education, so w things have gotten tighter. Like Maddie, Stefan, Hunter, and Justina, my family has been going out to dinner less and cutting out little things. We always turn off and unplug anything electronic when it is not being used. Also, I've noticed my family has began using a lot more coupons and taken advantage of lower prices and sales. We definitely take advantage of places with low gas prices too. It's hard to say how this recession will affect my future. For all I know the economy could totally flip flop and things could be better than ever. But based on right now, the toughest thing will be college choice. It will be hard to pay for an expensive school, so any opportunity for scholarships, at school jobs, or financial aid will be taken.
Nicole D
Class 1
Although the current recession has not affected my family in a significant and/or noticeable way (from my viewpoint, at least), the Great Depression had a profound impact on my grandpa, Carl Leiner. He was rather young at the time, but he was still responsible for supporting his mother and his remaining younger siblings and thus required a job, although there were none. The establishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps gave him much needed employment. He enlisted in 1935 to a CCC camp in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, working as an orderly in the infirmary, as well as aiding in forestry. He earned about 30 dollars a month, 25 of which was sent home to his family. He was discharged from the Corps in 1937, when he was lucky enough to get a job working in a tool factory.
The recent recession has effected a lot of Americans and has left a lot of Americans without work to provide for their family. Personally, I am grateful that the recession didn't effect my family as tremendously. My father did not lose his job and was actually promoted much like Chad's father. He has always been very money conscious and a penny pincher but with the country in an economic slump these attributes became more apparent. He doesn't like when my mom comes home with a bag from the mall, he may not say it because he knows its a Christmas present, but we all know how he truly feels. This past summer I got my first job working at a toy store. The money I make will be my extra spending money in college because my dad is willing to pay for my education. He has recently begun talking to me about scholarships and if I want to play a sport in college where I could somehow get a scholarship. I know this would be ideal for everyone in my family if I was able to off set my college expenses. In the recession many people are thinking seriously about if college is the right path for them because maybe their family can't support them through college. This recession has many people re-thinking their decisions such as college or buying a house. In the future I think the recession will definitely effect the way people spend money much like the people after the Great Depression. I thin people will take that extra second before buying that cute pair of shoes or new t-shirt.
Meredith Bridges
Class 6
I would have to agree with Erin and Mikaela about the story "My father was probably a millionaire." This poor kid never realized how important money really was. He ignored the fact that there were tons of other people that were not as fortunate as him. When the Depression hit, he was quickly forced to make changes to his life. I feel that if this ever happened to my family, I would be in complete shock, and wouldn't really know what to do. My family has been pretty fortunate with money so as we have not had to worry much, but I know that if my dad ever lost his job, there would be a need for immediate life changes, just like San Jule. I find it hard to image a life like San Jule's, where one minute you feel like you can do anything and everything and the next you are scraping food out of the garbage. It is horrible that something so extreme actually happened to people during the Great Depression. I don't think I will ever be able to truly understand how incredibly awful that situation might be. It is just so hard to imagine.
Jess Lynch
Class 1
After reading the story "I used to beg for food", it really gave me an idea of how hard the depression was for younger people. To have hopped freights when you are 16, it shows how mature teenagers had to be to cope with the times. Pearson also says that his father told him he could no longer support him and had to go fend for himself. I think that this must have been tough to hear at such a young age but finding a job and buying his parents out of servitude was the right thing to do. Overall i think that this story sheds a different light on the depression because of the age Pearson was when he lived through it.
In response to the story, "My father was probably a millionaire," it comes to my recognition that many young people were not completely aware of the depression until they realized they had no food, or no longer had a home to live in. James San Jule says that before the Great Depression, he never really thought about money because he thought it did not have a large impact on him. He thought wrong though. When Jule's father was drowned out by the depression, he finally realized how helpless he was without money, food, and now his father to help him. San Jule says, "What's a kid to do?" He did not even grasp the concept of why or how the Depression occurred, he just knew that nothing good could become of his future. Like Mikaela said, he didn't actually understand the value of money and being poor until the banks crashed. San Jule then found running away to be his best solution at this time, so he did.
