Jack, Maybe I'm just romanticizing poverty but it sounds kinda fun and I bet your feet were easier to clean than an old pair of tennis shoes.
Boy - you ain't right - romanticizing poverty !
Well I guess it depends how you define poverty.
Back then many country folks were "money poor" but many were also "dirt rich"
no, I had many - many resources to live with.
I had the good fortune of being forced to eating more steak, roast beef, bacon, pork chops, sausage, ham, fried & baked chicken - more farm grown vegetables & fruits than you can imagine.
Biscuits, cornbread, cakes, and pies still coming out my ears.
Enough cholesterol in diet to give everyone a heart attack by 50.
Very little or no money with no electricity - no running water - no indoor plumbing - no telephone, - so did I experience poverty?
Also only got one pair of tennis shoes each year - could only wear those on the floor of the gym,
because if your Chuck Taylor All-Stars were dirty it was claimed they would scratch and ruin the finish on gym floors.