When Oscar was a young man he had very little. He know that there was much that the world could offer him if he could only find a way of achieving some level of success. When he was 6 years old his family moved to America. He was the youngest of a very large family who was lucky enough to find a way to this land of hopes and dreams. Like many immigrants his family worked hard just for ends meat. There was seldom any second helping of dinner to go around and leftovers were unheard of. As a matter of fact his family would usually make a stew for dinner from whatever fruits and vegetables they could get there hands on. This Stew would contain meat from time to time when the family was lucky enough to have found success hunting or trapping.
Oscar and his family lived on the outskirts of a very small town. They were not city dwellers they lived in the country. They would often have to travel for days at a time to go to town so they could trade what they had for the supplies they needed to survive. Oscar learned at a very young age how to be frugal and make what you have last. He also became very good at bargaining for what they needed. There were rarely times that his family would have to pay full asking price for goods or services.
It was not a bad childhood but it was a hard one. There were 8 children living under one roof in the family and the house they lived in was not large. For anyone who has ever been stuck in a house with 7 siblings for any amount of time you will easily understand the atmosphere that comes with the situation. Imagine for a moment that you and your 7 siblings lived in a 3 bedroom house. That is 10 people in 3 bedrooms and this 3 bedroom home was not one of the more spacious ones you are used to seeing in this era. It was little more than a shack. It was basically enough to keep us warm through winter and dry when it rained.
He knew from a very early age he was unwilling to settle for this lifestyle for very long. If he wanted a better life for himself he would have to find a way to carve it out. He did have certain advantages that would help him along the way and thank goodness for that. He knew that in tis country at least there was a chance for a better life. Where he came from that was a practical impossibility. There was no way to work hard enough to change your class status from that which you were born.