I find that I can relate to San Jule in his situation because I try not to think about money too much, but recently, with the current recession going on, I am sort of forced to be aware of the money spent in my family. Our family has definitely been trying not to spend excessive amounts during this time period. Also, as a family we have been working to limit usage of household appliances to keep bills down. For example, we burn firewood instead of using the heaters. This just tends to save money. Also, I use money that I have earned to buy items that I want, so it limits the amount of money my parents have to spend. In relation to San Jule, I try not to worry about money, being a kid and everything. But since I am growing up, I need to be aware of the value of money and what is going on with our country's economy.
Jess Sideleau
Class 6
After reading about San Jule, Pearson, and the rest of those who shared their stories in “What Life Was Like During the Great Depression,” I was able to see how much of a hit the Depression took on America, especially the youth. For most kids today, at least in our school and in Connecticut, we don’t have to worry about surviving. We may have jobs and we are expected to help around the house, but our parents encourage us to focus on school and on preparing for our future. During the ‘30s, however, school was the least of their worries; in fact, almost 4 million high school students could not attend school during that time. They weren’t thinking about college or future careers; all they could think of was living through the day and making it to tomorrow. As San Jule said, “I spent so goddamn much time just staying alive.”
When I come home from school every day, I know that there will be food on the table and heat in the house. This wasn’t a given for kids back then, though. Like Nicole discussed, our lives now are not nearly as difficult as the lives of young people back then. Many worked full time from very young ages to help support their family. Those whose families couldn’t provide for them rode the rails begging for food and money. They were responsible for themselves, growing up faster than they should and loosing the worry-free happiness of childhood. Looking back at these rough times gives me a much greater appreciation for what I have and what I take for granted.
Erin B.
Class 6
While reading "I Used to Beg For Food," I could not help but wonder what I would do if I was in that situation. The story said Pearson, "was 16 when he first rode the rails in 1930 and would continue to hop freights until 1942 as a migrant farm worker in summer and working in coal mines in winter." As Jojo said, being sixteen now, I cant imagine being in that situation. As much as id like to think so, I know I could probably not survive for that long, by myself, with next to nothing, but the harsh reality is that during the depression thousands of people were forced to. The story also mentioned that Clarance Lee, "was 16, his father could no longer support him. "Go fend for yourself," he told Lee." I cant imagine times being so bad that my own family would have to abandon me. Granted, the recession we are in now has taken a toll on many people, but it is not nearly to the extent the depression was. I have to disagree with hunter when he said that, "Overall the recent recession is affecting me and my family similarily to how if affected people during the drepession." I'm in no way saying that the position people are in because of the recession is not bad, I know it is, however, it is no where near as bad as it was during the depression.
Katie
Class 1
3. I read the article that Mrs. Hurley posted as option three, and all 4 stories were both shocking and sad. However the story that really made the biggest impression on me was "I Used to Beg for Food". This particular story stuck out to me because the first boy that had to go out on his own was Arvel Pearson. He was sixteen when he rode the rails, which is the age of myself and many of my peers. Today at the age sixteen, we are mostly still depending on out parents for everythig, except a few select things. At sixteen during the depression, Pearson was homeless, self relient and had to find his own scarce amount of food. Im sure the idea of anyobdy at our age doing that today is horrifying. As Jojo said, the story mentioned that pearson rode the rails for 12 years! That is a very long time to a teenager. He was homeless for 12 long years before he could settle down. Few teenagers in this century could even imagine that without having an anxiety attack, not to mention the fact that the entire situation could have been 10 times worse if you were African American. As Clarence Lee recounts, his parents told him to fend for himself at sixteen, and onto the rails he went. He had a similiar time to Pearson, but his experiences were slightly worse because during the depression, racism was still very proiminent in the minds of Whites. I feel all of these young men and woman put in this position were very clever to have survived as long as they did. I envy their resilience and indepence.
Nora Murphy
Per. 1
Just as Amanda did, I interviewed my mother about the Depression Era experiences of my grandfather, since he had passed away twenty years ago. Legendary in our family for his generosity, I discovered that his backstory of an impoverished childhood spent in Brooklyn, NY motivated his choices as an adult. My grandfather grew up in a tenement with three brother and two sisters, a mom who didn't speak English and a father who had died early. He and his brothers worked for a nickel a week making deliveries for a cleaners. Toys were made of found objects and much was made of the importance of excelling in school as a path out of poverty. My grandfather and my uncle were great music lovers, and when they could bought standing room at the Metropolitan Opera House for pennies a performance. When the opportunity presented itself many years later, my grandfather, then a real estate investor, bought the tenement he'd grown up in and many of the surrounding apartment houses and refurbished them with copper pipes, well-lit entrance halls, reliable heating and security systems. HIs childhood memory of sprinting up the tenement stairs in the dark with imaginary dangers lurking in the shadows inspired him to change reality for his tenants, in providing the security he had longed for.
