Many at this time would use prayer as their medical treatment. Like many, Russell's grandma Ida Rebecca would use homemade remedies to aid in relieving the symptoms of common illnesses like the flu, whooping cough, or injury punctures. Powwowing, a form of witch doctoring, was another treatment used by some. Very few people saw hospitals. In Morrisonville, death was a common thing and was expected to occur. His father had died early in his life, leaving his mother a widow to take care of the children, which was a struggle in its own, as had happened to many women during the Great Depression. Before moving to New Jersey to live with his mother's brothers after the death of his father, his mother was faced in the decision to leave his youngest sister Audrey behind only for her to have a better life with family who could afford to have her. The mother intended for them to live in with her brother just for a few months so that she could get back on her feet, find a job, and get a place of their own. Finding a job in this time period was almost as likely as it was to hit the lottery. People were soon beginning to get fired daily from their jobs. His mother soon began to discover that Depression left no hopes for her finding a job and that renting a place of her own was absurd. There were no jobs to be found. She eventually ended up finding a job in Newark that paid roughly $18 an hour, which was good pay. This time period was considered as a Dark Age. Men would commit suicide because they felt that they were failures and could no longer support their families. "Unemployment stood at 25% of the work force. There were 85,000 businesses bankrupt, 5,000 bank failures, 275,000 families evicted from their homes." (Baker, p.105) .
"She began telling me I was "the man of the family," and insisting that I play the role." (Baker, p.122) His mother instilled in him that he was the man of the family.
