Originally Posted by lyndaloo
Originally Posted by misseva
Originally Posted by martha jo
I remember the feed and flour sacs well. As you got bigger, it took more to make a dress so you had to hope you could get them before the pattern changed. My grandmother lived in a small rural town and had chickens in the yard and we lived in a city. She would bring them to me. The feed sacs had a large loose weave and the flour sacs were almost like cotton today to hold the flour in. A flour sac was quite a bit smaller so we usually made things from them that were smaller than dresses. I remember my first piece of bubble gum too. There wasn't any until WWII was over. A neighborhood man took all the kids across town to where it was rumored there was bubble gum. We were each allowed two pieces. I don't even think I want to remember how long we chewed and saved that gum = yuk!
I was born in 1936 - and I remember that everything was rationed during WWII - and bubble gum? forget it. I remember one time that one store in town got a box of bubble gum and all the kids I knew took our nickel and ran to get some. We did not throw our gum away at night, Just saved it and I don't remember either how long a piece would last. I do remember that you had to have ration stamps to buy shoes, tires, etc. I think that's when margerine first came out. It looked like a square of white lard in a plastic bag with a capsule of food coloring in it. You had to massage the 'white stuff' until it was soft then burst the food coloring capsule & work the color all in then squeeze it out into a butter mold. Even tho we lived in the town of Paris, AR we had our own cow, chickens and big garden. My mom canned almost everything we ate. Imitation black pepper came out then too.
When my dad took my mom to his folks in 1935 so he could hop the freight trains and look for work, his folks were living in Paris, Arkansas. My Grandpa was a coal miner. They had immigrated to Arkanas from Scotland in 1903.
My daddy owned a coal mine and was partner in Hixson & Hixson Grocery & Dry Goods. My Uncles George & Hartsel Dodson worked in the mines. In 1935 daddy was manager for Rephans Dept. Store and made $12.00 a week. Mother said they bought all their furniture & everything on that amount of money. I remember my first job at AR State Health Department, fresh out of high school, I was making $145.00 a MONTH. ahhhhh how times have changed.
What a small world.