Searchablehistory.Com 1930-1939 P. 1 DEPRESSION YEARS
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DEPRESSION YEARS CHANGES LIVES Survival in the Pacific Northwest was difficult at the beginning of the 1930s economic realities of falling farm prices, industrial unemployment and foreclosed mortgages all added up to pervasive despair ironically, this reality followed the most prosperous decade in regional history to date AGRICULTURE WAS HARD HIT BY DEPRESSION Farming was in the doldrums with the collapse of the world economy although farming remained an important source of employment in Washington state farm population during the 1930s dropped to 20% of its former number Farm life changed during the Great Depression income was down which meant many farmers were forced to sell out to more fortunate neighbors number of farms shrank as the economic depression eliminated markets for farm goods percentage of tenants renting farms increased dramatically Drought added to the misery factor as crops burned in the fields in Eastern Washington banks foreclosed on farms -- farmers moved into cities tax-delinquency added land to state’s public trust lands Soil erosion was a most serious long-term problem for farmers and tenants alike one quarter of the cropland of the Northwest was badly damages by erosion in the cattle industry overgrazing destroyed vegetation and soil alike But farmers who could hold on were able to increase the size of their holdings wheat, hay and oats were the principal products with fruits and nuts rising in importance GREAT DEPRESSON EXPANDS THE DEMAND FOR THE PIKE PLACE MARKET Several multi-level buildings were constructed creating a central marketing district accessible to pedestrians and motorized vehicles During the Great Depression the market expanded by offering the cheapest food in town at one time a bag full of vegetables sold for 25 cents Hotels and an auditorium stage also brought entertainment and more income to the area allowing Seattle boosters to claim that Pike Place was “The Finest Public Market In The World” INDUSTRY SUFFERED FROM THE DEPRESSION Misery was nowhere more prevalent in the Northwest than in the timber industry which suffered the greatest loss of income during the Great Depression significant losses were felt in Tacoma, Bellingham, Hoquiam, Aberdeen and Vancouver it was no longer profitable to bring logging railroad tracks, trains and giant steam donkeys into small cutting areas SearchableHistory.com 1930-1939 P. 1 logging roads and logging trucks dominated the industry as forest areas diminished at first, gasoline trucks were used and then diesel trucks came to the fore Other industries suffered only slightly less shipbuilding, flour milling, grain production, meat packing, printing and publishing, fruit and vegetable canning all suffered decline rail service to the mines of the Coal Creek region stopped coal mine and town of Newcastle were both dismantled Fishing industry also suffered during the depression collapse of the fishing market drove boats into harbor and their crews to the relief lines fishing, which had been declining anyway for several decades, never really recovered TOURISM DECLINED AS FUNDS DRIED UP DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION Although railroads and bus lines cut the price of tickets to attract tourists few people, inside or outside of the region, could afford to buy at any price Hotel and tourist court (motel) operators, restaurant owners and service station attendants all suffered UNION MOVEMENT IN THE NORTHWEST WAS SLOWED BY ECONOMIC INACTIVITY Great Depression ate into management’s profits many corporations reduced wages and laid-off workers union welfare plans were reduced to accommodate the growing number of those in need assembly lines were speeded up causing exhaustion and accidents Longshoremen, warehousemen, salmon canning workers and inland boatmen were involved in organizing the docks along the waterfront but few gains were made UNEMPLOYMENT EXPLODED AS THE ECONOMY DETERIORATED Total unemployment was estimated at between 25 and 30 percent of the labor force “working stiffs” were accustomed to losing their jobs white collar workers and professionals were not they attached their status as well as income to their employment Money vanished in failed banks; farms were lost to unpaid mortgages -- many faced hunger there were no safety nets to catch laid-off workers in an economic free fall quickly despair yielded to anger -- then anger turned to determination Yet there was no violent revolution in the nation given the terrible state of the economy it is surprising that there was not more violence during the Great Depression this period of time was peaceful although there was ferment and labor strife SearchableHistory.com 1930-1939 P. 2 McNEIL ISLAND FEDERAL PENITENTIARY POPULATION REMAINS ABOUT 1,000 INMATES Cell house No. 5 containing two new wings holding thirty-eight-man cells was finished -- 1930 penitentiary also added an administration building, auditorium, kitchen and dining hall Due to the need for water another 1,618.33 acres were purchased this brought the total prison acreage to 2,107.3 -- just less than half the island’s 