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This page is connected with English 105 at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill - [[Federal Writers' Project - Life Histories]]



== Overview ==
The Bardin family consisted of Mrs. Bardin and her husband, Edward Bardin, along with 8 boys and 4 girls living in Wilson NC. Mrs. Bardin was interviewed in the presence of Edward Bardin by a writer from the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Writers'_Project Federal Writers Project] (FWP).

== Biography == 

=== Childhood and Education ===

Mrs. Bardin received up to a 6th grade education until she was forced to stop her schooling to begin work at a cotton mill (Combs). Edward Bardin only received a 2nd grade education before beginning work as an engineer. Edward and Mrs. Bardin strongly encouraged their children to get as much education as possible which may have stemmed from their own limited education. Both Edward and Bardin emphasized that much of their education was gathered from working and believed that work experience gave someone a comparable intelligence to education through schooling. High school was the goal for Mrs. Bardin's children, but the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression Great Depression] pulled them away from education.[[File:Sunday school, Penderlea Homesteads, North Carolina.jpg|thumb|Sunday school, Penderlea Homesteads, North Carolina|thumbnail|Sunday School]]

=== Children and family ===

The Bardin family had 14 children ranging from 2 to 17 when they were interviewed by the Federal Writers Project during the Great Depression. Though they had many children, Mrs. Bardin hinted that she only had eight of the children around to take care of, but she did not go on to explain about the other four. Edward worked as a mechanic for twenty-two years until the Great Depression caused him to lose his job making it difficult to support the Bardin family. Because Edward had lost his job, their seventeen year old son at the time found employment with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_Conservation_Corps Civilian Conservation Corps] (CCC), one of the most popular organizations to come from the New Deal. 
Family Issues
During the interview with Mrs. Bardin as part of the federal writers project, Mrs. Bardin discussed problems with her relationship with Edward Bardin. Mrs. Bardin said she had spotted Edward driving around with another woman. She went on to say that she was tempted to find other men but it had never culminated into anything. Mrs. Bardin also criticized Edward because he only had the skills to work on automobiles which she felt hurts his ability to provide for the family.

== Social Issues ==

=== Civilian Conservation Corps ===

Mrs. Bardin's oldest son was sent off to a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp to help support the Bardin family after Edward lost his job. The Civilian Conservation Corps was a program designed during the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Deal New Deal] established by Presiden[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt] to give work to families that lost their jobs in the recent Great Depression. The program worked by providing young men jobs that would help conserve the natural resources of the United States doing very simple types of work. To qualify, a young man's family must have been receiving a form of government financial aid. The program paid a monthly salary of $30 however $25 would be sent back to the young man's family (Cole). The program also offered a voluntary education program during off-duty hours (Cole).[[File:CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) boys working at Tygart Valley Homesteads, West Virginia.jpg|thumb|CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) boys working at Tygart Valley Homesteads, West Virginia|thumbnail|Civilian Conservation Corps boys at work]]

=== Education in North Carolina ===

For the Bardin family, education was regarded as very important because neither Edward Bardin nor Mrs. Bardin received much education during their childhood; as a result, both Edward and Mrs. Bardin wanted their children to stay in school until they finished high school. During the Great Depression, Education was often placed second to work because children often had to work to support the family. Public schools began to cut back on teacher funding and various(contracted; show full)
Davis, Anita. “Public Schools in the Great Depression.” NCPedia. Spring 2010. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.
Field, Sherry and Bellows, Elizabeth. “The great depression and elementary school teachers as reported in Grade Teacher magazine.” American Educational History Journal 39. 1-2 (2012): 69. Academic OneFile. Web.
Komarovsky, Mirra. “The Unemployed Man and His Family.” AltaMira Press 1940: Print.