we shelled black walnuts too - had to use a hammer on a rock & use a small nail to 'pick' out the nut meat.

My aunt canned quarts & quarts of huckelberries. I can't imagine picking the little bitty things plus washing them using well water (not running out of a tap). But she would put a bowl of them on the table and a pitcher of cream - and boy was it good. I think they call them wild blueberries now don't they?

Ramona your story is just like something out of "Reminisce" magazine. I love it.

I was born in 1947 so my mother made many of my clothes out of feed sacks. My uncle worked in a mill in New Braunfels, TX so he would bring her fabric and that would result in school clothes too. My mom also made my Saucy Walker a couple of dresses out of feed sacks which I still have. I am loving these blasts from the past!

A lot of "talk" here about repurposing things. Ditter43 had a good one, read it here-http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-112047-1.htm
It is so true. People think they recycle good today but it's nothing compared to. I remember taking bottles back for 5 cents and we even had a "special" can outside in the ground for food garbage. It was collected seperately from regular garbage. We had a milk man and even a milk machine up the street mom would send us to. With 6 kids and little money, she used to mix powdered milk with whole milk to stretch it. We used to put water in the ketchup bottle to get every last drop! But I'm off track b/c I'm '61 baby. Mom was '36.

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.

I hope this qualifies as what you asked about. I was born in Jan 1938 and they made all my dresses and panties from the feedsacks. I have heard this from my Mom and my Aunt Mary also. She done the sewing not my mom. On into the 40s I can remember the pride I took in haveing a blouse or skirt made from yep,you guessed it.Flour sacks. I sure was proud of haveing something new. My Mom sewed these. I began sewing quilts from flour sacks in 1948. They were all cotton and had floewrs or geometric designs on them Some had like flower petals or leaves on them.

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.

My mother went through the depression era, but I am not certain of the clothes. She did tell of only having a couple of dresses to wear and shoes that you put cardboard in the inside it they wore through, plus cutting the back seam of the shoe if they were outgrown so you could still wear them. Life was tuff in those days for sure.

My Grandpa was George Stenhouse and I'll bet he was working in your grandpa's mines at that time. It is a small world for sure! My grandpa's and uncles' names are on the miners' monument in Greenwood, how about yours?

Well, I was born in 1940 but I do remember feed sacks. My Grandparents had a ranch in SE Oklahoma and my Brother and I spent most of our summers there until we were grown. I can remember my Grandmother telling my Granddad over and over to be sure and get the sack that matched the one she was sending with him. As I remember most of the time he did pretty good. I also remember 5 cent ice cream cones and sitting on the curb and watching for friends who were arriving in town on Saturday mornings.