If we can learn from history some of the techniques passed down from the greatest economic advisers, then we stand a chance of surviving anything the global economic crash can throw our way.

When we look only to the leaders of our country for advice and reassurance in these turbulent times, then we are destined to fall and succumb to the failures of our leaders.

This thread will take an in depth look at the people who not only survived the first economic crash the historic Great Depression of 1929, but of their ageless wisdom which can be a guide stone for how to survive in the coming years.

If you are reading this you have probably already made up your mind that an economic depression/recession is well under way and now you want concrete answers as to what to do to make the impact less difficult for yourself and your loved ones.

Let us first start by defining who our most respected economic leaders and advisers are today, I will start with one who is as trustworthy as she is wise.



My Grandmother grew up in Lockhart Texas on a farm east of town. Shortly after the crash of 29 she clearly remembers the events even though she was only 10 years old at the beginning.

She recalls the swift closing of all the little stores in her town. The vacant and boarded up windows are a memory she holds to this day of her once booming little town. Lockhart was a little town with a courthouse in the center as many towns were back then and still are to this day.



The local grocery store did manage to remain open due to the diligence and intelligence of the owner operator. He did not allow hoarding but instead allowed those with excellent credit to make their usual purchases and the rest of the town to barter and trade for their basic necessities.

Lockhart was a typical agricultural community, a small farming town where the usual groups of people lived and worked to raised families. The first year was the hardest after the economic collapse, and it was not even possible to survive without the community effort as a whole. In Lockhart not a single person was lost even after a bout of Typhoid fever polluted the water ways. The word spread fast to every single person and family in the community and measures were taken to supply all the water needs of the towns people until the disease ended without casualties.



After 29 no one had money. What they did have was a strong sense of community strength. grandma told me about the colored family that lived close to her home and how during the depression even prejudice was set aside and for the first time people saw one another as human beings. Baptist and Protestants laid aside their religious differences and worked in unison to survive and live in harmony.

Grandmas Daddy and Granddaddy, owned a farm on the outskirts of town and two rentals in town, one of which she lived in during those difficult and challenging years.

Her father used mules and plow to work the enormous fields and grew corn and cotton as staples and for barter and sale. Everyone grew gardens if they intended to eat and all of the good people of Lockhart liked to eat.

They would take the cotton to the Gin and then save the seeds to be pressed into a cake to feed livestock. They used part of the cotton to make clothes and would barter for cloth to be made by the person with the loom.

The Government then stepped in and told the people of Lockhart to cut down production, start skipping a row for every 2 they planted. That they did not want them to grow more than what they could use. That it was fine for them to grow for their own community, but that selling outside was not permitted, unless it was to the Government approved markets.

They did not question this move, as the Government convinced them that if they had too much, that the thieves would surely come to steal it from the fields, they trusted and that was that.

Grandma told me that there was a sense of caring for each other that was one of the most positive things to come out of those dark days, and even though people learned fast to be independent and how to live off the grid, that they made life enjoyable with simple pleasures like sitting out on her porch in the early evening and listening to the colored people sitting out on theirs as well playing instruments and singing. or taking pictures of dolls from catalogs and making paper dolls to play with.

People would share what they had, if you had chickens and your neighbor had hogs, you would share. And if there was an elderly person in the town unable to care for themselves the whole community shared of what they had, no one starved or was neglected.

There was a deep respect for your neighbor, and when you would go to visit and check up on an elderly person, you would never address them by their first name, you would say Hi Aunt Bess, Mama sent some eggs for you. This created a feeling of extended family within the community.


Edit: grandma was raised in the day and age when using the word colored was the proper way to address an Afro American in this day and age and I an not even certain of that being politically correct.
They did have segregation signs that said Do not let the sun go down on you Here. What this meant was that if a crime happened in town and a Black man was walking around h would be blamed. They did not want this kind of prejudice to happen in their community. They did not make Black People get off the sidewalks, and they were not treated as subordinates. grandma used to play with the little children up the street from her and was not raised in Lockhart to see them as anything but Gods creatures the same as any child. The Blacks would work side by side for even pay to anyone who would come to the farm to work the fields.


People survived and thrived because they set aside their differences, they worked together as a community with the family as the corner stone of their reality.

To be continued...

Shucks. I fear Grandma's been overdosing on her Prozac again.

No offence, Antar, but you'd have to be an incurable optimist to expect communities nowadays to pull together in the way your little lemonade sipping rosey tinted Grandma tells it. It'd be nice if it happened that way, but it didn't, did it ? It's just some fantasy story told from the relative safety & comfort of her maximum security twilight home.

