My mother born 1921. Would say times were so hard that supper was bread with mustard. She quit school in 5th grade when her mother died. But she could read speak and write Russian. It always amazed me when her sisters came to visit and they spoke Russian.

My dad, born 1922, used to tell us kids about the poor family that lived in a palmetto shack near a lake in Louisiana during this time frame. Sometimes all they had to eat was some molasses on bread. My sister and I never really believed that kind of poverty existed. This photo proves it.

I love that even though they don't have much, they both put on their nicest clothes, including for her, a cute dress, stockings, and white dress shoes, to get their picture taken. They may not be the richest people in the world, but that's no reason not to look your best for company. My grandmother always told me that. She said that I could be living in a cave in the woods -- if someone is coming to see you, brush your hair and put on your church clothes. Poor doesn't have to mean dirty or unkempt.

I hope their years progressively got better after this.

I wish there was a way to find out what ever happened to the people who are "down on their luck" that are in all of these Shorpy pics. I would love to find out what the future held for these poor folks that helped build America.