Young adults, Depression-era seniors reflect on economic blows

By BONNIE MILLER RUBIN AND DAWN TURNER TRICE | Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO — In 2008, Maria Sanchez was a full-time student at Harper College when the bottom dropped out of the economy and her world. Her parents lost their jobs, forcing the freshman to quit school to support her family.

In 1933, in the midst of the Depression, Norma Anderhous was just 8 when her father's hours were cut back and her mom had to find work, leaving her alone to look after her younger sister in their West Side apartment.

Sanchez and Anderhous are separated in age by 60-plus years, but both have been profoundly shaped by their experiences during times of financial upheaval.