Crops failed, unemployment skyrocketed, folks went hungry, businesses collapsed, blacks were lynched, Jews were despised, "No Irish Please". The only thing which halted the worst of the Great Depression was World War Two. Happy Days indeed.

What did Grandma do on 7th December 1941 ? Sit in a circle with her negro friends singing Kumbaya ? Her story is just some wee girls selective memory with a double dose dunt of fanciful nonsense. But it's nice of you to humour her in her dotage, I guess.

Well, I thank you for sharing your story. I find it inspiring!

However, I dont see people giving a hoot about their neighbor in this age. Just in the past 30 years, we have seen that neighbor and neighbor - rarely share a glance, much less a cup of sugar or a BBQ. No- people will be like animals when this comes. And I for one- am prepared for it- and so should they. We cant pity the ignorant. There is too much information out there now. It was their choice. Dont get me wrong- i love people and help people as a profession, but i wont risk my life for theirs because they didnt prepare.

[edit on 29-1-2009 by xynephadyn]

Excellent post antar

Though we live in very different times, It's nice to know there is a gleam of hope in the madness that is our inevitable fate.

I truly appreciate both of your responses, however it may not be quite as rosey as you would imagine when I tell you Grandma is well protected and is almost positive that that was then and this is now. She in no way is delusional about what lies ahead, her story is one of hope and confidence that no matter how terrible the future will be, there is only one way to pick yourself back up and dust your self off and that is by the spirit of communities when they come together for a common cause.

I think you are the delusional one if you think that the all out anarchy will rule the day here in America. It most certainly will rear its ugly head, and we will have a time to make our stand, to fight off the leeches and the welfare parasites, the drug addicts both legal and illegal, the inner city gang members with their ak47's, we are locked and loaded. We know that there will be a time. And that is going to be short lived. We don't need to brag, we are country folk, and when all is said and done, we will again share what we have, what we work our buts off to create and to raise and to grow. But

After the dust settles we will again turn to what is left and that will be the community, the Family and the arduous task of picking up the pieces and surviving.

The intent of this thread is to bring together the knowledge we have available to show just cause for being prepared in every respect, mentally, physically, Spiritually and materially.

First thanks for the post it was great!
I say buy gold and bring back the barter system.

Now about the title

Surviving the greatest Depression of the 21st Century

ummm... We are only into it like 9 years thats 93 more years to have an even worst one.

I believe it most of it anyways, do I think it is slightly tainted on the positive side? Sure...

Here it is... This would only apply if you lived in a rural area where you had the abaility to plant crops! Many, many parts of the country where most of the people actually live would be unable to support this! People are only willing to get together to work IF it allows thier family to eat/live it is a delicate balancing act! If people started to starve or REALLY suffer then believe me while there may be the heroic compassionant people out there there are many many many more who will only play along while things are working once the tide starts turning they are running poor, minority, less fortunate, out of town!

Not to mention the vast majority of people today have NO IDEA how to grow anything or even change thier own oil! What good would most people REALLY be if the poo really hit the fan? Great so "you manage a convience store" or "wow you sure are a great IT guy" what are these skill sets going to do for you if your family is starving? I can say many of my friends and family are NOT going to have a leg to stand on if anything really goes down!

My crazy brother who is a red neck with lots of fire arms, hunting and gardening (if pot and mushrooms count) experiance who is at the fringe of our society will be the one who has skill sets needed to get by if the economy gets as bad (and I believe it will) as it did in the great depression!

I understand your valid concerns, but imagine for just a moment:

During 911, The Oklahoma City bombing, the London Bombings and all the other natural catastrophes which have happened world wide, people and communities gathered together for the betterment of their communities, not against it, if that had happened then I would say you are right to be a pessimist, to see no hope for the coming global shut down. Sure there are always going to be the ones who freak and the criminals going wild, but they are not the majority.

However I know people in a disaster can and will pull together if given the support to do so, it doesn't take any more energy to get people to rally around in the spirit of cooperation than anarchy. It IS the same energy, just the focus is redirected.

Imagine community gardens going in in Atlanta, or in the Park in NYC. Think of all the roof tops and balconies, the way people would pull together would surprise everyone if it is given even the slightest spark of opportunity.

Start a seed bank in your neighborhood. Have people begin to donate money to a clergy that everyone trusts or a fire department that is connected to its community. Start a community betterment association now and get an interest in growing and supplementing the rising cost of food. Have it to where it benefits every man woman and child in your area, your town your block, even just your apartment.

