Happyland: a History of the “Dirty Thirties” in Saskatchewan, 1914-1937
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University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository University of Calgary Press University of Calgary Press Open Access Books 2011 Happyland: a history of the “dirty thirties” in Saskatchewan, 1914-1937 McManus, Curtis R. University of Calgary Press McManus, Curtis R., "Happyland: a history of the “dirty thirties” in Saskatchewan, 1914-1937". Series: The West series 5. University of Calgary Press, Calgary, Alberta, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/48647 book http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 3.0 Unported Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca University of Calgary Press www.uofcpress.com HAPPYLAND: A HISTORY OF THE “DIRTY THIRTIES” IN SASKATCHEWAN, 1914–1937 by Curtis R. McManus ISBN 978-1-55238-574-6 THIS BOOK IS AN OPEN ACCESS E-BOOK. It is an electronic version of a book that can be purchased in physical form through any bookseller or on-line retailer, or from our distributors. 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Acknowledgement: We acknowledge the wording around open access used by Australian publisher, re.press, and thank them for giving us permission to adapt their wording to our policy http://www.re-press.org/content/view/17/33/ Happyland A History of the “Dirty Thirties” in Saskatchewan, 1914–1937 CURTIS R. McMANUS Happyland THE WEST SERIES Aritha van Herk, Series Editor ISSN 1922-6519 (Print) ISSN 1925-587X (Online) This series focuses on creative non-fiction that explores our sense of place in the West - how we define ourselves as Westerners and what impact we have on the world around us. Essays, biographies, memoirs, and insights into Western Canadian life and experi- ence are highlighted. No. 1 ∙ Looking Back: Canadian Women's Prairie Memoirs and Intersections of Culture, History, and Identity S. Leigh Matthews No. 2 ∙ Catch the Gleam: Mount Royal, From College to University, 1910–2009 Donald N. Baker No. 3 ∙ Always an Adventure: An Autobiography Hugh A. Dempsey No. 4 ∙ Happyland: A History of the “Dirty Thirties” in Saskatchewan, 1914–1937 Curtis R. McManus Happyland A History of the “Dirty Thirties” in Saskatchewan, 1914–1937 CURTIS R. McMANUS The West Series ISSN 1922-6519 (Print) ISSN 1925-587X (Online) © 2011 Curtis R. McManus University of Calgary Press 2500 University Drive NW Calgary, Alberta Canada T2N 1N4 www.uofcpress.com Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication McManus, Curtis R., 1972- Happyland [electronic resource] : a history of the “dirty thirties” in Saskatchewan, 1914-1937 / Curtis R. McManus. (The West series, 1922-587X ; 5) Includes bibliographical references and index. Type of computer file: Electronic monographs in PDF formats Issued also in print and another electronic format. ISBN 978-1-55238-574-6.—ISBN 978-1-55238-525-8 1. Saskatchewan—History—1905-1945. 2. Depressions—1929—Saskatchewan. I. Title. II. Series: West series (Calgary, Alta. : Online) FC3523.M35 2011a 971.24’02 C2011-903090-X The University of Calgary Press acknowledges the support of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts for our publications. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for our publishing activities. We acknowledge the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Aid to Scholarly Publications Program, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Cover design, page design, and typesetting by Melina Cusano To my mother and father. Acknowledgments It is a great pleasure to be able to acknowledge the people who have helped in the process of writing this book. I wish to thank Donna Livingstone, John King, and the staff at the University of Calgary Press for their effi- ciency in putting the book together. They were a pleasure to work with. I extend thanks to the two anonymous readers who read the manu- script and who offered suggestions and comments on ways in which it might be improved; their suggestions were of high value and the book is better because of it. The hard-working administrators at most of the RMs I visited provided open and ready access to their archives. Coffee was provided, lunch breaks were shortened, exceptions were made, additional materials were offered, and questions were answered. Mike Sherven of Mankota and Quentin Jacksteit of Golden Prairie (Big Stick) were especially helpful. The staff at Lakeland College in Lloydminster, where I teach history, has also been of immense help. Bryan Moon was always willing to discuss the book and offer suggestions; Judy Sarsons allowed me to take the neces- sary time off to complete it; and Kelly Mutter, who after finding out about the book and the fact that it mentioned Hatton (“My grandparents were born there!”), made arrangements for me to meet with his father Mr. Ralph Mutter to talk about the dry years. I owe a great spiritual and intellectual debt to the University of Saskatchewan and the men and women of the history department. Dr. Bill Waiser has been a great source of encouragement, support, assistance, help, advice, and guidance. I happily acknowledge my debt to him. I wish also to thank the following history professors: Christopher Kent, Martha Smith- Norris, Gordon Desbrisay, Brett Fairbairn, and Jolanta Pekacz. From these professors, I took inspiration and enthusiasm for the study of history. Dr. Man Kam-leung taught Asian history and ignited in me a lifelong interest in the subject. (He also taught me the value of using unique and surprising sources in the study of history.) I would also like to publicly honour and acknowledge a special debt to Dr. Robert C. Grogin (retired). When I think of my education in history, I think of him. Additionally, the staff at both branches of the Saskatchewan Archives Board were helpful, especially Tim Novak at the Regina office. I thank Dr. David Jones for demonstrating that prairie history need not be dull, drab, vii and boring. I also acknowledge that Dr. Jones was the first historian to ex- plore the dryland crisis between 1914 and 1923 and that Happyland was possible only because of his work in this area. I thank Scott McMillan of Cameron Street Creative (formerly lead singer for the now-defunct White Boy Blues Project), for his help with the graphics and photographs. I would also like to thank “The Reactionary,” “The Driver,” “Mr. Culham,” and “Prime Time” for tolerating my discus- sions about farmers planting fifty-acre plots of crested wheat grass. viii HAPPYLAND Table of Contents Introduction: Oblivion 1 1: The Descent 13 2: “In the Thrill Zone of the Onrushing Calamity” 47 Photos: Before the “Dirty Thirties” 93 Interlude: A Collection of Absurdities 105 3: Hard Times 111 4: Exodus 163 Photos: During the “Dirty Thirties” 185 Interlude: Public Health 197 5: The Wreck of ’37 201 Conclusion: Oblivion (redux) 223 Appendices 249 Tables A1 and A2: Population Losses: an overview Table A3: Losses of “Resident Farmers” (south and west Saskatchewan), 1917–24 Table A4: Losses of General Population (south and west Saskatchewan), 1923–39 Table A5: Population losses (central and south-east Saskatchewan), 1929–39 Table A6 and A7: Population Increases: an overview Table A8: Tax Arrears and Tax Sale Holdings Table A9: Municipal Relief Debt and Provincial Seed/Relief Loans Notes 273 Bibliography 299 Index 305 Introduction: Oblivion Oblivion: (noun) the state of being unaware of what is happening around one; the state of being forgotten; destruction or extinction.