Family conflict and survival during the Great Depression

Great Depression

Dearest Aunt Gloria,

Times are tough and I don't know how to support the family anymore. I'm trying to find the calm in the midst of all this financial chaos but I just can't. I don't know what to do and I'm losing hope for a better morrow. I'm trying to hold it together but whenever I talk to my wife, we end up yelling at each other about money. She keeps telling me what the kids need and the lack of food in the house. Doesn't she know I'm stressing about it, too?! I lost my job at the auto factory because they were cutting down corners and I refused to bow my head down to the boss. I refused to lick his bootstraps and I got kicked out. Of course Eileen was shouting and screaming what are we going to do then and she went on and on about the kids. She doesn't know how hard it is for a man to suck up and work for somebody he doesn't respect or who treats his employees like dirt; like he was better than the rest of them. I admit to you, and you only that maybe I should have done something more about the job situation but I regret nothing! I bet he's real happy because I'm bouncing from factory to factory looking for work and hoping to feed my family. Sometimes I get lucky when my name is called out for temporary work, picking up shifts here and there but nothin' permanent.

Eileen and I would go on bread lines to pick up food but there isn't enough for our family of five. Usually I would give my share to the kids because they need to grow up and be strong boys. The little one, Anthony, he ran to me when I got home one night and said he wanted to work in a factory with me so I wouldn't be so lonely. The eldest one, Jonathan, he says he's old enough to work so the family would not be just dependent on my salary. The middle one, Stevie, he's usually hiding in his room but every now and then, he'd hug me like he knew I needed it. Times aren't the greatest for my friends either. They all have family and are looking for jobs, too. Remember our neighbors, the Moribitos? They've got six kids and Domenic, the husband, is out of work, too while his wife is running after their wee little ones. I think despite all the problems, the neighborhood here in New York City seems cohesive like we're all one big family facing the same dilemma. In the end, all we need is love right, and as long as our families got each other; money doesn't make the world go round! It's what I tell Eileen and myself but I don't think she's buying much of it anymore. We have nothing to our name but these ragged clothes on our backs and a small bedroom we all share called a home. How's the rest of the family? How are Uncle Sal and Aunt Claudia? How's grandpa Joe and grandma Angie?