-Sage Musk
Class 6
Like most others that posted before me, the recession has impacted my family in various ways. We cut down on alot of spending, and are doing lot of things to try to keep the costs down. We try to keep the heat as low as possible, and instead just layer up to keep warm. Like Julie and Hunter's families, we stopped going out to dinner and pay attention to the little things that save money, such as unplugging our electronic devices. We make sure the lights are off if we're not using them, and we're very conscious of the prices of things we buy and only buying the necessities. I'm now responsible for myself, meaning if I want to go to the movies with my friends I have to pay for it. We did this so that those small expenses that I would normally take from my parents income is now being put towards more important things, like college. As Hunter first states, the biggest impact that the recession has had on my family or will have on me is where I'm going to go to college. Although we're doing many of these small changes to save money for college, I'm not going to be able to go to whichever college I want. Both my brothers are in college right now, so my parents will be paying for three college tuitions at one time. My decision is going to be made based off of scholarships that colleges offer and the prices of going there, rather than willy nilly wherever I want to go. Judging from the other posts, I'd say that most families are feeling the same financial pressure from the recession, and that everyone's going out of their way to put some extra cash in their pocket. I do not, however, think that this recession can be compared to the Great Depression in any way. Or at least not the experiences that our community, Newtown, is having.
Like most of my classmates the current recession has affecten my family in many ways. We have had to ut back on our spending. We hardly ever go out to eat anymore. The only time we go out to dinner is for special occasions. I have also had to start paying for more. before the recession my parents would give me money for lunch and would pay for most of my new clothes. Now I make my lunches or i use my own money to buy lunch and I pay for any extra clothing i want. Christmas is more stressful because of the recession. My parents dont spend as much money on presents as they used to. We also dont go away as often as we used to. we used to go to Florida every summer to visit our friends from when I lived there. the recession is making looking for colleges more difficult. i have to be more aware of how much they cost because my parents have to put all three kids through college and right now they cant.
Shannon
Class 6
3. The first story that I read on www.erroluys.com was the one entitled "My father was probably a millionaire." There's no doubt that for the people of that time who grew up never knowing the value of money, it was difficult for them to adjust. I also found the boy's response to this situation interesting. When he ran away from home, he didn't even seem to know exactly why he did so.
This story made me think about my own life. Much like this kid, I'm a little vague about the value of money. Mikaela had mentioned earlier that she also felt this way until the current recession started to kick in. It was then she began to take notice. The difference between me and a number of other students like Mikaela is I still feel in the dark. I want to understand the value of money, but life has always seemed to pass me by without it being a concern. My ignorance frustrates me. The story also made me question how I would react in a similiar situation. What would happen if all of my family's money was suddenly gone? Would I do something like hop trains and look for work? Would I attempt something else? Would my actions be conscious or, like the boy, subconscious?
It seems that if an event like the Great Depression were to occur now, people like Mikaela would have a better chance of adjusting since they understand the value of money. As for me, I think it would be a long and difficult process before I grasped the situation and moved on.
Charles Pryor
Class-6
This recent recession has not been nearly as bad as the Great Depression, but has had an effect on most people including my family. My family was in a very similar situation to Maria Dutsar before the Recession hit. We were living very comfortably in a nice home, with luxuries like a boat and multiple vacations a year. We were never living outside of our means, but we did buy a lot of things we could do without. Then the recession hit. We as a family have much of our savings are invested in the stock market, so that was the largest hit to my family. Luckily, my dad still has his same job at Hubbell Inc. so the recession has not affected us in that way, but there is always the danger of losing your job in this economic climate. If that were to happen though, my Family has saved a lot of money over the years, so that will help us if something were to happen. We are very fortunate to be able to do this, as it will allow me and my sister to go to college with little to no debt after college. I have learned through my parents that we must always live within our means and save for the future, and I feel this recession has taught many people that same lesson. I already have begun to save my money, and I try not to spend it on wants but only needs.
