The Great Depression
Beginning in June 1932 many different course marked the progress of my life. It was the time of life where all of us had to make adult decisions for the first time. Manhood was taking over boyhood. We had to seriously look at ourselves and hopefully make the proper decisions that would make for a happy life from now until life’s conclusion. Those decisions meant gaining our manhood, our occupation, our marriage, our family and the course in life that we would take. Some of these decisions, as always, would come by planning while others would be by accident or by the will of God. To me these adjustment years covered a span of years, 1932 to 1938.
As the Weber College years ended I still had hopes of completing the four years of college. The basic problem of that hope was money. In 1932 there was, of course, the deepening of the great depression. For me to go to college meant I had to get work to earn money for away from home college costs. There were so many married men out of work that it was almost impossible to be employed. The nation’s cry, to all employers was hire the married man first. That left us single fellows unemployed.
As Weber College life neared its end Prof. Leland Monson had proposed a way of making some money for college expenses. There were a number of woolen mills in the northern Utah area. These mills manufactured ladies and men’s clothing. They produced woolen material that was made into shirts, blouses, coats, skirts, pants, etc. Most of their products were sold by door to door contact by individual salesmen. Prof. Monson had in the last few years taken Weber students into the Northwest, Washington and Oregon, and supervised them in learning to sell woolens door to door. In years past Prof. Monson and his sales crew had been very successful. As I have already written, I was completely sold on Lealand Monson. I really loved him. He was magnificent as an English teacher. I agreed to try the sales route. In addition to myself there was Leland’s brother Vern Monson, Orland Fox, Marion Penrod, and Wray Glenn. Shortly after the end of school we left in Leland Monson’s car for Yakima, Wash. This site location was selected because it was lumber country where everyone loved woolen goods. We arrived at Yakima after two days of driving. Leland had set us up in a rooming house which carried a very low rate. He had also made arrangements for us to eat our meals there as long as they were of the cold variety. This was done to save money. Money was something that we had little of. That evening we had a review of how we were to house-to-house sell our woolens out of display cases and catalogs.
The next morning Leland took us into a residential area and outlined what area we would each cover. I walked up to my first house; knocked on the door and waited. A man came to the door. I explained that I was selling woolen goods and could I show them to him. In a polite way he said no and added that he was unemployed and unable to purchase anything. All morning I knocked on doors and met more than ninety percent men; unemployed men. Afternoon brought the same results. At our report meeting that evening everyone has the same story. The next day brought the same results except that I did sell a lady a jacket for her husband.
We were looking dead on at the depression. Leland said let us try one more day and if the results are the same we’ll return to Ogden. One day later we packed our bags for home. W had spent what little we had started with. When I returned to Ogden I was dead broke. The venture told, like we had never been told before, how bad the great depression really was. It made me more grateful to know that my father was still employed at Wheelwright Const. Co.
The first day after returning to Ogden I made my rounds visiting the 12th Street gang. With the exception of Jack Hilton, June Forsha and Ivan Hardy, I found them all unemployed.
Even with the difficulties of obtaining employment the summer of 1932 held some interesting events. With nothing to do, I had the opportunity to visit with my cousin Edwin Myers in Salt Lake City. We had become, over the years, good friends as well as relatives. Edwin did not have the quick wit nor the fast tongue that was more like a Ward; quiet and reserved. We were alike. We enjoyed the same things. We enjoyed visiting and discussing politics, world affairs, the depression and its effect on the youth of the nation, and the negative outlook for the future of America’s youth. We, the youth, were becoming depressed over the effects of the depression. All we could see ahead was social and financial chaos. In our minds we could not vision any recovery of prosperity which would open the doors for the youth. One thing I always remembered about Edwin: Always after these dark pictures we would paint, he would say, “Our country has had many problems in the past and solved them. We, given time, will solve them again.” I never fogot those words. Edwin did not live to see the end of the depression.
Even with the pessimism that existed towards the future we young near-men had many enjoyable periods. After my return from woolen selling in the state of Washington, I found myself totally broke. But as usual something good shows up. One evening Andy Isakson came to my home with great news. His brother E.J. had another school contract. He had some work for Andy, Herb and I. He was building an addition to the Madison Elementary School. We needed the work. The work did not last long but while we were working an incident happened that made us feel that some are thinking of the youth. One day while the three of us were grading the floor inside the building we saw four men approaching. We recognized them as school officials. E.J. was standing with his foreman outside the building. The four men walked up to E.J. and after passing formalities we heard one of them say to E.J., “Eric, you have three un-married young men working here. You, as well as us, know that your contract calls for you to employ only married men. We are here to ask you to dismiss the three young men.” Without hesitation E.J. replied, “Gentlemen those three youths are the men of tomorrow. The want to go to school. I refuse to dismiss them If you insist I will then forfeit the contract. They are going to work.” Little more was said. The men left and we kept working. E.J.’s action raised our spirits for a better future.
Our work on the Madison school came to an end after three weeks. We were unemployed again. Being without work meant being around home with nothing to do. One thing that I did was listen to my sister practice the piano. She was now twelve years old. She had been taking lessons for a year. In that short period of time she had become a fairly good pianist. She was so good that I enjoyed listening to her play. I loved to sit on the porch while she played music that I enjoyed.
By now, July, cherries were ripe. We were back to Frank Moores picking cherries at two cents per lb. Some days we could pick 100 lbs. of Lamberts which meant $2.00. That was better than nothing. We now had a little spending money. We could go to a picture show. We could go the Carl Lancaster’s hamburger shop and get a hamburger for five cents. While there we could get a shot in the optimistic arm listening to Carl tell us how good the economy was. How good the future would be. He was right for he became a millionaire; not in hamburgers but in parking lots and terraces.