DeJoker
Master of Mayhem
The Great Depression
In the face of the suffering caused by the Great Depression, the family remained a source of strength for most Americans. Nevertheless, the economic bad times did affect the lifestyles of all but the very wealthy. Almost everyone saw their income decrease but likewise the prices of goods decreased. Those of the working class, middle class, and upper middle class fortunate enough to keep their jobs carried on with life as close to normal as they could. Families devised various ways to "cut corners," "make do," and "keep up appearances." To "cut corners," clothing could be sewn at home. To "make do," a pot roast could be stretched to last in several creative meals. Painting the outside of a home or shopping at nice secondhand dress shops would help "keep up appearances." Likewise, farm families who did not lose their farms relied on thrift, conservation, gardens, and strong family ties to see them through.
Effects of the Depression on the family structure included postponed marriages, fewer babies, youths staying home longer, and combining households to aid needy relatives. Still the strain of economic pressures broke some families apart.
Americans most susceptible to hard times were black Americans, the elderly, those in areas where factories shut down, farmers caught in Dust Bowl areas, and those in coal-mining regions. All were marginally poor before the Depression—barely making ends meet. The country's overall economic difficulties left them to struggle for survival amid poverty, hunger, and illness.
In the midst of the Depression what did it mean to be a "middle-income family?" How did they modify their lives to survive the Depression? Could they still own homes and cars? Was there any leisure time, and if so, how did they fill it? What did families do for fun? Did they ever take vacations? How did the young adults in their late teens and early twenties deal with the availability of so few jobs? The answers to these questions piece together the picture of life led by a majority of Americans in the 1930s.
The Middle Class
From 1935 to 1936 the median family income was $1,160. An annual wage of $1,000 or more placed a family in the middle-income range. The middle-income family did not have a surplus of income but did have a fairly comfortable standard of living. After the Depression, at least for the first half of the 1930s, standard of living again referred to the basics of food, shelter, and clothing, since the means to achieve more than the basics had declined. These basic necessities absorbed at least three-quarters of a household budget. Luxuries played a very small part in the life of most families. Nevertheless, people of middle incomes clung to the idea that certain material goods and lifestyles that had become important to them would again eventually be attainable.
Average Middle Class Family Budget, 1935
The middle-and upper-income families were able to maintain a relatively comfortable standard of living because many of the necessities of life—especially food—showed striking decreases in costs. Another way to maintain the standard of living was to have a second income in the household.
An Extra Wage Earner
Many families maintained a middle-to upper-middle income by having additional family members employed. The presence of more than one wage earner in the family greatly impacted a family's standard of living. At low income levels, under $800, fewer than one in five families had an extra wage earner. Almost one out of four families in the $800 to $1,600 range had an extra wage earner. Even higher ratios of families with extra wage earners occurred above the $1,600 per year level. In the early 1930s, children between 14 and 18 years of age often provided the extra income. By the end of the 1930s, it was most likely the married housewives making an economic contribution through paid employment rather than children under the age of 18.
Corner-Cutting and Making Do
Family expectations with respect to standard of living remained high, but the means to maintain their expectations declined. The most logical way for a family to adapt to Depression conditions was to adopt a lower standard of living. The ability to do this rested on several factors such as actual family income, the family's material needs, and the skills of the family consumer manager—frequently the woman. Making ends meet involved corner-cutting, "making do," sometimes going without, and shifting around various payments. Families commonly curtailed expenses by growing and canning food that used to be bought at a store, making their own clothing, and holding on to an aging car. Some adults went to the doctor and dentist less to avoid paying for those services. By taking care of their own necessities rather than purchasing services, families maintained their standard of living.
The middle class mom prided herself on "making do" when feeding her family. If very careful, a woman could feed a family of six on five dollars a week. She relied on the basic foodstuffs in her pantry such as flour, cornmeal, and sugar or corn syrup. Meat came from the local butcher. Sending the children to the butcher for 25¢ worth of round steak could amply supply enough meat for a filling stew. Mothers could make a pot roast last an entire week—reincarnated each day as something different such as meat loaf and soup. Meals were stretched with gravy, potatoes, macaroni, and homemade bread. Vegetable gardens sprang up in backyards and vacant city lots. Women did their own canning, pickling, and preserving. A colorful array of jars on the pantry shelves lent reassurance to the whole family through winter months.
