CARROLL COLLEGE

SIDNEY, MONTANA, DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION: CONVERTING RETREAT INTO ADVANCE

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS TO GRADUATE WITH HONORS

DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

BY AMY L. MCKINNEY

HELENA, MONTANA MARCH 1995

3 5962 00078 191

SIGNATURE PAGE

This thesis for honors recognition has been approved by the Department of History.

Rev. Williafn Creyta^Director

Rev. Jeremiah Sullivan, Reader

7 Date TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS...... ii

• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...... iv

INTRODUCTION...... 1

Chapter 1. THE ONSET OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION...... 3

2. BUILDING THE FOUNDATION FOR STABILITY...... 23

3. THE NEW DEAL IN SIDNEY...... 38

4. SOCIAL LIFE IN SIDNEY...... 66

5. ROAD TO RECOVERY...... 98

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 107 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure Page * 1. Map of Richland County...... 4 2. Herbert Hoover...... 6 3. Breadline at Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street...... 7 4. unemployed Men...... 10 5. Hooverville in New York City...... 11 6. Franklin Delano Roosevelt...... 14 7. Constructing the irrigation Project...... 26 8. william Hastay's wheat Field...... 27 9. unirrigated Wheat Across the Road...... 28 10. Holly Sugar Factory...... 30 11. Holly Sugar workers...... 32 12. Groundbreaking Ceremony...... 41 13. "Sully Crossing the Yellowstone"...... 46 14. CCC Camp BR-30 Rock Rip-Rapping...... 50 15. CCC Camp working on irrigation Project...... 51 16. CCC Workers Loading Rock at Quarry...... 52 17. CCC Workers Hauling Willows...... 54 18. company 2761 at CCC Camp BR-30...... 57 19. Members of Company 2761 ...... 58 • 20. Recovery Cartoon...... 67 21. Lawn and Carden Advertisement...... 71 Figure Page 22. Cast of School Play...... 75 23. The Stagecoach...... 76 24. Last Day Crowd at Richland County Fair...... 78 25. Fair Board...... 79 26. Air Photo of 1937 Fair...... 82 27. Ferris wheel at Fair...... 83 28. Crowd at Richland County Fair...... 84 29. Fairway at Richland County Fair...... 85 30. Advertisement for Mr. Smith Coes to Washington...... 87 31. Advertisement for The Grapes of Wrath...... 89 32. Attack on Pearl Harbor...... 99

iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Writing an honors thesis is an overwhelming experience to say * the least, and people who say they can do it all on their own are liars and fools. I owe my sanity and my finished thesis to many people: First l would like to thank my parents, Ralph and Karen McKinney and my sister, Janine. You supported me the entire way and were my Sidney base when I needed material from there while I was in Helena. Thank you for reading and rereading to give me suggestions. And probably the most important help, telling me I could do it and giving me confidence when I wanted to pull my hair out and quit. An enormous thanks to my director, Rev. William Greytak and my readers, Rev. Jeremiah Sullivan and Professor Kay Satre. Your suggestions and help were wonderful and greatly appreciated. There is absolutely no way I could have written my thesis without your patience and open-door policy. With your help, I am turning in a thesis I am proud to say I wrote. My most heartfelt thanks. I would also like to thank the people at the Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society in Sidney for answering all of my questions and providing so many excellent sources. I appreciate the free reign of the library room to search for pictures and information. • l greatly appreciate the wonderful help everyone at the Montana Historical society in Helena gave me. Without your help and suggestions, I do not think I would have been able to even start iv my thesis. Thank you so very much for your kindness and help. I would like to thank all of my friends who supported me during the entire process. Thank you for smiling and nodding when I started to babble on and on about Sidney and the depression. A "ginormous" thanks to my partners in the history department who were also crazy enough to write theses, June Hagen and Patricia Allen, it was nice to have other people going through the same process to be able to get advice when I got stuck and how to cite those sources NOT in Turabian, and to be able to vent when I needed it. And finally, I would like to thank Dr. Robert Swartout who started this entire process in Research Seminar, without your class and wonderful guidance, I would not have even attempted writing a thesis. I think I had a permanent seat outside of your office last year with what seemed like a thousand questions you would always answer, even the off-the-wall ones. Your encouragement and genuine kindness and interest in me as a student as well as a person throughout my time at Carroll made all the difference. (Even if you did say I was from west Dakota.) Professors like you make Carroll College a special place. You were greatly missed during the thesis project, but I know Korea was probably a little more exciting.

v Certain periods of history have a lasting effect on society. The Great Depression of the 1930s proved no exception. The United States suffered a massive economic disaster during that time. Across the nation, Americans felt the crunch of the depression, unemployment skyrocketed and a sense of despair swept the country. Montana also suffered during the depression and greatly needed relief. Drought already had devastated the state during the 1920s, and the depression nation wide only added to the problem. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, elected because he appeared to the voters to be someone they could trust and respect, stepped into office of the presidency in 1933 to face the challenges of the depression. The people of the united States elected him for an unprecedented four terms. His New Deal programs, although popular, did not end the depression. FDR and his advisors realized that people needed direct relief as quickly as possible. Americans worked for their wages and received money right away. People did not want handouts, and the New Deal programs allowed them to earn money and regain their dignity. These programs helped people reclaim a sense of purpose and gave respect back to the entire nation. Roosevelt's popularity also stemmed from his personality. People knew him as a president who cared about them and someone with whom they could empathize. His battle with polio showed Americans that he had suffered and could understand their pain. He tried to reach every household with his "fireside chats," giving him the opportunity to talk directly and honestly with the American people. Sidney, a small town in northeastern Montana, proved to be one town that somehow weathered the depression. The close-knit community banded together to survive. Sidney's economy was and still is based on agriculture. Drought and extremely low farm prices hurt the area, but they did not destroy it. The uniqueness of Sidney has kept the town going since its founding. No matter what the situation in the world or nation, life continues in Sidney. That special quality allowed the community to convert retreat into advance during the hardships of the Great Depression.

2 CHAPTER ONE THE ONSET OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION

On 4 March 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered his first inaugural address in Washington, D.c. As he stood before a nation devastated by the depression, he proclaimed,

This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself-nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.1

These words rang through the nation. A small town in northeastern Montana, located twelve miles from the Montana-North Dakota border in the Lower Yellowstone river valley, heard them. in the fall of 1888, Justice of the Peace Hiram Otis named Sidney after Sidney waiters, the six-year-old son of some of his family friends. Walters and Otis often went fishing together, and Otis grew very fond of the boy. When he discovered that another locale had taken Eureka, the first choice for the name of the town, he • suggested Sidney.2 The people of the community agreed, and Otis named the town.

3 Figure 1. Dennis J. Lutz, M.D. and Montana Chapter no. 1 National Association of Post Masters of the U. S., Montana Post Offices and Postmasters (Rochester, MN: Johnson Printing Company, 1986), 141.

4 Since its founding, Sidney has been an agricultural community. The drop in farm production and prices during the Great Depression hurt the area, but President Roosevelt's call to "convert retreat into • advance" already existed in Sidney, various factors, both local and national, allowed Sidney to fight the depression. The Lower Yellowstone irrigation project, a sugar-beet factory, FDR's New Deal programs, and the community itself helped the people of Sidney overcome the hardships of the depression years.

ll The crash of the stock market in 1929 launched the united States into the worst depression of its history. Herbert Hoover sat in the Oval Office at the onset of the Great Depression. Even though the people of the united States desperately needed help, Hoover did not believe in direct federal relief. He feared that direct assistance would hurt private industries and greatly add to an unbalanced budget. Most of all, however, Hoover believed that federal assistance would diminish the American sense of "self- reliance, sturdiness, and independence.”3 Convinced that no matter how bad the depression seemed, it would soon end through traditional means, Hoover accomplished little. He believed that the best course of action involved leaving assistance on a local level and • depending on volunteers in local businesses and on private citizens to provide the majority of aid.4 Federal intervention, he insisted, would only hurt this process.5

5 Figure 2. Herbert Hoover. Reprinted from Herbert Hoover, The Memoirs of Herbert Hoover: The Cabinet and the Presidency, 1920 1955 (New York: Macmillian Company, 1952), ii.

6 [FI LINE FOR;

.1 20 MEflU /tw 'If, i ZXW/1»«HZ*MWZ> I HOT HID MDUMf)',! , i Witt FEED 20| Li FRESTAURANT7

Figure 3. A breadline at Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street, New York City, February 1932. Reprinted from Joseph Gies, Franklin D. Roosevelt: Portrait of a President (New York: Doubleday and company inc., 1971), 103.

7 Hoover's approach obviously did not help the American people as the united States sank deeper into depression, unemployment skyrocketed. With the loss of jobs arose a loss of pride. Many Americans began to feel inadequate because they could not find work to support their families. Heads of families, once proud that they could take care of their children and spouses, now depended on charity to feed them. Farmers previously responsible for the production of the nation's food, cut back to raise prices.6 Even the proud veterans of World War I resorted to selling pencils and apples on the streets to survive. One of the most popular songs of the depression reflected this sense of despair. E. Y. Harburg wrote the lyrics to the 1932 song, Brother Can You Spare a Dime? sung by Rudy Vallee:

Once in Khaki suits Gee, we looked swell, Full of that Yankee Doodle-de-dum. Half a million boots went sloggin' through Hell, l was the kid with the drum. Say, don't you remember, they called me AI-- it was Al all the time. Say, don't you remember I'm your pal-- Brother, can you spare a dime?7

As the depression mounted, more people blamed President Hoover for their hardships. Americans showed their growing animosity; they called newspapers "Hoover blankets," and "Hoover flags" represented the inside-out empty pockets of Americans who

8 had no jobs, no money, and no hope.8 Music of the day often reflected the growing resentment for the President,

Today we're living in a shanty, • Today we're scrounging for a meal, Today I'm stealing coal for fires, who knew I could steal?

I used to winter in the tropics, l spent my summers at the shore, I used to throw away the papers, l don't any more.

we'd like to thank you, Herbert Hoover, For really showing us the way! we'd like to thank you, Herbert Hoover, You made us what we are today!...

in every pot he'd say "a chicken," But Herbert Hoover he forgot! Not only don't we have the chicken, we ain't got the pot!...

Come down and share some Christmas dinner, Be sure to bring the missus, too, We've got no turkey for our stuffing, Why don't we stuff you.

we'd like to thank you, Herbert Hoover, For really showing us the way. You dirty rat, you Bureaucrat, You made us what we are today.8

Hoover refused to hear the shouts for federal aid. He even boasted • that "no one has starved."10 To support his claim, he announced a decline in the death rate. Yet the facts contested his boast. In Detroit, Michigan, alone, three people died each day from starvation

9 JOBLESS MEN KEEPz GOING

Figure 4. unemployed men desperately searched for work. Reprinted from Robert D. Graff and Robert Emmett Ginna, EDR (New York: Harper and Row, 1962), 101.

10 Figure 5. A Hooverville in New York City. Reprinted from Joseph Gies, Franklin D, Roosevelt: Portrait of a President (New York: Doubleday and Company Inc., 1971), 103.

