1. The Great Depression Personal Interview

2. Mrs. Polly Taylor Where were you when the Great Depression began? Well, I was a wife and mother in my early thirties. We were living in Cinncinnati, Ohio. We (my husband and I) had four children, three sons and one daughter.

3. What was your husband’s job? He was an executive for a large company based in the Cinncinnati area. His salary was large. We could afford a lot of nice things.

4. Did you have a house? Yes, we owned a large four bedroom house. Our oldest son and daughter had their own bedrooms The two younger sons shared a bedroom. There were nine rooms in the house. This was considered a very large house during for the 20’s and 30’s.

5. What did you do in your spare time? We belonged to a country club. My husband and sons played golf. My daughter and I plaed card games and tennis at the country club. We all swam and ate dinners and lunches in the restaurant at the club.

6. Would you say you had a good life? Yes, we were very priveleged. My husband’s job made it possible for us to have a lot of things We traveled out of the country, too.

7. How did the Great Depression first begin to affect your life? My husband took a decrease in salary. We dropped our country club membership. Our oldest son got a job as a caddy at the country club where he had played golf. The children had fewer clothes. The “cleaning lady” had to be let go.

8. What happened next? We lost all the money we had in stocks first. The money we had in the bank was not enough to live on. The children and I went to live with my family in Kentucky. They owned a large farm. We lost our house after my husband lost his job.

9. How did this end? We learned to live on less money, and be thankful we were together and healthy. My husband moved to Kentucky with us and worked on my parent’s farm. He got another job. It paid less. We were able to move out and rent a house on our own.

10. What was the result of the Depression for your family? We learned that we could live without a lot of things. We learned that being together with your family was important. Good health is important.