The Great Depression brought worldwide devastation. But I often think of the quote credited to Plato: “Necessity is the mother of invention” and how very true it was at this time in our world.
Andy Slack was born in 1924 while his dad still worked and before the shattering accident and disease that would leave his father crippled and often bedridden for many years.
Then came 1929 as Black Tuesday ushered in nearly 10 years of poverty and drought in our country.
Andy was very young when he felt the burden and responsibility for his family. There was eventually a total of 6 children in their family and not all were born during this time, but all suffered the consequences of the impoverished for many years to come.
But one of the many stories that I loved to hear told by my father was his Memorial Day invention. He started collecting “tin cans” all year long. When Memorial Day approached, he began his yearly entrepreneurial project. He had a “soldering gun” and would solder nails to the bottom of tin cans.
On Memorial Day (or Decoration Day – as it was known then…) he would post himself outside of the cemetery where soldiers were buried and sell his Cemetery Flower Holders for 10 cents each! People who were bringing flowers to place on the graves could put the flowers and some water in the tin can and stick the nail on the bottom of it into the ground and be assured their heroes graves would look honorable for a few days.
He would “make a killing” on this day and bring all of the money home to his mother. You see, back then – families worked together to survive. He would not have even thought of spending it on himself – his family mattered.
These are the stories we need to remember.
