In 1932 a new winning president to wait four months before being sworn in and taking office. Roosevelt had told us what he wanted to do but we had to wait for him to do it. The winter of 1932 – 33 was a bleak one for the young men being without work and also without funds for college. A great deal of out daylight time was spent reading books, listening to the radio, shoveling snow when it snowed or playing cards. The 12th Streeters played many hours of cards in John Purdy’s basement. The Purdy’s had a furnace in the basement. We would sit by that furnace by the hour playing rummy, hearts or pinochle pitch. The few who had formed the tobacco habit would light a cigarette and blow the smoke into the furnace. John’s father milt , a staunch L.D.S member would have whaled the daylights out of all us had he caught any of us smoking in his home. His son John was one with the habit.
Doxy Stone, Jack Hilton and I were playing M. Men basketball for the 21st Ward. Doxey and I wore also being cast in three act plays that the L.D.S Mutual program sponsored. Evenings were not difficult but the daytime was a long drag.
In the spring of 1933 the nation’s economy was at its lowest level. Franklin Roosevelt was now our president. Both houses were Democratic Majority. The New Deal was beginning to go into action. In quick order programs were enacted and placed into operation. The W.P.A. was born; designed to put unemployed men to work building needed roads, sewer, water systems, parks, etc. Each employed W.P.A. man would work five days a month and receive about $40.00 dollars per month. It was better than nothing. The C.C.C. program was enacted. It was designed to take the unemployed youth off the street. Sent him into the mountains and deserts to build roads, parks and other facilities for the use of the American public. Each C.C.C. boy would receive $30.00 and board and room per month. The 12th Street gang was represented by June Forsha, Herbie Isakson, Les Douglas and Dave Purdy. I did not enlist because I was at wheelwright Construction Employed working with my father at the gravel plant. Another work making program was the P.W.A. It was designed to build large technical projects which required considerable engineering and planning and that needed to be built by qualified contractors. Of course it was primarily designed to put people back to work. Employees if possible had to be married men. Another program had to do with the farmer. The Roosevelt administration enacted a program to pay the farmer for not raising pigs, sheep, hay, grain and other products. In other words an outright dole. The action alone was the beginning of Franklin Roosevelt’s efforts to change me from a Democrat to a Republican.