After reading the article “What Life Was Like During the Great Depression” by Errol Lincoln Uys, I have gained new appreciation for fortitude of the average American during that time of struggle and perpetual hopelessness. In a similar vein to Hannah M’s response, the idea of having to support myself on such little wages is inconceivable. Much like James San Jule, as a child I never had to worry about money, it was something my parents regulated. As I move on to becoming an adult, I am now expected to understand the importance of each dollar that I now work to make. My job of working in a music store, which makes slightly more than the $8.25 minimum wage, requires far less physical strain for a much greater compensation. Arvel "Sunshine" Pearson was quite the opposite. From a young age he learned of these financial lessons in a hostile, dangerous environment. I find that I am quite fortunate for not being thrown into a period of hopelessness and defeat at a young age. Until learning of this time period, I was surprised that my great-grandmother used to dislike the idea of using a bank as means of storing her money. She was forced to work from a young age and this experience caused her to value each cent she earned. although her view of the situation has changed, I believe that this mindset was the epitome of the American mindset of the time. Each of these personal accounts of surviving The Great Depression caused me to question the outcome of being placed in this time period. Waking up each morning to hard labor for little compensation and then having to divide that wage is a task that requires much willpower and hope. The worst part about these situations is that each person truly believed that they were doing their part in living up to the American Dream. The pre-depression, pro-business mantra of the time was that hard work determined one’s economic status as an individual and these people had truly put effort into their work. The depression undermined the belief that the American dream was possible and reduced hope throughout the masses. Clarence Lee demonstrates this belief when he says "When I was riding the freight trains I didn't feel like an American citizen." He felt that he had followed all the rules of the system, yet he was not being allowed the peace of mind that he had worked for. In summary, The Great Depression was truly a time that required citizens to have belief in recovery. This article has highlighted terrible conditions that I am fortunate not to encounter.
I talked to my grandparents about the great depression, and both of them had stories to share. My grandfather grew up on a farm and despite what I was suspecting; he claimed to not have been hit very hard by the depression, similar to Jake’s grandfather. He said that there was always enough food on the table. He did say however that there were many poor people at the time who would often ask if they could stay the night in his family’s old barn to which they always replied yes. He said that his family never invested in any of the newer farm equipment, and instead made due with the traditional farm supplies. However, evidence of him living through the depression is very evident in small things that he does today. For instance, rather than having his money in a bank, he carries large sums around with him at all times. He still refuses to invest in the stock market, and his political views reflect those of the people who suffered during the great depression. My grandmother had a very different experience during the depression. She was living in Chicago at the time which was a city hit very hard by the depression. Her father had had a little money when he came over from Ireland, which he invested in movie theaters. They lost a lot of money when the stock market crashed. Still, she insisted that she was one of the better off during that time period because she always had a meal on the table. Her father was a milkman so his job was not hit very hard by the depression, but the money they had saved was lost. The thing which she reiterated the most was the hope that Roosevelt gave to the country when he was elected. She said for the first time the country felt like it wasn’t completely lost. All in all, my grandparents had very different experiences throughout the depression and I feel that it very strongly influenced the great people they became.
-Sean Fahey
2. The recent recession has hurt Fratt's family in many of the ways it has hurt other families, they cannot afford their summer beach homes in Napa Valley, wine country. They also had to sell their house in the Berkshires. It's been a tough few years, we have had to start flying business class instead of renting our own private G6's. These things have to happen Fratt guesses, but in all seriousness it has greatly affected his family and many other families. Personally he knows that his family has been working overtime in order to pay for his brother and sisters college. He himself has had to pick up more hours to pay for his gas on his car, his parents used to pay for his siblings gas, but not any longer. Fratt's future is hurt by the recession because there is a huge national debt as well as the Social Security funds lacking. Part of his income is going to Social Security but it may not even be around when he is ready to retire, this hurts Fratt.
The most recent recession has been affecting my family in quite a few different ways. My dad has owned his own small Land Surveying business in town since before I was born. Because of the recession, he has needed to lay off many of his employees because of the lack of work coming in. The amount of clients calling him for jobs each day has decreased rapidly in the past few years. As Ishaar stated earlier, my family too has needed to cut down on non-necessities. We do not go out to eat very often or spend money on things we already have. As well as that, my mom continues to wait to purchase certian foods if they are not on sale. Also, in the past few years, the amount of stress in my house has raised significantly and I don't believe it will be gone until the economy improves. In conclusion, This recession has really affected my family. And we try our best not to waste money on little things that we can easily live with out.
