During my childhood, a shift began as families increasingly relied on convenience and credit to simplify their lives. However, my parents made some sacrifices I was not aware of. As far as I was concerned, we lived comfortably even though we had very few modern conveniences as Dad was reluctant to use credit. He believed you saved what money you could for any unexpected purchases or emergencies.
As mentioned in one of my earlier stories, meals were eaten at home, and Mother made use of what was available on our farm; vegetables from the garden, fresh farm eggs, and with meat and fish, which reduced their grocery bills. When purchasing flour, for example, they bought it in bulk, usually in a 100-pound sack, if I remember correctly. The sacks were made of tightly woven cotton able to withstand the weight of the flour. Once home, the sack was placed in the flour barrel in the pantry. For us, there was no such thing as convenience meals in fast-food establishments or restaurants. Not eating out was one of their ways of reducing household expenses. In fact, I never saw the inside of a restaurant until I was in my early twenties.
As far as clothes went, most of my clothes were hand-me-downs from an older cousin. Our everyday farm clothes were mended and patched until they were beyond repair rather than being tossed out. I remember Mother sewing on the old Singer sewing machine, and when I started school, she made me some skirts and slacks to go with the hand-me-down blouses and lightweight sweaters that were given to me. Back then, purchasing what they considered to be expensive clothes in the shops in town for school was out of the question, so to save money, many articles of clothing were handmade. Mother also spent time in the evenings after the chores were finished for the day, knitting heavier sweaters, socks, scarves, mittens, etc., for the coming winter.
At Christmas time, I remember receiving one gift that I might have been wishing for the whole year, but the other few wrapped gifts were items like new socks, pyjamas, a new pair of store-bought winter boots, along with a pencil and an eraser, and some crayons. Birthday celebrations were simplified as well, which also reduced Mother and Dad’s spending. When they spent money, it was usually because they needed something, not just because they wanted it. I guess you could say we lived a simple life, as purchases were based on function and not for unnecessary items. I can only remember one luxury item in our home, which was the television that Mother and Dad purchased in October 1954. I remember watching The Bugs Bunny Show and Howdy Doody. There may have been other children’s shows, but these are the only two that stand out in my memory.
Some evenings we would go for a drive in the car, and occasionally, my brother and I would receive an ice cream cone or a box of pink popcorn with a wee prize inside. My parents’ lives seemed to revolve around visiting old folks in the community. Many times, instead of going out on a family night to see a movie for entertainment, I had to sit listening to old people sharing their stories of long ago. I never understood it then, but the older I get, the more I realize our time together with the older generation, was the greatest gift of all, as they are all long gone now, and some of their stories now remain in my early childhood recollections.
By forgoing conveniences and the use of credit, my parents could not only save money for the necessities to survive, they gained an appreciation, as did I in later years, for the simple life on the farm, where happiness came from the little things, not expensive things. It seemed my parents worked from sunrise to sunset, while solving problems I never knew about, on their own. Those days, when I was a young child living on the farm, was the happiest time of my little life. Each day was fun-filled and carefree.
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If you like Marilyn’s stories I know you’ll like her collection of short stories: The Kendricks of Glasgow Junction: Stories of Life in Rural Nova Scotia in the 1920s.
Her book is available in Kindle, paperback, and hard cover. Find it HERE.