Grandma Was A Prepper

Guest article, by ‘NRP’

I have so many fond memories of “going to Grandma’s house” in my younger days, the warmth of the home, the smells of something baking, all of the flowers planted outside and those in vases inside.

I remember the warm smile always on my Grandma’s face when we would walk into the small but ohhhhh so wonderful home. It was like walking back to post Depression Days, or at least to photos I have seen of when people were actual families.

I also vividly remember the Deep Pantry she always maintained…

Literally hundreds of canning jars full of everything from Meats to Peaches, plus everything/anything between.

The Encyclopedia of Country Living, 40th Anniversary Edition

I can still to this day see the piles of paper goods (Yes even TP hehehe) and baskets of Potatoes, Onions, and Garlic hanging from the ceiling for easy reach. I recall the feeling that if “something” happened, this is where I wanted to be with my family.

She had a small but always full freezer and one of those rounded top refrigerators that had to be defrosted every 2 months. HAHAHA, and yes, even a wood-fired kitchen stove that she cooked on during the winter, a summer kitchen for summer and canning. Ohhhh yes, No TV or Cell Phones (thank God), but always a book, a Bible, or a board game ready for use.

Many years later I had asked my Mother about why Grandma always had ‘so much stuff’; I was told “that’s because we lived during and through the Great Depression and WWII. The Family did not have much, we all lived in one small three bedroom house with one small kitchen during the war”, there were 4 families living there I came to find out later.

During those days, people knew how to survive and to live basically with little to nothing, to share and not waste a single thing. Since those days that made such a HUGE impression on my family and myself, all of us have learned to prepare, how to live the Lifestyle, to have the know-how to ‘survive’ with little or no help from the outside.

Yes, my Grandma was a prepper; as is most of my family (some are liberal Snowflakes and don’t have a clue), tis something I grew up with and have seemed to live with for decades (admittedly I lost 10 years living in a foreign Country called California). Thankfully memories of days past reminded me of what’s really important, and to regain the Lifestyle.

I have a question for all of you reading this; Do you prepare, do you know how to ‘keep’ food and essentials, Can you last if/when we have another Great Depression or whatever catastrophe you want to label “TSHTF” with?

I truly feel it is never too late to start your Lifestyle and be able to pass along that feeling of “going to Grandma’s house” to those that really have meaning to you.

Thank you Grandma for teaching me. Thank you for the memories of how life should be.

NRP