My grandmother grew up in Brooklyn, New York, during the Great Depression and prohibition. I talked to her recently about it, and she had many good stories about the two of them.
She happened to be very lucky - the depression did not affect her nearly as it did many people. This was due in part to prohibition.
Her father (my great-grandfather) owned a business that sold extracts, such as vanilla or cinnamon. People who made extracts were one of the few who were not required by government to honor the laws of prohibition: alcohol is necessary to create extracts, so he was allowed to possess it.
This made my great grandfather very popular with bootleggers, who wanted to get their hands on alcohol. They would often pay high prices, allowing my grandmother's family to escape from the depression.
I read the story My Father Was Probably a Millionare. The boy in the story grew up in a very wealthy family and had many fancy and expenisive things. They had a big house, lots of cars and probably anything else they wanted. But the crash of 1929 ruined that. They lost a lot. The boy ran away from home like many other teenagers did during this time. It must have been very hard on their family to go from having everything to having nothing. The boy probably didn't understand what was going on or why his family lost all their money. My family hasnt gone from wealthy to poor, we've never been wealthy, but we have had to cut back spending. It has been a dramatic change like the boy in the story went through, but it can be tough. It must have been even harder for the boy and his family because they went through an even bigger change. I don't understand why the boy felt he had to run away. In the story he said he didn't know why he did either, it just felt like the right thing to do. He said a lot of teenagers left home. Maybe they did that because with all the money issues brought family issues that they didn't want to deal with or through.
Danielle Ford
Class: 4
I chose to reflect on the story, My father was probably a millionaire, because it made me realize how quickly life could change. I personally couldn't imagine if that happened to me. Just like James my parents pay for everything for me and they are even willing to pay for my collage. At the moment that seems great and that's my plan, but it could all change. My parents both grew up in good families and they were not rich but both of their families had good money, and my parents value saving money. So that is why this recent recession hasn't affected us that much. In addition by reading this article i also realized how people don't think about something until it is gone. I agree with Erin and Mikaela that it was interesting on how before the depression he didn't think much about money but then afterwards he ran away from home, with no where to go. I think it was like that for a lot of people during the great depression and during the recent recession. People, especially kids, didn't realize how important money was until there was none of it. And they had to go and get jobs just to help put food on the table. As i said before, during the recent recession my family wasn't really hit hard, even though my mom did lose her job, my dad still had his. And we did have to cut back on a lot of things like going out to eat and buying things that we didn't really need but just wanted. Like Justina said the main thing about this recession is to save money for what's to come. So if we save now things can progress and hopefully improve.
-Eni M.
The most recent recession has effected many people including myself and my family. My dad is owner of a veterinary hospital that i also work at and since there have been many job loses one of the first thing people start to cut back on is owning a pet because they can be expensive to keep healthy and provide for. We are seeing more and more people putting their animals down instead of going through with the surgery that could save them because the surgeries can be expensive and the people may not have that kind of money. The recession is affecting my future plans because I originally wanted to be an architect but now I am thinking of becoming a doctor or something in the medical field because there are very little need for architects now because very few people are building new homes.
James San Jule's story during the great depression portraied what it was really like to live then. One day you could have pleanty of money to support a family and the next, you can lose it all. James San Jule's father was probably a millionaire. James was going to go to Amherst college in Massachusetts and then Harvard Law School after. This all slipped away when his father lost all of his money due to The Crash of 1929. Like many people during the depression, James San Jule lost everything that he had and did not understand why it was happening.
The stories on the "What Life Was Like During The Great Depression" were very realistic and powerful, especially how in the first story a family went from millionaires to homeless people. It shows just how quickly and powerfully the economy fell. Also, at this time in history, it made America seem as a foreign 3rd world country to many citizens that had first come to America to escape from. Also i agree with Danielle's point in that the boy did not know why he was running, but he felt it was the only option he had to survive. America turned from the land of opportunity to the land of survival in a matter of days.
