This is a true tale of survival in a world that had turned very harsh. In 1929, the Great Depression hit especially hard in the already impoverished southeastern part of the nation. Madge Pettit, nine-years old at the time, was the second oldest of five children. "I remember the Depression not as a time of hunger, as many people of my generation do. We never went hungry. What I remember is the back breaking, never ending work beginning when I was just nine years old."
This moving account of the toil and hardships of everyday life on a depression era farm is spiced with a dash of humor. Everything from the making of buttermilk biscuits, to digging roots for tea, to patching worn-out clothes with scraps, to Prohibition and bootleg whiskey, offers readers a bittersweet taste of our nation's history. The author's childhood was devoid of modern conveniences such as indoor plumbing, electricity, telephones, and medical care; but enriched with family bonds and the natural beauty of the countryside. These were innocent years by today's standards. Anyone who lived through the Great Depression carries the experience with them always.
The author's generation was born as World War I was ending, brought up in hardship and deprivation, and then called upon to fight in World War II. They did so with valor. After a youth spent in deprivation, and an early adulthood spent on the battlefields of the world, this generation lifted their nation to new heights as they progressed through life. Here is Madge Pettit's first-hand account of her life as part of this remarkable generation-the hardship generation, the warrior generation, the hungry generation that really started something.
Madge Pettit
2006, 5½x8½, paper, 132 pp.
ISBN: 9780788433634
101-P3363
