Tuesday, September 19, 1933

On Sept. 4, Hazle and Kenneth Styner arrived at Fred Davis’s for a vacation. On Sunday, Sept. 17, we went to Fred’s where we had a big dinner in their honor. There were 40 relatives present.

Yesterday, Hazle and Kenneth were here for dinner. Maude, Melvin and Allie Mae came home with us Sunday for a few days visit.

Sunday, September 24, 1933

Hazle and Kenneth started home yesterday. Fred went with them as far as Whiting for a 2 weeks’ visit. Ruth Neilsen met them today at Council Bluffs to go to Los Angeles with them.

Pg. 49— Grandma’s Day Journal– My Hunter Family Collection

This page is all about family. Relatives being honored, family gathering for dinner, family staying for extended visit and then the departures. The rather large gathering of 40 relatives is nothing for our family–in the before times (aka pre-Covid). But I have faith that there will be large gatherings again. I just hope we all survive relatively- no pun intended- unscathed. I don’t have any family photos of the times mentioned above, but in hard times, I’m certain the comfort of these reunions was good food for the soul.

The motto frequently uttered during the Great Depression was “Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without.” The worst part of the era was 4 years after the 1929 Crash, meaning this was the timeframe of the family gathering mentioned above. I am sure there was plenty of passing down clothes to younger relatives, trading fabrics for quilts and homemade gifts, and ‘how-to’s’ of using substitutes in recipes. I’d say home remedies topped the most talked about list. Tough times that we could take a lot from even these days.

Being frugal was something I remember seeing in action during my childhood days on my grandparent’s farm. Every single plastic milk jug, coffee can, pipe cleaner, buttons from old clothes, burlap feed sack, screw, nail or bolt and etc were saved. The list is truly much longer. But from this prudence, I can tell you, ingenuity is born. Inez only drove to the store when there was a good-sized list and she nearly always took along her mother-in-law.

Recently, in an online, letter-writing group, I learned a method of making homemade stickers. I had an old calendar and thought I’d give this idea a try. Have you done any letter writing, card making or scrapbooking? Or even need a project for the kiddos in summer? This is one way to add to your sticker stash without going to a hobby store. Just grab old magazines, newspapers, calendars or junk mail even, and you can have unique graphics to get started.