A rare record of day-to-day life in Depression-era Louisiana.

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 corning 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.

Contents

Chapter I
The Beginning

Chapter II
TheFlood

Chapter III
Me and the General Store

Chapter IV
Wash Day on the River Bank and a Summer Picnic

Chapter V
Illness at Christmas

Chapter VI
Wildlife All Around

Chapter VII
A Small Brother

ChpaterVIII
Daddys Have Mothers Too

Chapter IX
Going to School

Chapter X
Frequent Illness

Chapter XI
Gathering Hard Times

Chapter XII
The New Road, Turning Our Backs Toward the River

Chapter XIII
Branching Out and a Wider Circle

Chapter XIV
Maggie Ward Howard

Chapter XV
Alligator Cookout

Chapter XVI
Moving to the Rear

Chapter XVII
Worst of Times

Chapter XVIII
Glimpses

Chapter XIX
Glimpses II

Chapter XX
Some Characters

Chapter XXI
Visiting

Chapter XXII
The Five Babies

Chapter XXIII
Winding Down on the Lane

Chapter XXIV
TheHomePlace

Chapter XXV
Dark Angels

Chapter XXVI
Of Christmas Lights and Trees and Things

Chapter XXVII
Still a Hard Life

Chapter XXVIII
Just Marking Time

Chapter XXIX
Good Things to Eat

Chapter XXX
Milestones

Chapter XXXI
The Secret

Chapter XXXII
Finishing High School

Chapter XXXIII
The Early College Years

Chapter XXXIV
A Job at Last

Chapter XXXV
The Navy�The Training Camps

Chapter XXXVI
The Navy, the College, and the University

Chapter XXXVII
Launched into the Sea of Matrimony, or Starting a New Life

Chapter XXXVIII
Some Postscripts and Afterthoughts

View other titles from The Center for Louisiana Studies