Letters 2 from the 30s

Evergreen 252

Rockwell, Alabama. 650200

10/15/1931

Dear Jim:

Things continue badly here in Rockwell, we believe this is never stopping. The storms continue beating our homes and tearing out the crops, now we don’t have many chances to gain money.

Before this problem fell on us, I went to school like every normal boy, guess now I’m normal too staying at home… I ate my lunch and studied to some day maybe go to college, but now, all is different. Now you must think I’m lying on my home, I wish I could do that, I must work in the house to help my two big sisters on the house matters like cooking and cleaning, when we have things to eat, some days we just get along with water that we have stored for difficult situation. And when the week has gone too bad for us to continue, I must go to the street looking for things to eat or money to pass the day, sometimes the people need help in some work and I help them and my payment is some pieces of bread that I share with my family.

It’s difficult, but my father’s day is further worse. Before the crash, he was a farmer and made the living out for that, and we never complained, we had all we need, my sisters and my mother. Now my father prays all night for some thing to grow in the field, because the sandstorms had destroyed all his vegetables. He wakes up at 5am to start seeking for someone to employ him for the day to gain some money for buying food, and when he doesn’t find someone to help him, he just go around the city asking for food or picking what he can from the garbage bins.

And mother, I don’t know now, the last time I saw her she said that she was going to work to get us out from that, after that I never saw her again. The last thing I knew from her was that she was working in a house in the county on the side and that she would come back soon with the necessary money to go to a big city for better opportunities.

I remember that I enjoyed playing with my dog and my sisters, but it died a week ago from rubbish. Now I enjoy to sleep and being with my family when I can, in winter to get warm also. I must enjoy them while I can.

Sincerely, Bart