Hello There! What Would You Like To Do Today? Improve My Health Improve My Wealth Improve My Home Improve My Cooking Improve My Hobby Improve My Sex Life Improve My Garden Trace My Family Tree Make Me Smile Let's Take a Vacation Send a Message to President Bush Send a Message to MY Congressman Send a Message to MY U.S. Senator Look at the Very Best Senior Sites on the Web Search the Book Shelves of Amazon.com		Can You Make A Silk Purse From An Old Sow's Ear? The answer to "silk purse making", of course, is "probably not". To many of us who grew up during The Great Depression of the 1930s, however, it seemed our mothers could actually accomplish such miracles when it came to cooking! Yes, growing up in the depression was rough, but most of us had Moms who could turn whatever food we had into something "so good", rejected clothing into something "brand new". A new book entitled, "Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression" by Rita Van Amber... shows today's generation how the mothers of the depression... could actually take almost "nothing" and make "something" good to eat. It's been said that the "good old days" would probably kill off half of today's generation in a weeks time. Maybe - maybe not. It's difficult for the present generation to understand the strange changes which went through our country in the 1930s. It was a turning point in history. Drought - Locusts - Grasshoppers   It was a time when drought turned the land into a dust bowl. What crops the drought didn't destroy, locusts or grasshoppers did. You could hear them coming... like the core of a frightening storm, a steady ominous hum getting louder and LOUDER. It was a time when everything was dirt cheat - but, no one had any money to buy anything. Raisins were 5 cents a pound, but you seldom had the 5 cents. Double-dip ice cream cones were 5 cents each, but you didn't have the nickel. A time when taxes were 25 cents an acre per year. It was always a worry trying to find the funds to take care of this - knowing the farm wouldn't be yours for long if this was neglected. We Ate the Weeds   When the gardens burned up, only weeds grew. We ate the weeds. Mrs. Van Amber tells about a farmer in Minnesota who shipped a car load of sheep. When he got his check, he found it didn't pay for the shipping. He owed 37 cents more than the sheep brought! During the depression we learned to survive for days on bread and milk or bread and gravy. It was a time when corn-meal was a staple... when some relied on it more than others and became experts at different preparations and variations. Among many people's favorite was Buttermilk Johnny Cake - known in some sections of the nation as "fried cornbread". Life Was Simple   Yet..., the depression was a time when life was simple..., when friends and neighbors cared about one another. A time when nothing was thrown away... we ate what was fixed. We never said "Yuk" about food or we would have surely been disciplined. It was a time when women helped the men in the fields and with chores. Morning, noon, and in the evenings... the women also made the meals and did other household work... almost never sitting down. A sad time - maybe - but we didn't know it then. It was a time when caring and sharing was a way of life taught by example. Children grew up with concern for others. Memories Like the Rushing Tide   If you are a child of the depression... Mrs. Van Amber's book will bring back memories which will surge over you like the rushing tide. You'll want to pass the book onto your daughters, grand daughters and great-grand daughters. Show them how you lived and help them learn to prepare the tasty dishes you knew as a youngster. Then if times ever get that tough again, they'll know how to "make a silk purse from a sow's ear" in the kitchen and help their family survive. Brings Tears To Your Eyes   You'll get 305 pages of "bring tears to your eyes" stories and hundreds of "make do," but delicious recipes. This book is one of the very best we've had the pleasure to read and use here at The Senior Center. Of the hundreds of books we've reviewed, we've rated this one, #1! It's not available in book stores and is only available through our online book store... Amazon.com. Incidentally, we've dragged Amazon, kicking and screaming into stocking the book and shipping it to you within 24 hours. To get your copy, simply click on the "Order Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression" below. Size: 5 1/2" X 8 1/2" - 305 pages   Order "Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression". Return to The Senior Center