Families shared all they could with the less fortunate. Frequently, struggling families were invited to Sunday dinner. If a homeless person knocked at the back door they were given food, clothing, and even—at times—a place to sleep. Assistance and kindness towards others was a hallmark of families in the 1930s.
Most women were adequately skilled in sewing. Exciting hours were spent in picking out dress patterns from pattern catalogues. With pattern and material in hand, their foot-operated treadle sewing machine whirred until a garment was completed. Very few clothes were store bought. If the soles of a pair of shoes began to wear through, cardboard was inserted to prolong their life.
During the 1920s new labor-saving household devices had been the rage, but by the 1930s few could afford these luxuries. As a result, sales of washing machines, percolators for coffee, vacuum cleaners, toasters, and electric mixers plummeted.
Automobiles
By 1930 the middle and upper middle classes were likely to own automobiles. Roughly 26 million cars were on the road by 1930. Even in the worst years of the Depression, anyone who owned a vehicle, including those at the lower end of the middle class and farming families, were reluctant to give up driving. In the first half of the 1930s, however, most families put off purchasing a new car and kept driving the old. By 1933 car manufacturers began tempting families with streamlined models sporting beautiful curved lines. The box-like chassis that sat above the axle was eliminated. The new models were rounded, had steel roofs, and came in colors other than black. Engines, trunks, and bumpers molded into one whole unit, and cars had increased horsepower. Nevertheless, holding to strict budgets, people continued to resist temptation and drove their old cars longer and longer. Someone in the family likely took care of oil changes, patching tires, and doing whatever they could to keep the car running.
The automobile repair industry, which took care of the more difficult repairs, actually grew during the Depression. As economic conditions and confidence improved by 1936, purchases of the new, sleeker cars resumed. Buying on credit became one way to avoid paying the entire cash amount of the purchase up front. By 1937 the number of cars on the road had increased to 29 million.
Home Ownership
Middle-and upper-middle-class urban families in the 1930s tended to own their own homes, usually located in a suburb at the edge of a city. Houses of the bungalow style, with one-and-a-half stories, two bedrooms, one bath, living room, dining room, and kitchen were very popular. Homes of the Colonial Revival or Dutch Colonial styles were popular in the east. In western states, neighborhoods had Spanish style houses with low-pitched red tile roofs and stucco exteriors. Most of the homes had been built and purchased in the 1920s. Most homes in cities and suburbs were electrified. In the difficult economic times, a popular way to "keep up appearances" was to paint the outside of the family home.
Perhaps the biggest middle-class Depression fear was loss of the family home. With downturns in income many families fell behind in their house payments. By the middle of 1933, those people behind in payments turned to the newly established Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) or, by 1934, to another new agency, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Through both the HOLC and FHA, home loans were refinanced. Refinancing set up new payment terms that families could meet. By 1936 the HOLC alone had refinanced 992,531 home loans, allowing millions of Americans to stay in their homes.
News Sources
How did people learn of the day's news? The major source of news for most Depression-era families was newspapers, due primarily to their inexpensiveness. The New York Times cost two cents. Newspapers reported the latest in politics and sports, and kept track of the lives of Hollywood and high society celebrities. Headlines, big and bold, announced the major news story of each Depression day. Newsboys delivered papers to homes. Being a news delivery boy was a proud job for young boys as they could contribute to the family income.
Newspaper publishers could be depended on to put out special editions if a big story broke. Boys sold the special editions on street corners, calling out the familiar "Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" and pocketing still more change.
Newsreels—short motion pictures of current events—had become a major news source by the 1930s. Introduced in the late 1890s, they first were shown in music halls between performances and then gained great popularity in the new motion picture theaters by the 1920s. "The March of Time" was introduced in 1935. It combined filmed news with interviews. The public would frequently go to the movies to learn what was happening in the world.
Another news source was the radio. In fact, the radio quickly became a center of family life during leisure time.
Leisure Time
Those who maintained their steady jobs generally worked a five-day week with two days off. To fill leisure time, people looked to life's free pleasures. Dropping unaffordable club memberships, they turned to listening to the radio, playing games, stamp collecting, and visiting with neighbors on front porches. Card games were a popular way to spend an afternoon or evening. Adults would invite friends over for Canasta or Bridge. Children loved to play Old Maid. Baseball was the most popular sport of the day. Going to the movies, having family picnics, going to church and church socials, attending bingo parties, playing miniature golf, enjoying a soda at the corner drug store, and dancing were all popular stepping-out activities.
