Louisiana children’s story writer renowned for teaching students to write and illustrate thematic books, Dee Scallan, has created a new book based on the state of affairs of the Great Depression as compared to today’s world as seen through the eyes of 8th graders.
Synopsis by Dee Scallan:
“In Louisiana, there is a wealth of knowledge that is virtually untapped. This knowledge is in the minds of our elders. They hold so many stories of Louisiana history as well as American history. There is so much to learn from the memories of our elders such as the life lessons of survival that they learned living through The Great Depression. This knowledge can give us a better understanding of the courage and resilience of these elders, as well as an appreciation for the part our state played in their survival.
In North Louisiana, fifty elders were interviewed about the trials and tribulations of The Great Depression. As an author, I am presenting the stories of twenty of these elders in the form of the written word. In reading the transcripts of all fifty elders, I find many similarities in their stories. Mainly, that most were small rural farmers that produced food mainly for their own families and they were not as severely affected by the bad times as many people in other states were. They lived much the same during the Great Depression as they did before it began. They lived off the rich bounty the land of Louisiana offered, which should give us a greater appreciation of our state. It brings to mind that if a depression is coming, then head for Louisiana. It is the land of plenty because the fertile soil will produce any crop. The bayous, rivers, and streams are overflowing with fish. The many wooded acres of land are bursting with wildlife, and the pastures feed the livestock. This is not to say that times were easy during the Great Depression years because they were not. The times were hard due to the lack of present- day conveniences such as electricity and indoor plumbing. The labor was hard because they did not have tractors and other modern day machinery. Travel was difficult because of the lack of automobiles and roads. They had to work hard with very little leisure time. This was their life before the Great Depression and it did not really change during the length of the Great Depression. They still had their gardens and livestock, so they did not go hungry. What they did not produce they were able to secure with the barter system. There was not much social life because they worked from sunrise to sundown. What social activities they participated in were centered around the churches. They believed in the Almighty and were good, moral, law-abiding people who lived, worked, shared, and survived together. They developed survival skills. The common conjuncture in their stories is that most of the elders feel times have become too easy and the young people of today do not have the survival skills they would need to survive in times comparable to the Great Depression era. In this book I have combined the stories of the older generation and the stories of the younger generation and I will let you be the judge.”
Here are excerpts from the book as written by Dee and 8th Grade Students at participating schools during TRIUMPH OVER TRAGEDY:
