Depression Babies

That was us.

(Those who were born between 1929 and 1945.)

We came into this world in the middle of a depression, and, Lord help us, I hope we don't "go out" in the middle of one.

But I think most of us will agree that we've lived in perhaps the best time in American history.

I just learned of a book written a number of years ago that talks about that and calls us "the luckiest Americans ever."  It's titled, "The Lucky Few."

It claims that,

"These Lucky Few became the first American generation smaller than the one before them, and the luckiest generation of Americans ever. As children they experienced the most stable intact parental families in the nation’s history. Lucky Few women married earlier than any other generation of the century and helped give birth to the Baby Boom, yet also gained in education compared to earlier generations. Lucky Few men made the greatest gains of the century in schooling, earned veterans benefits like the Greatest Generation but served mostly in peacetime with only a fraction of the casualties, came closest to full employment, and spearheaded the trend toward earlier retirement. Even in retirement/old age the Lucky Few remain in the right place at the right time."

Sounds right to me.

I also came across a list of "Depression" food:

Milk toast

Chipped beef on toast

Cucumber and mustard sandwiches

Mayonnaise sandwiches

Ketchup sandwiches

Hot milk and rice

Potato soup – water base, not milk

Dandelion salad

Lard sandwiches

Bacon grease sandwiches

Sugar sandwiches

One eyed Sam – piece of bread with an easy over egg in the centerHot dogs and baked beans

Oatmeal mixed with lard

Fried potatoes and hot dogs

Onion sandwich – slices of onion between bread

Tomato gravy and biscuits

Deep fried chicken skin

Cornbread in Milk

Cornbread in milk

Gravy and bread – as a main dish

Toast with mashed potatoes on top with gravy

Creamed corn on toast

Corn mush with milk for breakfast, fried corn mush for dinner

Rice in milk with some sugar

Beans

Fried potato peel sandwiches

Banana slices with powdered sugar and milk

Boiled cabbage

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Tomato gravy on rice

Toast with milk gravy

Water fried pancakes

Chicken feet in broth

Fried bologna

Warm canned tomatoes with bread

Butter and sugar sandwiches

Fried potato and bread cubes

Bean soup

Runny eggs with grits

Butter and grits with sugar and milk

Baked apples

Sliced boiled pork liver on buttered toast (slice liver with potato peeler)

Corn meal mush

Spaghetti with tomato juice and navy beans

Whatever fish or game you could catch/hunt

Tomato sandwiches

Hard boiled eggs in white sauce over rice

Spam and noodles with cream of mushroom soup

Rag soup: spinach, broth and lots of macaroni

Garbanzo beans fried in chicken fat or lard, salted, and eaten cold

Popcorn with milk and sugar – ate it like cereal

Company Chicken

Frankly, some of my favorite dishes are listed here! With the possible exception of Chicken Feet in broth.

However, I once heard someone complain about a major soup company that produced so little chicken meat in its canned soup that he accused them of having a "company chicken" who Quickly ran through the warm water just before it was poured into the can and labeled Chicken Soup.

 -Ed