March 12, 2014 (Wednesday)
I was reading an article the other day about a man’s experiences as a child during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. He mentioned that he and his siblings got tennis shoes in the winter and the rest of the year wore no shoes at all, going barefoot.
That rang a bell in my head, as I recalled how it was back then. The tennis shoes were not Nike or Rebok or any such thing, but tennis shoes, canvass top and rubber sole, and if they had a brand name I cannot remember what it might have been. I suppose they cost a dollar or two per pair, maybe less.
As soon as the weather permitted, we put away the worn-out “tennies” and just went barefoot. Most of the time our wardrobe for every day was striped overalls and somebody’s cast off shirt. No shoes.
The floors at our school were hardwood, and were maintained with oil. I recall how my feet would soak up the oil and then pick up the dirt, As I sat at my desk, my legs would cross at the ankles, or my feet would turn sideways at the ankles, picking up the oil and dirt from the floor. After school, we almost always spent the remaining daylight hours outside, so that as we approached bedtime, our feet were absolutely black. Following the custom of the times, our last act before going to bed was foot washing.
Ah, the good old days.