Radio and Movies
The radio and movie industries provided an exciting escape from the worries of Depression living. The sale of radios increased from 10 million sold at the beginning of the 1930s to around 30 million at the end of the decade. Almost 90 percent of American households owned a radio. Just as popular as radio were the movies. Once a week around 65 percent of the population found the movie ticket, which cost 25 cents or less, affordable, even necessary. The United States had over fifteen thousand movie theaters, more than the number of banks and twice the number of hotels. The 1930s proved to be a golden age for radio and motion picture industries.
The typical family spent hours in the living room each evening listening to their favorite programs. The big rounded radio was a window to adventure, comedy, music, romance, and news. Americans stayed glued to their radios when President Roosevelt gave a "fireside chat," explaining what was happening in Washington, DC, to ease the Depression.
Families gathered together after supper for such programs as the comedy Amos 'n' Andy that aired from 7:00 to 7:15 PM each weekend evening. Another favorite comedy program was that of husband and wife team George Burns and Gracie Allen, airing at 8:00 PM on Monday. Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his wooden dummy Charlie McCarthy provided hours of laughter on the Chase and Sanborn Hour, Sundays at 8:00 PM Just before the Chase and Sanborn Hour, there was a thirty-minute segment featuring Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard, who quickly became the famous Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, one of America's first families of entertainment.
Many favorite shows opened with a standard line that people eagerly awaited. At the start of her variety show, singer Kate Smith belted out, "Hello everybody" at 8:00 PM every Thursday night. Variety shows drew loyal audiences. Kraft Music Hall was popular with Bing Crosby crooning over the airwaves at 10:00 PM Thursdays. A great success of the mid-1930s was Major Edward Bowes Original Amateur Hour. Comedians Fred Allen and Jack Benny entertained with their original wit. If you didn't go to the movies Saturday night you stayed home and listened to Your Hit Parade on the radio.
Popular news broadcasters of the day were H.V. Kaltenborn and Lowell Thomas. Radio also bought sports into people's living rooms. Americans could listen to army-navy football games, boxing title fights, horse racing, tennis matches, the 1932 Winter Olympics from Lake Placid, New York, and the World Series. Fearing no one would come to the park, however, baseball teams in the early 1930s resisted broadcasting games. As early as 1931, golfer Bobby Jones had a radio program on which he handed out golf tips.
Daytime broadcasts were aimed at target audiences. The first woman's service program to go national in the 1920s was the Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air. Betty gave out recipes and suggested ways to "make do" in the home throughout the 1930s. The U.S. Department of Agriculture broadcast a daily 15-minute home economics program coast to coast. A female voice known as Aunt Sammy anchored the program. As housewives washed clothes they could listen to soap operas such as "Guiding Light."
All through the Depression, Americans lined up in front of the movie theaters. Many of the 1930s films featuring glamorous stars offered pure escape focusing on romance, good times and wealth. Mae West, a curvaceous blonde, earned $480,000 a year. One of the most popular stars in the early 1930s was James Cagney. Comedies and gangster films were very popular. The most famous comedians were the Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplain, and W.C. Fields. Gangster films with stars such as Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney included Little Caesar (1930) and The Public Enemy (1931).
The Very Rich
As the Depression dragged on, the lives of all but the most wealthy Americans were affected in some way. Generally, the very wealthy had financial roots in the industrial empires begun in the nineteenth century rather than in the 1920s stock speculation. It was the quickly accumulated wealth of the 1920s that had vanished in the early years of the Depression—not the wealth of the industrial giants. Although not unaware of those struggling mightily under the weight of the Depression, the lives of the very rich went on pretty much as usual. The sacrifices they did make seemed shallow. T.H. Watkins reports in his book, The Hungry Years (1999, p. 106), that in the early spring of 1932, John P. Morgan Jr., banker, decided to not sail his yacht believing "it is both wiser and kinder not to flaunt such luxurious amusement in the face of the public."
