Survivors of Depression in the Valley see parallels

By SHELBY SCHROEDER

Area seniors who lived through the 1930s offer a suggestion to Americans.

NILES — Area seniors are split on whether the country is facing another Great Depression, but many say they see similar signs.

Retired Fowler resident Alice Chipps, 81, said she is optimistic that the United States can turn the financial crisis around, but sees the recession deepening first.

“We don’t have the bread lines we had before,” she said. “But we’re headed that way.”

The Depression coincided with the stock market crash of 1929, sharply raising the cost of living and closing businesses, leaving many Americans without jobs. It continued through the late 1930s, until around World War II, when industries were formed to aid the military.

Chipps said one significant reason the nation is in bad shape is because of a post-Depression parental attitude of wanting to be great providers.

“My generation came out of World War II and the Depression, and we wanted to give our children everything we didn’t have,” she said. “That got out of hand.”

She said she’s amazed today by teenagers with no concept of savings, and with credit cards that have been maxed out. She called it a reaction to me-focused generations.

Irene Poling agreed.

“The young people just buy more than they can afford, but they don’t seem to worry about it,” said Poling, an 85-year-old retiree from Niles.

Richard Bagdassarian, 70, of Niles said mounting consumer debt is one piece of the puzzle. The Iraq War and the high-mortgage housing market have an equal share of the blame, he said.

“[The war] is taking all this money out of the economy and now we’re in a mess with the banks,” said Bagdassarian, who said he supports the war, just not its funding. Bagdassarian said he’s particularly stung by economic hardship and has seen his 401(k) retirement plummet in recent years.

“I’ve lost more than 50 or 60 percent of my savings,” he said. “I did want to reinvest my money somewhere else, but if I take it out, I’ll only get [a portion] of what I had.”

As for the high rate of home foreclosures, Bagdassarian said homebuyers have been duped into signing loans they didn’t understand. It’s now clear, he said, that there should be more governmental interaction between lenders and home-buyers.

Marilyn Bricker, 74, agrees.

“We should’ve watched what the government was doing,” said Bricker, whose daughter and granddaughter live with her in Mineral Ridge.

Bricker’s daughter has struggled to get hours at her job. Divorce and a shrinking economy left her with few choices than to move in with Bricker.

Some seniors don’t directly witness these fights against the financial tide, like Bricker. But having lived through the Depression, they can imagine the hardships vividly.

Alice Miller of Liberty was born in 1930, “right after the big bang,” and recalls how difficult it was to be poor. Miller said she’s stunned by the rising prices of fresh food at grocery stores and wonders how families with children can afford to eat. To her, the financial writings on the wall are clear.

“Let me tell you, we are in a depression,” Miller said. “Come on!”

Norma Brown, 76, of Mineral Ridge can recall gas rations, food stamps and baking bread during the Depression. Like Miller, she is saddened at the thought of those hit hardest by today’s failing economy.

“Anybody who has a good job ... wouldn’t have any idea,” she said. “But those who have lost their jobs have to cut back and it’s very, very hard. I don’t know how they can survive.”

No one pointed to just one cause of the economic downturn, and all agreed there was no easy solution either. But they all suggested the one rule that helped their families make it through the Depression.

“If you don’t have it, don’t spend it,” Chips said. “We’ve lived too high for too long.”