Pat Sullivan
Class 4
The recession has affected my family in a few ways. Like Alyse, my dad owns his own company and he has had to lay off workers in order to maintain his business. Also like many of my classmates, our family has been more cautious of trying to save money. Before the recession, we would leave lights on everywhere, leave the water running, my mom would buy everything etc. Now, when we leave the room we make sure we turn the lights off or we even don't even turn the lights on if it's during the day. Additionally, my dad has changed our air conditioner/heat to turn on at times when our family will be using that room. For example, there is no AC/heat in my bedroom until 9, because I won't be going to sleep until around 10 so there is no need for us to waste that energy by putting it into my room when I'm not in there. All in all, my family has not been hit extremely hard by the recent recession, but hit hard enough to make us more aware of what we need to do to save money.
- Andy Kelley
The recent recession has affected so many people in the U.S. lately. It has been very difficult on most families and much like other families mine has been forced to cut down. The small things i used to think of such as buying a movie has became so diffuclut because you want to save as much money as possible. To battle this tough time my family much like Stefan's has decided to cut down on most things and not do the things we used to as much. We go out to dinner still but not nearly as much as we used to. It has been very trying in this hard time but you can get through it if you just are very smart with your money and buy the needs for your family not just the wants. I am so thankful to have a steady job right now because socking away my money in the bank will really help and payoff in the long run. Anything to help my family in this situation is what i am willing to do.
Brendan DeAngelis
Period 6
After talking to my grandpa about the experiences he went through during the depression it became clear to me as it did to many of my other classmates that the economic difficulties now are not even close to what they were before. My grandpa who was just a kid at the time was hit hard. He talked about how his family lost money in the banks and had to hop from to smaller house to smaller house every time they could not pay the rent. He also talked about how they could not afford things like Root Beer so his dad would buy the ingredients and make it because it was much cheaper. Along with other food problems he also talked about how they had mac and cheese a lot for dinner because it was one of the cheapest things. My grandpa did not live the life that kids do today. The only thing that he was allowed to buy for pleasure was books. My grandpa also talked about many of the after effects of the depression. Once it was over and there was a steady income his parents continued to live the same life style because they were afraid that it would happen again. While they weren't one of those people that had a shoebox filled of money under the bed they refused to buy anything extra.
The current recession has not changed my life much at all. My dad, being very money conscious, has always raised me by being a bit frugal. Though we do not buy as much junk food, to get rid of unnecessary spending, as we did in the past, my life is generally the same as of now. However, the future will be different for me as a result of this current recession. As Peter previously stated, getting a job will be a bit hard to do. I know that currently looking for a part-time job is difficult, but after I graduate from college, finding a job to support myself will most likely be even more challenging. Not many businesses are hiring because they learned how to run on less employees. Therefore, when I am looking for a job, I will probably have a hard time.
Nathan N.
Class 1
2.) The current recession has greatly affected my family. We already weren’t a wealthy family to begin with and with a large family we don’t have a lot of money. My family used to be small and we faced tough times there with lack of money, now we are a family of 8 and we are in massive debt. We owe so much money it’s almost sickening. We are way behind our mortgage payments and may lose our house. We can't afford to heat our house with oil so we use a wood burning stove. We have to make sure that it is always filled and that the fire is going or else we don’t have heat and ice forms on the inside of our windows. To make matters worse the town is trying to take away our one source of heat. In the summer we don’t have a/c which we've learned to deal without, it’s not a necessity and there’s plenty of ways to stay cool. Furthermore, we can’t afford to buy food all the time. So we have a vegetable garden in the summer that takes a lot of care and hard work to maintain, and we have chickens and ducks to lay eggs for us to eat and sell. We don’t shop at big y or stop and shop, we go to Southbury food center or Aldi's in Waterbury. It’s further away and for that reason we hold off on shopping until there’s nothing left at all but the prices are cheaper and the food tastes relatively the same so it’s worth it. We are an honest hardworking family and although our house might look nice we worked to make it the way it is. We've built and maintained everything around our property by ourselves and because of that we've increased the value of our house. As I’ve said, we never had a lot of money but the recession has made it much worse. Before, my choices of college were already slim due to the price, but like Hunter French said unless I can get a scholarship somewhere it’s even less of a choice. We aren’t nearly as bad as some people in the depression but we still aren’t well off, and I hope that things don’t get worse than they already are. If things continue to go the way they've been going I might not be able to go to college and I’m not going to be able to afford a family of my own when I’m old enough.
