ST. LOUIS—As we go across the country, we’ll be asking people we meet the same question: What stories will you tell your grandkids about the recession? A new response is below.

“Alright, I’ll tell you my story. And that is that growing up my parents were children of the Depression, they had lived through the Depression, so they were always reminding us of how difficult those times were. In the last year, we’ve seen the economy being as bad as it has been, it brought back many memories of what my parents have told me, and those are stories that I’ve shared with my children and stories that I’ll share with my grandchildren. And my hope is that because of the efforts that we have going on with President Obama being focused on the economy like a laser beam, that we won’t have the same kinds of hardships that we saw back in the Depression.”

For a Recessionary Road dispatch from Secretary Salazar’s event, click here.

(Photo by David Backer)