11 in 1932. in addition, for the year 1933, the New York welfare Council reported twenty-nine deaths from starvation in New York City.11 By the end of 1932, the United States economy found itself in a shambles. The national income dropped from 88 billion dollars in 1929 to 40 billion dollars in 1932. Over 5,000 banks failed in those three years, taking with them over two billion dollars in deposits, unemployment jumped from three percent in 1929 to twenty-five percent in 1933. Approximately 75,000 jobs disappeared every week for nearly three years.12 in Montana, wheat worth $100 in 1920 dropped to $19.23 by 1932. workers lost 8,636 jobs in Montana manufacturing industries between 1929 and 1933.13 Montanans, along with other Americans, grew increasingly critical of the lack of support from the federal government. The United States needed a change. Franklin D. Roosevelt became the change America needed, in a speech before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago,

Illinois, in July 1932, fdr promised, "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.... Give me your help, not to win votes, but to win this crusade to restore America to its own people."14 unlike his predecessor, FDR believed in the federal government's responsibility to see that each person possessed the "right to make a comfortable living."15 The American people responded to FDR's call in the 1932 election. Roosevelt defeated Hoover in a landslide. FDR carried 42 of the 48 states by winning 57 percent of the popular vote, in the

12 electoral college, FDR won 472 votes to 59. The Democrats took control of both houses of Congress in 1952, winning seventy-one percent in the House and sixty-two percent in the Senate. Democrats won twenty-seven of the thirty-three gubernatorial races.16 in Montana, ail fifty-six counties except Sweet Crass County voted for FDR. in Richland County, which over the past three presidential elections had voted Republican, fifty-seven percent of the voters supported Roosevelt.17 Roosevelt's tremendous popularity in Montana allowed the Democrats to dominate from 1933 to 1941. At no other time prior to this had one political party dominated so completely in Montana.18 To meet the daunting challenge of restoring the American economy, FDR provided direct relief through several acts and agencies in his New Deal programs. He created the National Recovery Administration (NRA) in June 1933 to keep people working and to stimulate the economy. Supporters of the NRA displayed its symbol of the blue eagle with the slogan "We Do Our Part."19 To ensure fair business, the NRA tried to govern production quotas and amount of hours worked, as well as salaries and standards of quality.20 Despite its efforts, the NRA disappeared after the Supreme Court declared the agency illegal on Constitutional grounds in 1935.21 The New Deal also established the Civil Works Administration (CWA) to provide public services. FDR appointed Harry Hopkins its head in November 1933.22 By January 1934, the proposed four

13 Figure 6- Franklin Delano Rooseveft. Reprinted from Robert o. Graff and Robert Emmett Ginna, EDS (New York: Harper and Row, 1962), 94. e

14 million people were working. The CWA constructed and repaired highways and roads, bridges and schools, and parks and playgrounds. The CWA also built airports and hospitals, and it • provided several other public services.25 women found difficulty obtaining employment with the CWA because it allowed only the head of the household to receive work.2* Even so, by 1934, 300,000 women worked under the CWA in sewing, food canning, and clerical jobs. FDR designed the CWA as a temporary program, so despite its huge success, it dissolved in late 1934, after putting millions to work and spending more than one billion dollars.25 Two more successful and longer lasting programs included the Public works Administration (PWA) and the works Progress Administration (WPA). The PWA provided support to skilled workers

and completed major construction projects. The largest pwa project in Montana was the construction of the Fort Peck Dam, which employed over 10,500 men. When completed, the dam became the largest earthen dam in the world and brought over $110 million into the local economy.25 Roosevelt visited the dam in August 1934.22 The Sioux and Assiniboine Native Americans of the Fort Peck Reservation selected him as an honorary chief with the name "Fearless Blue Eagle."28 The WPA, modeled after the CWA, provided jobs for both • skilled and unskilled workers. Created in April 1935, it not only provide manual jobs for laborers, but it also created jobs for writers, teachers, actors, and artists. Critics of the program branded it a

15 federal hand out. They complained that WPA workers only leaned on a shovel all day. A popular joke among these critics ran: "Do you

work? No, I'm on wpa."29 Yet for a grateful many, WPA employment 9 meant that they could feed their families. The program's central philosophy sought to find jobs for every able man and some women so they could supply their family's basic needs. The WPA limited work for women and sewing became the most common job as over 300,000 women found employment in more than 9,000 sewing

rooms.30 a WPA official stated, "For unskilled men we have the shovel. For unskilled women we have only the needle."31 Even with its critics, the WPA became the most widely known of FDR's programs because it touched most of the country. It employed over 8.5 million people during the course of its seven-year

existence and spent over eleven billion dollars.^ a branch of the WPA, the National Youth Administration (NYA) provided aid for students to help them to stay in school and to keep them from the job market.33 Students involved in the NYA often performed odd jobs to help their teachers or worked in the school. The most accepted of FDR's programs was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), originally called Emergency Conservation work (ECW). Roosevelt presented the new program to congress in 1933 and appointed Robert Fechner to run it.34 The corps hired • young men ages eighteen to twenty-five (later expanded to seventeen to twenty-eight) to help with reforestation projects, to build bridges, to construct roads, to provide drought relief and

16 flood control, and to aid with many other jobs that benefited the public. Some gave the CCC the nickname "Roosevelt's Tree Army" because they believed that its main job involved only planting trees.33 The u. S. Army headed the initial training for the CCC campers. Outfitted in old army clothes, the men trained for about two weeks. After this training, they transferred to their camp assignments and the Department of Agriculture gained control.36 A man enrolled for 12 months (later increased to 28) and received a salary of 30 dollars a month, 25 dollars of that being sent home to his family.3? The CCC barred women. Opponents of women serving in the corps said that it was not the "she-she-she."36 However, most people agreed on the value of the CCC program. It gave young men a chance to work and to improve themselves. The Sidney Herald stated,

... CCC men have returned to their homes definitely benefited physically and mentally; their outlook toward the future is brighter; their sense of self-reliance and the ability to adjust themselves to economic conditions is stronger.^

This New Deal program not only benefited the public with the work it provided, but also helped those men it employed. Opportunities existed for the men to attend classes held at the camps as the CCC awarded 25,000 eighth-grade diplomas and 5,000 high school diplomas.40

17 The people of Montana relied heavily on this aid from the federal government. Between 1933 and 1939, the federal government spent over $381 million and lent over $141 million in t Montana. By 1935 one-quarter of all people living in Montana relied on relief from the government, half of whom included children under twenty-years-old. Montana received the second highest per- capita relief from the federal government, behind Nevada. Montana received such a vast amount of money because of its small population, its high amount of federal property, and influential people such as Montana Senators Thomas Walsh and Burton K. Wheeler in Washington.41 The Great Depression changed the lives of everyone it touched. One woman remarked, "The depression years left us with a generation robbed of time and opportunity just as the Great war left the world its heritage of a lost generation."^ Lives in Sidney, Montana, also changed. Yet the depression's effects there were, perhaps, felt less acutely than in other small towns, for a number of community projects, well in place even before the 1930s, served to ease the economic strain of the Great Depression.

18 ENDNOTES

1Ben D. zevin. ed., Nothing to Fear; The Selected-Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1952-1945 (New York: Popular Library, 1961), 27.

2Courage Enough: Mon-Dak Family Histories, Richland Countv, Montana (Sidney. MT: Mon-Dak Family Histories Office, 1975), 809.

3walter LaFeber, Richard Polenberg, and Nancy woloch, The American Century: A History of the united States Since the 1890s, 4th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992), 172.

4lbid., 171.

5John M. Allswang, The New Deal and American Politics: A study in Political Change, Critical Episodes in American Politics, ed. Robert A. Divine (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1978), 10.

6William Loren Katz, An Album of the Great Depression (New York: Franklin watts, inc., 1978), 23.

7Studs Terkel, Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression (New York: Pantheon Books, 1970), 20.

8LaFeber, Polenberg, and woloch, The American Century, 170.

9Michael E. Parrish, Anxious Decades: America in Prosperity and Depression, 1920-1941 (New York: w. w. Norton and Company, 1992), 239-240.

10Caroline Bird, The invisible Scar (New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1966), 27.

11lbid., 35.

12LaFeber, Polenberg, and Woloch, The American Century. 172; T. H. Watkins, The Great Depression: America in the 1950s (Boston: Little, Brown and company, 1993), 55.

19 13Michael P. Malone, "The Montana New Dealers," in The New Deal, vol. 2, The State and Local Levels, ed. John Braeman, Robert H. Bremner, and David Brody (Columbus: Ohio State university Press, 1975), 242; Michael P. Malone, Richard B. Roeder, and William L. Lang, Montana: A History of Two Centuries, Revised ed. (Seattle: university of Washington Press, 1991), 292.

14zevin, Nothing to Fear, 25.

15LaFeber, Polenberg, and Woloch, The American Century. 179.

16Allswang, The New Deal and American Politics, 29.

17Ellis Waldron and Paul B. Wilson, Atlas of Montana Elections 1889-1976 (Missoula: University of Montana Publications in History, 1978), 100,101,115,116, 128,129.

18Malone, Roeder, and Lang, A History of Two Centuries, 503.

19LaFeber, Polenberg, and woloch, The American Century. 183.

20Cerald D. Nash, The Crucial Era: The Great Depression and world War ll, 1929-1945, 2d ed., The St. Martin's Series in 20th Century U. S. History (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992), 85; LaFeber, Polenberg, and woloch, The American Century, 183.

21 LaFeber, Polenberg, and woloch, The American Century, 184.

22Nash,

23watkins, The Great Depression. 126.

24LaFeber, Polenberg, and Woloch, The American Century. 191- 192.

25Nash,

20 26Malone, Roeder, and Lang, A History of Two Centuries, 302. The Fort Peck Dam stood 242 feet above the riverbed, stretched over 9,000 feet across, and backed up nearly 20,000,000 acre-feet of water when completed.

27ciark c. Spence, Montana: A Bicentennial History, American Association for State and Local History: The States and Nation Series (New York: w. w. Norton and Company, inc., 1978), 151-152. The building of the Fort Peck Dam appeared on the cover of the premier issue of Life magazine. "10,000 Montana Relief workers Make Whoopee on Saturday Night," Life, 23 November 1936, 9-17.

28Malone, "The Montana New Dealers," 249.

29Willam Loren Katz, An Album of the Great Depression (New York: Franklin watts, inc., 1978), 46.

30watkins, The Great Depression, 253.

31Cary B. Nash, et al., eds., The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society, 2d ed. (New York: Harper and Row, 1990), 830.

32watkins, The Great Depression, 248-249; Parrish, Anxious

33Nash, ., 44-45.

34John Salmond, The Civilian Conservation Corps, 1955-1945: A New Deal Case Study (Durham. NC: Duke University Press, 1967), 26-27.

35lbid., 121.

36lbid., 17.

37"CCC Most Approved of All Relief Projects," Su May 1935, p. 1.

38Parrish, Anxious Decades. 402.

21 39"CCC Most Approved of All Relief Projects," Sidney Herald. 16 May 1935, p. 1.

40watkins, The Great Depression, 131.

• 41Michael P. Malone, "The Montana New Dealers," 246; Depression and Recovery in Montana: Decade of the 1930s. Montana Committee for the Humanities film collection, 1982, Videocassette. Roosevelt appointed Thomas Walsh as his Attorney General, but Walsh died in a plane crash before he could fill the office.

42Susan ware, Holding Their Own: American women in the 1950s (Boston: Twayne Publisher, 1982), 55.

22 CHAPTER TWO BUILDING THE FOUNDATION FOR STABILITY

While the stock market crash of 1929 devastated the entire country, the situation in Montana seemed even worse. There the depression had actually started more than a decade earlier with a period of drought from 1917 to 1919. The drought began in northern Montana on the High Line, and by 1918, the entire eastern two-thirds of the state suffered from its effects.1 in addition the end of world war I reduced many European markets, so farm prices decreased.2 wheat production and prices dropped dramatically. By 1920 crop yield dropped from 25 bushels per acre to a mere 2.4 bushels per acre, in August of that same year, wheat sold for $2.40 per bushel; by October the price had fallen to $1.25.3 Between 1919 and 1925, nearly two million acres of farmland terminated production and farmers deserted approximately 20 percent, or about 11,000, of Montana farms.4 After the drought years, farm foreclosures rapidly increased and reached a peak of 5,173 in 1923.5 Between 1901 and 1937, banks reported over 3,800 farm bankruptcies. During the period from 1921 to 1925, fifty-six percent or 2,189 of these bankruptcies occurred. An additional 817 farms bankruptcies occurred during the years 1926 to 1930. During the decade of the 1920s, a total of 3,006 farm bankruptcies

23 occurred.® Almost 60,000 people left Montana during the "Roaring Twenties."7 The hard times of the twenties and the onset of the Great * Depression in the thirties also affected Sidney. However, unlike many other places, Sidney remained somewhat stable during the depression. As one contemporary author noted, "The Sidney area did not escape unscathed from the Depression years... .Times were tough, but not as desperate as in other parts of the nation."8 While it was true that money was scarce, people did not considered themselves poor. The Sidney Herald proved this optimism when it did not even mention the stock market crash of 1929. Even though people had little money, life continued in Sidney. An awareness developed that they were all in the same situation and must accomplish everything necessary to survive. They helped each other and somehow helped most find some work. The pay might not have been much, but it proved better than nothings Some Sidney businesses barely experienced the depression. Gladys Atkinson and her husband ran a successful lunchcounter in Sidney and said that they scarcely knew the depression existed. They finished all the work themselves and ran a place people could afford.10 Similarly in 1931 the local car dealers reported that their sales actually increased from the year before while nationwide other • car dealers only talked about the depression. The Sidney Herald claimed that the success was due to the "increased purchasing power" in the area.11 By 1936 the city declared that the debt in

24 Sidney reached a low point and that, during the previous decade, it had been reduced by $6O,18O.12 Several factors help to explain why Sidney could overcome g many of the hardships of the depression years. Even before the stock market collapsed, an irrigation system and a sugar-beet factory had been constructed, both of which helped to keep the economy stable. irrigation provided one key to Sidney's stability. Residents had tried to obtain irrigation for the valley since they settled there, but remained unsuccessful until the Reclamation Act of 1902. The act provided for the development of arid land west of the 98th Meridian.13 with the passage of the act, settlers from eastern Montana petitioned for an irrigation system, and so the Lower Yellowstone irrigation Project became a reality. Two years later, on 10 May 1904, the Secretary of the interior approved the Lower Yellowstone project, and signed a contract twenty days later to determine the price of the system.14 By June of the next year, work had begun without the guidance of any previous projects.13 After the first year, farmers irrigated 7,000 acres and by August 1909 the number rose to 40,000 acres. Another 7,000 acres became irrigated in 1909 at a cost of $42.25 per acre. Maintenance charges cost a mere one dollar per acre per year. On 24 June 1909, B. 0. Blake • and Peter Anderson received the first delivery of water. The completed project irrigated nearly 60,000 acres of land and consisted of 72 miles of main canal and 225 miles of lateral canals. By

25 Figure 7. Constructing the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project. Reprinted from Focus on Our Roots: Story of Sidney and Surrounding Area (Sidney, MT: Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, 1988), 30.

