Dust surrounds us as we stand in the middle of our farm on a dry afternoon. You can almost smell the heartbreak in our little old town. We all hope that someday we can escape our harsh reality, but we have been lurking in the dark for so long that we have now come to terms with it. Being a farmer in the 30’s was dreadful because of the horrible weather conditions, illness, and the sudden increase in poverty. Farming in the 30’s was difficult because of horrible weather conditions. The article, “Farming in the 1930’s,” states, “The Hastings Tribune reported that by July 15, 1934, central Nebraska had experienced more than 20 days with temperatures over 100 degrees, including one day of 112 degrees. That year was followed by 1935, when Nebraskans …show more content…
“That silage formed a gas and usually you let the lantern down [to check for gas before entering the silo]. And if it went out, why you knew there was gas down there." The gas sucked the oxygen out of the lungs and the person suffocated.” This seriously impacted farmers because having to go to silos was, and still is, a big part of farming. This was very deadly back then because most people did not take the precautions that they take today, so death was much more likely. If the farmers did not know about gas in their silo, they could be suffocated and killed, or the gas could even infect the stored crops, which when taken in could infect people as well. Most farmers could not be able to tell if their crops were unsafe, so if they were to prepare a meal for their family with those crops, the consumer could then become infected and could even die. This could result in having to get rid of the infected food, having to replant, and witnessing many deaths. Deadly illness in the 1930’s made it extremely difficult for farmers to live ordinarily. Farmers were struggling to survive in the 1930’s because of the sudden increase in …show more content…
Many young men took government jobs building roads and bridges.” This highly increased poverty. In this time, farmers relied on their crops to make money and feed their family, so when the stock market crashed, everyone was in a panic. Many people tried to make do by getting whatever they could out of their farms, but because of weather and no groceries, they had to stop farming and get other jobs where they could actually make decent money. Sometimes farmers did not even have a choice, their land was just taken from them because they could not pay for it anymore. This resulted in a lot more people leaving to other places or starting new jobs somewhere else, therefore, leaving their farms behind. "Repair, reuse, make do, and don't throw anything away" was a motto during the Great Depression. Very few farm families had enough money to buy new clothes at a store. Mothers mended socks and sewed patches over holes in clothes. Clothes were "recycled" and reused as younger children "made do" with hand-me-downs. When farmers brought home big sacks of flour or livestock feed, farm women used the sacks as material to sew everything from girls' dresses to boys' shirts and even