Got some feed back about what I told you concerning the outhouse and the corncobs.  Where do you think the old saying, "Rough as a corncob" came from?  It's an experience you'll never forget.  My Gran lived in Wilburton Oklahoma.  She had an out house.  Everyone did if you lived in the country. 

Farms depended on well water for the kitchen.  When you were through washing dishes, you threw the water out to the flower beds or garden.  Everyone had an "Ice-box."  I can still hear my Gran yelling at me to shut the ice box door so the ice wouldn't melt so fast.  But it did eventually melt, and filled the drip pan underneath.  That melted ice water also went to the flowerbeds or garden. 

Gran would send me to the well for water.  I was fascinated by the bucket and line that dropped down the well and filled the bucket.  Ice cold.

I don't remember anyone ever wasting anything.  No matter what it was, it was repurposed.  Innovation was rampant in the 40's.  You used what you had. 

We didn't have much.  But nobody knew it--because there wasn't much to have.  The radio was our only communication with the outside world.  Otherwise you had to telegraph somebody.  I remember how everyone dreaded hearing that someone got a telegram because it usually meant someone had died in the war.

You couldn't afford to telephone anyone long distance--not everyone had a telephone anyway.  We had a four person party line.  Every time the phone rang, all four houses listened in.  You weren't supposed to do that, but you could hear the "click" from the other people picking up on the line to listen in.  Which made conversations rather bland.  If you said anything interesting it was all over town in no time at all.  And you had to have the operator put your call through.  You couldn't dial it.  Numbers were only three digits.  No area code back then.