The Greatest Generation?
I have never been comfortable with that designation. Good, yes, but we had many as good or great.
One of our greatest teachers was life during the Great Depression. We knew every neighbor, we knew who had a job, who needed help and we worried about the neighbor who had the “No Admittance” notice on their door because of measles and chicken pox.
On Sundays after church, the men discussed where to look for jobs and who would drive next week to conserve gas and tires. The women worked in the kitchen preparing food. Some went to their neighbors, some the men delivered from a list the church had. Our school teachers would quietly tell parents who in the area needed food or clothing.
We lived a conservative life — and I don’t mean that politically. I don’t remember any garbage collection or recycling, as nothing was thrown out. If you couldn’t feed it to the chickens or rabbits it got burned in the backyard or street. If you lived in the country, it got buried.
The Depression ended with the demand for war materials in Europe and our entry into World War II. Just before that, some of the older boys I went to school with had already enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force. They went to England and later were transferred to the U.S. Army Air Force, which I joined in October 1943. By that time, my parents had both died, my father from injuries he received during World War I.
When the war ended, two things happened that were basic to the growth of this country: the GI Bill for education and loans to servicemen.
The GI Bill paid for four years of college, including all tuition, books, etc. The government paid $65 a month for single men, $90 for married. We need this now.
I only attended one year before I started my family, but I finished 14 years later at night school. All three of my children attended college.
The government also provided a 4 percent GI loan to buy a house. Twenty percent down was required, and no second mortgages were allowed. We didn’t have the 20 percent, so the seller agreed to rent us the house for a year at $65 a month and then give it back to us for help with the down payment to buy.
I am sure most of my generation paid for their homes, saved for the future and became more conservative as they grew older. We do not want government help or intervention in our lives, but that is not what’s happening. We — being conservative and getting older — have gone for safe investments, mostly CDs and bonds. Some years, the cost of living index was greater than our return on these investments.
Today, we are greeted with CD rates of 1 percent to 2 percent, based on the government dropping rates. I think we would be in better shape economically today with no bailouts.
Our health care was very good, considering the time. We dealt with the doctors and hospitals directly. We now have added greatly to the cost of health care by putting multiple layers for profit-takers into it. For example, how in heaven’s name can anyone justify AARP selling medical insurance?
My generation carried on with the idea that it was the man’s job to work and bring home the money to live on. It was the wife’s job to be what is now a maligned term: “a stay-at-home mom.” In those days, that usually meant putting in a longer day than the man’s. No dishwasher, no clothes dryer, Cub Scout meetings, etc.
These stay-at-home moms sacrificed even more than many people realize. As my wife found out after being an unpaid volunteer at a hospital for 37 years, she is ineligible for Social Security. She does, however, get a portion based on my income.
Granted, today it’s necessary that both parents work, but it shouldn’t be for a bigger house or car.
My hope for the future is that those who follow can live a good life despite almost daily crises. I hope that the so-called Greatest Generation and those that follow can leave not only monetary help for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren, but also the ability to understand that while change is inevitable, it is not always right.
The government is here to serve us, remember. Now, it’s up to you to undo what my generation sees as too much government that we didn’t ask for.
George Hannes lives in Denver.
