Depression lessons
by Cindy La Ferle

My paternal grandparents were born in rural communities in the windblown Orkney Islands of Scotland, where lean times were not uncommon. Arriving in Detroit in the 1920s -- before the Great Depression -- they had dreams of a better life in America.
   After the Depression, Grandpa Bill earned a good living in his own tool and die business. He and Grandma Ruby purchased a handsome (but modest) Colonial-style home and were able to fund college educations for their two sons. They saved money, lived comfortably, and appreciated everything they had.
   Regardless, Ruby pinched pennies -- and her "thriftiness" became the stuff of family legend.
   She often described the hardships of growing up in a family of twelve children; food was scarce in the winter months. But I was baffled by the proverbs she was fond of reciting, including, "Never be wasteful, because you don't know what tomorrow will bring." I was a spoiled only child of the carefree 1960s, and secretly doubted the validity of Ruby's old-country wisdom. After all, she often read tea leaves and once claimed to have seen the Lochness Monster.
   Regardless, long before recycling became fashionable, Ruby found ways to reuse or re-purpose just about everything she owned. She clipped coupons and saved pennies in a pickle jar. She darned Grandpa's socks when he wore holes in the toes, even though she could afford to buy several new pairs.
   After she died, my grandfather found two fifty dollar bills under her mattress, and nearly three hundred dollars stuffed under the carpeting on the stairs. That was a lot of cash back in the '60s. Ruby never forgot what it was like to be poor on a farm in Scotland. And she never forgot how the Great Depression impacted her newly adopted country.

Back to basics   Given the magnitude of our current economic crisis, the frugal habits of previous generations don't seem as quaint or silly anymore. All of us are watching how much we spend now, even if we haven't felt the blow directly. Everyone I know is cooking or entertaining at home more often. We're reviving Saturday night Scrabble games and other simple pleasures.
   And I've become a much more careful, thoughtful consumer. I rarely purchase treats or luxuries without asking myself: Do I really need this? I'm more conscious of turning off lights around the house, and conserving water when I shower or do laundry. Taking inventory of all the stuff crammed into my drawers and closets, I'm ashamed to admit I haven't worn or used a fraction of it.
   In other words, I'm taking my grandmother's Depression lessons to heart. It's not that I'm fearful or paranoid; my financial portfolio remains relatively secure. For now. My son graduated college last year, and now supports himself.
   But I've stopped taking anything for granted.
   The new frugality movement probably won't help our battered economy. Up until recently, every aspect of American culture urged us all to spend, spend, spend. And yet, on a much deeper level, I can't help but think that practicing thrift makes us better people. I hear echoes of my grandmother's hard-won advice -- a call to take better care of what we already own, and to question why we ever thought we could buy happiness.
---
Cindy La Ferle writes on home, family, and women's issues from Royal Oak, where she is Writer-in-Residence for her public library. Writing Home, her award-winning collection of stories on motherhood and women's issues, is available on Amazon.com and is distributed nationally to bookstores by Wayne State University Press. Proceeds from Cindy's book sales are donated to shelters serving the homeless in Oakland County, Michigan.

Visit Cindy La Ferle's Home Office and Blog: www.laferle.com You may also contact her directly at cindy@laferle.com