Pictured Left: John Van Binsbergen,
Lora (Nolot) Hosier (in white),
Ethyl (Hubbard) Fish (Black blazer),
and Mary Ellen (Adkins) Shallers (in red).
Finding Hope in Tough Times:
What to Do When Life Gives You Lemons.
1) Talk. Tell others about your loss.
2) Write down your thoughts/feelings. Holding
By Carla Roth
onto emotions keep us stuck in grief and leads to
conomic downturn. to eat mush. We ate what we thought
at auction, even their wedding gifts.
depression.
E
Workforce reduction. was canned beef but later found out it
After all debts were paid, they had
) Schedule “time outs” from worry and job hunting.
Foreclosure. Current words was really horse meat.”
$1,000 left. Dad banked it on Friday,
A little bit of the “Scarlet O’Hara theory” (I’ll
resurrecting memories for
and the bank closed on Monday.
worry about that tomorrow.) is healthy.
children of the Great Depression. As Ed and Norma (Evans) Roth
He lost it all and became a “hobo,”
) Read the funny papers.
the economy sours and pink slips are remember living in scarcity. Norma
jumping trains to find work. He said
5) Establish a routine and follow it.
delivered, Americans are again faced recounts, “Knocking coal from the
hope for better days and a yearning to
6) Help others. Bearing someone else’s burden will
with the pain of broken dreams. An cars to take home for heat, boys
be with my mother kept him going.”
lighten your own.
avalanche of loss packs a Tsunami would dive onto the train behind my 7) Make a gratitude list – If you look for blessings,
punch as life throws its lemons and grandmother’s house.” Men hoping
The youngest of ten from DePauw,
you’ll find some.
provokes the question, “How will we for a sandwich waited at the back
Indiana, Lora (Nolot) Hosier
8) Create “front porch” moments by getting to know
survive?” of my father’s grocery store.” With
remembers wearing a coat that her
your neighbors.
tears glistening, Ed recalls his mother
mother had lovingly patched and re-
9) Focus on the future; find pictures to represent new
Despite the destruction of the taking in sewing and laundry from
patched. “I almost quit high school
dreams/new goals. Post them where you will see
190’s, folks in Southern Indiana families who had money. “She and
because I felt so embarrassed about
them every day.
rose above the challenges of their my four older sisters sacrificed. They
my clothes, but we were fortunate
10) Reach for help if symptoms of depression
circumstances. Mary Ellen (Adkins) took good care of me and saw that I
to live on a farm. We had food from
persist. Examples include under or over
Shallers, a New Albany native and had what I needed.”
our garden, and Mother canned
sleeping, loss of appetite, inability to enjoy
pre-teen during the Great Depression,
everything. I remember desperately
activities that once brought pleasure, and
recalls, “There was no money. I John VanBinsbergen recalls his
wanting a class ring, a luxury my
isolating from family/friends.
remember many meals of mush and father’s vivid stories. “Soon after my
parents couldn’t afford. My older
milk. To this day, I still can’t stand mother and father married, they lost
sister saved and bought it for me. It
2 March/April 2009
their farm. Everything had to be sold
cost $5.00; I was thrilled!”
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28