Reminiscences of Growing Up in Depression Louisiana
by E. Hollace Busbice
The passage of the fiftieth anniversary of the Great Depression sparked a flurry of publications on the nation's greatest economic upheaval. Most of these publications have focused on urban America or the Dust Bowl states. Very little has been published about everyday life in Depression-era Louisiana. Hollace Busbice describes his coming of age in rural North Louisiana during the 1930s and the "hard times" that he, his family, and friends experienced.
Nevertheless, this is not a saga of unrelenting tragedy. It is instead a tale of his family's eventual triumph over the impoverished circumstances in which they were trapped for so many years.
In recounting his experiences, Busbice discusses the seasonal cycle of farm life, the manner in which his family lived off the land, the strength that his family derived from his loving parents, Depression-era rural housing, the diet of North Louisiana farm families, the impact of improved transportation on rural families, the general lack of medicines and medical facilities in rural Louisiana, the value placed by his family upon education, his experiences in the local public schools, and the limited social life enjoyed by rural farm families. The author also describes the role that college education and military service played in giving the rural poor a better life. He concludes with a brief description of the improved living conditions his family enjoyed in post-war Louisiana.
If you, or anyone you know, grew up in Depression-era Louisiana, then Back Toward the River: Reminiscences of Growing Up in Depression Louisiana is a must.
Hardcover, 194 pages, ©1989