Dire Circumstances: The Great Depression

DIRE CIRCUMSTANCES

The Great Depression

By

James Dwight Patterson

Published by James Dwight Patterson

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2019 James Dwight Patterson

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

FORWARD

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

FORWARD

DIRE CIRCUMSTANCES is the story of how one small town Oklahoma family dealt with the struggles and challenges of The Great Depression, World War II, and the Aftermath, three of the most traumatic periods in American history. Their story is emblematic of what transpired throughout the country, particularly in Oklahoma. It is a story of failure, survival, and determination. It is a tale of financial disaster, emotional anxiety, and family disruption.

The Great Depression was the worst economic crisis in the history of the United States. By 1933, the unemployment rate increased from 3% to over 25%. One out of four jobs were gone. Workers incomes decreased by over 40%. By 1934, almost half of all home loans were delinquent. In 1932 alone, 273,000 families were evicted from their homes. Over 1 million families lost their farms. In Oklahoma, the depression was compounded because of an extended drought that significantly reduced or wiped out farm income. Banks closed at an alarming rate and in 1933 alone, more than 4,000 banks failed. The personal devastation caused by The Great Depression was immeasurable, but impacted the poor in dire and significant ways.

World War II was the deadliest war in human history. It was a global war that involved the vast majority of the world’s countries. Although the United States resisted participating in the hostilities, we were left no choice when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Immediately, we were at war with both Japan and Germany and launched an all-out effort to supply our military with the supplies and weapons they needed. When peace finally came in 1945, between 50 million and 85 million people worldwide had lost their lives and countless millions had been wounded. The war changed lives throughout the World, physically, emotionally and financially. In America, it was the primary reason that ended The Great Depression.

The Aftermath of World War II brought a period of dramatic change in the U.S. The burden of war was relieved and hope for the future was up-lifting. The manufacturing capabilities that were developed during the war were converted to producing goods that most Americans had been deprived of because of the depression and the war. Employment was high and wages were increasing. The years of gloom and doom were history and spirits were ebullient and positive. Returning veterans came home with new perspectives and attitudes. Life was hopeful and change was inevitable.

Living through these three periods of dramatic upheaval was challenging, and at times exciting. The Pearson family in this story is fictional, but also typical of Oklahoma families. Their thoughts, dreams, reactions, and struggles are representative of the period. In telling their story, I use actual events as reported by newspapers and magazines, radio and Movietone News plus various written history sources as catalysts for their reactions. The history is factual. The characters are my own creation.

John Steinbeck, one of America’s most revered writers, described the depression this way:

It was a terrible, troubled time. I can’t think of any ten years in history when so much happened in so many directions. Violent change took place. Our country was shaped, our lives changed, our government rebuilt.

Combined with World War II and the Aftermath, those 30 years have to be the most impactful in the history of our country. For the vast majority of Americans, these three periods are ancient history and their lessons long forgotten. Hopefully, stories like this will give meaning to this period and bring better understanding of how we became what we are today.

The story is told in three books: The Great Depression, The War, and The Aftermath. Dire Circumstances - The Great Depression is available now. The other 2 books will be released in the near future.

THE GREAT DEPRESSION

CHAPTER 1

Maude Pearson suppressed her anger with fierce determination as she helped her husband John load their kitchen table on top of the trailer that was hitched to their Model A Ford. Be sure you secure that rope tight, John. We don't need to lose anything more. she directed. John gave a final tug to the rope without responding, his depressed mood clearly showing as his six-foot frame sagged as he tied off the frayed rope.

Despite the grim, dire circumstances, Maude maintained her determined protective attitude that survivors must have. At age 32, she still believed that determination could overcome most of the egregious problems that seemed to pop up all too frequently. In spite of all the unforeseen events leading up to today, she stood like the captain of a square-rigged schooner directing his crew in the heat of battle.

John, however, fell victim to the multiple financial catastrophes that had befallen them. He felt strongly that the man was fully responsible for the welfare of his family and what was happening today was proof of his failure as a husband and a father. In the first 33 years of his life, he had experienced death, destruction and financial hardship. Now this. What did the future hold for him and his family? How would they survive? His depressed mind held no answers.

The weather matched the somber feelings of all four members of the Pearson family as they slowly loaded their meagre possessions in the homemade trailer they had borrowed from Maude's brother-in-law.

