You have more recollections from elementary school?
Right. I have one lasting memory from Kindergarten, and it changed with time.
How’s that?
Well, one day I came to class and there was a basket of apples in the corner.
And the teacher invited us to take a couple when we left for home. Sounds great, huh? Free apples.
And?
I guess you could call it “Welcome to the Real World.” That would have been in the fall of 1935. In a couple of years I learned about the stock market crash of 1929.
And I became aware that we were in what the adults were calling The Great Depression. And the apple growers on Long Island couldn’t sell all they grew. And so, rather than plow the apples under, they just gave them to the schools. In other words, our gain was their loss. It was a sad situation when I finally realized what was going on around me.
I see.
And those blue eagles on store windows weren’t just bird pictures. They identified National Recovery Administration members trying to get out of the depression.
Okay.
And, when I talked with my parents about it, I learned about all the people who were out of work.
My dad kept his job, but others weren’t so lucky.
I guess they were tough times.
Sure were. And I was aware of only part of it. Next time I’d like to talk about my community.
Okay.