tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591218908346224982.post176179008150061989..comments2024-02-27T05:42:03.370-08:00Comments on Reflections of Olde Swain: The Depression in LettersOlde Swainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08907065516770688746noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591218908346224982.post-53804869237825366492013-10-22T06:38:59.860-07:002013-10-22T06:38:59.860-07:00Ed, I really appreciate your comments. First, I l...Ed, I really appreciate your comments. First, I love Silas Greene's extraordinary penmanship and am in full agreement with you about the ridiculous stereotype of the uneducated Swain County 'hillbilly'. I would dare to say that each of these men clearly received an excellent education for the limited number of years of schooling they would have had. <br /><br />Your point about 'the world war' is well-taken, and something I had not really pondered before. It must have been very difficult to have lived through the nightmare of World War I, only to later see that all he had endured on the 'Western Front' was essentially for naught. <br /><br />I always appreciate your feedback and thoughtful words. Please keep them coming!Olde Swainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08907065516770688746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591218908346224982.post-76789955628994020132013-10-21T18:32:35.793-07:002013-10-21T18:32:35.793-07:00How could anyone read the letter written by Mr. Si...How could anyone read the letter written by Mr. Silas Henry Green and think of our Swain County ancestors as uneducated, unkempt and uncouth. I dare anyone who might view this to compare the penmanship of Mr. Greene to that of most children in this state (or any other) today. Maybe the grammar is a little bit deficient, but times have changed and so has the language. I would still grade his work with an A+. He would probably grade mine a C- <br />Did you notice the mention of his being a veteran of the world war. I have been reading all kinds of different materials for 60+- years now and this it the first time I have seen that statement. It was 1933. He had served his nation in "the world war" not the 1st World War. Not World War One. He fully expected that his service and that of his fellow citizens who served and died would be enough to settle all the world's ills. Silas Henry Green lived until 1995. Long enough to see that his service in WW1, his children in WW2 and Korea and his grandchildren in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and many smaller conflicts all over the globe, didn't really do anything to make the world a more peaceful place to live.<br />This is a fine adventure you have embarked upon. I shall be sailing right there beside you as far as I can go.<br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591218908346224982.post-39022902380622959022013-10-21T18:26:05.775-07:002013-10-21T18:26:05.775-07:00Thank you, Carol. Reading these letters, I can...Thank you, Carol. Reading these letters, I can't help but be awed by the hardships overcome by those living in the mountains at that time. They truly were folk to be admired.Olde Swainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08907065516770688746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591218908346224982.post-67627907623327608852013-10-21T12:18:31.577-07:002013-10-21T12:18:31.577-07:00Wonderful posting this week, another great story r...Wonderful posting this week, another great story reflecting the strong bonds of family during hardships in our rural Southern Appalachian community. I'm very proud of my heritage within these beautiful mountains. Carol Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591218908346224982.post-50944861980130093452013-10-21T06:47:06.417-07:002013-10-21T06:47:06.417-07:00Thanks, Mom! It is doubtful that any of these men...Thanks, Mom! It is doubtful that any of these men did, as the youngest among them was 37 when these letters were written. Silas Greene was working for the WPA in 1940.Olde Swainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08907065516770688746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591218908346224982.post-15371385706142519722013-10-21T05:58:56.180-07:002013-10-21T05:58:56.180-07:00Very poignant. Perhaps R.P. would know whether Gr...Very poignant. Perhaps R.P. would know whether Granville Calhoun got a job with the CCC. I always enjoyed the fact that my old library was built by the WPA. MomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com