Ann Sharp, Salt Lake City, Utah: an interview by Becky B. Lloyd, August 10, 2001: Saving the legacy tape no. 406

Page 23

ANN HARP 1 2 1 ANN: But like I said you're desperate. You try anything ju t t hav something in your stomach. But, no. That wasn't edible (laughs). BEC: Oh. And I imagine you were so-l don't know how to describe the disappointment you would feel after having spent that very precious money. ANN: Yeah, the money. BEC: To get something that you thought was going to be- ANN: And it wasn't any good at all. And those are the kind of things that we laugh about today. You know, how gullible can you be? Tulip bulbs! Who would think of eating those things (laughs)? But, you know, it's amazing. My brother, we had a field not too far away from our home and there would be coal in the ground. And since you didn't have no heat, all we had was a pot-bellied stove. He would go and sit in that field, and many times I would go with him. And we would sift. He made himself a little sift. And he would sift and take the coal pieces out and put them in a bag. And he would sell the coal for a gilder and a slice of bread. And he would give the gilder to my mother and he could keep the slice of bread. And he did that for a long time, too. And for us, too, so we would have some coal to burn into the stove 'cause many times it was cold and you didn't have anything, so you just bundled up and all climbed in one bed. BEC: Right. Yeah. ANN: So, yeah. It's a time where you hope that that won't ever happen again. But, it's been an experience where we've learned a lot. You don't have to have­maybe I shouldn't say that. I know food storage that they're talking about. But you don't have to have everything that you eat every day to survive. You can do with a lot less. Yeah, you might be a little bit hungry, but you could do it. We had days where we didn't 22