Grandparents-smallparents

VAN AARDT Die Reenmaker DML Foto 2021 03 01Sam Basch, 1 May 2021
Were my grandparents small? - People with Big Hearts
Sam writes with compassion about his grandparents. He did not know his grandfathers. Looking at available photos, it creates the impression that both were short as opposed to his grandmothers.
Even though he did not know his grandfathers, he has a lot of information about them. Grandpa Basch was a farmer and it as a family they struggled financially, especially during the Depression years. Grandma Alie Basch lived with them for some time and he got to know her well.
His other grandparents were Karoo people. He was 11 years older than she. They also suffered financial hardship. He could work with water and irrigated lucerne and other crops - he pumped water from the Buffalo River with a steam engine. His grandmother Martha also stayed with them at times.
Sam writes with empathy and he wonders if living with children was due to financial reasons. Or did children take care of their parents years ago?
Sam has photos in his story and it gives one a glimpse of the clothing and in one photo, in the background, of a house.