ASK GRANDMA: If there’s anyone out there who know about hard
times, it’s the generation that survived the Great Depression and
World War II. It’s time to ask them for help, according to an
intergenerational specialist in Penn State’s College of
Agricultural Sciences.
“We are going through economic circumstances that younger
generations have never experienced before,” notes Matthew Kaplan,
associate professor of agricultural and extension education and
extension specialist for intergenerational programs and aging.
“These are trying times for young people trying to figure out their
careers or get started on their own. Grandparents and
great-grandparents can offer experience and wisdom that parents
can’t.”
“Many older family members have lived through economic hardship
and dealt with a lot of uncertainty, so they know how to survive.
They have figured out how to be frugal when it is necessary and how
to finance a lifestyle.”
For example, Kaplan says, those who lived through World War II
likely will remember how war ration books and tokens were issued to
each American family, dictating how much gasoline, tires, sugar,
meat, silk, shoes, nylon and other items any one person could
buy.
“People were proactive and creative in finding ways to survive
and thrive,” he explains. “Folks grew ‘Victory Gardens’ to help
feed their own families and take pressure off of public food
supply. The same idea can help resource-strapped families to
produce their own food today. The historic experience of living
through financial hardship has relevance to surviving today.
“There is value to having a strong sense of thrift – for
example, re-using things, stretching resources and not living
beyond one’s means. There is also value to being self-reliant, such
as in growing one’s own food.”
“To help fortify a young person’s emotional bearings for
encountering economically tough times, it is useful for them to
hear real stories about how their elderly relatives not only
survived, but thrived in ways that kept their families together and
value systems intact,” Kaplan explains. “Older adults’ lives
provide instructive examples on everything from food to finance.
Lifelong practices that have had positive or negative consequences
can help to guide younger generations in the right direction.”
