MsDoodahs
Senior
- Joined
- May 10, 2007
- Messages
- 11,373
My mother's family was a farming family until my mom turned 6 (in 1926). They rented the place - did not own. In 1926, the family moved to "the village." Specifically, they moved to "Atco." Atco stands for American Textile Company. The company built "the village" and rented the houses to its workers. The company also provided a school for the kids and a store where workers could buy groceries. The workers were paid in cash, in little envelopes. I have one of my grandmother's pay envelopes.
She worked 37 hours and grossed $14.32. Deductions were: $0.14 "old age benefit tax deduction," $1.00 rent, $3.85 store, $0.52 insurance. Her net income was $8.81.
I've heard stories all my life about how rough times were for them. People did all kinds of things to make money.
The company store sold coal, and the neighborhood boys would fight to get to unload the boxcar it came in on. The pay was six or seven dollars for unloading the whole boxcar. Took my uncle and another kid a solid week to get one unloaded.
My uncle says most people today will STARVE TO DEATH if they were in the position the family was in back then.
My grandmother and her neighbor asked the man in charge of the houses if they could have a garden. He said yes, told them to lay off the area they wanted plowed, and the next morning, a guy was there to plow it up. These were the first gardens in the village; soon every family had one.
My mom lied about her age and went to work in the mill when she was 17. With my grandfather and grandmother working, my uncle and my mom working, the family was able to do okay. There were 8 in the family - my mom was the oldest girl, so she and my grandmother worked different shifts and my mom was charged with watching her kid brothers and sisters. Jobs were scarce - if you didn't want yours, there were plenty of folks in line who DID want yours. Meant you had respect for the man who hired you and you didn't fuck off - else yer ass would be out the door and the next feller would get the work.
When someone in the village got sick and couldn't work, the community would have a "grocery shower" for 'em. Ever hear of those?
Here's how they work: everyone in the community is told what day the shower will take place. At some point during that day, you walk through the UNLOCKED back door of their house, and sit your contribution on their kitchen table: maybe it's a pound of coffee...maybe it's a sack of flour...maybe sugar...maybe some beans....or taters....
By the end of the day, the family has enough foodstuff to help them make it until the worker is able to get back to his job.
THAT is how it USED to work. You took care of yer own - meaning your COMMUNITY.
Sadly...those days are long gone....
eta: my dad was born in 1913. When those "New Deal" programs came along, dad was not eligible because his family owned the land they farmed. So dad joined the army and sent his pay back home to keep the family going.
She worked 37 hours and grossed $14.32. Deductions were: $0.14 "old age benefit tax deduction," $1.00 rent, $3.85 store, $0.52 insurance. Her net income was $8.81.
I've heard stories all my life about how rough times were for them. People did all kinds of things to make money.
The company store sold coal, and the neighborhood boys would fight to get to unload the boxcar it came in on. The pay was six or seven dollars for unloading the whole boxcar. Took my uncle and another kid a solid week to get one unloaded.
My uncle says most people today will STARVE TO DEATH if they were in the position the family was in back then.
My grandmother and her neighbor asked the man in charge of the houses if they could have a garden. He said yes, told them to lay off the area they wanted plowed, and the next morning, a guy was there to plow it up. These were the first gardens in the village; soon every family had one.
My mom lied about her age and went to work in the mill when she was 17. With my grandfather and grandmother working, my uncle and my mom working, the family was able to do okay. There were 8 in the family - my mom was the oldest girl, so she and my grandmother worked different shifts and my mom was charged with watching her kid brothers and sisters. Jobs were scarce - if you didn't want yours, there were plenty of folks in line who DID want yours. Meant you had respect for the man who hired you and you didn't fuck off - else yer ass would be out the door and the next feller would get the work.
When someone in the village got sick and couldn't work, the community would have a "grocery shower" for 'em. Ever hear of those?
Here's how they work: everyone in the community is told what day the shower will take place. At some point during that day, you walk through the UNLOCKED back door of their house, and sit your contribution on their kitchen table: maybe it's a pound of coffee...maybe it's a sack of flour...maybe sugar...maybe some beans....or taters....
By the end of the day, the family has enough foodstuff to help them make it until the worker is able to get back to his job.
THAT is how it USED to work. You took care of yer own - meaning your COMMUNITY.
Sadly...those days are long gone....
eta: my dad was born in 1913. When those "New Deal" programs came along, dad was not eligible because his family owned the land they farmed. So dad joined the army and sent his pay back home to keep the family going.
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