My sister Gloria and I were two years apart in age. We were born during the depression and our parents did not have a lot of money. I can remember once when we were around 10 and 12 years old my sister had need of a new dress. I cannot recall why it was so important that she have a new outfit but it was most likely something for school. While our parents were certainly willing to buy my sister a new dress, there was just no money available. Our Aunt Lizzie, my mother’s sister, took Gloria shopping and bought her a really nice pink suit (skirt, jacket and blouse) to wear. I thought she looked beautiful in it and, even though I was very young, I understood why only my sister got the new clothes. Aunt Lizzie could not afford to buy something for both of us.

When my Uncle Elmer, my mother’s brother, saw that Aunt Lizzie had bought Gloria a new outfit and didn’t buy one for me he was incensed. The following Saturday Uncle Elmer and his wife came by our house and invited me to go shopping with them. I was elated. They took me to a store and bought me a "new outfit" too. The skirt was beige, yellow and white plaid with a sleeveless pull over top made of the same material with a belt. A matching yellow blouse completed the ensemble. Despite the fact that I was a little girl I remember to this day how "elegant" I thought I looked at church the next morning. Neither my aunt nor my uncle intended to slight either of their nieces; they did what they thought was the right thing at the time to help out.

Many nice things have been done for me over the years but my uncle’s loving act of kindness stands out in my memory when I recall my very happy childhood in spite of the hardships suffered, not only by my family but by many families during the depression era.

Jason Ladock

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