26 Figure 8. William Hastay's wheat crop under irrigation, 5 July 1910. Compare with Figure 9. Reprinted from Focus on Our Roots: Story of Sidney and Surrounding Area (Sidney. MT: Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, 1988), 37.

27 Figure 9. Unirrigated wheat across the road from Hastay’s irrigated field on the same date. Reprinted from Focus on Our Roots: Story of Sidney and Surrounding Area (Sidney. MT: Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, 1988), 37.

28 1914 a total population of 732 people worked irrigated land; this number rose to 1,500 by 1922 as the irrigation project progressed.16 The valley expressed support for the newly irrigated lands. On 3 * March 1922, an article in the Sidney Herald states,

... the valley will provide hundreds of additional farm homes at its present stage of development and with the opening of larger units will offer inviting possibilities to the settler, who desires to engage in the farming or dairying industry in a locality where he is sure of production year after year.1?

The same article predicts the importance of the irrigation system to local economic stability, claiming that, "The future of the Lower Yellowstone valley is secure and just so is the future of the city of Sidney... ."18 Most people in Sidney, both at the time and in retrospect, agreed that irrigation saved the valley.19 Even though the people of the valley enthusiastically supported the irrigation project, it developed slowly during its first twenty years. One reason reflected the fact that farmers in the area knew little about the value of irrigated farming. Also, some farmers resisted the change from ranching to more diversified farming.20 Only with the construction of the Holly Sugar plant in 1925 did the irrigated community really began to grow and prosper. "Enthusiasm runs high in Sidney as well as all the Lower Yellowstone • valley because of the bright prospect of a beet sugar factory to cost $1,500,000... ."21 The Holly Sugar Corporation's consideration of Sidney as its next location for a sugar-beet factory thrilled the

29 Figure 10. Workers completed the Holly Sugar factory in 1925. Photo courtesy of the Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, Montana.

30 people of the valley. The person most responsible for bringing the plant to Sidney was R. S. Nutt of the Sidney Chamber of Commerce. The city donated land to the company for the construction of the • building, in hopes that the company would choose Sidney.22 Finally, in late 1924, the Holly Sugar Corporation announced Sidney as the location of its next factory. A sugar factory in the lower Yellowstone valley provided a great financial benefit and convenience to the farmers. They no longer found it necessary to ship their beets to Billings, over 260 miles away, in 1924 alone, farmers paid $80,000 in freight.23 The creation of a sugar factory in Sidney eliminated that cost. Construction of the factory generated much activity in Sidney. The Great Northern and Northern Pacific railroads both built spur lines into Sidney in December 1924 as construction started. The Jennison Brick Company of Fairview (eleven miles north of Sidney) contracted to produce two million bricks for the factory. The company operated nearly twenty-four hours a day to fulfill the contract. The corporation shipped most of the needed machinery from a dismantled factory in Anaheim, California.2* in anticipation of the October 1925 sugar beet harvest, Holly pushed up the deadline for completing the factory. Having met their deadline, Holly Sugar sponsored a party to • celebrate. About three thousand people (almost the entire population of the valley) attended the celebration for the"... finest Beet Sugar Factory in the country."25 Between seven and nine

31 Figure 11. Holly Sugar workers in 1931. Photo courtesy of the Mon- Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, Montana.

32 o'clock the crowd made an inspection tour of the factory. People marveled at the size of the building, which allowed the community to feel that they now lived in a big town.26 Following the t inspection, the people attended a dance in the warehouse, in addition to the dancing, the night’s activities included several speakers and entertainment. The party ended at one o'clock in the morning, and Holly Sugar ushered in a new era in the Yellowstone valley.27 in its first year the Holly Sugar factory sliced 58,115 tons of beets and produced 127,435 bags of sugar.29 sugar beets became the leading cash crop of the area. By 1939 Richland County won the largest acreage contract in the area, totaling 11,321 acres. The surrounding counties of the Fairview district of McKenzie County (North Dakota), Rosebud, Dawson, and Custer contracted 5,484; 4,587; 1,865; and 417; acres, repectively.29 Farmers found by-products of the sugar beets, such as beet tops, beet pulp, and beet molasses, to be excellent sources for fattening livestock. And, besides plentiful feed, farmers began to raise cattle and sheep not only for market but also as a way to increase the fertility of the land.30 As the production of sugar beets increased, so did the number of jobs. Most employees lived in the valley. Some of the dryland farmers also worked at the plant each year.31 Russell Mercer, a • farmer in the Sidney area and employee of Holly Sugar, noted,"... of course there was always the opportunity to work there."32 People could depend on work for at least a couple months out of the year.33

33 One man from the area called Holly Sugar the "greatest blessing that happened to this country."3* The Sidney Herald echoed that view, asserting in 1933 that "the sugar beet enterprise is the basis for the * industrial soundness of this valley."35 The completion of the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation project and Holly Sugar tremendously aided the Sidney community, irrigation assured plentiful crops each year and the factory processed the sugar beets, creating employment for people in the area. Even though these two factors helped Sidney remain stable during the 1930s, the massive hardships of the Great Depression dictated a need for more. President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal programs worked with the irrigation system and Holly Sugar to ensure the ability of Sidney to endure the depression years.

34 ENDNOTES

1Michael P. Malone, Richard Roeder, and William L. Lang, Montana: A History of Two Centuries, Revised ed. (Seattle: University • of Washington Press, 1991), 292.

2|bid., 281

3lbid.

4Michael P. Malone, "The Montana New Dealers," in The New Deal, vol. 2, The State and Local Levels, ed. John Braeman, Robert H. Bremner, and David Brody (Columbus: Ohio State university Press, 1975), 242.

5R. R. Renne, "Montana Farm Foreclosures," Montana State College Agricultural Experiment Station, Bozeman, MT., February 1939,10.

6r. r. Renne, "Montana Farm Bankruptcies," Montana State College Agricultural Experiment Station, Bozeman, MT., June 1938, 17.

7Malone, Roeder, and Lang, A History of Two Centuries, 283.

8focus on Our Roots: Story of Sidney and Surrounding Area (Sidney, MT: Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, 1988), 62.

9Harold Mercer, interview by Laurie Mercier, 28 May 1984. OH 778, tape recording, "Small Town Montana:" Oral History Project for the Montana Historical Society, Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, MT.

10Cladys Atkinson, Interview by Laurie Mercier, 29 May 1984, OH 783, tape recording, "Small Town Montana:" Oral History Project for • the Montana Historical Society, Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, MT.

35 11"Motor Car and Oil Sales Bigger Than Last Year," Sidney Herald 16 August 1931, p. 6.

12"City of Sidney indebtedness at Low Point," Sidney Herald. 15 October 1936, p. 1.

• 15Our Golden Jubilee, 1911-1961: Lower Yellowstone valley, Sidney. MT (Sidney, MT: Eagle Publishers, 1961), 18.

14lbid.

15Focus on Our Roots, 38. The Lower Yellowstone irrigation Project became one of the most successful irrigation projects in the Missouri Basin states. Decades later the Bureau of Reclamation used it as a model for future projects. "City of the Month: Sidney," Montana Treasure Magazine, April 1950, 34-35.

16Focus on Our Roots, 38; Our Golden Jubilee, 18.

17"The Future of the Lower Yellowstone," Sidney Herald, 3 March 1922, p. 7.

18ibid.

19Harold Mercer, interview by author, 15 October 1993, Sidney, MT, tape recording.

20Our Golden Jubilee, 18.

21 "$1,500,000 Beet Sugar Factory for Valley Farmers," Sidney Herald, 31 October 1924, p. 1.

22Jack Knoop, interview by Laurie Mercier, 26 May 1984, OH 770. tape recording, "Small Town Montana:" Oral History Project for the Montana Historical Society, Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, MT.

• 23"Holly corporation Selects Sidney as Site for 1,300 Ton Beet Sugar Factory," Sidney Herald. 28 November 1924, p. 1.

240ur Golden Jubilee, 65.

36 25"Big Time at the Holly Factory," Sidney Herald, 2 October 1925, p.1.

26lbid.

• 27|bid.

280ur Golden Jubilee, 66.

29"Sugar Beet Applications 23,915 Acres," Sidney Herald. 16 March 1939, p. 1.

3QQur Golden Jubilee, 66.

31lbid.

32Russell G. Mercer, interview by Laurie Mercier, 28 May 1984, OH 782, tape recording, "Small Town Montana:" Oral History Project for the Montana Historical Society, Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, mt.

33Harold Mercer, interview by author, 15 October 1993, Sidney MT. tape recording.

34EI Ray Harper, interview by author, 10 October 1993, Sidney, MT, tape recording.

35"we Are Fortunate," Sidney Herald, 30 March 1933, p. 2.

37 THE NEW DEAL IN SIDNEY

in 1933, the national unemployment rate reached twenty-five percent, and another twenty-five percent suffered from underemployment.1 That year an observer from England described the effects of the Great Depression:

in the depth of the American winter, on a day when a stabbing icy wind pierced the thickest of overcoat, I saw the unemployed living on wastelands, in shacks put together from old boxes (wood and tin), bits of old motor cars, bits of corrugated iron, bits of cloth. I saw them lining up nearly three sides of a block waiting in a queue for soup. I saw them scrounging over refuse heaps like flies crawling over a dung hill. Even in India I had not seen destitution more horrible or humiliating.2

in response to such destitution, President Roosevelt resolved to provide direct relief from the federal government and so began his "New Deal" programs to help alleviate the depression. The New Deal put people back work and provided them with an opportunity to regain their self-dignity. While the Yellowstone irrigation project and the Holly Sugar factory helped to prevent such dire suffering in Sidney, FDR's New Deal programs played a major role in the economic stability of

38 Sidney during the depression, and the community eagerly supported them. One such program was the National Recovery Administration (NRA). In 1933 thirty-one Sidney businesses displayed • the Blue Eagle in support of the NRA.3 Participating members agreed to keep certain hours and to maintain salaries. Roosevelt set another key program in motion when he signed Executive Order 7037 on 11 May 1935, creating the Rural Electrification Act (REA). The REA provided low-cost federal loans to farmers' cooperatives to help them build REA systems.4 The REA enabled many rural farmers to obtain electricity, in 1935 nine out of ten rural farms in America did not possess electricity, but over the next four years, the number of electrified farms in Montana jumped from 2,768 to 6,000.5 The excitement of rural electrification swept the entire country. All over the united States people could remember the "night the lights came on."6 People were willing to do almost anything to have electricity on their farms, one farmer who had been told that his house laid too far from the line returned a few days later with his $5.00 membership fee. He smiled in triumph as he explained, "I moved my house."7 For the largely rural population of Richland County, the REA proved critical. In early 1937, the people of Sidney organized to get electricity for their farms, voters elected Nels Bach president of the • REA committee in January?* By April, Bach informed the Sidney Herald that Washington had approved a loan between the Lower Yellowstone Rural Electrification Association and the national REA.

