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General News: 50 Voices from the Great Depression
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| Betty White Jurgens reads from her new book. |
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May 20, 2010
The human spirit is resilient and people can learn to apply ingenuity and kindness to get through difficult times. That is the message in Betty White Jurgens’s new book “50 Voices: Remembrances of The Great Depression.”
Jurgens interviewed people from Cornwall, Cornwall-on-Hudson, Newburgh and down in South Carolina and Florida to draw a portrait of how these folks lived during the 1930s Depression era. She describes in her introduction how the people shared, bartered, improvised and never complained during those difficult years.
Lessons in Survival
Their memories of that time offer a compelling first-hand account that could serve as an important lesson for young people today. Jurgens says that she would love to get the slim volume into as many schools as possible so that the children can learn how people survived and thrived despite hardship.
“I marvel about how they all became such productive citizens when their childhoods were so bad,” Jurgens said recently as she talked about the people she met while compiling the book. She said that people suffered more than she ever realized and said she never knew that a man whom she played with as a child in Cornwall-on-Hudson often had nothing to eat at home.
A Soda Bottle Transformed into a Baby Doll
Among her favorite stories of overcoming the hard times is the recollection of a woman from Augusta, Georgia who wrapped a blanket around a soda bottle and pretended it was a doll baby. Lee Murphy, of Cornwall-on-Hudson, recalled his excitement when his mother told him that she was serving spinach for dinner and how it turned to disappointment when he discovered the food was the green tops of carrots instead.
“50 Voices” is the second book self-published by Betty Jurgens. Her first book, “Golden Memories – A glimpse into small town life in Cornwall, New York and surrounding hamlets during the 1930s and 1940s through the eyes of those who lived it” featured interviews with Cornwall area residents, talking about their lives in the village and town. Although Jurgens turned 80 this year, she is starting to plan her third book, tentatively titled, “Where Were You on 9-11?”
How to Order a Copy of the Book
She publishes these books because she loves history and she enjoys writing. Any profits from “50 Voices” with be donated to the Save Darfur Coalition nd she hopes the funds can be earmarked for books.
Anyone interested in ordering a copy of “50 Voices” may contact Jurgens at (845) 534-9953 or by email [email protected]. Books are $15 a piece plus $2 for shipping.
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