Jack’s Winning Words 2/16/18
“Wealth hasn’t changed who I am.  My feet are still on the ground.  I’m just wearing better shoes.”  (Oprah)  I remember during the Great Depression…I had a hole in the sole of my shoe, my dad cut out cardboard and put it in the shoe to cover the hole.  Maybe you, too, can recall times that were “tougher” than they are today.  Robert Schuller wrote a book, “Tough Times Never Last.  Tough People Do.”  Hang in there, and keep your feet on the ground.    ;-)  Jack

 FROM HONEST JOHN:  And everyone wore Thom McAnn (sp.?) shoes.====JACK:  I always wondered why Tom McAnn would misspell his name as, Thom McAn.====JOHN:  I thought I remembered that spelling but it seemed reasonable that it should be other....I was too lazy to look it up....thanks====JACK:  I wasn't being picky.  It was a name that seemed to be misspelled.  Out of curiosity, I discovered that the shoe store name was inspired by Scottish golfer Thomas McCann. The first Thom McAn retail store opened in New York in 1922.  The brand is now sold by K-Mart and Sears.

FROM HAWKEYE GEORGE:  another good WW.  I remember the cardboard to cover the holes in my shoes. And if Mom took me to buy a pair of Tom McCann shoes I was in Hog Heaven. ====JACK:  Only "rich" people could afford Florsheim's.

FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  The thing about the depression of the 1930’s is that everyone seemed to be having the same problem. We were just busy having fun with friends with things that did not require a lot of money-like jumping rope, building forts in the woods, climbing trees, etc. I remember the holes in the shoes too!====JACK:  Sometimes, instead of the cardboard, I went to Mr Ringquist, the shoemaker, who would cut a piece of leather in the shape of a half-dollar and nail it over the hole.  He changed 10 cents for the repair.

FROM DMF:  I suppose the carboard had to be replaced regularly====JACK:  You are right... especially when the weather was snowy or rainy.  And, sometimes the cardboard would wear out because of walking or running.

FROM TARMART REV:  You just scored “a hole in one” kind of post this morning, Jack!! Thank you!! 0;-)===JACK:  Funny...like, Why do golfers wear two pair of pants?  Ans: In case they get a hole in one.====REV:  ;-))====JACK:   Bowling One Liners...I go bowling once every four years to make sure I still hate it...Bowling is a sport that should be right down your alley. If you can't hear a pin drop, then something is definitely wrong with your bowling...If our small town didn't have bowling, there'd be no culture at all.

FROM ST PAUL IN MESA:  my Mom told many similar stories from her days on the farm in the 1930s.  even Margaret tells of having some dresses made out of those somewhat colorful feed sacks on her farm.  good memories in some ways too.  the movie, Grapes of Wrath, was on TV the other night.  almost hard to believe that some Americans were truly that poor. ====JACK:  Loretta Lynn sings the song, "Coal Miner's Daughter," to tell what it was like, growing up poor.  Many of the Greatest Generation have some similar stories to tell.

Well, I was born a coal miner's daughter
In a cabin on a hill in Butcher Holler
We were poor, but we had love  That's the one thing that Daddy made sure of
He shoveled coal to make a poor man's dollar.

My Daddy worked all night in the Vanleer coal mines
All day long in the field a-hoin' corn
Mommy rocked the babies at night  And read the Bible by the coal-oil light
And ever'thing would start all over come break of morn'.

Daddy loved and raised eight kids on a miner's pay
Mommy scrubbed our clothes on a washboard ever' day
Why, I've seen her fingers bleed  To complain there was no need
She'd smile in Mommy's understanding way.

In the summertime we didn't have shoes to wear
But in the wintertime we'd all get a brand new pair
From a mail order catalog  Money made from sellin' a hog
Daddy always managed to get the money somewhere.

Yeah, I'm proud to be a coal miner's daughter
I remember well - the well where I drew water
The work we done was hard  At night we'd sleep 'cause we worked hard
I never thought of ever leaving Butcher Holler.

Well, a lot of things have changed since way back then
And it's so good to be back home again
Not much left but the floor  Nothing lives here anymore
Except the mem'ries of a coal miner's daughter.

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  Most of us who grew up in the 30's and early 40's remember putting cardboard in our shoes to "to "Patch a hole" in the sole!   But most everyone was in the same situation, so we just took it as a part of life! Rich in memories of good times that cost very little! A deck of cards or a balloon or ball, was cheap entertainment!====JACK:  Movies at the Roxy were 10 cents.  We used to do a lot of walking instead of paying bus fare.  In those days, walking was called, "Hoofing it."  Women and girls used to "do" their own hair.  Do you remember "Which twin has the Toni?"   Did you and Jan ever try that?