.png)
During the 1920’s and 1930’s the times were hard and the economy very bad in this country on the Carnagie Family Missouri farm. Matter of fact they had a serious dust bowl problem in this part of the country around the 1930’s where nothing would grow and the winds howled carrying the dry dirt with it suffocating the people. Dale Carnagie’s dad was managing to make $12.00/month. Dale’s mom made their clothes as well the soap that she washed their clothes with. Dale attended a one room schoolhouse. The family rarely had any cash. They raised hogs and cattle on their farm. During the winter –Dale's remembers that his feet were always wet, but he really had never known any different either, He finally received some rubber boots at age 14. His parents slaved 16 hours/day on their family farm and were constantly oppressed by debts and harassed by the bankers and hard luck. One of Dale’s earliest memories was of watching the flood waters of the 102 River rolling over their corn and hayfields destroying everything. But one year the floods didn’t come, and they raised a bumper crop, bought feed cattle and fattened them up with their corn. But Dale remembers that the crop may as well have been flooded that year as it had been in the years past because when his father went to sell the cattle – all he could get for them was thirty dollars more than he had paid for hogs when he purchased them. Thirty dollars for a whole year’s work! No matter what his dad did, they lost money, and the debts kept piling up. They couldn’t even afford to pay the interest on the mortgage. The mortgage company kept humiliating him and threatening to take the farm back. Dale’s dad was not able to eat because of all the stress, fear and worry which affected his stomach that really caused him a lot of pain and grief. Eventually, it got so bad that the doctor gave him only six months to live. Dale remembered that his mom would sometimes fear going out to the barn when her husband didn’t appear for a long period of time, fearing that she might find him dangling from a rope.
Finally, it all became more than Dale’s father could handle – and one day on his way home after having met with the mortgagor and having been further threatened and humiliated – he stopped at the bridge crossing the 102 River and almost jumped off to end it all. Year’s later – Dale’s dad told him why he didn’t end it and jump off the bridge). He said that the reason he didn’t do it was because of his wife’s deep abiding faith and joyous belief that if we love and keep his commandments - everything would somehow come out alright. Everything did come out alright in the end and his father lived another 41 years and died at age 89. During all that heartache and troubles, Dale’s mother never worried (well, maybe just a little). She took all her troubles to God in prayer. Every night before they went to bed – they would read the bible including Dale’s father. Often either his mother or father would read these comforting words of Jesus, “I go to prepare a place for you that where I am there you may be also.” Then they would kneel down and ask God for his protection. “Neither floods, nor debts, nor disaster would suppress her happy, radiant and victorious spirit,” Dale writes. This is a song Dale remembered her singing as she worked:
Peace, Peace wonderful peace
Flowing Down from the Father above
Sweep over my spirit forever I pray
In fathomless billows of love
Dale’s mother had wanted him to devote his life to religious work – but Dale’s life took a different turn and though he thought of becoming a missionary – he actually had some atheist type years in his life back in the day when there was a lot of conflict between science and religion (everything had to be scientifically proven or it just wasn’t true). Dale shares all of this in his book “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living”.
Note: This was put together years ago and I don't know the source document.
Comments