Introductions
Hello!I'm glad you found your way to my blog! We're here to talk history - The Great Depression, to be more specific. As this is my first post, I should warn you...I have no formula or plan. Each entry...
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Book Review : Saving Strawberry Farm by Deborah Hopkinson
When I originally wrote my book, The Great Depression in Literature for Youth, Deborah Hopkinson's book was on my radar. The only trouble was I couldn't get my hands on an actual copy. I knew, from...
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Cooking Class : Cheese Fluff
The depression era used some colorful names for food. Hobos called sausage "gut". A "foamy omelet" was baked, rather than fried, and resembled a souffle because the egg whites were beaten stiff before...
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A Visit with Deborah Hopkinson
As promised, one of the goals of this blog is to dig a little deeper into the issues and topics that concern the Great Depression. One way to do that will be to offer 'visits' with authors I've...
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Hobo Marking Systems
"I never told you about, some of the tramps we used to have, did I? The ones that came to be well known around here were all odd characters. I suppose you might say some of them weren't right, though...
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Rudy Rides the Rails : A Depression Era Story
Rudy was just a teenager when he hopped his first train. He hoped to find work so he could send some money home. He also hoped to be one less mouth for his folks to feed. Rudy Rides the Rails : A...
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A visit with author Dandi Daley Mackall
The illustration at right is my version of a hobo mark found in Dandi Daley Mackall's glossary in her book, Rudy Rides the Rails : A Depression Era Story. I've seen other versions of cats as marks and...
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Then the Dust Began to Blow
In a March 13, 1936 letter to her friend, Eva, Caroline A. Henderson wrote:"It has been a terrible week, with one day of almost complete obscurity, and others when only a part of the sun's rays...
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Dust to Eat : Drought and Depression in the 1930's
Michael L. Cooper, author of the Kite Award winning, Dust to Eat : Drought and Depression in the 1930’s, opens his book with a study of the migration of dust bowl refugees to California. Labeled...
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Our First look at New Deal Programs
The title of the photograph at left is:Entering Preston County, West Virginia. Sign refers to Arthurdale Project.Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI...
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The Miner's Daughter by Gretchen Moran Laskas
Reading The Miner’s Daughter is like sitting on old, broken down porch steps, chatting with main character, Willa and her mentor, Miss Grace. The desolation of Riley Mines, a coal camp in West Virginia...
View ArticleConversation with Gretchen Moran Laskas
I recently contacted author, Gretchen Moran Laskas and asked her to share some background on how she came to write this book. For more information, be sure to check out her awesome website. Thanks,...
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How Literature Changes, Yet Stays the Same
The photograph at left shows the cover of The Farm Journal, July, 1935. It was published by the Wilmer Atkinson Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Inside, there are recipes, an article on how to...
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Blizzard of the Blue Moon
I read Blizzard of the Blue Moon with great delight. It’s number 36 in the popular “Magic Tree House” series. I must admit, it had been years since I read any books from this collection. My youngest...
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WPA Guides
"Elevator to residential section on bluffs. Dubuque, Iowa." by WPA photogragher, John Vachon. Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of...
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Advertisements
This is the cover of Rawleigh's"Good Health Guide", circa, 1932. It billed itself as a cookbook and yearbook. The Rawleigh company's literature prided itself in health and wholesome living. In years...
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St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls
During the thirties, boys and girls loved to read St. Nicholas. It was a magazine much like today's Highlights magazine. It was filled with an assortment of stories by popular writers, true life...
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Cooking with St. Nicholas
St. Nicholas Magazine advertisement illustration, October 1933. In the October, 1933 issue of St. Nicholas magazine, there is an advertisement for Baby Ruth candy bars. In the ad, the candy bar is...
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The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan
Eleven year old Jack is as broken by the Depression as the land is. At first glance, it seems the monster drought has weakened him. He's bullied by kids. His father - from whom he longs for connection...
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Apricot Nut Bread
A recipe for Apricot Nut Bread was published in the October 18, 1930 Homemaking Department section of the Wallaces' Farmer newspaper. Curious, not once was the type or quantity of nut mentioned in the...
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