39 On 1 June 1937, bids opened at the Sidney courthouse for the construction of 110 miles of line for the Lower Yellowstone REA. Contractors from Sidney, Butte, Spokane, and Long Beach, California • placed bids. Duncan Noyes and Dave Manning won the contract with the low bid of approximately $88,900. With this bid, each mile of line would cost about $800.9 The board decided on the final approval for $87,000 in July 1937. Construction started on 19 July from the sub-station located at Fairview. The terms of the contract required the completion of the line within 120 days after the signing of the contract, so construction started almost immediately.™ Mr. williams from Popular (70 miles northwest of Sidney) supervised the line crew, and Max Matthews of Fairview became the general foreman for the ground work.11 workers set the first pole of the Lower Yellowstone REA on 4 August 1937 marking the first REA project in Montana. Present at the ceremonies included the board of directors, the engineers, and the contractors. President Nels Bach shoveled in the first shovel-full of dirt, taking the first step towards rural electrification for the valley.12 Contractors divided the rest of the construction into two units. One unit encompassed all of the territory north of Sidney. They placed the sub-station for the northern unit just south of Fairview. The southern unit included the land south of town, with its sub-station • located in Crane (10 miles south of Sidney).13 workers completed construction on the project by December 1937. The REA energized the northern unit on Tuesday, the 14 December, at 9:05 P.M. The

40 Figure 12. Groundbreaking ceremony for the first pole of the REA in Sidney. Pictured left to right: L. sedlacek, Duncan Noyes, Voiney Anderson, George Basso, Clayton worst, Nels Bach (president), Leif Erickson (attorney), Viggo Jensen (manager), Dwight Howard, A. H. Swenson, and engineer. Reprinted from Focus on Our Roots: Story of Sidney and Surrounding Area (Sidney, MT: Mon-Dak Historical and Arts society, 1988), 66.

41 southern unit followed five days later at 2:00 P.M.14 The final throw of the switch finished the Lower Yellowstone REA, serving 328 customers.15 • The National Youth Administration (NYA) represented another government program that assisted the people of Sidney. Roosevelt created the NYA on 26 June 1935 and appointed J. B. Love the Montana state director.15 The NYA provided opportunities for youth to earn some money in their community, in Sidney, the NYA's responsibilities included the cemetery marking project, city beautification, and assistance to various organizations in the town.17 in 1937 the NYA headed a town-sponsored project in which street numbers replaced the traditional street names of founders and pioneers, making directions in the town easier.15 NYA workers also constructed 130 county-road direction signs to guide traffic.15 The NYA paid students a minimum of $3.00 to a maximum of $6.00 a month.2o The students did not acquire much pay, but it allowed many to stay in school. Putting people to work was the major goal of the works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA handbook stated it existed, "in order to provide employment on useful projects for... qualified persons who cannot find employment in private industry."21 The

conclusion of the handbook explained there was a need for the wpa, • even if it were not a perfect program,

There may be a few things about any big program that we don't like. No matter how hard we try on any big job, something unexpected turns up. The only

42 people who don’t make mistakes are those who do nothing at all. The WPA is a great national enterprise to get something done. Mistakes may be made, but we can be sure the American people will not make the mistake of doing nothing.22

The WPA succeeded in creating jobs, it sponsored over 3,800 projects in Montana over the course of its existence.23 WPA workers in the Big Sky state built "7,239 miles of highway, 1,366 bridges, 301 school buildings, 31 outdoor stadiums, 81 athletic fields, 30 swimming pools, 40 skating rinks, 16 gold courses, 10 ski jumps, and more than 10,000 rural privies" by 1940.24 In addition to construction, the WPA created jobs for writers. The writer's Program wrote many guides and books about Montana. Three of the more significant included Montana: A State Guide Book, Copper Camp, and Land of Nakoda.^

in Sidney, the wpa sponsored the graveling of 110 blocks of Sidney's streets, the graveling of school grounds, the transplanting trees, and improving the fairgrounds.26 On 15 July 1936 the municipal swimming pool opened to a crowd of 176 anxious children.22 Generally only one member of a family, usually the head of the household, received work from wpa.26 For the women who qualified, the main source of employment involved sewing. The NYA hall housed these sewing rooms, along with the soil- conservation offices, in December 1936, the women employed by the wpa sewed a total of 53 dresses for girls, 18 boys' shirts, 72 housedresses for women, 2 comforters, and 6 layettes. Without the work of these

43 women, it would have been nearly impossible to provide clothing for the needy of the area. In addition, the women earned some money to help support their families.29 • The government programs built two major public buildings in Sidney during the depression, in 1935 Sidney received a Public works Administration (PWA) project grant to build a new high school. The government agreed to pay for 45 percent of the cost of the school and equipment, if the cost did not exceed $131,OOO.39 Bids for construction of the building opened on 7 December 1935. The contract required that the school be completed within 200 days after construction started. Rockne and Holm Construction of Clendive won the bid for general construction of the school and quickly set to work.31 The new three-story building came equipped with a gymnasium and auditorium. The auditorium allowed seating for over six hundred people and doubled as a study hall during school hours, with a rear entrance to the library. The new school provided science-equipped classrooms as well as a home-economics room with a kitchen, a pantry, and a combination dining and sewing room.32 With the completion of the building in September 1936, the class of 1937 became the first to graduate from the new high school.33 in May 1938 Sidney received news from the u. S. Treasury and • Post Office Department of the final approval for the building of a new post office for Sidney.34 The building reflected the typical style of small-town post offices constructed during the depression. Built

44 from standardized plans developed by the Department of the Treasury, the design of the post office used classical symmetry and design proportions.35 The post office constructed in Glendive (fifty • miles south of Sidney) during the depression almost exactly duplicated the one in Sidney. The city held a dedication ceremony for the new post office on 26 October 1940. Mayor Axel Nelson closed all traffic and encouraged all citizens of the Sidney area to attend the celebration. Congressman J. F. O'Connor delivered the dedication address to celebrate the progress since Sidney's first log post office in 1888.38 Sidney's post office qualified as one of the six in the state to include a Public work of Art Project (PWAP).3? in this program, approximately one percent of the total cost of construction was reserved to sponsor works of art for public buildings.38 J. K. Ralston painted the mural in the Sidney post office in 1942 at a cost of $500. The five foot by twelve foot mural, entitled "General Sully at the Yellowstone," depicts the 3,600 man force, one of the largest ever sent to Montana, under the leadership of General Alfred Sully fighting the Sioux Indians at a location about fifteen miles north of Sidney. The expedition failed in its effort to defeat the Sioux, but it helped in opening that part of the country to white settlers.39 People in the Yellowstone valley displayed mixed feelings • about the WPA. Some believed it characterized a form of welfare

and refused to accept it, insisting that they wanted to survive on their own and would rather starve than work on WPA.40 But the

45 Figure 13. "Sully Crossing the Yellowstone" mural by J. K. Ralston for the Sidney Post Office lobby. Reprinted from Focus on Our Roots: Story of Sidney and Surrounding Area (Sidney, MT: Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, 1988), 64.

46 majority of people believed that this program provided needed jobs. Russell Mercer, a farmer from the area, commented,

One thing that saved a lot of them was the government coming in and the WPA, works Progress Administration .... It was strictly a relief measure and in that respect I think it was a good idea because people got some money out of it, they had to work for it.41

For Elizabeth Phelps, the work her mother received with the wpa sewing room meant she had the opportunity to finish high school. She could not understand why people disliked the WPA:

... I didn't realize that there was some stigma to working on the wpa until I started high school and some people said oh it was so terrible that people had to go on WPA but to me it was a wonderful things

Like Mercer and Phelps, most people believed that wpa workers earned their wages, and, furthermore, believed that people were fortunate to have such a job which enabled them to feed and clothe their families. A vast majority of people possessed very little and could recognize victims in the same situations indeed, the WPA greatly benefited Sidney by providing many jobs and services for people who definitely needed them. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) represented the most widely accepted New Deal program in Sidney. Roosevelt created the

47 CCC on 5 April 1933 by Executive Order 6101 and within three months 250,000 young men worked in camps across the united States.44 in Montana a total of 27 camps employed about 14,000 young men.48 * The government established CCC camp BR-30 6 miles north of Sidney at Ridgelawn on 1 July 1935.48 The "BR" stood for Bureau of Reclamation, which distinguished the camp for reclamation work. Axel Persson, manager of the Lower Yellowstone irrigation Project, provided the main force in securing the camp for the area.47 Company 1214 was the first unit of campers stationed at Camp Ridgelawn. The roster of 220 men, all from New Jersey and New York, arrived in October 1935 and rotated out of the camp after six months, the normal procedure for CCC.48 However, the community believed that the men transferred out because they could not cope with the harsh Montana winters or the irrigation work being executed at the camp. The Sidney residents claimed that the new company from North Dakota knew more about the work they needed to complete as well as the weather of eastern Montana.49 Life in a CCC camp followed a strict schedule. Reveille sounded at 6:00 in the morning, giving the men half an hour to dress and prepare for physical training. After their 7:00 breakfast, the men packed their lunch and left for their work stations. They headed back to camp at 4:00 and ate dinner at 5:30. The campers enjoyed • free time from after dinner until lights out at 10:00 and many spent this time engaging in classes that officers of the camp taught. The camp awarded many eighth-grade and high school diplomas to CCC

48 men.50 The campers had national holidays and most weekends off, but occasionally the men worked on weekends if weather had delayed their projects during the week.51 The campers usually enjoyed a night in town on Saturdays. The camp provided church services every Sunday for interested rrfen. Trucks also traveled to

Sidney and Fairview for campers who wanted to attend services there.52 Being in CCC camps could be lonely for those far from home, but the campers found many ways to entertain themselves. The camp often sponsored successful dances for the residents from the surrounding area to attend. Some organized athletic teams.55 a few of the men participated in a 1936 boxing tournament held in Fairview. CCC campers Joe Conegeo and Ivory White, both from New York, boxed and won their rounds in the tournament.54 The campers also amused people with plays; one such play, performed in 1936, caricatured life in the Ridgelawn camp.55 The men also played cribbage, chess, football, basketball, fenced and some made life-long friends.55 Given its nation-wide popularity, many believed the CCC would eventually become permanent. People believed the training and life in the camps prepared the young men for jobs once they left the CCC. For instance, the Department of Labor, described the program's effectiveness:

49 Figure 14. Men from Civilian Conservation Corps camp BR-30 rock rip­ rapping main canal. Photo courtesy of the Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, Montana.

50 Figure 15. Crews from CCC camp BR-30 working on the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project. Photo courtesy of the Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, Montana.

51 Figure 16. CCC workers loading rock at quarry, intake, Montana. Photo courtesy of Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, Montana.

52 ... Civilian Conservation Corps men have returned to their homes definitely benefited physically and mentally; their outlook toward the future is brighter; their sense of self-reliance and their ability to adjust themselves to economic conditions is stronger.^?

The camp emphasized reclamation, and it influenced the major part of the training. The relief commission in Richland County and the state office in Helena exchanged a series of letters to determine if federal funds could be used for work on the irrigation projects in the end, they placed a unit from the camp in charge of the rock-rip­ rapping throughout the Lower Yellowstone irrigation project. Rip­ rapping involved placing rocks along the irrigation system to prevent erosion. The campers completed nearly seven hundred yards of reinforced rock-rip-raps at various spots along the irrigation system. CCC workers also cleared brush and weeds out of key channels, allowing a more accessible flow of water to farmers. They also reinforced bridges throughout the area to ensure at least another seven years of safe use. Campers also worked at on the intake dam, constructing a rock base to protect the dam from erosion and prevent future washouts.59 Foremen Charles woodruff and Arden Browning directed another unit of one hundred twenty campers who worked at laying a willow mattress in the Yellowstone River. When completed, the mattress extended along the river edge for nearly half a mile, campers wove willows into mattresses in sections and then sunk it to the bottom of the river. Designed to raise the water level, the

53 Figure 17. CCC workers hauling willows to make willow mattresses. Photo courtesy of Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, Montana.

