Thanksgiving Special: The Great Depression & the Spirit of Survival | Episode 552

Thanksgiving Rerun Special: The Great Depression & the Spirit of Survival | Episode 552

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone — it’s James from SurvivalPunk.com, and today’s episode is a little different. This is our Thanksgiving Rerun Special, not a repeat of recipes or turkey tips, but a deep look at how Americans held onto Thanksgiving through one of the hardest eras in our history: The Great Depression.

We’re dealing with rising prices, a shaky economy, and more uncertainty every month — but none of it holds a candle to what families went through in the 1930s.
And yet… they still kept Thanksgiving alive.
There’s a lesson in that.

Let’s dig in.

How the Great Depression Shaped Thanksgiving

We romanticize the holiday today — big meals, big gatherings, full tables. But during the Great Depression, most families were hanging by a financial thread. Money was scarce. Jobs were scarce. Food was scarce.

Some people didn’t even remember having holidays at all during that decade.
Others said they fought hard to hold onto Thanksgiving because it meant hope, normalcy, and tradition in a world that had none.

They didn’t always have turkey.
They didn’t always have dessert.
But they had Thanksgiving — even if the menu had to get creative.

Turkey Was a Luxury Item — So People Adapted

Turkey wasn’t always the default centerpiece. In 1933, an average-size turkey cost around $3.04, which inflation-adjusted would be about $70 today. That’s wild.

And yet people bought them — usually after saving all year.
But when they couldn’t afford turkey? They pivoted.

Popular Depression-era replacements included:

• Old hens past egg-laying age

• Venison, if you could hunt it

• Local fish or game

• Mock duck (a stuffed, rolled flank steak roasted like poultry)

Mock duck actually sounds amazing, and I fully plan on trying it one day.

The lesson?
Thanksgiving isn’t about the exact food on the plate — it’s about showing gratitude and keeping traditions alive.

Creative Thanksgiving Dishes Born from Hard Times

Families stretched their food in clever, resourceful ways. A lot of iconic “old-timey” dishes actually became popular because of the Great Depression.

Some examples:

• Creamed onions — cheap, filling, and fancy-feeling

• Potato candy — potatoes + sugar + peanut butter (weird but tasty)

• Chestnut stuffing — before chestnuts disappeared from U.S. forests

• Blackberry pie — foraged fruit became dinner some nights

• Dandelion salads — bitter, nutritious, and free

Foraging exploded during the Depression, to the point deer populations plummeted.
People hunted anything they could, picked anything they could, and turned scraps into meals.

This wasn’t an aesthetic Pinterest homesteading era.
It was survival.

The Cultural Battle Around Thanksgiving

You mentioned something interesting: it feels like Thanksgiving has been eroding in importance. When you grew up, decorations were everywhere. Now? It’s wedged awkwardly between Halloween and Christmas, almost treated like a second-class holiday.

But normal people — the ones not living on social media outrage — still treasure it.
Thanksgiving has survived culture wars, recessions, wars, pandemics, political division, and everything in between.

Why?
Because families refuse to let it die.
Because gratitude matters.
Because getting together matters.

The Great Depression wasn’t strong enough to kill Thanksgiving.
Nothing today will kill it either.

What We Can Learn from Depression-Era Survivors

Not everyone made it out worse.
Some people — regular folks — came out better.
Even wealthy.

Why?
Because economic chaos creates opportunity.

During the Depression, three types of people emerged:

1. Those who didn’t notice

   • Deep rural families who lived off the land

   • Hardly used cash

   • Life barely changed

2. Those who scraped through

   • Hard workers

   • Took whatever jobs they could

   • Survived on grit and community

3. Those who got wealthy

   • Saw the crashes as opportunity

   • Bought silver during the bottom

   • Invested when others panicked

   • Came out like Vanderbilts

It’s not about celebrating hard times — it’s about learning how mindset determines outcome.
When things crash, the prepared adapt.

Just like Thanksgiving survived.
Just like families survived.
Just like you will survive whatever comes next.

Final Thoughts — Hold Onto What Matters

Thanksgiving during the Great Depression wasn’t glamorous.
It wasn’t Pinterest-perfect.
But it was meaningful.

People used what they had.
They gathered anyway.
They kept tradition alive even when they were broke, hungry, scared, and uncertain.

If they could keep Thanksgiving alive through that, we can keep it alive through anything.

Be grateful.
Be resourceful.
Be relentless.
Be hopeful.

And enjoy your Thanksgiving meal — no matter what’s on the menu.

This has been James from SurvivalPunk.com — DIY to survive, and Happy Thanksgiving.

Amazon Item OF The Day

Ready Harvest Dehydrated Food – Potato Flakes | Emergency Food | Instant Mashed Potatoes | #10 Can | 30-Year Shelf Life | Cans Filled to the Top

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