April 22, 2007

(This article first appeared in the Leader-News on Wednesday, July 4, 2001, and was written by Kidron Lewis.)

"October 24, 1929, known by historians as ‘Black Tuesday’ has been recorded as the worst day in stock exchange history.

"The selling of over three million shares of stock shook the American economy to its knees, and it would take almost two decades for it to recover.

"Perhaps no one felt the bite of the depression worse than the American Southwest, where scorching hot temperatures combined with little rain, made for a tough existence.

"Dry-land farmers were hardly able to turn a crop, and there was little or no assistance from the government.

"The combination of drought, and high winds created what would be referred to as the ‘dust bowl’.

"Littlefield resident Dorothey Singer recalls, ‘No one had a dime to spare. When my siblings and I were young, my father would give us a dime when we were in town to buy an ice cream or something. Then one time I’ll never forget, he said, ‘Children if I don’t give you a dime it’s because I don’t have one, so don’t embarrass me by asking.’ She also recalled that her father owed only $80 on their new car, and the bank foreclosed and took it.

"J. D. Smith of Littlefield recalled that almost everyone had a garden, in which they grew things like beans and squash, and had a milk cow.

"‘I still don’t really care for pinto beans, because we ate them so much during the depression,’ remembers Olton resident Ester Graham. She also recalls making many things from feed sacks, such as dresses, pillows, sheets, and even tea towels.

"Many of the area residents we interviewed had very fond memories of the depression even though they were financially strapped. ‘We didn’t have any money, but no one had any money so it really wasn’t as bad as you might think,’ recalls Sudan resident Peggy Ray.

"During the Great Depression Lamb County was a very different place. All farming was dryland, and most houses were without electricity. Those who lived on the farms were most often self-sufficient, with their own large gardens and livestock. However, those living in town were often much more hard up, and had to wait in bread lines or go to soup kitchens.

"We didn’t feel it as much living in the country. We didn’t hurt for food like those who lived in town did. The Works Progress Administration fed a lot of people, but just the basics, like beans and raisins, not any goodies,’ remembers Mrs. Singer of Littlefield.

"‘My father had a grocery store, but the grocery stores back then mostly specialized in dry goods like flour, salt, and sugar. People made everything at home from scratch because they simply could not afford to do it any other way,’ recalls J. D. Smith of Littlefield.

"‘We used to make everything at home. We ate chicken in the summer, and the only time we ate beef or pork was in the winter when we could hang the meat from the windmill and keep it cold,’ says Evelyn Milam of Sudan.

"People canned most everything, preservation was very important because the home garden was used to feed the entire family, sometimes as many as 15 people, all year long.

"There was no refrigeration; we canned everything. My mother used to make lye soap out of a hog; fat from hogs we butchered on the farm,’ recalls Mrs. Singer.

"President Hoover believed that the federal government should not give food and money to the people, that work should be left for the state and local governments, and private charities. He had faith in the American economic system and industry. He met with prominent American business leaders and asked them to maintain prices at a high level. But the deal fell through and soon businesses were cutting wages down to almost nothing and laying off millions just to survive.

"Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the polio stricken governor of New York defeated Hoover soundly. Lamb County voters picked Roosevelt 10 to 1.

"A November 10, 1932 article of the Lamb County Leader reads: ‘THE CITY VOTES DEMOCRATIC TICKET 10 TO 1. Lamb County contributed to that mighty ‘Democratic tornado’ which whipped across the country Tuesday and elected Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Presidency of the United States.’

"After his swearing in on March 4, 1933, Roosevelt immediately started implementing relief programs for the Americans who had been stricken with poverty for several years. He called for the closing of all national banks, allowing only the financially fit ones to re-open. He referred to it as a ‘bank holiday’.

"He also set up two important programs, the National Recovery Administration, and, most importantly, the Agricultural Adjustment Administration. The AAA, as it is referred to, would pay farmers to produce less in the hope that it would raise phenomenally weak crop prices. This is now referred to as Roosevelt’s ‘Hundred Days’ plan, because it all took place within the first 100 days of his administration.

"J. D. Smith recalls that the Herbert Hoover administration did little to help area farmers, and that just weeks after Roosevelt was president, the government already had a number of programs aimed at helping.

"‘Herbert Hoover was the president between ‘28 to ‘32; that was the worst part of the depression. In March of ‘33 Roosevelt took office, and they came out with some farm programs that year. You could plow up some of your cotton, or let them kill some of your calves, and they would pay you for it. This started a little bit of money coming back into the area. The banks closed for a while, and then they came out with federally backed insurance.’

"Smith recalls that things gradually got better, but that it was not until after World War II that the economy really started to get strong again.

"Children worked long hours chopping and picking cotton on the farms, and new clothes and toys were very rare. Most residents recalled that they only had one pair of shoes, and that the only time any child had fruit or toys was during Christmas. ‘The only time we ever got toys was at Christmas time. One, maybe two if you were lucky’ recalls Mrs. Graham of Olton.

"Many area residents remember that school was dismissed for three weeks during the harvest so the children could help out on the farm.

"‘I remember we only had one pair of shoes, and when the soles would wear out we would go over to Salem’s Dry Goods and get new replacement soles. They were made of rubber and they looked kind of like old tires,’ remembers Evelyn Milam of Sudan.

"Although people living through the "Great Depression" did not have a lot in the way of material possessions, they did have a lot of wealth in family and community.

"‘I was having a discussion with my brother just the other day. He is a little bit older than I. We are thankful for the memories that we have. It was hard times and yet we didn’t complain. We weren’t extravagant people, but we had a lot of love. It was God first, then family, and loyalty to our country. People in those days had a greater sense of community,’ says Mrs. Graham.

"They were good days. I don’t have any bad memories of the Depression,’ says Mrs. Singer.

"Just like the Master Card commercial states, there are many things that money can’t buy, and area folks who lived through the harsh days of the depression perhaps understand that better than anyone else."