54 mattresses helped to prevent eroding of the river bank and possible flooding onto valuable farmland.66 in July 1936, the CCC workers helped to quickly repair a break in • a canal near Savage (20 miles south of Sidney). They had the canal in working condition within 36 hours, without the assistance of the campers and their equipment, the damage from the break could have destroyed valuable farmland.61 in September 1940 the men of the Ridgelawn camp put out a prairie fire along Fox Creek before it caused any extended damage. The officials of the camp urged farmers to call for help from the trained CCC workers in the event of fire before it became uncontrollable.62 The CCC provided immediate aid for anyone who needed it. The camp received notable acclaim from the federal government which, in 1938, awarded Camp Ridgelawn the highest departmental commendation for its accomplishments. Commissioner John c. Page announced that the camp's "splendid record" proved "... indicative of the intelligent cooperation on the part of the entire camp personnel."63 in addition camp Ridgelawn ranked third in the nation for its safety record in 1938 and showed one of the most ",.. efficiently ordered camps of the kind in operation anywhere in the country at large... ,"64 The camp's perfect record ended with its only fatal accident, when Paul T. • Hanson, a nineteen-year-old from Regan, North Dakota, drowned in November 1939 when the truck he was driving, loaded with rocks, backed over the bank of the river sank.66

55 The people of Sidney and the surrounding area also appreciated and supported the work accomplished by men of the Ridgelawn camp. Representatives from both Sidney and Fairview • pledged their support for the camp. The Fairview News ran an article when the camp first opened in 1935 that extended an invitation to:

all the CCC boys and officers to visit in Fairview whenever possible. The people of the community will be pleased to give ... all the possible assistance in their work as well as to show them a good time during their stay in the valley.66

Campers and residents of the area did enjoy "a good time." The businessmen of Sidney and Fairview sponsored one dance, held in March 1936, to raise money for a library and school at the camp.6? The camp reciprocated Sidney's hospitality by sponsoring dances for the entire surrounding area and holding open houses, in April 1937, over fifteen hundred guests from the Sidney area visited the camp. The campers provided a tour, explained each department and answered questions. They extended an open invitation to the community to visit the Ridgelawn camp anytime.66 in return for their effort to become involved with the community, tremendous support grew for camp BR-30. Despite its impressive accomplishments, the camp at • Ridgelawn received orders to dismantle in June 1941. The men

transferred to Terry (65 miles south of Sidney) to work on the Buffalo

56 1. The radio room. 5. The library. 8. The workshop.

2. Typewriting class. 9. The reading room. 6. The Company Overhead. 3. General view of the camp. 10. Interior view of mess hall. 4. Mess time. 7. Three happy enrollees. 11. Cooks and K. P.’s.

Figure 18. Company 2761 at the CCC camp at Ridgelawn. Reprinted from Official Annual Civilian Conservation Corps: North Dakota • District CCC Seventh Corps Area (Baton Rouge, LA: Direct Advertising Company, 1937), 53.

57 Figure 19. Members of Company 2761 at BR-30. Reprinted from OfficiaLAnnual Civilian Conservation Corps: North Dakota District CCC Seventh Corps Area (Baton Rouge, LA: Direct Advertising Company, 1937), 53.

58 Rapids irrigation project.69 The people of the Sidney area fought to keep the camp open, protesting that enough work remained for at least another five or six years and removal now would seriously • impede the reclamation project. Without the work provided by the CCC workers, the irrigation project would have cost the community $10,000 to $15,000 each year for supplies and labor. The Lower Yellowstone irrigation project could not have afforded that cost.70 Despite the requests and pleas of the people of the area, Camp BR-30 officially closed on 30 June 1941, ending six years of invaluable service to the people of the lower Yellowstone valley. Clearly, the New Deal programs benefited Sidney in a variety of ways. Besides these programs, the distinctive nature of the community played an important role in enabling its citizens to survive the depression. Committed to their tight-knit community, the people of Sidney pulled together, remained optimistic, and helped each other out.

59 ENDNOTES

1Robert A. Divine et al, America Past and Present, Brief 2d ed., g vol. 2, From 1865 (New York: HarperCollins, 1990), 439.

2Andrew Bergman, We're in the Money: Depression America and Its Films (New York: New York University Press, 1971), 24.

5Sidney Herald, 31 August 1933, p. 3.

4Geraid D. Nash, The Crucial Era: TheCreat Depression and World War ll, 1929-1945, 2d ed., The St. Martin's Series in 20th Century U. S. History (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992), 61.

5"Rural Electrification Celebrates 50 Years," Sidney Herald, 12 May 1985, p. 1; Kalispell News Farm Journal 20 (17 November I960); Michael P. Malone, Richard B. Roeder, and William L. Lang, Montana: A History of Two Centuries, Revised ed. (Seattle: university of Washington Press, 1991), 297.

^'Cooperatives Quickly Became vehicle for Getting Electricity," Sidney Herald, 12 May 1985, p. 3.

7lbid.

8"Time Limit Set for Rural Elec. Sign-up," Sidney Herald, 14 January 1937, p. 1.

9"Bids Open Tuesday Rural Electric Lines," Sidney Herald, 3 June 1937 p. 1.

^"Construction valley REA Project Starts," Sidney Herald, 15 July 1937, p. 1. e 11ibid.

12"First Pole Set in Electrific'n Project Here," Sidney Herald, 5 August 1937, p. 1; "1938 Report of the Rural Electrification Administration" (Washington, D. C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1939), 160.

60 13ibid.

14"North Project Homes Electrified Tues.," Sidney Herald 16 December 1937, p. 1; "Entire Valley REA Project Now Illuminated; 'Juice' Turned into Lines Sunday," Sidney Herald, 23 December 1937, • p. 1.

15Rural Electrification News issued by the REA, 1939, "Rural Electrification Administration," Montana Historical Society vertical file. Montana Historical Society library, Helena, MT.

16"Montana nya to Continue work Program Through state This Summer, Report Director Love," Sidney Herald, 29 July 1937, p. 1.

17"NYA Takes on 25 Jobs in Richland," Sidney Herald, 8 July 1937, p. 1.

18"NYA Making Road Signs to be Put up Thruout County," Sidney Herald, 8 April 1937, p. 6.

19"National Youth Adm. Aids Sidney Students," Sidney Herald, 17 November 1935, p. 1.

2°focus on Our Roots: Story of Sidney and Surrounding Area (Sidney, MT: Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, 1988), 63.

21Our Job with the wpa (Washington, D.C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1936), 8. "Works Progress Administration," Montana Historical Society vertical file. Montana Historical Society library, Helena, MT.

22lbid., 22.

23Clark C. Spence, Montana: A Bicentennial History, American Association for state and Local History: The States and Nation Series (New York: w. w. Norton and Company, inc., 1978), 151. e 24Malone, Roeder, and Lang, A History of Two Centuries. 300

25lbid.

61 26"154 Men Will be Put to work Here," Sidney Herald, 30 November 1933, p. 1; "County wpa Projects Given Official Okeh," Sidney Herald, 5 March 1936, p. 1.

27"Swim Pool is Opened Here Wednesday," Sidney Herald, 16 • July 1936, p. 1.

280ur Job With the wpa, 7.

29"WPA Sewing Room Projects Activities," Sidney Herald, 14 January 1937, p. 8.

30"Sidney Gets $59,000 PWA Project Grant," Sidney Herald. 3 October 1935, p. 1.

31"Contract is Let For New High School Bldg.," Sidney Herald, 12 December 1935, p. 1.

32"New High School Bldg. Fits Every Requirement," Sidney Herald, 1 October 1936, p. 1.

33"Local Schools start Set For September 28," Sidney Herald, 20 August 1936, p. 1.

34"Sidney is Awarded $80,000 P. O. Building," Sidney Herald, 19 May 1938, p. 1.

35u. S. Postal Service Historic, Architectural and Archeological Significance Survey, "Works Progress Administration," Montana Historical Society vertical file. Montana Historical Society library, Helena, mt.

36"Post Office To Be Dedicated Saturday," Sidney Herald, 24 October 1940, p. 1.

37u. s. Postal Service Historic, Architectural and Archeological > Significance Survey. The other five towns in Montana were Billings (Leo J. Beaulaurier), Deer Lodge (Verona Burkhard), Di Ilion (Elizabeth Lochrie), Glasgow (Forrest Hill), and Hamilton (Henry Meloy).

38ibid.

62 39lbid; "Artist Ralston working on Mural For Sidney P. 0.," Sidney Herald, 23 April 1942, p. 1.

40Elizabeth Phelps, interview by John Terreo, 16 November 1988, OH 1140, transcript, "New Deal in Montana:" Oral History Project • for the Montana Historical Society, Montana Historical Society Archives, Helena, MT.

41 Russell G. Mercer, interview by Laurie Mercier, 28 May 1985, OH 782, tape recording, "Small Town Montana:" Oral History Project for the Montana Historical Society, Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, MT.

42Elizabeth Phelps interview.

43Helen Mathiason and Rene Eskro, interview by John Terreo, 17 November 1988, transcript, OH 1141, "New Deal in Montana:" Oral History Project for the Montana Historical Society, Montana Historical Society Archives, Helena, MT.

44T. H. Watkins, The Great Depression: America in the 1930s (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1993), 130; waiter LaFeber, Richard Polenberg, and Nancy Woloch, The American Century: A History of the United States since the 1890s, 4th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992), 186.

45Pepression and Recovery in Montana: Decade of the 1930s, Montana Committee for the Humanities film collection, 29 min, 1982, videocassette; Michael P. Malone, "The Montana New Dealers," in The New Deal, vol. 2, The State and Local Levels, ed. John Braeman, Robert H. Bremner, and David Brody (Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1975), 247.

46focus on Our Roots, 63; during world war ll, the abandoned barracks of the CCC Ridgelawn camp along with the fairgrounds were used to hold German prisoners of war. The German POWs were used • as labor for the sugar-beet harvest thinning and topping the beets, "German pow will Arrive Friday For Beet Harvest work," Sidney Herald, 27 September 1945. For a more complete history of Camp Ridgelawn, see paper by Robert G. Koch.

63 47"CCC Camp Site Located at Ridgelawn," ., 30 May 1935, p. 1.

48Sidney Herald, 24 October 1935, p. 1.

• 49"CCC Outfit to Be Sent Back East is Report," Sidney Herald, 2 January 1936, p. 1. Harold Mercer also stated in his interview that the CCC workers from the East Coast caused some problems in the community. They scared people as they walked down the streets with a dominating attitude. The CCC men also upset the community members when they gained the attention of several of the young ladies in the area. Harold Mercer, interview by author, 15 October 1993, tape recording, Sidney, MT.

50John Salmond, The Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942: A New Deal Case study, (Durham, NC: Duke university Press, 1967), 137- 141; Clarence J. Houchan, interview by Charles Evanson, 10 September 1985, tape recording, Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, mt.

51Salmon, The Civilian Conservation Corps, 141-142.

52Clarence Houchan interview.

53"Menzies Will Have CCC Hoop Squad," Fairview News, 21 November 1935, p. 1.

54"Fairview Fight Card Draws Big Attendance," Sidney Herald, 9 January 1936, p. 1.

55"Ridgelawn CCC Camp News Notes," Sidney Herald, 13 February 1936, p. 8.

56focus on Our Roots, 63 57"ccc Most Approved of All Relief Projects," Sidney Herald, 16 • May 1935, p. 6-B.

58Montana Relief Commission letters, 6 September 1934-21 January 1935, Montana Historical Society Archives, Helena, MT.

64 59"Cood work is Done by CCC in L. Y. Project," Sidney Herald, 8 October 1936, p. 1.

60"lmportant work Being Done by CCC," Sidney Herald, 2 March 1939, p. 1.

• 61"CCC Responds to Call; Move 8000 Yds. Dirt," Sidney Herald, 23 July 1936, p. 1.

62"CCC Boys Put Out Fox Creek Prairie Fire Last week," Sidney Herald, 26 September 1940, p. 1.

63"Ridgelawn CCC Camp Rated Among Best," Sidney Herald, 12 January 1939, p. 1.

64lbid.

65"CCC Youth Meets Death By Drowning," Sidney Herald, 30 November 1939, p. 1.

