MEMORIES OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION - CHAP II

My Father had a strong work ethic, that, he had learned from his parents, and my Mother had the same work ethic that she also learned from her parents. Throughout his life he was known and respected for his honesty and integrity, as was Mother for hers, as well as her sweet and pleasant disposition. Such principles were more common then, as was independence of spirit and self-confidence that youngsters had.

Such codes of conduct were found in every western film made from the first days of the movie industry, as they usually are to this day. He did all he could to pass those principles on to his three children, as his parents had done with their three children. Greed was not part of this heritage, but a good honest work ethic was. He never drew an unemployment check in his life, as he always had the desire to work, so it was natural for him to find another opportunity if the present job did not work out. If there were no jobs available, then he created one for himself. His brother Harry did the same. Except for a few years during the worst of the Great Depression, he did well for himself.

His father had emigrated from Germany in the 1880s, and he had to start his life over, in a new country with a new language. His first work was akin to slavery in a way, as he had to work off the cost of his passage to the U.S. as an indentured servant to a farmer, a man who mistreated those in bondage to him. My Grosvater terminated his servitude rather suddenly because he refused to be mistreated.

He married in 1899 and took good care of his family by working hard and saving his money all his life. There was no unemployment law in thos days, so if you lost your job, then you had to figure out how you were going to survive and do it right away. Most everyone seemed to be more resourceful, perhaps because it was simply necessary that they be if they were to survive. There were no real surpluses of food and shelter, nor government organizations that offered such things free. In order to survive, you looked to find someone who could use your work skills.