Erin Cunningham
Period 4
the current recession has greatly effected my family. my da has had to take a 20% pay-cut and my mom can only work part time now. my family has had to make alot of changes to cope with these times. for example, i can no longer play icehockey, our family has to plan alot more when it comes to going to the food store, etc. in this recession we just need to be alot more aware of how we spend our money and other then that life is pretty much the same.
This current recession has obviously affected the vast majority of the country. One of the most prominent ways that this recession has affected me personally is that it is growing ever important for me to get some sort of scholarship to college. If I was an only child this wouldnt be an issue, but since my two brothers are currently in college and I will hopefully be a full time student in two years that is alot of college money in a short period of time. I agree with Mason's point about the housing market and bloated prices.
Both of my parents have been affected at their jobs by this current recession in the way that they have not received the raises/bonuses that they usually get. However, we are lucky that they still have jobs in these difficult times. Also, our home's value has decreased, making it difficult to get a good mortgage and a good selling price if and when we decide to sell. Also, mine and my brother's college options have been limited, due to the different financial assistances that different colleges provide. This makes choosing a college even more difficult, seeing as we need to select one that fits our needs educationally AND financially- now more than ever.
Kyle-
The most recent recession has seemed to affect all of my friends and family. I have not been able to get everything that I wanted from my parents whereas my parents used to be able to buy me things that I wanted most of the time. Also, my parents have been finding different ways to save money and are always looking for sales. Also the recent recession has made it so my paretns are always complaining about prices especially the gas prices. Ultimately, this recent recession has really affected me, my friends, and my family.
My grandmother was five years old when the stock market crashed. But she was one of the lucky ones, because her father was a co-owner of Lucial's. This restarount once took up three New York City blocks and served the richest of the rich. Her and her family lived in the Lower East Side of Manhattan on 14th Street. She even attened Hunter College, a public New York City College, where she was a Chemistry major. Although she was able to do well, many of her friends felt the toll of the great depression. She remembered one of her friends who lived in a three room railroad flat with her mother, sister, and aunt. There was one bathroom for the entire building they lived in, and when the family sat down for dinner they covered the bathtub with a slab of wood and used it as a table. She also recalled many friends who could not partake in activities, like going to the movies, because of the depression.
2. The current recession we are in today has affected my family in a few different ways. As Hunter said, even thought the recession didn't impact us as much as the great depressions, we've had to make cut backs in our daily lives. The recession has forced us to buy less and use more. For example, i've found myself eating left-overs way more than i would've expected or had done in the past. Also, the recession has put my parents on edge a lot more about their jobs. My father has been scared about losing his job as a journalist and my mother recently had to find a new job because of the recession. My future plans include going to college, and the recession cost us some money, making it tougher on my parents to support both me and my sister through college.
Ben Stoller
Class 1
I agree with Pat that the stories in the article "What Life was Like in the Great Depression" we're very powerful and a sobering message that even the wealthiest and most successful in our society can still be brought down to poverty. The great depression was indiscriminate in its victims and forced people of all factions to work together to survive. However, one good outcome was that it showed that even in the bleakest times, Americans can still adapt and find a way to make a brighter future.
To find out some information, I talked to my grandma to see what her experience of the depression was like. Surprisingly, she wasn’t affected that much by the depression, and her life went on pretty normal. Apparently, my great-grandfather worked for a private business that stay clear from the politics in Wall Street. As a result, the people under the business were not affected that much by the Depression. In fact, the only budget change my grandma remembers having is that the Christmas trees they had to get every year were fake. Eerily, the situation with my family in this recent recession is mostly the same with my grandma’s. My family was only mildly affected by the depression, with only one account of a couple of thousand dollars being lost. However, the way we avoided the recession is completely different from the above example. Instead of staying away from the stocks, my mom is an experienced accountant so she was able to find a way to save most of our money. However, like Troy’s family, we are now being cautious on how much we spend just in case something does go wrong. Honestly, I think the Depression of the ‘30s is far worse than the Recession of the ‘90s. Just going from the link, there were 4 million people roaming the countryside with no help from the government. In this Recession, there have been government packages and programs to help unemployed people, which were started up within the year of the Recession. There were also 4 million kids that were out of high school, out of the 10 million high school aged kids. Thanks to recent precautions, the number of kids out of high school in this Recession is far lower.
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