The Great Depression and drought hit the people of Missouri, the ‘Show Me” state, hard just as in other states. However, the people found a way to survive in the rural sections. Some of the ways they made do with whatever they had is pretty amazing. These photographs ‘show’ how life was in 1936 for many residents of Missouri. The photo of the mailbox is pretty ingenious and the one at the end ‘shows’  a sharecropper’s system for watering his stock that he made.

Nick Phillips, eighty-one years old with wife in front of house – Ashland, Missouri

Missouri game and arboretum project. Columbia, Missouri by photographer Carl Mydans May 1936

Part of John Cain family who live in this three-room house near Ashland, Missouri. University of Missouri game and arboretum project by photographer Carl Mydans May 1936

Portion of family of seven in their cabin on United States Highway No. 60 in southeastern Missouri by Carl Mydans May 1936

Interior of Ozarks cabin housing six people. Missouri by Carl Mydans May 1936

Kitchen of Ozarks cabin purchased for Lake of the Ozarks project. Missouri by Carl Mydans May 1936

William Stamper and wife who have lived in the Ozarks for fifty years. Missouri by Carl Mydans May 1936

Mr. John Miller, rehabilitation client, and work stock purchased with rehabilitation loan. Missouri by photographer Carl Mydans May 1936

Handmade roller at farm. Cuivre River recreational demonstration project near Troy, Missouri by photographer Carl Mydans May 1936

Rural mail box on old wagon wheel. Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri by photographer Carl Mydans May 1936

William Stamper, age eighty two, shaving oak sticks for chair braces in his workshop. Lake of the Ozarks passover area, Missouri by Carl Mydans May 1936

Rehabilitation client and laying house built with rehabilitation funds. Dent County, Missouri by Carl Mydans May 1936 

Howes Mill. Near Meramoc Forest project area. Salem, Missouri by Carl Mydans May 1936

Howes Mill. Near Meramoc Forest project area. Salem, Missouri by Carl Mydans May 1936

Old store and post office built when a timber industry flourished at Stone Hill, Missouri by Carl Mydans May 1936

Planting corn with hand corn planter in Meremac Forest project area. Salem, Missouri by Carl Mydans May 1936

Cut-over land plowed under for crops near Poplar Bluff. Butler County, Missouri by Carl Mydans May 1936

Cut-over bottom land badly eroded through faulty drainage. Meramec Forest project. Salem, Missouri by Carl Mydans May 1936

Typical Ozark backwoods scene, a corn patch in rocky soil. Meramec Forest project area. Near Salem, Missouri by Carl Mydans May 1936

A melon field protected against insects. Mississippi County, Missouri by Carl Mydans May 1936

A sharecropper’s setup for watering stock. Mississippi County, Missouri by Carl Mydans May 1936

Vinegar of the Four Thieves was a recipe that was known for its antibacterial, antiviral, antiseptic and antifungal properties for years. It was even used to cure the Bubonic Plague. See Thomas Jefferson’s recipe in VINEGAR OF THE FOUR THIEVES: Recipes & curious tips from the past

See larger image Vinegar of the Four Thieves: Recipes & Curious Tips from the Past (Paperback) By (author):  Causey, Donna R List Price: $12.77 New From: $12.77 In Stock