They lived through the Great Depression, so they knew poverty firsthand: what it was like to sleep four to a bed, make your own noodles for supper or hang your used tea bag on the clothesline to dry so it could be steeped for another day's cup. They remember the long lines to the soup kitchens and how people finagled, bartered, took odd jobs or sold stuff on street corners: an apple for a nickel, a pencil for a penny. • Of course a penny was worth something back then. • And so, it turns out, are their memories.

As today's economic crisis stirs discussion about the Depression, what better way to teach a younger generation about those dire times than to tap into those firsthand accounts?

That's the thought behind the educational partnership evolving between residents of Atria Baypoint Village in Hudson and students in Eric Johnson's history classes at Hudson High.

"These wonderful residents have so much to share with young people," said Lynne Schroeder, the Engage Life director at Atria Baypoint Village. "My experience is that there aren't grandparents living close to their grandchildren, and my thought was that we could highlight these seniors and we could bring out the wonderful experiences from the residents that live here."