66"CCC Boys Are at Ridgelawn Site," Fairview News, 24 October 1935, p. 1.

67" Ridgelawn CCC Camp News Notes," Sidney Herald, 19 March 1936, p. 8.

68"Ridgelawn CCC Camp Has Over 1500 at Open House Last Sunday," Sidney Herald, 8 April 1937, p. 1.

69"Sidney CCC Unit Coes to Buffalo Rapids," Sidney Herald, 30 October 1941, p. 1.

70"CCC Camp Needed Here, Persson Says," Sidney Herald, 12 June 1941, p. 1.

65 CHAPTER FOUR SOCIAL LIFE IN SIDNEY

If any good resulted from the depression, it was in bringing people together. Americans combated their depression woes by finding ways to help and enjoy time with each other, in early 1932, the Sidney Herald ran an "inspirational message" entitled, "One For All and All For One," fashioned in the true Three Musketeers spirit and it spoke to the residents of Sidney:

Everywhere people are coming to realize more and more how interdependent we are upon each other. The only individual who is self-sufficient is a hermit.

The keynote--the foundation of civilization--is the family, we all concede that. And we're rapidly coming to realize that our own home town--is a home town family-simply the family unit a little bit extended through neighborly cordiality, friendship and pleasant social intercourse.

Common good will and recognition of our human obligation is a deeper currency than any money system ever invented. But it is also to our advantage on the material life--it redounds in better practices, living conditions, more generous impulses. It makes Sidney a better place to live.

Let's make our home town unit closer knit. Let's be generous with our good will—realizing that the prosperity 6 of the individual is directly reflected in an added prosperity to our community. Your home industries and merchants have adopted this creed. Will you co-operate?1

66 Figure 20. "Back to the '01 Swimming Hole." The Sidney Herald remained optimistic for recovery during the depression years. The paper provided inspiration for the entire community. Reprinted from Sidney Herald, 21 July 1938, p. 2.

67 And the community responded to this call. Through various efforts of individuals and groups, the people of Sidney remained close knit and supportive. Such efforts, whether purely social in • nature or for a specific purpose, helped to strengthen the stability of Sidney during the depression. Many individuals helped out when possible, if a farmer needed extra labor during harvest, neighbors assisted with whatever needed to be finished. People received no pay for their work; they just wanted to help their friends and neighbors.2 one woman showed her generosity by always feeding the poor and jobless who traveled through on the trains looking for work.3 The owners of Sidney Drug developed a barter system for those with no money to purchase items.4 Even if they could not pay, local doctors accepted patients if they needed treatment.3 Businesses and civic organizations also became a strong factor in holding the community together. The Sidney Herald, headed during the depression and war years by editor and publisher C.R. Hurly, played a key role as a leading business in the area, it accepted wheat as payment for subscriptions for people without the cash to pay.3 They continued to exhort their readers to pull together to help each other. For instance, after the first group of young men left to work in Civilian Conservation Corps camps, people wanted • assurance that they did not feel forgotten or lonely. The paper wrote,"... we have no doubt a postcard or letter would be greatly

68 appreciated as most of these boys are young men on their first long stay away from home folks."? The Herald also continued its "inspirational messages" and • encouraged people to buy from Sidney merchants. One article noted, "Your neighbor will take better care of you than a stranger." It continued,

This is a time for cooperation if ever there was such a time--that is, if we are to come up strong after being downed for a short count in the economic debacle that has been visited upon this country and the world. Our community is as strong as is its cooperative spirit, and that has been really wonderful in its manisfestation.9

Another message spoke of the great need for people to become "doers" and to "push the Cart of Progress." It commended the "more than a few ’doers' in Sidney and Richland County.... we never lack for such men and women and the number is in fact on the increase."9 The local women's club also pushed forward to help, starting a hot-lunch program in the area schools. The club appealed to the community to donate any vegetables it could spare to be used in soup for the children. With the generosity of the people of Sidney, the women's club was able to provide hot lunches for over three months out of the school year.10 • Over the course of the depression, the American Red Cross helped to supervise drives for the needy. Along with the Boy Scouts, it directed drives for old clothes and toys for needy families in the

69 area.11 The Red Cross issued food "commodities," which consisted of "flour, rice, cereal (Ferina), dried split peas, and powered milk."12 in 1930 Richland County ranked ninth in the state for membership and • contributed the highest per-capita to the Red Cross.13 In an attempt to raise spirits and to clean up the town, the Sidney Chamber of Commerce Civic improvement committee sponsored a lawn and garden contest claiming that the "best appearing towns are feeling the depression the least."14 The Chamber of Commerce promised that "you win if you lose," and each person benefited from city beautification. The committee encouraged people to enter the contest explaining that it would benefit the whole community,

... besides the satisfaction of winning in the class the entry is made, the home owner will enjoy the improved home setting effected and at the same time find that his property is more marketable and at an advanced value by reason of being more attractive.15

The entry form provided three different classes, depending on whether the family worked completely by themselves, hired only manual labor, or hired expert gardeners.16 The contest awarded prizes worth over $150 donated by the local businesses in over thirty * categories. These categories included: the best appearing hedge; best new tree planting and arrangement; best rock garden; best rose garden; best largest and smallest neatest home grounds; best vegetable garden; neatest driveway.1?

70 Figure 21. During the depression, the Sidney Chamber of Commerce launched a city-wide beautification campaign. This cartoon tried to encourage people to enter. Reprinted from Sidney Herald, 9 April 1936, p. 2B.

71 in 1936 Mayor Axel Nelson issued a proclamation urging the people of Sidney to join the contest. The mayor claimed that,. more attractive home grounds increase real estate values, create a * more beautiful city, and enhance municipal pride and civic loyalty."18 He asked people to clean up alleys and vacant lots for health and safety reasons. He also encouraged families to beautify their own homes so children could use their back yards instead of the streets and alleys as playgrounds.18 Churches also played an important role in holding the community together. Beginning in January 1933, the various churches asked every member of the community to attend any service of his or her choice for four consecutive Sundays.20 The Sidney Herald claimed that this plan would be another success for Sidney,

Church interest lagged for a number of years during the prosperous period preceding 1929 .... It has not revived during the last three years of depression and discouragement. A study of the situation has brought a number of interested people and organizations to the belief that it is time we should readjust our views to an open- minded sense of religious values.21

The Catholic, Danish, Lutheran, German, Congregational, * Holiness Methodist, Methodist Episcopal, and the People's Congregational churches all sponsored the "Go-to-Church Month."22 After the first week, churches reported attendance between thirty-

72 three percent to sixty percent.23 With such success, the churches promoted the "Go-to-Church" month again in February 1934. It proved so successful that, in 1935, the town designated February as * "Go-to-Church Month," and the practice continued throughout the depression.2* Events that provided leisure enjoyment also contributed to community unity. Despite a lack of money, people found many ways to entertain themselves. Many socialized at their neighbors’ houses and played cards, visited, or listened to the radio.23 social activities provided a way for people to enjoy some relief from the depression by having a good time with friends and families. The Christmas season in particular created a time of celebration for the community. Sidney overflowed with Christmas spirit throughout the hard times of the depression. Just months after the stock market crash, over seventy Christmas trees lit up the main street.26 The Sidney Herald commented on the spirit of the season by saying,

The weeks activities and enjoyment will be a bridge over which the people of this community will walk joyously into a new year that promises the realization of the greatest progress and prosperity this country has ever known.22

• That year the paper described Sidney as the "mecca for Christmas shopping" in eastern Montana.28

73 The local schools also hosted social events. Each year, Sidney Senior High School entertained the community with the school play. Students enjoyed their chance to shine on stage while the • community enjoyed productions such as the 1933 play, "Peg 'O My Heart." The high school also reflected the cooperative spirit of the town when the time arrived to print the 1932 stagecoach yearbook and, lacking the necessary funds, but determined to finish the yearbook, the students united. Donald Clemet, a student at Sidney Senior High School, drew all the pictures, and the school mimeographed the stagecoach Local schools also sponsored pie and box socials, women of the area prepared and packed suppers in decorated boxes. The men then bid on the boxes, trying to guess which one belonged to their respective wives. The highest bidder not only won the supper, but also accepted the honor of eating with the woman who prepared it. it proved entertaining to see how many men ended up with someone other than their wives. Sometimes women enjoyed the chance to choose. The men would stand behind a curtain and roll up their pant legs, wives then determined which legs belonged to their respective husbands, with sometimes surprising results.30 Various organizations in the area also sponsored activities. The American Legion celebrated Armistice Day every year. Local • businesses closed early so they could attend the banquet and program where veterans from the Spanish-American war and World war I spoke of their war experiences. The day’s activities ended with

74 Figure 22. Cast for the 1933 Sidney Senior High School class play, "Peg 'O My Heart." Photo courtesy of the Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, Montana.

75 GLENN ANDERSON "Spanish, my hobby." Baskotball 4, Pootball J-4, Glee Club 2, Clube 1-2-5-4

VIOLA ANDERSON "A mile a minute is good speed but a smile a minute brings more action." Clubs 1-2-5

IRVIN ATCHISON "If I ever meet the man who invented work, there will be an awful battle." Clubs 1-2-5-4, Football Mgr. 4, Ad­ vertising Mgr. "Goose Hangs High" 5 Assoc. Editor Stage Coach 4.

ALICE BASKERVILLE Her tongue is her sword, which she seldom suffers to rust. Entered from Broadway High School Seattle, Washington. Glee Club 4, Orchestra 4, Clubs 4

FHRQNA BEAGLE Personality plus good looks equals popularity. Claes Pres. 1-2, Clubs 1-2-5-4, Debate 2-5, annual Staff 2-5-4, "Goose Hangs High" 5, Student Body Pres. 4, "Fourth Wall" 4, Scholar­ ship Contest 1-2-5-4, Student Body Vice Pres. 5. Figure 23. When it came time to print the 1932 Stagecoach, the High School did not have enough money. Instead of going without, junior Donald Clemet drew every picture and the school mimeographed the yearbook. Clement later became an artist for the federal government to encourage enlistment for world war ll. Picture courtesy of the Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, Montana.

76 a dance at the hall.31 The large Scandinavian population in the area held a celebration for the independence of Norway.^ in 1932 the Kiwanis sponsored its first community picnic, and over one hundred • people attended. As the women socialized, the men spent the afternoon playing horseshoes and kittenball, a popular sport of the time.33 Playing cards also provided an opportunity for people to join together and to visit. For those with a more competitive nature, they could test their skills at various card tournaments. The Catholic Church sponsored annual card parties that always drew large crowds and Legion Hall housed the annual bridge tournament.34 A. C. Whitney and Ed Feldhaus won the bridge championship in the 1935 tournament. They won "... five shining new silver dollars each as the grand prize."35 Fourth of July celebrations provided another opportunity for people to enjoy themselves. The festivities usually lasted two to three days. Sidney celebrated independence Day in 1930 with the "C. G. Flanders 20th Century Shows."36 Circus acrobats and the "world's greatest equilibristic act in the world" thrilled the crowd. Lieutenant Governor Frank Hazelbaker addressed the people at the celebration, after which the crowd dispersed to participate in the horseshoe or golf tournaments or to watch from the sidelines.37 in • the early 1930s, the main attraction of the Fourth of July celebration became the rodeo. Over seven thousand people attended the 1933

77 help in building lip the World s Greatest

• ' . 4- ■ Sincerly yours, ——^ / HAROLD F. DePUB.

Figure 24. Last-day crowd at the 1930 Richland County Fair. Photo courtesy of the Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, Montana.

78 "»' WHHH Sidney, Figure possible.

