Boom and Bust: Journal 6

One of the most powerful stories I have ever heard occurred in my own family. During the Great Depression, my great-grandfather, Edward, lived in New York. He was a potato farmer. On a walk through the city he noticed how foul the air was. It was a very strong, awful smell, and he decided to see where it was coming from. He followed the stench and came to a door about a block away. He knocked on the door of the house and a woman answered. He asked her what the awful smell was, and she answered, "Sir, we are cooking our dog." Edward looked at her and noticed the small children behind her. He knew these were hard times, but he did not think it was alright for a family to eat their own dog. Edward told the woman and her family to wait; he would get them something better to eat. He ran home and took the supper his wife was cooking and brought it to the family. It was a good meal, one with meat, something even Edward rarely enjoyed. That evening, Edward's family ate thick-n-thop, a meal consisting of potatoes and gravy. 

This story is truly one of self sacrifice. One family helping another in a time of great hunger and need. It is so powerful to think that even though both families were struggling during the Great Depression, one would help the other. How hard would it be for someone to give their only meal of meat a week to another family? How awful was it to eat thick-n-thop for the seventh day straight? After my mom had told me this story, I commented that at least Edward's family had food to eat. She responded that they only had the same potato meal to provide for three meals a day, seven days a week. After a while, thick-n-thop would no longer seem like food.