Enter Jane Reynolds, a 76 year old woman whose memories of the depression are surprisingly happy. Her family was very lucky in that her father owned a used car lot in Salt Lake City, a steady job that put food on the table. Jane says she remembers her father had to repossess cars all the time because no one had money to pay for anything.

In 1930 Jane and her family moved into her grandparent's house, to combine all their resources in this hard time. She remembers the home as being very happy and comforting, even though her mother was at first in a state of depression because she was worried about the new baby she had just beared. There were no drugs to treat depression like there are in modern times. Yet still, Jane can remember her mother saying, "We are poor, but we are not poor in spirit."

Jane's grandfather worked at ZCMI and traveled selling shoes. The family was very fortunate to have two men in the house with well paying jobs while so many people were going hungry. The childr

To help out with the money issues of the times, many of the kids in Jane's family, including herself, had part time jobs. Mostly they were hired by friends or neighbors to clean their houses, which was looked upon as a very generous gesture.

en's clothing was the same fabric used repeatedly, but taken apart year after year and sewn back together again in an updated style. The girls learned at a young age to be worthy seamstresses, something helpful to their mother who was trying to raise 5 children and be cheerful about it at the same time.

On the subject of unemployment, Jane recalls her poor uncle who could not find a job anywhere. He had tried in what seemed like fifty different places, but no one had enough money to hire him. Jane's father welcomed her uncle into the house and supported him until finally he found a job as steel mill worker. A very lucky aspect of Jane's life was that her grandfather had a steady job, something very hard to come by in those days. His employment as a shoe salesman was what kept Jane's family rooted.

School was always a pleasure for Jane, being with all her friends and having fun was something any child could enjoy, poor or not. She remembers tha

Some common words found in the essay are:
Lake City, Jane Reynolds, , times jane, jane remembers, jane's family, depression 1930s, steady job, food table, jane reynolds,
Approximate Word count = 807
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)