No matter what the government says, to my family and maybe to yours, we’re still in a depression. I’m remembering the stories my parents told me about the last Great Depression and glad that I hadn’t been around for that one. Now it’s my turn to worry.
But I recently read an uplifting book about a man who reached out to others called A Secret Gift: How One Man’s Kindness – and a Trove of Letters – Revealed the Hidden History of the Great Depression by Ted Gup. The author’s discovery of a suitcase of old letters revealed that his grandfather, clothing store owner Sam Stone, had placed an ad in an Ohio newspaper around Christmas in 1933, offering cash gifts to families in need if they would send him a letter describing their hardships. The book tells of how Mr. Stone’s childhood as a persecuted Romanian Jew immigrant and later a businessman who fell on hard times before working his way back to prosperity allowed him to relate to people in distress.
But the heart of the book is the families he helped and the stories of sufferings and triumphs, told through their letters, thank you notes and interviews with their descendents. From unemployed bricklayers to wives secretly pawning their engagement rings, you can’t help but feel for them all. And you can’t help but cheer for one man’s determination to bring even a little light into their darkness.
Particularly notable is the portrayal of how difficult it was for folks to ask for help back then. I don’t think that we feel the same stigma that they did in seeking relief. This book made me remember the amazement I felt several years ago when I heard about the New England mill owner who kept his workers on salary after his factory burnt down until he could rebuild it. Business with a heart – what a concept! This book is a great reminder that we’re all in this together and that it does take a village.
Shelf Talk 
