Among the papers at Jean’s
that I photographed in 2014 were 3 pages of Ina Green’s handwritten
childhood memories ending after Sandy’s birth. Following is their transcription:
“When I was born in Sacramento California on April 27, 1923
I already had two brothers. They were
Philip and Claude Jr. three years later another brother arrived; John Hewitt who
was nicknamed Hughie. My father Claude
was a plumber and we lived very comfortable first in Sacramento and then in
Oakland (so I was told). In 1930 the
Wall Street crash (1) caused what was called the Years of Depression. My father lost his job and his home. We had Dad’s mother and grandfather living in
New York State who said they would provide our family with a home if we would
move out to New York. Dad loaded up a
small Chevy truck (something like a van) with canvas sides and top with all the
possessions they could take on the truck and headed out on the Lincoln Highway
to N.Y. It took five weeks of hard slow
travel before we got the grandpas house in Dry Brook, New York. The next few years we moved to Margaretville
and also Cross Mountain where Great Grandpa George H. Hewitt died in 1993. We moved back to Dry Brook. We
attended a one room school when all grades were taught by one teacher. When I was twelve years old I was the only girl
with nineteen boys attending this school (this school still stands in Dry
Brook. Someone has made it into their
home). When I was twelve years old Dad got
a bonus (2) from the government for being in World War I. He spent part of this by taking his family
including my grandmother to New York City for three days. It was the most wonderful thing that ever
happened to us. Maybe I should mention
that up until this time we were very poor. We were a very close knit family with lots of
love. My two older brothers were very
musical and we did a lot of singing and playing games together. We went to church every Sunday together. So I have very pleasant memories of the years
we lived in Dry Brook. When I was
fourteen I went to the 1937 World’s Fair in New York City with a
girlfriend. We moved to Margaretville
when I was fifteen, Dad was back in the plumbing business and we were much
better off money wise. In 1939 Claude Jr
married my best friend, lila Prime and moved to Fonda N.Y. In 1940 Phil married
Katie Toth. In 1941 I married Glen
Scudder. The Second World War had
started. Dad went to work for the
government and Mom went with him. I lived
in Bragg Hollow with Glen and we had Sandy.”
(1) The Wall Street Crash occurred 29 Oct 1929
triggered the Great Depression which lasted 10 years. I had never heard it
called “The Years of Depression”
(2) The World War 1 veterans’’ bonus was apx.
$1,000 per veteran in 1936. This amount was more that 25% of the cost of a new
home and more than half of a year’s average wages.
(3) Hughie has told us his grandmother Ella and
her father George Hewitt were living in CA when Claude came home from WW1 in Jan
of 1919. This is what prompted him to go
to CA. Ella and her father returned to
upstate NY before 1930.
