Memoir of My Grandmother

“Board Game Blues”

It was hot as hell already and it was only March. The summer is supposed to be a happy and carefree time for kids, I thought, but for me and my 11 siblings it only magnified the poverty and depression our family was going through. Summer to us meant 12 hour days working on the farm in the sweltering heat, or helping out around the small stuffy 3 bedroom shack that we lived in. There was always something to do, make preserves, sew clothes for the other children, or do the laundry, and keep in mind there were no Maytag’s in 1937. Everything we did was good old fashioned and by hand! I was only 10 years old, the second youngest of a family of 14, but felt like I had the work ethic of a 50yr old man. I hated it, hated the long days, the cramped sleeping arrangements, and even more I hated all of the hand-me-down clothes I wore each day. What I would give for a fancy new dress, or shiny pair of Mary-Jane’s! I guess a girl can only dream.

My Grammy grew up in a small farm town outside of Williamsport, PA. She was born Sylvia Marie Geiger, one of 12 children, on July 3, 1927. The 1920’s were a prosperous time for the Geiger’s. They owned land, had a farm and most of all had a thriving and growing family of 8 girls and 4 boys. It was very common in those days for people to have large families of 10, 12, or even 14. More family members meant more working hands around the house. Things seemed promising until around 1929 when the Great Depression hit, and it hit them hard. They had to downsize their whole lifestyle, selling their huge house and farm for more “modest” accommodations. The children went from a life of relaxation and leisure to a life of bunk beds and second hand solutions. Their new home was in a state of disrepair and so were their spirits.

I spent the June nights dreaming of vacation homes, the beach, and happier times. Every once in a while my mom would send me and my sister Irene to town, 7 miles down the road, to fetch something from the grocery store. I longed for these adventures, it was a break from the monotony of everyday life on the farm, my own little vacation, and I felt like I could breathe for those few hours. We trekked down the long dirt path gossiping about the 6 boys in our one classroom schoolhouse, and chatting about if they would all be back to school again in the fall. Before we knew it, we had arrived at our destination, Campbell’s Grocery, to retrieve the flour my mother had asked for and I realized the excitement was half over. I turned to walk out distraught at the thought of going back home, when I noticed a new display they had put up. It was for the board game Monopoly. I had never seen a board game before so I spent a bit of time staring at it trying to decipher the rules. From what I could understand it was a game of buying and selling properties, which didn’t interest me much, but never the less I still wanted