Recollections: Rural Ohio, 1920 - 1940

Born in Ashtabula County in 1922, before it was known as "The Snow Belt," Mardee (her self-chosen nickname) endured the heavy snows before they were a problem for rush hour traffic. Living on the family farm, she experienced a way of life that has since disappeared. During the Depression, school clothes were hand-me-downs, not fashion statements. Before television, most entertainment was homemade. Your future spouse was a classmate, even if they didn't live exactly next door. During Prohibition, the illegal drug of choice was homemade beer, wine, or hard cider. Disease was the killer, not high speed car wrecks, serial killers or terrorists. A child could walk barefoot in the dewy grass and smell the fresh country air in summer or watch the snow fall in winter instead of rushing to soccer or ballet. School vacations were spent with your family and friends rather than at sports camp. Life was slower and simpler. Mrs. Meilander takes us back to that time in her delightful personal reminiscences.