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show. Later in the decade, auto races replaced rodeos as the main form of entertainment.38 The annual fair provided another event that attracted • thousands of people every year despite the depression. Each summer, the excitement for the Richland County Fair swept the area, and pleasure seekers swarmed the fair grounds as the fair proved bigger and better each succeeding year. Over 40,000 people attended the 1930 fair and marveled at the various exhibits. Car and horse races, a Ferris Wheel and merry-go- round, and circus entertainers thrilled the crowds.39 A packed grandstand even witnessed the public marriage of Mary Arkie and Frank Brooks.40 A woman from neighboring Dawson County described Sidney's fair as "almost a state affair" and praised the community for the cooperative efforts that allowed the prosperity of the event:

A successful fair or community affair of any kind cannot be without the willing and enthusiastic support of all. Cooperation is the word now much used, and as long as proper cooperation is extended the Sidney fair will be a thing of pride to all the peoples of Eastern Montana.41

Each year the Sidney Herald reported new record attendance • figures and gloried in the fair's popularity, in 1936 the paper described the enthusiasm for the fair:

80 A dozen newspaper scribes from surrounding towns have called at this office, or met us on the grounds or the streets, and praised the whole thing to the high heavens, saying invariably that they came • in skeptical mood to meet with the surprise of their lives. Not only these people ... but the entire attendance one day after the other, marveled at the spectacle.42

Movies provided a great escape from life during the depression. Between sixty and ninety million Americans viewed movies each week.43 People attended for different reasons. Some wanted to escape the economic worries and others found some relief from the weather.44 Movie-goers did not want to miss the latest Hollywood production, whether it played a gangster, political, or musical films. James Cagney rose to success portraying ruthless gangsters in movies such as Public Enemy and Angels with Dirty Faces. Gangster movies celebrated the individual's ability to achieve upward mobility at a time when that seemed nearly impossible, helping to keep the American dream alive.45 Political movies also drew large crowds to the theatre. Two of the most acclaimed films of the era included Mr. smith Goes to Washington and The Grapes of wrath, in 1939 Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington opened across America, in the movie James Stewart plays Jefferson Smith, a Boy Rangers leader who the governor sends to Washington, D. C., to complete the term of a recently deceased senator. The epitome of integrity and patriotic

81 Figure 26. Air photo of the 1937 Richland County Fair. Photo courtesy of the Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, Montana.

82 Figure 27. The Ferris Wheel at the Richland County Fair always provided entertainment for the large crowds. Photo courtesy of the Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, Montana.

83 Figure 28. Exciting rides and entertainment drew large crowds to the Richland County Fair each year. Photo courtesy of the Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, Montana.

84 Figure 29. The fairway at the Fair always included many booths that provided a selection of places to eat or play games. Photo courtesy • of the Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, Montana.

85 ideals, Smith battles the corrupt political boss, James Taylor. Smith launched a filibuster to stop the money-hungry Taylor from building an expensive dam on property Smith wanted for a national summer • camp for children. During his speech, an exhausted Smith defends his ideals,

Because I wouldn't give you two cents for all your fancy rules, if behind them they didn't have a little bit of plain ordinary, everyday kindness--and a little looking-out for the other fella, too. That's pretty important, all that. It's just the blood and bone and sinew of this democracy that some great man handed down to the human race, that's all... .46

in the end, Smith beats the corrupt Taylor, showing that the values and integrity of America remained intact. Another such movie, The Grapes of wrath starring Henry Fonda, touched many Americans. The movie, based on the best­ selling novel by John Steinbeck, provided a realistic look at life in America during the depression. The plight of the Joad family traveling from the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma to California desperately searching for work reflected the real-life situation of many Americans. One review of Steinbeck's book describes its realism and implicit affirmation of the American dream,

... Steinbeck recorded the hopes and the dreams, > as well as the tribulations and sufferings, of countless Americans during the Great Depression. Beset with defeat, the Joads never abandon their humanity or their hopes for a better future--and this, in a way, epitomized the contemporary American spirit.4?

86 NOW SHOWING ROBERT TAYLOR PRINCESS HEDY LAMARR “Lady of the Tropic*” ^Monday - Tuesday" e

Rtaaiot, draaaa» laafhKr aad kaart* braak... orratad oat of {barer? heart and K>U of Aaaarioa... by a great dlraetor aad eaatl

FRANK CAP!

STEWART

NOTE: On account of the *■ — ADDED — Ittxth of the (how Sunday, A PARAMOUNT NEWS EVENT? show will (tart at 1:55-4:25— W 7 p. m. and D:S5 p. m. DISNEY COLOR CARTOON

Figure 30. Advertisement for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington in the Sidney Herald. Movies played an important role in providing • entertainment during the depression. Reprinted from Sidney Herald 18 January 1940, p. 5.

87 The book and its film version demonstrated how owning one's own land and having self-reliance define a person's life and that these values became even stronger during the depression. * Musicals also entertained filmgoers in the 1930s. Beautiful costumes and dance numbers helped people forget their problems for a few hours. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, probably the most famous dance partners of the era, teamed up for over ten movies during the 1930s which became instant classics. Composers such as Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and Ira Gershwin provided the background music, and moviegoers left the theatres humming popular tunes such as "Cheek to Cheek" from the 1935 hit, Top Hat. Sidney's Princess theatre and Fairview's theatre kept up a busy business through the 1930s.45 The theatres in Sidney ran somewhat like the theatres nationally. At the Princess, the main film usually played Sunday through Tuesday, then a less prominent movie on Wednesday, and another movie on Friday and Saturday.49 The theatre in Fairview designated Wednesday nights "Bank Night." During that show the theatre manager drew a name, and if that person were present, he or she won dishes.50 in 1936 owner J. M. Suckstorff improved the Princess theatre. He created more space for an additional 134 new seats by replacing the old stage that extended 30 feet forward with a new one that • extended only 12 feet. A new screen, 2 feet larger in all directions, improved the viewing of the films. Suckstorff scheduled the construction between films so not one show would be missed.51

88 NOW BIIOWING ...... WALLACE BEERY “THUNDER AFLOAT” with CHESTER MORRIS VIRGINIA ORFY PRINCESS THEATRE Sunday - Monday - Tuetday Contlnooua Shaw Bunday The Greatest Novel of Our Time HONESTLY... FEARLESSLY...ON THE SCREEN!

“The Grapes of Wrath ... la John Steinbeck’s | biggest and ripest book, his toughest and hla ten- derest. Beside It Tortilla Flat and In Dubious Bat- I I tie, Of Mice and Men and the rest seem In have been mere prepurutory exercises . . . There ure j a dozen smashing climaxes In the story . . . —New York Herald-Tribune. "Mr. Steinbeck’s triumph Is that he has creot- ] ed, out of a remarkable sympathy and under­ standing, characters whose full and complete I actuality will withstand any scrutiny.”—New | York Times. "The Gropes of Wrath appears to be the most passionately conceived, emotionally concentrated bk to be written In. our time In Amerlcu.”— Boaton Evening Transcript. "A tremendously moving piece of work ... a powerful novel, a rough novel, an Ineffably ten­ der novel . . . ”—San Francisco Chronicle. "Certainly the most electrlflylng novel of the year, probably the most important American , novel of the decade, and possibly the hardest- hitting work of fiction yet written In this coun­ try.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gasetge.

Figure 31. One of the most realistic looks at life during the depression was John Steinbeck's The Crapes of wrath," which was later made into a movie. Reprinted from Sidney Herald. 28 March 1940, p. 5.

89 Ownership of the theatre in Fairview changed hands several times during the depression years. By 1936 Suckstorff had also bought Fairview's Orpheum Theatre. He renamed that theatre the • Roxy and boasted he would "give the public everything in movie entertainment variety that could be desired."52 Dances provided an inexpensive way for the community to socialize together. The Sidney Herald announced a dance practically every week, in addition to weekly dances, various organizations from the community sponsored annual dances. Several organizations supported New Year's Eve dances each year that drew large crowds. Legion Hall housed most of these dances, including the 1931 valentine's Day ball.55 The Catholic ladies hosted the always successful annual St. Patrick's Day dance. The May Time Ball was another annual dance that drew large crowds year after year.5* Dances also benefited different causes, such as one that the M. w. A. lodge sponsored at Legion Hall to raise money for the swimming pool.55 New dance pavilions opened to house the growing number of dances, in March 1930, Keane and His Musical Klowns provided the music for the grand opening for the intake Pavilion.55 The Triangle, a supper club and dance hall, opened just south of Sidney. Fairview even opened a dance hall on state Street called the Rainbow • Gardens. Some nicknamed it the "Bucket of Blood" due to the many knife fights that occurred after the arrival of migrant workers who worked the sugar beets. It later became a place to roller skate.57

90 Perhaps the most popular and successful dance hall was Dreamland, a combined dance hall and beer parlor that Elmer

Bosshard built nine miles north of Sidney on Highway 14.ss The • Cavaliers, a band from Williston, North Dakota (45 miles east of Sidney), played for "Eastern Montana's finest dance pavilion's" grand opening on Saturday, 22 June 1935.59 Dreamland remained open every night, with live music every Saturday and Wednesday. Each week the Sidney Herald advertised the upcoming bands, which mostly came from eastern Montana and western North Dakota. Croups such as the Galloping Swedes, the Caballeros, wen Schuh and His Great Band, and the Tempo Kings with Miss Shirley frequently played at Dreamland.60 Some bands traveled from as far away as Minneapolis and Kansas City to play.61 On nights when no live bands played, a nickelodeon or juke box provided the music. Dreamland also hosted special events. People often held their wedding dances there, and in the summertime, Bossard held dances for the Mexican migrant workers on Sunday nights. Bosshard would often set aside one night a week for youths to roller skate.62 The men from the CCC camp frequently traveled there on their time off. The Fourth of July dance in 1936 showed a record attendance of two thousand people.63 The dance hall also sponsored a local baseball team called the Dreamland Tigers.64 • Although Dreamland remained extremely popular, Bosshard later sold it to vern Gardner. Gardner planned to remodel and

91 reopen the dance hall, but when he could not obtain a liquor license, he closed the doors to Dreamlands The people of the Sidney area used materials available to them 0 to entertain themselves, such as the many dances, fairs, celebrations, and activities, to make the best out of the depression times. After nearly two decades of struggle, the depression finally began to decline. On the "infamous" day of 7 December 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, launching the united States into world war ll. with the advent of war almost everyone returned to work. Agricultural production and demand increased, in Sidney, as with the rest of the nation, the economic hardships of the depression eased, and prosperity returned.

92 ENDNOTES

, 21 January 1932, p. 7.

2Harold and Olive Mercer, interview by author, 15 October 1993, Sidney, MT, tape recording.

5lbid.

4Jack Knoop, interview by Laurie Mercier, 26 May 1984, OH 779, tape recording, "Small Town Montana:" Oral History Project for the Montana Historical Society, Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, Sidney, MT.

5Mercer interview.

6Sidnev Herald, 22 September 1932, p. 3.

7"Richland Co. Sends 18 Young Men to Reforestation Camp," y Herald, 1 June 1933, p. 1.

8Sidnev Herald, 28 January 1932, p. 7.

., 18 February 1932, p. 7.

10"Women's Club Again Plans Hot Lunches," 17 September 1931, p. 7.

11"Old Clothes Drive For Children Oct. 29," Sidney Herald, 20 October 1932, p. 1; "Used Christmas Toys Should Be in Early," Sidney Herald, 6 December 1934, p. 1.

12Luella Dore, personal letter to author, 11 September 1994.

13"Richland Co. Ninth in Red Cross Roll Call," e March 1930, p. 4. 14"Join the Yard & Garden Contest," ., 20 April 1933, p. 2.

93 15"City-wide Beautification Campaign Announced," Sidney Herald, 9 April 1936, p. 2B.

16lbid.

• 17ibid.

^"Proclamation," Sidney Herald. 2 April 1936, p. 1.

19lbid.

20"'Go to Church Month' Plan Has United Support," Sidney Herald, 29 December 1932, p. 1.

2i|bid.

22Sidnev Herald, 31 January 1935, p. 1.

23"'Go-to-Church' Slogan Brings Results," Sidney Herald, 7 February 1935, p. 1.

24"Feb. Designated as 'Co-to-Church Month,'" Sidney Herald. 24 January 1935, p. 1.

25Mercer interview.

26"Sidney Radiates True Christmas Spirit," Sidney Herald, 12 December 1929, p. 1.

27lbid.

28"Xmas Season To Have Gala Setting Here," Sidney Herald, 3 December 1936, p. 1.

29Sidney Senior High School Yearbook, The stagecoach, 1932, Sidney, Montana.

30Luella Dore letter.

31"Armistice Day celebration Event of week in Sidney," Sidney Herald, 16 November 1933, p. 1.

94 32"Annual Norwegian Celebration to be Held at Fairview May 17," Sidney Herald, 10 May 1934, p. 1.

