Depression Era

Are any of you drawn to certain eras in time?  When I was a kid, I felt drawn to the old west and also to Victorian England.  I still feel a pull to those times, but not as much as I do to the Great Depression.  I assume that I feel that way because of hearing all the stories from my mom and other relatives of what it was like growing up during those hard times....the bread lines, no money, no work, getting a Christmas tree on Dec. 24th when they were dirt cheap or free, etc.  Not to mention all the old photos in shoe boxes that I used to pore over when I was a kid, depicting my family as youngsters.  All in black and white of course.  And old movies as well.  I always joke w/ my mom that the world didn't become colourized till "The Wizard of Oz", and I like to tease, "What was life like in black and white?"  ;-D

It's funny how my two fave movies, Mockingbird and Paper Moon, are set in the 1930s and feature little girl protagonists, Scout Finch....

....and Addie Pray.

Another show that captivates me is Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory", based on a 1930s Christmas in his own life, when he was a boy.

I love the purses and fashions of that time as well.

I really want to own a velvet cloche hat, one of these days.  I don't normally wear hats, but I do love these.

And we can't forget the massive migration west on The Mother Road, Route 66, during the Depression either.  My honey and I have talked about driving Rte. 66 in an RV for our honeymoon.  It's been on my bucket list for 25+ years so when he suggested it, I was on board immediately.  My dad made the trip west on Rte. 66, to Southern California, in the 1940s, after WW2, to work in a shipyard, and I always wanted to do it too.  Especially before all of the old roadside attractions completely deteriorate and are lost forever, like the Cadillac Ranch, in Amarillo Texas.

I'm also a HUGE fan of the photos of Dorothea Lange, whose portraits of those courageous souls, migrants and "Okies" fleeing the dust bowl became a symbol of that era.  Can you believe the woman in this photo is only 32?  Her face is careworn and shows the hardship of life, making her look much older.  Her name is Florence Owens Thompson and she was the mother of 7 children at the time this was taken in 1936.

I realize that I am viewing the depression through romanticized eyes.....it was no picnic and certainly not a time that one should 'wish' they were around to see.  Still, it draws me like a moth to a flame.