BURLINGTON, N.C. -- Emma Lineberger said she lost everything during the Great Depression -- even though she was only in grade school.

"Through our school, we put money in the bank every week. Mother would give me money, and when this happened, I lost my fortune -- $9.75 -- and I lost my fortune," she said.

Video: Seniors Say Now Not Like Great Depression

So far, government officials have not called the current financial crisis a recession or a depression, but many Americans have wondered what would happen if conditions worsened to Great Depression-era times.

Lineberger said she didn't really understand it all at the time: "My mother just told me something terrible had happened to the bank and I never had my money."

Without newspapers and TV, Lineberger didn't know anybody lived any differently than her family. A brand new park served as entertainment.

"My mother would take us to the park a lot of times. We would walk through the water," she said.

Having beef, chicken, pork or really any meat was almost unheard of -- oatmeal was a staple at their table.

"I had that a lot but it was mainly that and toast, and maybe twice a week, we'd have an egg. Now, I wonder how on Earth she did it," Lineberger said of her mother.

Her mother was a single parent with her three girls and a boy. She worked as a seamstress, but never let on to her children just how dire the financial circumstances were.

"The only way I would ever know she was having problems was at night. She'd cry and I couldn't figure what was wrong," Lineberger said.

Lineberger said her family always shared whatever they had with strangers and neighbors. They didn't know any difference.

"Everybody was that way. It wasn't just a few people there, as I'm afraid it's going to be now," Lineberger said.