Local newspapers and tabloids were diligent in their coverage of the very rich, and generally even the destitute likely knew many details of the lives of the wealthy. Favorite events to cover were the débutante balls. Débutante balls were extravagant parties thrown by the very rich each year to introduce their daughters to high society and advertise their eligibility for marriage. Balls cost between $10,000 and $100,000, and families tried to outdo one another. Débutantes, wearing beautiful fashionable gowns attended dances almost nightly from late November until January. Champagne, fresh flowers, elegant table settings, sumptuous food, and extravagant stage sets all pointed to conspicuous consumption. The débutante's new clothes alone could add up to $10,000. Popular magazines such as Life and Saturday Evening Post published pictures of the affairs for the public to view and possibly imagine that they too could be a part of the parties. As they had done for decades, New York's upper tier, such as the Vanderbilts, Belmonts, and Harrimans, continued their stylish summers in Newport, Rhode Island, with croquet on the lawns, cocktails, swimming, and sailing, oblivious to the world outside.
A problem that had greatly troubled the very rich during the 1920s was the servant problem. After World War I (1914–1918), fewer individuals were willing to work for the low wages coupled with long, irregular hours. As the Depression reached its lowest ebb in 1932, the servant pool grew dramatically. Women would work for as little as $4 a month and board. A gardener could be hired in Los Angeles for $1 a week. The easing of the servant problem greatly pleased the rich as they hated to abandon any part of their privileged lifestyle.
In the face of the suffering caused by the Great Depression, the family remained a source of strength for most Americans. Nevertheless, the economic bad times did affect the lifestyles of all but the very wealthy. Almost everyone saw their income decrease but likewise the prices of goods decreased. Those of the working class, middle class, and upper middle class fortunate enough to keep their jobs carried on with life as close to normal as they could. Families devised various ways to "cut corners," "make do," and "keep up appearances." To "cut corners," clothing could be sewn at home. To "make do," a pot roast could be stretched to last in several creative meals. Painting the outside of a home or shopping at nice secondhand dress shops would help "keep up appearances." Likewise, farm families who did not lose their farms relied on thrift, conservation, gardens, and strong family ties to see them through.
Effects of the Depression on the family structure included postponed marriages, fewer babies, youths staying home longer, and combining households to aid needy relatives. Still the strain of economic pressures broke some families apart.
Americans most susceptible to hard times were black Americans, the elderly, those in areas where factories shut down, farmers caught in Dust Bowl areas, and those in coal-mining regions. All were marginally poor before the Depression—barely making ends meet. The country's overall economic difficulties left them to struggle for survival amid poverty, hunger, and illness.
In the midst of the Depression what did it mean to be a "middle-income family?" How did they modify their lives to survive the Depression? Could they still own homes and cars? Was there any leisure time, and if so, how did they fill it? What did families do for fun? Did they ever take vacations? How did the young adults in their late teens and early twenties deal with the availability of so few jobs? The answers to these questions piece together the picture of life led by a majority of Americans in the 1930s.
The Middle Class
From 1935 to 1936 the median family income was $1,160. An annual wage of $1,000 or more placed a family in the middle-income range. The middle-income family did not have a surplus of income but did have a fairly comfortable standard of living. After the Depression, at least for the first half of the 1930s, standard of living again referred to the basics of food, shelter, and clothing, since the means to achieve more than the basics had declined. These basic necessities absorbed at least three-quarters of a household budget. Luxuries played a very small part in the life of most families. Nevertheless, people of middle incomes clung to the idea that certain material goods and lifestyles that had become important to them would again eventually be attainable.
Average Middle Class Family Budget, 1935
$1,348 ....... Average Annual Income ($26 / week)
$1,272 ....... Average Annual Expenses
$1,272 ....... Average Annual Expenses
Detailed Average Annual Expenses
$472 ..... Food and Alcoholic Beverages
$456 ..... Housing, Utilities, Furnishings, etc.