It was a typical December day in Tulsa, with gray skies, chill winds and the temperature hovering near freezing; the kind of day that drains the heat from your body with little effort. None of the family would remember the weather that cold December 29, 1931, but each of them would be mentally scarred by the heart wrenching event.

Tom Pearson, their 10-year-old son, sat on the front porch quietly contemplating his future, his normal optimistic outlook clouded by uncertainty. Where would he live? What school would he attend? Would he have to leave his friends? The answers were still to be determined. The only thing he knew for sure was they were leaving everything he had known in his young life.

Joe Pearson, age 8, was nowhere in sight, which was not unusual. His relationship with his mother was often strained and he tended to avoid conflict with her by playing elsewhere. Maude once said he gave her trouble during her pregnancy, and he never changed. Whatever turmoil he felt about what was happening, he kept within himself.

Maude stood on the front porch tightly clutching a grey coat around her chilled body, looked all around and then asked Tom, Where’s Joe?

Somewhere sulking, he replied.

Well, go find him. I want to get away from this place as soon as possible.

Tom reappeared trying to drag Joe with him. Little creep, he muttered, as Joe swatted Tom’s hand from his arm. Clutched in Joe’s hand was his old relic of a baseball glove and a baseball with about a dozen loose stitches. Why do we have to leave?’ Joe wailed. Maude rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips, I told you before, we don’t own it anymore. The bank took it. Now get in the car, and do it quickly."

John took one last look, pulled his old felt hat further down, dropped his head and opened the car door. He started the engine, engaged the clutch and slowly pulled away from the home he used to own. As he drove, his thoughts kept churning about all he had been through; his Motherless early childhood, his teenage loneliness , his struggle for security, and now this.

CHAPTER 2

Don't run, John! You can't outrun it! Lie down in that ditch and cover your head with your hands!!, Floyd shouted. The tornado reached them just as Floyd hurled himself on top of John. Lie still now. It'll pass soon. The roar of the wind howled so viciously John barely heard his father, but he felt safe under his father's protective cover. It only took minutes for the tornado to pass and for the sound to diminish.

Floyd raised his head and looked all around, then climbed out of the ditch and helped John to his feet. The wagon they had been riding in was scattered in pieces about 100 yards away. Their horse, that had been pulling the wagon, lay beside the road not moving. A sharp piece of wood was embedded in its neck. Floyd held John's hand as they approached the dead horse. Old Red was a good horse. John said, as he wiped away a tear that ran down his cheek.

Tornados were a major threat in this area, and most of the people who had homesteaded here following the Oklahoma Landrush of 1889 had built storm cellars for protection. Unfortunately, Floyd Pearson and his son John had spent the morning in Moore, a small town of roughly 250 people, where they picked up supplies for their 160-acre farm. Floyd bought the land from the man who had originally claimed it in the Landrush on April 22, 1889.

By age 6, John had already experienced several events that left lasting impressions. The most serious being the death of his mother, from pneumonia. He was only 4 at the time. At 4, he was just old enough to have established an awareness of the important role she played in his life, and her absence clearly left a void. A year after her death in 1902, Floyd had scraped together enough money to buy the farm in Moore, and John was now uprooted and relocated to an unfamiliar place.

Life on the farm had been difficult, especially without a woman to cook, clean and mother two growing boys. By the time he was 12, he was doing the work of a grown man and had become skillful in many areas, especially fixing broken items. He later would respond to queries about where he learned to repair things by saying, When you’re barely scraping by, you repair anything you can, cause it’s really clear you can’t buy a new one.

John’s father Floyd was a hardworking, somber man who worked from sun up to sun down, raising two young boys and trying to hold on to the farm he had purchased. Tall by most measures, he was lean with rippling muscles from years of hard physical labor. His lone social activity was attending the First Methodist Church in nearby Moore. John and his older brother Garner attended Sunday school and then sat, and often dozing off, through the sermon.

The hard farm life had molded Floyd into an extremely frugal, principled man, traits he tried to pass on to his two sons. Early on, John and Garner learned the importance of pinching pennies and the value of saving for a rainy day.

The country school the two boys attended was a long mile from the farm and they trudged in good weather and bad to the one room school that housed 19 kids in 6 grades. John learned to read quickly, eagerly devouring books when he could get his hands on them.

In addition to