Remembering
the Great Depression
obert Webb grew up on a farm lear Joliet, Ill. He had to travel to go to his school in Plainfield, so his mother always had him carry 50 cents, his “insurance policy.”
“I never had any money to spend, really. I know some of the kids they’d always go and buy candy or an ice cream cone or something like that, but it wasn’t until I was in high school before I felt like I had the ability to spend money,” he said.
His prudent ways carried him throughout his life. He never took a mortgage on a home, he paid for cars in cash and consistently avoided debt. Webb learned that if he didn’t have the cash to pay for something, he didn’t get it.
“That isn’t the norm these days, I realize. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’m not dissatisfied that I earned those things and stayed with it ... I can’t help wonder in my mind if we aren’t getting pretty close to the situation we had in those days.”
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