$136 ..... Clothing
$73 ....... Automobile Purchase / Maintenance
$53 ....... Medical Care
$72 ....... Recreation, Reading, Tobacco
$5 ......... Taxes
$5 ......... Miscellaneous Expenses
An upper-middle-class family's income began at about $2,500. In the mid-1930s, only 12 percent of families were in this bracket. To illustrate the initial affects of The Great Depression (1929 to 1933), the incomes of affluent doctors and lawyers dropped as much as 40 percent. Although severely tested, the upper middle class did their best to maintain a refined standard of living. Shaken by their friends who had lost all, most lived with the fear of being next. Nevertheless, the great majority labored to "keep up appearances." T.H. Watkins reports in his book, The Hungry Years (1999, pp. 104–105), that although expectations lowered they, "simply refused to abandon the values by which they defined themselves." Their concessions included riding the subways, smoking cheaper cigars, and the women learning to cook once they had given up servants. Secondhand dress shops were reborn, and when some especially smart and stylish clothes came in the word was spread quickly through groups who were in the "know." Many families, especially in the middle-to upper-middle income groups, made a conscious attempt to plan their expenditures in response to wage reductions or employment changes.$472 ..... Food and Alcoholic Beverages
$456 ..... Housing, Utilities, Furnishings, etc.
$136 ..... Clothing
$73 ....... Automobile Purchase / Maintenance
$53 ....... Medical Care
$72 ....... Recreation, Reading, Tobacco
$5 ......... Taxes
$5 ......... Miscellaneous Expenses
The middle-and upper-income families were able to maintain a relatively comfortable standard of living because many of the necessities of life—especially food—showed striking decreases in costs. Another way to maintain the standard of living was to have a second income in the household.
An Extra Wage Earner
Many families maintained a middle-to upper-middle income by having additional family members employed. The presence of more than one wage earner in the family greatly impacted a family's standard of living. At low income levels, under $800, fewer than one in five families had an extra wage earner. Almost one out of four families in the $800 to $1,600 range had an extra wage earner. Even higher ratios of families with extra wage earners occurred above the $1,600 per year level. In the early 1930s, children between 14 and 18 years of age often provided the extra income. By the end of the 1930s, it was most likely the married housewives making an economic contribution through paid employment rather than children under the age of 18.
Corner-Cutting and Making Do
Family expectations with respect to standard of living remained high, but the means to maintain their expectations declined. The most logical way for a family to adapt to Depression conditions was to adopt a lower standard of living. The ability to do this rested on several factors such as actual family income, the family's material needs, and the skills of the family consumer manager—frequently the woman. Making ends meet involved corner-cutting, "making do," sometimes going without, and shifting around various payments. Families commonly curtailed expenses by growing and canning food that used to be bought at a store, making their own clothing, and holding on to an aging car. Some adults went to the doctor and dentist less to avoid paying for those services. By taking care of their own necessities rather than purchasing services, families maintained their standard of living.
The middle class mom prided herself on "making do" when feeding her family. If very careful, a woman could feed a family of six on five dollars a week. She relied on the basic foodstuffs in her pantry such as flour, cornmeal, and sugar or corn syrup. Meat came from the local butcher. Sending the children to the butcher for 25¢ worth of round steak could amply supply enough meat for a filling stew. Mothers could make a pot roast last an entire week—reincarnated each day as something different such as meat loaf and soup. Meals were stretched with gravy, potatoes, macaroni, and homemade bread. Vegetable gardens sprang up in backyards and vacant city lots. Women did their own canning, pickling, and preserving. A colorful array of jars on the pantry shelves lent reassurance to the whole family through winter months.
Families shared all they could with the less fortunate. Frequently, struggling families were invited to Sunday dinner. If a homeless person knocked at the back door they were given food, clothing, and even—at times—a place to sleep. Assistance and kindness towards others was a hallmark of families in the 1930s.
Most women were adequately skilled in sewing. Exciting hours were spent in picking out dress patterns from pattern catalogues. With pattern and material in hand, their foot-operated treadle sewing machine whirred until a garment was completed. Very few clothes were store bought. If the soles of a pair of shoes began to wear through, cardboard was inserted to prolong their life.
During the 1920s new labor-saving household devices had been the rage, but by the 1930s few could afford these luxuries. As a result, sales of washing machines, percolators for coffee, vacuum cleaners, toasters, and electric mixers plummeted.
Automobiles
By 1930 the middle and upper middle classes were likely to own automobiles. Roughly 26 million cars were on the road by 1930. Even in the worst years of the Depression, anyone who owned a vehicle, including those at the lower end of the middle class and farming families, were reluctant to give up driving. In the first half of the 1930s, however, most families put off purchasing a new car and kept driving the old. By 1933 car manufacturers began tempting families with streamlined models sporting beautiful curved lines. The box-like chassis that sat above the axle was eliminated. The new models were rounded, had steel roofs, and came in colors other than black. Engines, trunks, and bumpers molded into one whole unit, and cars had increased horsepower. Nevertheless, holding to strict budgets, people continued to resist temptation and drove their old cars longer and longer. Someone in the family likely took care of oil changes, patching tires, and doing whatever they could to keep the car running.
