I very good friend of mine, passed away a little over two years ago, about three weeks prior to him turning 94.

His father was a blaster, in the coal mines of Pennsylvania, and passed at a very young age. This left behind a widow (Lee's mother) a daughter and three sons. They did everything to keep the family together and fed. His mother would prepare baked goods and the boys would load them up an a wagon and go around town selling them ... bread, cakes and cookies. And, it was quite a strain.

Someone told their mother about the Hershey Orphanage, where good boys, with high morals and Christian beliefs would be accepted. So, it was a godsend for them. His older brother was the first to go ... followed next by Lee and his younger brother.

Now, having laid out a background that probably interests no one, outside of myself ...

Besides working on the farms (orphanage farms), and receiving the best of education, they were allowed to trap, if they so desired.

Mostly muscrats ... raccoons were illegal to trap as the population was so depleted ... but the very rare mink and many muskrats and rabbit were their intended prey.

If they ever caught an opossum, there was an older black man that would come around once a week and he'd buy them if still alive. He'd keep them, caged, and feed them "clean-out" vegetable scraps for at least ten days ... which supposedly got rid of any of the bad tastes that their diet of worms, grubs, etc., had given the meat. As the opossums were usually caught in their rabbit traps, they were always alive and healthy.

At which point, he'd sell them for a dollar (he would pay a quarter to fifty cents, depending upon the specimen). Obviously, during the Great Depression, that was FAR more expensive than beef, pork, or chicken.

So, they must not taste too bad, as long as they've had the vegetable scrap clean-out.