Growing Up Rural

A rural childhood has always had its charms and its drawbacks, but during the Great Depression, farm children had to content with extraordinary circumstances.

The poor farm economy meant that many farms were in jeopardy. Government programs, such as those of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, provided some relief and helped to give some families more security.

It was a time when many Minnesota farm families did not have the modern conveniences that town people enjoyed. The Rural Electrification Administration, created in 1935, began to bring electricity to farms, and with it new labor-saving equipment for farm and farmhouse, but the movement would not reach most Minnesota farms until after the Great Depression. Without the luxury of electricity, farm families still resorted to the old-fashioned "icebox" to keep food cold, coal- or wood-burning stoves for cooking and heating, and labor intensive laundry facilities.

Indoor plumbing was also a rarity in country homes of the 1920s and 1930s. Many families still relied on the outhouse in the backyard and chamberpots or "slop jars" under beds, and drew their water from an outdoor well or from a cistern hand-pump at the kitchen sink.

Children living in the country experienced an isolation not felt by children living in town. With a team of horses and wagon for transportation, going to a friend's house to play was not always possible. Some famlies had motorized transportation, but poor country roads and lack of money for gas kept unnecessary travel to a minimum.

A child's social life centered on school, church, 4-H clubs, and farm bureau family activities. County fairs offered a welcome diversion for the whole family and, for children enrolled in 4-H projects, the exciting prospect of competing at the Minnesota State Fair.

The radio represented a connection to the wider world, and farm children gathered around the family's radio to listen to favorite programs just as their urban counterparts did.

Depression-era children in rural areas were rich in one respect: they had ample space to play and to exercise their imaginations. While many would remember the hardships of life on the farm in the Great Depression, they would also remember these riches.

Citations:

• 1933 Farm Foreclosures. Minnesota Historical Society: Timepieces, 2006.
• Agricultural Adjustment Act. Wikipedia.org, 2006.
• Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, Census of Agriculture for Minnesota, State Table 11. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1941.
• Object: "Savage" electric washer and dryer, 1930-1939.
• Object: Wood-fired cook stove, 1930s.
• Photo: Ironing in farm kitchen, 1920.
• Photo: A farm kitchen shown at the State Fair, 1920.
• Photo: Grand Portage Arrowhead 4-H Club, 1939.
• Object: Pennant - "Minnesota State Fair/St. Paul," 1930s.
• Photo: Lois harmon seated in tall grass on Ralph L. Harmon farm near South St. Paul, 1922.