The automobile repair industry, which took care of the more difficult repairs, actually grew during the Depression. As economic conditions and confidence improved by 1936, purchases of the new, sleeker cars resumed. Buying on credit became one way to avoid paying the entire cash amount of the purchase up front. By 1937 the number of cars on the road had increased to 29 million.
Home Ownership
Middle-and upper-middle-class urban families in the 1930s tended to own their own homes, usually located in a suburb at the edge of a city. Houses of the bungalow style, with one-and-a-half stories, two bedrooms, one bath, living room, dining room, and kitchen were very popular. Homes of the Colonial Revival or Dutch Colonial styles were popular in the east. In western states, neighborhoods had Spanish style houses with low-pitched red tile roofs and stucco exteriors. Most of the homes had been built and purchased in the 1920s. Most homes in cities and suburbs were electrified. In the difficult economic times, a popular way to "keep up appearances" was to paint the outside of the family home.
Perhaps the biggest middle-class Depression fear was loss of the family home. With downturns in income many families fell behind in their house payments. By the middle of 1933, those people behind in payments turned to the newly established Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) or, by 1934, to another new agency, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Through both the HOLC and FHA, home loans were refinanced. Refinancing set up new payment terms that families could meet. By 1936 the HOLC alone had refinanced 992,531 home loans, allowing millions of Americans to stay in their homes.
News Sources
How did people learn of the day's news? The major source of news for most Depression-era families was newspapers, due primarily to their inexpensiveness. The New York Times cost two cents. Newspapers reported the latest in politics and sports, and kept track of the lives of Hollywood and high society celebrities. Headlines, big and bold, announced the major news story of each Depression day. Newsboys delivered papers to homes. Being a news delivery boy was a proud job for young boys as they could contribute to the family income.
Newspaper publishers could be depended on to put out special editions if a big story broke. Boys sold the special editions on street corners, calling out the familiar "Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" and pocketing still more change.
Newsreels—short motion pictures of current events—had become a major news source by the 1930s. Introduced in the late 1890s, they first were shown in music halls between performances and then gained great popularity in the new motion picture theaters by the 1920s. "The March of Time" was introduced in 1935. It combined filmed news with interviews. The public would frequently go to the movies to learn what was happening in the world.
Another news source was the radio. In fact, the radio quickly became a center of family life during leisure time.
Leisure Time
Those who maintained their steady jobs generally worked a five-day week with two days off. To fill leisure time, people looked to life's free pleasures. Dropping unaffordable club memberships, they turned to listening to the radio, playing games, stamp collecting, and visiting with neighbors on front porches. Card games were a popular way to spend an afternoon or evening. Adults would invite friends over for Canasta or Bridge. Children loved to play Old Maid. Baseball was the most popular sport of the day. Going to the movies, having family picnics, going to church and church socials, attending bingo parties, playing miniature golf, enjoying a soda at the corner drug store, and dancing were all popular stepping-out activities.
Radio and Movies
The radio and movie industries provided an exciting escape from the worries of Depression living. The sale of radios increased from 10 million sold at the beginning of the 1930s to around 30 million at the end of the decade. Almost 90 percent of American households owned a radio. Just as popular as radio were the movies. Once a week around 65 percent of the population found the movie ticket, which cost 25 cents or less, affordable, even necessary. The United States had over fifteen thousand movie theaters, more than the number of banks and twice the number of hotels. The 1930s proved to be a golden age for radio and motion picture industries.
The typical family spent hours in the living room each evening listening to their favorite programs. The big rounded radio was a window to adventure, comedy, music, romance, and news. Americans stayed glued to their radios when President Roosevelt gave a "fireside chat," explaining what was happening in Washington, DC, to ease the Depression.
