Chapter 5
Ozark Amusements
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| Family gathering in the '30 in Bona. Conrad Frieze is third from the right in front. Richard is fourth and little brother Rex is in the cap and shorts on the end in front, looking like Buster Brown. |
Dave and I recently chatted
about the government assistance during the Great Depression and also during our
lifetimes. I understand that the coupon
books of “food stamps” that I had as a single struggling mother were probably
meant to embarrass recipients—make you want to get off them. I certainly was uncomfortable tearing out
those coupons at the checkout counter in front of a line of people, but I had
children to feed and I believed it wouldn’t be forever. Now of course, SNAP has EBT cards meant to
look like a debit card and cause less humiliation. I am not here to debate the pros and cons of
shaming adults, but I am irritated as hell that the American government thought
it was appropriate during the Great Depression to give innocent children overalls
to wear that had been dyed brown so that the entire community, most
particularly their classmates, would know that their family was on Relief. The United States government shamed itself in
humiliating children who had no power over the situation of their lives or the
economy. During Hard Times, as it was
called, neither did their parents.
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| Conrad age 12 in stripped overalls. |
A major difference
in the days of the 1930s in the Ozark hills and the modern world of today was
our clothing. Bib overalls were the
normal attire for most all males for some very good reason. First of all, bib overalls were the most
versatile and comfortable working garment ever invented. Secon, and very important in those days of Hard
Times, they were cheap and very durable.
Today, most
outdoors-working men and boys usually wear blue denim jeans or dungarees except
on farms where the old bib overalls can still be found. Jeans and dungarees are great but they do require
a belt to keep them up. Bib overalls had
their own galluses, were loose and comfortable, and they have myriad pockets
that are very useful.
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| Typical Ozark men's dress, even into the forties. Pictured here are Willie and John Blankenship, the author's great-uncles. |
Bib overalls were
usually made of dark blue denim but they also came in blue and white striped
denim. Most of us wore blue because the
striped ones showed dirt more—and we often had plenty of that on us not to
speak of cow manure and other things. In
the early days of the Roosevelt administration during the Hard Times of the
1930s, the overalls that were handed out to people on Relief were the striped
kind but that had been dyed brown so you could always tell that someone was on
Relief. Fortunately, our father was a
proud and independent man who never took charity so we boys never had to wear Relief
overalls. Of course our overalls were
usually faded and patched at the knees but Mother always saw to it that we went
off to school in clean overalls and shirt and we never minded patches—everyone wore
patched overalls.
Those bib overalls
were worn the year around. In summer we
often wore them without any underwear.
In the winter we wore drop-seat long johns under them. Our shirts were usually blue hickory shirts
for everyday wear and maybe a white shirt for Sunday when we went to church. We usually had regular was pants with a belt
to wear to church or when we went to Greenfield for something like the Fourth
of July picnic but many times I have gone to church in a clean pair of fairly
new bib overalls. I do not believe the
Lord minded one bit.
There were some
other articles of clothing that were typical in those days in the Ozarks. When you look at the old photographs it is
evident that we were a transition generation from the pioneer days of horse and
buggy to a more modern world of automobiles and up-to-date clothing. Many of the older folks clung to garb that was
right out of the Civil War era.
The older ladies still
wore dresses that came down to their ankles.
My Grandmother Stanley had progressed to shorter dresses (although I
remember her well in ankle-length dress and apron), but I do not ever recall
seeing Aunt Lizzie Asbell in anything but ankle-length dress and apron over
high buttoned shoes. “Aunt Lizzie” was
actually my great-aunt because she was Grandma Stanley’s sister.
One article that
was still in common use can now be found only in a museum. It was a ladies’ (or girls’) sunbonnet called
a “poke bonnet.” Almost all females wore
them in the summer. They were made from
material left over from making dresses or aprons and were stiffened with strips
of cardboard. The poke bonnets (called
that because they resembled a paper bag or “poke”) had a pouf of material at
the back to accommodate hair usually braided and wound into a bun on the back
of the head. There was also a sort of
skirt to protect the nape of the neck. A
poke bonnet was a very effective sunshade, but was a bit disconcerting because from
any distance at all you could not tell what woman it was. Up close it was sort like looking up a
section of stove pipe to see who you were talking to.
Not being a
fashionista, what my father may not have known, or at least failed to mention,
is the reason that women’s dresses shortened during the Great Depression. It was a very practical reason--the lack of
money for purchasing material. Women
knew how to make a penny scream in those days and shorter hemlines meant less
material to be purchased. As American
society transitioned from the Depression into WWII hemlines shortened even more
to save material for the war effort and more women began wearing pants as they
moved into the factory workplace.