4,445 acres During these years, sewage was just dumped onto the shoreline (eventually, the penitentiary installed a pipe to discharge sewage directly into Puget Sound)1 PACIFIC NORTHWEST ABSORBED THOUSANDS OF MIGRANT WORKERS (Early Hispanic immigration to the Pacific Northwest had begun in the [1850s] a small number of Hispanics workers as muleskinners [team drivers] and cowboys skill, courage, and responsibility brought some of them important positions such as foreman but these jobs disappeared by the turn of the century as large-scale wheat farming caused the disintegration of big ranches) U.S. citizens of Mexican descent began new pursuits in the Northwest during the 1920s and 1930s many became migratory agricultural laborers these workers were mainly single men, residents of Texas, Arizona and New Mexico who followed the crops north to California, Oregon Washington and Idaho tracking the ripening fruit and vegetables they worked in the Willamette Valley of Oregon and Yakima Valley of Washington little is known about them but their working conditions and social lives could hardly have been very good BLACK CITIZENS CONTINUED TO WALK A DIFFICULT PATH Terrible pressures of discrimination which they had experienced everywhere were exacerbated by the Great Depression but the black experience was, as always, one of fulfillment as well as discrimination Urban blacks worked as musicians, maintenance workers, businessmen and in the professions as well as in transportation which remained the chief means of livelihood for black workers in Seattle transportation was a significant source of employment African Americans worked as sailors and longshoremen and for the Great Northern and Northern Pacific railroads JAPANESE IMMIGRATION SLOWED DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION Washington state was home to 17,837 Japanese there were 4,958 Japanese in Oregon Idaho counted 1,421 1 Daryl C. McClary, HistoryLink.org, Essay 5238, April 17, 2003. SearchableHistory.com 1930-1939 P. 3 There was a tendency for Japanese to congregate in cities which served as ports of entry Portland, Seattle, and Tacoma many Japanese settlers gardened, farmed and carried on small businesses with remarkable success they mixed rather freely with the majority population NORTHWEST POETRY AND FICTION SOFTENED THE GREAT DEPRESSION Northwest authors were essentially descriptive their writing was characterized by romanticism and parochialism most of the plots were set in the pioneer years which was safely removed from the conflicts and controversies of the Great Depression characters in Northwest literature were heroic men and women -- people without flaws “realism,” “naturalism”, and any critical note about the region, was absent PLANS FOR LANDSCAPING THE CAPTIAL GROUNDS ARE CARRIED OUT Brothers John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. were renowned landscape architects who served as consultants [1911-1912] for the Olympia campus they designed the original landscaping plan trees and gardens were added to the dignity of the capitol and other buildings this work was virtually completed by 1930 (Monuments have been added to what today is called the West Campus grounds) •Winged Victory statue sculpted by Alonzo Victor Lewis was dedicated [May 30, 1938] this bronze statue and its granite pedestal has four inscriptions: facing South: “They fought to safeguard and transmit to posterity the principles of justice, freedom, and democracy”, facing East: “To the memory of the citizens of the State of Washington who lost their lives in the service of the United States during the World War 1917 1918”, and the state seal facing West: “Their sacrifice was to vindicate the principles of peace and justice in the life of the world”, facing North: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend.” this monument has been restored numerous times since its installation •Story Pole carved by Snohomish Artist-Chief William Shelton dedicated [May 14, 1940] after the death of the chief, the project was completed by tribal carvers •Tivoli Fountain designed by architects Wohleb, Wohleb and Bennett [April 15, 1953] inscribed on it is “Replica of the Tivoli Fountain—Tivoli Park, Copenhagen, Denmark. Presented to the State of Washington by Olympia-Tumwater Foundation. Peter G. Schmidt, President.” SearchableHistory.com 1930-1939 P. 4 •Du Pen Fountain designed by artist Everett Du Pen for the front side of the state library building this monument was dedicated [January 23, 1959] today the Joel Pritchard Building houses government staff offices and a cafeteria Du Pen’s design evokes images of the Pacific Northwest’s beauty it features four sea gulls soaring above rippling waves, flanked by two leaping salmon behind the sea gulls, level with the waves, sits a small crab these forms symbolize the vigor and strength of the state light, air, and water surrounding them represent Washington’s great natural resources and prosperous industries three water jets are positioned front and center in the fountain they spray water straight up into the air two more jets spurt water from supporting waves underneath the salmon •Territorial Sundial was designed by artist John W.