Families gathered together after supper for such programs as the comedy Amos 'n' Andy that aired from 7:00 to 7:15 PM each weekend evening. Another favorite comedy program was that of husband and wife team George Burns and Gracie Allen, airing at 8:00 PM on Monday. Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his wooden dummy Charlie McCarthy provided hours of laughter on the Chase and Sanborn Hour, Sundays at 8:00 PM Just before the Chase and Sanborn Hour, there was a thirty-minute segment featuring Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard, who quickly became the famous Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, one of America's first families of entertainment.
Many favorite shows opened with a standard line that people eagerly awaited. At the start of her variety show, singer Kate Smith belted out, "Hello everybody" at 8:00 PM every Thursday night. Variety shows drew loyal audiences. Kraft Music Hall was popular with Bing Crosby crooning over the airwaves at 10:00 PM Thursdays. A great success of the mid-1930s was Major Edward Bowes Original Amateur Hour. Comedians Fred Allen and Jack Benny entertained with their original wit. If you didn't go to the movies Saturday night you stayed home and listened to Your Hit Parade on the radio.
Popular news broadcasters of the day were H.V. Kaltenborn and Lowell Thomas. Radio also bought sports into people's living rooms. Americans could listen to army-navy football games, boxing title fights, horse racing, tennis matches, the 1932 Winter Olympics from Lake Placid, New York, and the World Series. Fearing no one would come to the park, however, baseball teams in the early 1930s resisted broadcasting games. As early as 1931, golfer Bobby Jones had a radio program on which he handed out golf tips.
Daytime broadcasts were aimed at target audiences. The first woman's service program to go national in the 1920s was the Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air. Betty gave out recipes and suggested ways to "make do" in the home throughout the 1930s. The U.S. Department of Agriculture broadcast a daily 15-minute home economics program coast to coast. A female voice known as Aunt Sammy anchored the program. As housewives washed clothes they could listen to soap operas such as "Guiding Light."
All through the Depression, Americans lined up in front of the movie theaters. Many of the 1930s films featuring glamorous stars offered pure escape focusing on romance, good times and wealth. Mae West, a curvaceous blonde, earned $480,000 a year. One of the most popular stars in the early 1930s was James Cagney. Comedies and gangster films were very popular. The most famous comedians were the Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplain, and W.C. Fields. Gangster films with stars such as Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney included Little Caesar (1930) and The Public Enemy (1931).
The Very Rich
As the Depression dragged on, the lives of all but the most wealthy Americans were affected in some way. Generally, the very wealthy had financial roots in the industrial empires begun in the nineteenth century rather than in the 1920s stock speculation. It was the quickly accumulated wealth of the 1920s that had vanished in the early years of the Depression—not the wealth of the industrial giants. Although not unaware of those struggling mightily under the weight of the Depression, the lives of the very rich went on pretty much as usual. The sacrifices they did make seemed shallow. T.H. Watkins reports in his book, The Hungry Years (1999, p. 106), that in the early spring of 1932, John P. Morgan Jr., banker, decided to not sail his yacht believing "it is both wiser and kinder not to flaunt such luxurious amusement in the face of the public."
Local newspapers and tabloids were diligent in their coverage of the very rich, and generally even the destitute likely knew many details of the lives of the wealthy. Favorite events to cover were the débutante balls. Débutante balls were extravagant parties thrown by the very rich each year to introduce their daughters to high society and advertise their eligibility for marriage. Balls cost between $10,000 and $100,000, and families tried to outdo one another. Débutantes, wearing beautiful fashionable gowns attended dances almost nightly from late November until January. Champagne, fresh flowers, elegant table settings, sumptuous food, and extravagant stage sets all pointed to conspicuous consumption. The débutante's new clothes alone could add up to $10,000. Popular magazines such as Life and Saturday Evening Post published pictures of the affairs for the public to view and possibly imagine that they too could be a part of the parties. As they had done for decades, New York's upper tier, such as the Vanderbilts, Belmonts, and Harrimans, continued their stylish summers in Newport, Rhode Island, with croquet on the lawns, cocktails, swimming, and sailing, oblivious to the world outside.
A problem that had greatly troubled the very rich during the 1920s was the servant problem. After World War I (1914–1918), fewer individuals were willing to work for the low wages coupled with long, irregular hours. As the Depression reached its lowest ebb in 1932, the servant pool grew dramatically. Women would work for as little as $4 a month and board. A gardener could be hired in Los Angeles for $1 a week. The easing of the servant problem greatly pleased the rich as they hated to abandon any part of their privileged lifestyle.
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