11 Survival Skills Our Great-Grandparents Had That We Should Learn

7. Corresponding by mail

Wide Open Country

Obviously, your great-grandparents didn’t text or email. However, even though the telephone existed, it wasn’t the preferred method of staying in touch either, especially long-distance.

Hand-written letters were the way they communicated with loved ones and took care of business. Especially in times of war, these letters meant everything to both the soldier going through hell, to their family back home and in a similar boat. Thank you to all who have served.

8. Making Lace

Celina Anzalone, 2264 First Ave. making lace for Cappallino’s factory nearby. (Library of Congress posted on Ancestry)

Tatting, the art of making lace, was a widely popular activity for young women in your great-grandparents’ generation. Elaborate lace collars, doilies, and other decorative touches were signs of sophistication.

However, fashion changed and technology made lace an easy and inexpensive to buy, so their children probably didn’t pick up the skill.

9. Lighting a Fire Without Matches

Bush Smarts / Survival Skills

Sure, matches have been around since the 1600s. But they were dangerous and toxic — sparking wildly out of control and emitting hazardous fumes.

A more controllable, nonpoisonous match wasn’t invented until 1910. So Great-grandma and Great-grandpa had to know a thing or two about lighting a fire without matches.

10. Diapering With Cloth

Clothesline, Winton, Minnesota. Photograph by Russell Lee. (Library of Congress) – Ancestry.com

Disposable diapers weren’t patented until 1948 and it was another decade or two before they became widely used.

Until then, cloth diapers held with safety pins were where babies did their business. Great-grandma had a lot of unpleasant laundry on her hands.

11. Writing With a Fountain Pen

RGBStock / Survival Skills

While it’s true that your grandparents were skilled in the lost art of writing in cursive, your grandparents probably were, too.

However, the invention of the ballpoint pen in the late 1930s and other advances in pen technology means that your great-grandparents were the last generation who had to refill their pens with ink.