HOW IT WAS: John Lombardi of Bradford knows first hand what it’s
like to live through a Depression – and more.

In response to a recent Round the Square, he wrote us of his
experiences which will take us two days to convey.

Let’s begin. His is a fascinating story:

“I was born in Italy in 1926. We all experienced some hard
times during these years. Today, we take school buses, school
supplies, utilities, etc. for granted. During my school years, we
didn’t have school bus transportation and walked to and from school
every day. Our school building was not even heated. So, if it was
raining outside, we would arrive at school soaking wet and would
more than likely remain wet in our clothes all day.

“I remember with fondness my teacher in school. She was a great
teacher, who also happened to be the principal of the school. At
that time, students had to provide their own pen and paper; the
schools did not have any supplies.

“At times, our teacher might notice that while other students
were working, another student would be sitting idle. She would walk
over to the student to inquire why he wasn’t working on his
assignment. It turns out that the student had used all the paper
in his notebook the previous day and had no paper for his
assignment today.

“‘Did you ask your mother to buy you another notebook for
school?’ the teacher would ask. ‘Yes, teacher, but she said she
didn’t have the four cents I would need to buy the notebook.’ So,
the teacher would come over to my desk and tear a sheet of paper
from my notebook to give to the student who didn’t have any
paper.

“With sadness, I had to quit school at the age of 11 when my
father passed away. I had to start working all day alongside adult
members of our family to help support the family.

“I remember my mother telling me many stories about World War I,
which lasted for four long and painful years. There was very little
money during those years. My mother said that the war helped a few
wealthy people get richer while the poorer people continued to live
in poverty. During this war, hundreds of thousands of young
servicemen perished in the icy mountains in the Alps.”