Charles Maske's family kept milk cows and raised … on their Sussex County farm. The "milk money" provided what little cash most families had, and that usually went toward mortgage or loan payments and taxes. Farmers already possessed many of the skills needed for self-sufficiency, and through barter and home production, they more than made up for their lack of cash money. The agricultural Extension Service encouraged rural people to "live at home" by canning and storing fruits and vegetables, butchering and preserving meat, raising poultry and manufacturing items they usually bought at the store. In this way, many farmers lived better than people in the cities.

Those who grew up on farms during the Depression usually have pleasant memories that temper the hardships. Maske recalled

That sense of cooperation and neighborliness helped to improve the quality of life during the tough times. "People were closer together out on the farm," Mask pointed out. Farmers used to uncertainties-weather, pests, disease and fluctuating markets-survived and were drawn closer together because of the experience.