Get solar power for back up, pitch in for wind turbine power in case of rolling blackouts, be independent even in the inner city. Teach the children, be an example to your neighbors. Have hand pump water spickets put in, that do not rely on electricity to run. Learn how to show people the basics of solar cooking from a homemade cooker. Everyone is tuned in everyone knows what is coming, everyone wants to survive.

I cannot urge you enough to take advantage of talking to the ones you respect who still remember the depression. Ask them as many questions as you can and then really listen. Video tape if you can.

In our fast paced society with all of our high gadgetry and technological advancements, stop for just a minute to think of how it must feel to the elders who are not comfortable with the changes and feel lost in our current lifestyles. The only technology they attempt to struggle with is figuring out how to operate a remote control, or a microwave oven and I for one am proud they can.

Think about it, the only clue they have is from the msm and the horrific banter they have to gleam through on the networks for what is happening in the world today. It is beyond confusing and down right scary, not for them but for us, because they know that we are the ones most vulnerable to what the future will become.

They sit back at home ignored because we are too controlled, convinced that our generation is so much more advanced, knowledgeable, too advanced and smart to realize that the greatest honor we can experience is to allow them to share their extensive knowledge with us if only we will ask. In turn it honors them to be respected for the keys to their experience to help solve the challenges of today.

In the next few years we will continue to watch some of the greatest lights leave our vulnerable little planet and with them secrets and gems that will never again be reclaimed.

Jeezy they walked and rode horses, and watched as the first cars hit the dirt roads, they lived during a time after the great depression when a man could make a living from hard work to raise a family and send them to college to have a better life.

They remember how it felt to get a fresh orange and some nuts in their Christmas stocking and a handmade toy.

They have fought in wars and came home never to mention it again. They sent money home as they walked from NY to Cali. when no work was available, they loved and they partied and they celebrated.

They made many garden to feed large families with nothing but a rake shovel and hoe. They know how to kill a chicken and cow, they knew how to survive the last depression and they know how to survive the coming one too, and if you ask them if it coming again, they will tell you yes.

And as scary as that may seem to them, they still have hope, they have hope when you look in their eyes and ask for guidance and wisdom.

It does not matter which continent you are on, or which faith, or color, because when and if the economy does collapse it will happen to us all.

I hate to be the optimistic-pessimist in this entire debate. But I think visualizing a second version of the Great Depression is a dream world compared to what I foresee.
What I see happening is a little more like Mad Max.

Many of us take for granted that people in general are in the know, that they have opened their eyes to the spin being placed on them by the powers that be. That is just not so, and because we have stepped a bit further than some only means that we have that much more work to do to not only prepare for ourselves, but to be the gentle teachers many people need for us to be as they awaken and begin without fear and become as prepared as they can be for the coming times.

There really is nothing to fear, there really is hope even in the darkest hour, and we can assist this new paradigm to grow into a golden future instead of the nightmare hell it is slated to become.

Originally posted by xynephadyn
However, I dont see people giving a hoot about their neighbor in this age. Just in the past 30 years, we have seen that neighbor and neighbor - rarely share a glance, much less a cup of sugar or a BBQ. No- people will be like animals when this comes. And I for one- am prepared for it- and so should they. We cant pity the ignorant. There is too much information out there now. It was their choice. Dont get me wrong- i love people and help people as a profession, but i wont risk my life for theirs because they didnt prepare.

My experience has been a little different. My husband and I try to help our neighbors, and they try to help us.

During this recent severe ice and snow storm, my husband and I helped one of our neighbors we hadn't met clear the snow and ice off her car. She didn't have an ice scraper and was using a CD jewel case. I also used our shovel to dig her car out. She was very appreciative, told us where she lived, and told us if we ever needed anything to knock on her door.

I also spent a great deal of time outside clearing several parking spots so our neighbors would have a place to park when they got home from work. It was so cold and freezing rain and I worked as long as I could.

The next day when a huge tree limb fell on our car, another neighbor offered to drive us to the store so we could get groceries.

This summer when our apartment complex lost power for nearly two weeks, a neighbor went to a store with power to get ice and offered some to us so we could keep some of our food from going back.

We had a lot of food that we were grilling when the power went out. It was either use it or lose it, and we offered some to our neighbors. We also helped some neighbors who were upset because they didn't know how to deal with being without power.

We offered to help install an air conditioner for a neighbor lady we had, and we've had neighbors who offered to help us move large pieces of furniture that we couldn't handle ourselves.

These are just a few examples of my experience of neighbors helping neighbors.

While I'm sure that in times of crisis there will be those people who will behave like "animals," there will also be those who will lend a helping hand.

[edit on 30-1-2009 by cornblossom]