Texas Gardening: Depression gardens, 1 by okieinalaska

okieinalaska wrote:
Was searching for something else and came across this thread. As my username implies I am from Oklahoma. My family is all still there. Both of my parents grew up dirt poor. I can remember the stories my parents telling me of going frogging and hunting for meat. --My mom told me she once accidently broke her dads froggin' gig and she ran and hid.

Spam was the only occasional store bought meat. (my parents still love fried spam sandwiches) Also she told me about them picking poke and making poke salad. They still do that sometimes too. Mom told me once they used to try to smoke home made grape vine cigarettes. My grandfather was a coal miner but died of a heart attack and black lung at the entrance to the mine when my mom was only 14. That left my grandmother with 6 kids on her own. She didn't even know how to drive a car.

But this was the woman who had had a baby by 16 and still managed to finish highschool. I have a photo of her in her cap and gown, one of the few photos of her when she was young. That was a big deal back then to actually finish highschool!

By the time I was born Grandma was Go Go Granny. She had a little green datsun pick up truck and drove that thing all over. She was very independent. She always told me not to depend on a man, that you had to learn to do it yourself. -And I have. : )

Grandma lived through the dustbowl days. I asked her about it once but she didn't have much to say about it. She passed away about 8 years ago.