33"Kiwanis Community Picnic Fine Success," Sidney Herald. 4 August 1932, p. 4.

34"Annual Catholic Card Party Thurs. Feb 14," Sidney Herald, 7 February 1935, p. 1.

35"Finai Bridge Tourney Games Played Tues.," Sidney Herald, 11 April 1935, p. 1.

., 26 June 1930, p. 3.

37lbid.

38"4th Celebration is Big Success," Sidney Herald, 6 July 1933, p. 2; "Auto Races Here on July 5," Sidney Herald, 24 June 1937, p. 1.

39Sidnev Herald, 26 June 1930, p. 3; "1932 Fair Establishes New Records," Sidney Herald, 15 September 1932, p. 1.

40"Record Fair Attendance Totals 40,021," Sidney Herald. 18 September 1930, p. 1.

41"Dawson County Pioneer writes impressions of Richland Fair," Sidney Herald, 18 September 1930, p, 2.

42"A Great Fair," Sidney Herald, 10 September 1936, p. 2.

43Gary b. Nash et ai., eds., The American People; Creating a Nation and society. 2d ed. (New York: Harper and Row, 1990), 844.

44Gerald D. Nash, The Crucial Era: The Great Depression and world war ll, 1929-1945. 2d ed., The St. Martin's Series in 20th Century u. S. History (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992), 104.

45Andrew Bergman, we're in the Money: Depression America and its Films (New York: New York university Press, 1971), 6-7.

95 46Frank Capra, Mr, Smith Goes to Washington, 125 min., Columbia Pictures Home Video, 1939, videocassette.

47Gerald D. Nash,

48ln 1930 the owner of the Princess Theatre in Sidney closed for a few weeks to put in modern equipment for talking pictures. Before then, someone accompanied the movie by playing the piano. "Princess Getting Ready For Talking Pictures," Sidney Herald. 23 January 1930, p. 1.

49Sidnev Herald, 18 January 1940, p. 5.

50Luella Dore letter.

51"Princess Theatre is Newly Decorated and Thoroughly Modern," Sidney Herald, 13 February 1936, p. 1.

52"2 Theatres Under One Ownership," Sidney Herald, 22 April 1937, p. 1.

55Sidney Herald, 5 February 1931, p. 1.

54Sidnev Herald, 1 May 1930, p.1.

55"M. w. A. Will Give Benefit Dance for Swimming Pool," Sidney Herald, 27 March 1930, p. 1.

56"Opening Dance at intake Pavilion," Sidney Herald, 13 March 1930, p. 1.

57Luella Dore letter.

58Courage Enough: Mon-Dak Family Histories, Richland County, Montana. Bicentennial ed. (Sidney. MT: Mon-Dak Family Histories Office, 1978), 371; "Dreamland Pavilion opens 9 Miles North," Sidney Herald, 20 June 1935, p. 4.

59Sidnev Herald, 20 June 1935, p. 4.

96 60Sidney Herald, 18 June 1937, p.1; SI , 29 October 1936, p. 12; Sidney Herald, 9 July 1936, p. 1; , 13 August 1936, p. 8.

61Sidnev Herald, 18 June 1937, p. 1.; L, 6 August 1936, p. 8.

62Luella Dore letter.

63"Record Crowd Attends Dreamland 4th Dance," Sidney Herald, 9 July 1936, p. 1.

64Sidnev Herald. 23 July 1936, p. 4.

65Luella Dore letter.

97 CHAPTER FIVE ROAD TO RECOVERY

On 7 December 1941, the nation listened in horror as news spread of the attack on Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian islands. The Japanese attack destroyed 18 major ships, 188 planes, and killed 2,403 people.1 Eight men from Montana died at Pearl Harbor, including two from Sidney, Seaman Earl L. Morrison and Sergeant Carlo A. Micheleto.2 The next day President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered an emotional address to Congress, asking for a declaration of war against Japan.

Yesterday, December 7,1941-a day which will live in infamy~the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the empire of Japan. As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense, that always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory. with confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph, so help us Cod.3

Congress answered the national outcry and voted for a declaration of war. Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana cast the only dissenting vote.* Three days later Germany and Italy declared war on

98 Figure 32. The attack on Pearl Harbor launched the united States into world war ll. Reprinted from Cary Glynn, Montana's Home Front During world War ll (Missoula. MT: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, Inc., 1994), 16.

99 the united States. Fully involved in world War ll, the united States climbed the road to economic recovery. America's declaration of war followed a period of resistance. • Following world war I and the economic hardships of the depression, Americans did not want to become involved in another world war. Many viewed the participation of the united States in World War I as a mistake. Two leading reasons for this sentiment included the "merchants of death" theory that Senator Gerald Nye from North Dakota proclaimed and the fact that many felt betrayed by European nations that defaulted on their loans after the war.s But after the attack on American soil by the Japanese, the nation rallied behind Roosevelt. With the onset of world war II, life changed drastically in the united States. Before, people dwelt on the depression and the hardships of finding work. Millions depended on government relief. But the events in Europe and the Pacific overshadowed talk of the depression. As the nation mobilized for war, farm production and prices increased, and farmers saw a return of prosperity. The demand for laborers in defense industries assured almost everyone a job, and released people from their reliance on federal aid. with the united States directly involved in the war, people wanted to help. Buying war bonds provided one way they could • directly contribute to troops overseas. The demand for war bonds

increased by over fifty percent at the two banks in Sidney the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Sidney Herald wrote, "America

100 is in the war to win and Sidney bank patrons are backing their country to the limit of their financial ability."6 As more young men left to fight in the war, the people of • Sidney also began rationing and recycling. The belief that conservation would "Axe the Axis" grew strong. Rationing became vital during the war and people sacrificed to help the military. The Federal war Productions Board (WPB) set restrictions on needed materials. Gasoline, sugar, rubber, steel, coffee, and other scarce items topped the ration list. People could use only one pound of

sugar every two weeks with Ration Book Number One. The wpb even dictated the length of women's hemlines and how much fabric could be used for each type of clothing.? The government issued a new point system for rationing in January 1943. This system did not replace the straight rationing of much-needed items such as gasoline or sugar. Rather, it placed low- points on items in large quantities like hamburger and high-points on more scare items such as bacon.9 The government only issued people one book each rationing period so they found it necessary to budget their points. in an effort to conserve gasoline, the government decreased the speed limit to thirty-five miles per hour. Most people in Montana did not like the new speed limit due to the long distances * they needed to travel across the state.9 Yet the public accepted

these sacrifices to help the troops fighting in Europe and in the Pacific.

101 The entire nation began turning in scrap material for the defense industries, in January 1942, the government ordered drivers to turn in their old license plates when the government • issued new ones. Richland County collected over twenty-six plates, dating back to 1926, from two men alone.10 When rubber supplies continued to decrease, Roosevelt asked people to turn in "old tires, raincoats, old garden hose, rubber shoes, bathing caps, gloves-- whatever you may have that is made of rubber."11 Scrap metal became extremely vital, in August 1942, Sidney conducted a drive for all scrap materials. The Sidney Herald urged the people of Sidney to do their part,

Every citizen of Sidney is urged to cooperate in this drive for scrap that is so badly needed by our government to carry on this war. All households are asked to search their basements, attics and garages for every piece of scrap metal, rubber, burlap and rope that can be spared... ,12

The mayor of Sidney, H. H. Kincaid, put the value of the scrap material in very direct terms,

Every 50 pounds of steel means another 105 mm. shell; a discarded doorknob will help make dozens of cartridge cases; 25 tons of steel will make another tank.... As you search for scrap in your own home, remember that the scrap you are looking for will give our armed forces more weapons to win a quicker victory.1^

As the number of men fighting overseas in the war increased, a massive labor shortage of sugar-beet laborers emerged in

102 Montana. The farmers desperately needed people to work the fields or the beets would rot in the ground, costing them thousands of dollars and the nation a source of much-needed sugar. Montana • farmers turned to foreign labor to save the sugar beet harvest. During the war years, between 400 and 700 Mexicans worked in the lower Yellowstone Valley.14 while Mexicans represented the majority of foreign labor workers, Jamaicans also joined the labor force. During the 1945 harvest, the Civilian Conservation Corps barracks at Ridgelawn housed 255 Jamaicans who helped harvest the crop.™ Farmers also relied on detainees to harvest the sugar beets, in 1942,116 Japanese-Americans transferred from relocation centers on the West Coast to help with the harvest in the Sidney area, and during the last few years of the war, German prisoners joined them.™ in June 1945,450 German POWs marched through the streets of Sidney to the fairgrounds, where they lived while they worked the beets.17 They topped beets on 75 farms, working over 3,100 acres of land.™ The foreign workers and detainees saved the sugar-beet harvests and hundreds of thousands of dollars for local farmers during the war. Economically, life improved dramatically. Agriculture boomed as a result of great wartime demands and a generous amount of rainfall. In 1941 farmers in Montana witnessed one of the best crop • seasons in almost twenty years. The 1943 harvest set all-time records

when crop values reached over $188 million and the livestock

103 industry netted over $134 million.10 Between 1940 and 1948, Montana ranchers saw a net cash increase of 188 percent.20 So finally, after two decades of despair, life turned onto a • different path. The national income in the united States when world war ll began in Europe in 1939 was $70.8 billion. By the end of the war in 1945 that number jumped to $161 billion.21 with plentiful crops and high wartime prices, signs of the depression gradually

diminished in Sidney. The CCC camp and wpa office closed, war talk replaced job talk, in December 1943, Roosevelt declared that "Dr. New Deal had outlived his usefulness and should give way to Dr. win- the war."22 Sidney, along with the rest of the nation, headed down the road to recovery, into the economically plentiful war years.

104 ENDNOTES

• 1William E. Shapiro, Turning Points of World War ll (New York: Franklin watts, 1984), 66.

2Cary Glynn, Montana's Home Front During world War ll (Missoula, MT: Pictorial Histories Publishing Companies, Inc., 1994), 17; "Earl Morrison is Listed as Victim Pearl Harbor Attack," Sidney Herald, 29 January 1942, p. 1.

3Gerald D. Nash, The Great Depression and World war ll: Organizing America, 1955-1945, The St. Martin's Series in Twentieth Century united States History (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1979), 114.

^Robert A. Divine, et al., America Past and Present, Brief 2d ed., vol. 2, From 1865 (New York: HarperCollins, 1990), 464.

5The "merchants of death" theory stated that major corporations that made munitions and bankers forced America into world war I so they could make a profit. Americans believed Nye's allegations despite a lack of proof. The defaulted loans was another sore issue for Americans. The United States loaned the Allies millions of dollars to combat the Central Powers. When the united states refused to reduce loans to the Allies to match the reduction Germany had to pay in reparations, they defaulted on their loans. Finland was the only European nation that paid back its debt to the United States, ibid., 460.

6"Demand for Defense Bonds Jumps at Two Local Banks," Sidney Herald, 11 December 1941, p. 8.

7Glynn, Montana's Home Front, 30.

• 8"New Rationing System Starts January 1," Sidney Herald, 10 December 1942, p. 2.

9"The 35 Mile Speed Limit," Sidney Herald, 10 December 1942, p. 2.

105 10Focus on Our Roots; Storv of Sidney and Surrounding Area (Sidney, MT: Mon-Dak Historical and Arts Society, 1988), 65.

11 Richard Polenberg, war and Society: The united States, 1941- 1945 (New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1972), 16.

12"Notice to All Residents City of Sidney," Sidney Herald. 6 August 1942, p. 1.

13lbid.

14Glynn, Montana's Home Front, 101,153.

15lbid., 196.

16"Japs Arrive to Work in Beet Harvest," Sidney Herald, 24 September 1942, p. 1.

17"450 German POW Arrive Saturday for Beet Field work," Sidney Herald, 14 June 1945, p. 1.

18"Beet Field Labor Shortage Acute; German POW Here," Sidney Herald, 4 October 1945, p. 1.

19Michael P. Malone, Richard B. Roeder, and William L. Lang, Montana: A History of Two Centuries, Revised ed. (Seattle: university of Washington Press, 1991), 308.

20|bid„ 309.

2iGerald D. Nash, The Crucial Era: The Great Depression and world war ll, 1929-1945, 2d ed., The St. Martin's Series in 20th Century u. S. History (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992), 147.

22poienburg, war and Society, 73.

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112