Return to the Land

The Great Depression

After World War I America settled back into prosperity. War-torn European countries needed rebuilding and so industrialized America began turning out factoried supplies for restoration abroad. This produced jobs, good wages, and a comfortable living for even unskilled workers. Unfortunately, nations were buying goods from the United States but had no money to pay. So the U.S. Government granted loans to these impoverished cities and countries, which eventually led to a financial drain on our economy. These countries had spent their resources fighting the Germans and were unable to ever repay the loans. International trade suffered since exports from the states were curtailed and the U.S. was unwilling to buy goods elsewhere that could be produced at home. This vicious cycle continued to worsen. The U.S. was not willing to buy from our neighbors and they could not buy from us in turn. Farmers and industries produced more than we could consume and the surpluses went unsold. Most everyone felt that the horrors of war were behind us and the good life would be indefinite. Many invested in the stock market, buying on the margin, which meant not having to invest much money up front, then selling at a profit before paying for the stock and making money with little risk. On a large scale, this practice became dangerous. More money was going out than coming in and finally the day of reckoning came in 1929 and the stock market crashed. Fortunes were lost in a single day and many stocks became totally worthless. Now the scene was set for a collapsing economy not only here but also on a worldwide basis. Factories closed, jobs were lost, and the ravages of the depression were upon all people. Wealthy families survived with little discomfort but for the ordinary man the dark clouds had descended. Now mass unemployment was rampant and there was little actual money or cash in circulation. By the early 1930’s my parents, Stafford and Polly, were no longer enjoying their double incomes. (My mother became known as Polly because she did not like her given name of Clara Engledove). They were living comfortably in an apartment in Danville, Virginia and even had a maid by the name of Chauncy. During this economic plight on the nation they both lost their jobs. They had bought a fine automobile, had nice clothing, and a nicely furnished apartment. They believed their life of comfort and relative prosperity would endure. However, with no financial resources to draw on, other than their meager bank savings, which soon began to dwindle, they searched for new jobs that would fit their skills but were unable to find employment. As with many families at this time they desperately turned to their parents for refuge. Gathering their important possessions in their Straight 8 Dodge a safe haven was found once again on Kimberling. As Grandfather and Grandmother Miller would do so often with their other children’s families, their doors were opened to Mother and Dad.

Dad had inherited with his mother, from her father David O. Wright, a small farm on Nobusiness. And so this piece of land became their salvation during the lean years of the

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