Apple sellers in New York City
No matter, how bad that may have been, however, it paled in comparison with the great depression of the 1930's. Unlike other hard times, the depression was far more than a downturn in the business cycle. By the end of 1932, 10 million Americans were unemployed and many American communities experienced bread lines and "Hoovervilles," (shanties named derisively after President Herbert Hoover), not to mention the unemployed selling apples on street corners. As the Roosevelt administration prepared to take office in March of 1933, banks began closing down nationwide as they were unable to satisfy the "run" of depositors, demanding their money.
A "Hooverville"
Almost simultaneous with taking office, FDR called for a bank holiday in an attempt to give banks teetering on the abyss some breathing space. Based on accounts in the Trenton Evening Times, it appears Trenton was spared bank failures and that local financial institutions didn't need the "holiday" and were, in fact, reluctant to participate. How the Winders fared in this global economic cataclysm is more difficult to know. In 1930, James was a wood-worker at C.V. Hill & Co., Philip Shaw was still working for the railroad and the eldest Carr son, still at home, was a draftsman, also at C.V. Hill. No matter the economic conditions, there was probably some demand for refrigerators, although the slow down in new housing construction plus hard up families delaying replacing existing units had to hurt business. Similarly, railroads had a certain level of stability, although ridership (commuting and holiday) had to have suffered due to unemployment and fewer people able to afford vacations. Elsie Winder would seem to have been especially vulnerable as music lessons were most likely an early casualty of people cutting back.
While there may not have been "Hoovervilles" in Trenton, there were certainly bread or flour lines like this one at the Thropp Factory
To my knowledge there is no anecdotal information of any of the Winder families suffering significant hardships during the depression. One piece of hard data is available in the 1940 census, drawn from a question about 1939 income. According to this data, James' 1939 income was $2050 from 46 weeks of work, suggesting some plant shut downs in slack periods. James also indicated his income came from more than one source, most likely carpentry work especially during any periods he didn't work at C. V. Hill & Co. While the amount seems almost infinitesimal to us today, it was almost exactly the median American income in 1941 and, by far, the highest of the four families. Edith's husband, Philip, earned only $780 as a railroad brakeman while wages in the Carr family totaled $1100 from two sources, son, James William Winder Carr ($500) and his uncle, Earl, ($600). Lowest of all was the $350 for Edith and Mary Ann, all of which came from the former's music lessons. At the beginning of the 1930's, almost 80% of all American families had annual income of less than $3000 and its doubtful these figures improved very much during a decade long depression. So as low as those figures were, it appears the Winders were well within the norms for the time.
Trenton Evening Times - May 22, 1933
As difficult as finances may have been for the Carr family, things were even more difficult early in the decade when they suffered a second accidental, tragic death. In December of 1932, 16 year old Mildred F. Carr was near the stove when her dress caught fire, burning her badly. She lingered on for almost five months before succumbing in May of the following year. A far happier event took place the next year, in October of 1934 when Florence's eldest son, Leon was married to Esther Parkinson at St. Luke's Church in Trenton with his aunt Elsie playing the organ. For the rest of the decade there are multiple accounts of a Mrs. Florence Carr who was very active in the 11th ward Republican Club including playing the piano at one function. The musical connection suggests this was "our" Florence, but another Mrs. Florence Carr lived literally next door to the club's facility on Home Street. The Carrs lived at 1928 South Clinton Avenue which based on a look at a 1935 Trenton map appears to be in the 11th Ward so this could still be "our" Florence.
Trenton Evening Times - October 14, 1934
After moving away during the 1920's, Edith and Philip Shaw were back in Trenton during the 1930's, living at 1223 South Clinton Street, apparently not the same road as South Clinton Avenue. By living in Trenton, Edith was able to do more things with her family such as a millinery meeting at 743 Stuyvesant Avenue where along with James' wife, Mary, Hannah "Sis" Blake, and Ethel Proctor, she was able to make herself a hat by the end of the day. Living in Trenton also brought Edith closer to her daughter Edith Hartpence who had two children of her own. Some what more distant was her younger daughter, Phyllis Scarboro, living in Delaware Township in Hunterdon County. By 1940 Phyllis and her husband, Lloyd, had four children so that all told Edith and Philip had six grand children.
Left to right, Phyllis Scarboro, Mary Ann Hudson and Edith Shaw with Phyllis' daughter, Mary Ann in the front. Mary Ann Scarboro was born in 1934 which would probably put this picture in the late 1930's
Although four years older, James lagged somewhat behind Edith in grandchildren with two by the end of the 1930's, eldest daughter Alice's two children. James was pretty much out of the public eye during this period, although over the course of the decade his name does appear seven times in the newspaper as a pallbearer at various funerals. This appears to be a reflection of how highly regarded he was by the families both at church and beyond. Of special note is his serving as an honorary pallbearer at the funeral of George Cockram, a long time leader at Grace Church, a place which clearly played an important role in James' early adult life.
Trenton Evening Times - August 14, 1932
While James apparently was no longer active in church leadership, he and wife Mary were still members at Grace. In April of 1935, both of them were appointed to a committee of seventy (based upon the biblical "second seventy"), formed "to stimulate religious activity in the parish." Also serving was old friend and brother-in-law, Alf Blake who was still a member of the vestry. Absent from the media were any accounts of James and his lodge affiliations. While James remained a member of the Pythias Lodge for the rest of his life, during the 1930's coed social events became the norm and many lodges "were somewhat anxiously seeking members," which may account for a lack of coverage in the media.
Trenton Evening Times - August 18, 1932
Down the block from James and Mary were Mary and Elsie, still living at 331 Rutherford Avenue. Elsie clearly remained active in her music teaching although there was little or no notice in the newspapers. My guess is that like James' lodge activities, this was more a function of changes in what newspapers deemed newsworthy. Mary Ann was in her seventies through most of the decade, turning 80 in 1938. Along with Elsie and daughter-in-law Mary, she was active in Morning Star Chapter No. 22, Order of the Eastern Star. Although she was the oldest, Mary Ann had outlived all of her siblings save sister Agnes. She still had family in England, however, and must have thought of them as tensions escalated throughout the 1930s. War clouds were gathering and unlike a quarter of a century earlier, the outbreak of war in Europe in September of 1939 couldn't have been a big surprise.
No comments:
Post a Comment