Box Suppers Provided Sweet Entertainment

By Delbert Trew
Published on June 22, 2009

During the Great Depression and Dust Bowl era, entertainment was almost non-existent. The word of the day was “if it costs money, forget it.”

TV was yet to come, and newspapers and magazines required subscriptions. If the wind blew the wind charger that day, charging the 6-volt batteries, listening to the radio was free. Visiting neighbors and going to Sunday school and church was about the limit of entertainment for most rural people.

We attended Sunday school each week at a small former country schoolhouse; a preacher came every fourth Sunday. Heat was provided by a coal heater; each family brought a gallon bucket of coal from home every week. The REA electric bill had to be paid in cash, so the community held a box or pie supper every month to raise money to pay the bill.

Women and girls filled small boxes with fried chicken and other delicacies, decorated the containers elaborately and concealed their names from the crowd. The boxes were auctioned off to the highest bidder. The winning bidder and the box owner, no matter the difference in their ages, sat together and enjoyed the contents of the box.

Online Store Logo
Need Help? Call 1-866-624-9388