The National Recovery Act.,This R.C. Maxwel sign appeared on Perry & No. Broad.St.

My generation invented holes in our trousers, socks, patches in our trousers, hand me downs and didn't know we were fashion plates. I guess this is where the fashionable term "grunge" originated.
Believe me, we would much rather have had the luxury of wearing anything but hand me downs or as I guess we should have called them, "grunge wear."

1935: IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN "THE GREAT DEPRESSION" BUT LIFE WENT ON

FFrom a 1935 full page ad in the Trenton Evening Times proves that even though we were in the throes of the "Great Depression," life went on in Trenton and the surrounding areas.

1929: THE GREAT DEPRESSION

By the time young Tommy Glover was born in 1933, the American tragedy known as the "Great Depression" was four years old. Ten years later, as can be seen in the photo on the right, the Glover family, and many others of my generation were still struggling to survive. Unlike the unfortunate family in the left photo who have no home and live in a shack, we had our Hartley Avenue home along with a very sizeable garden, a large flock of chickens, and the Arena family who lived next door to us, where Moms Glover and Arena bartered chickens and eggs for pasta and other Italian necessities. As I look back on those years, and see that photo of me in the hand-me-down jacket that came from my older brother Len, who passed it down to my next older brother Bud, then down to me. Ironically, I, nor any of my fellow Kuser School classmates didn't know we were poor. It wasn't until World War II that the economy surged upward as millions of jobs became available to the vast number of unemployed Americans.

1935: A GREAT DEPRESSION SATURDAY NIGHT

The above is a somewhat re-organized placement of the ads as found on the original page from the Trenton Times. It gives a good idea of the economic situation in the area as the financial ravages of the Great Depression began to subside and certain members of society had more money in their pockets to spend a night at one of the many local night clubs, restaurants and theaters. I added the 2 1935 Hudson "Terraplane" autos to enhance the spirit of '35.

1930's: THE GREAT DEPRESSION

This Roll of Honor memorial was located on Perry Street at the intersection of North Warren Street. To those who are not familiar with the era that found America floundering in what was known as "The Great Depression," the American eagle atop the sign is sponsored by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's NRA or as it was more commonly known, the National Recovery Act. Many wealthy Americans lost everything in the stock market crash in 1929. There were frantic attempts to find enough money to eat and feed a family. One of the more serious but common scenes on city streets were men who only months ago, were financially secure. The crash found a number of destitute citizens standing on sidewalks selling apples for 5 cents. The Great depression hit the Glover family very hard. One of the saving graces was our rural location where we grew vegetables and had chickens and geese.

1933: "TRENTON RECOVERY DAY"

I was only a month and a half old on November 15, 1933, but over the years I had heard stories from my family and friends how devastating the depression was for the average American family. The full page ad is from a fall volume of Trenton Times newspapers which to snapped with my camera. The city held a successful push to give the local economy a financial boost, but it would be a number of years before any real recovery would occur.

1931: THE GREAT DEPRESSION

This family photo was taken during the depths of the "Great Depression." In our opulent contemporary society, it is somewhat difficult to imagine the hardships certain portions of the population experienced. The Glover family was among that portion. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Glover had 3 children at the time. Tom and Don were in the future. My aunt Ruth passed away, leaving my Uncle John and his 3 children. My father lost everything in the 1929 stock market crash when his business, "Gill's Express" went bankrupt. Both unemployed, my father and my Uncle John took "relief" employment with the WPA (Works Progress Administration) , a government sponsored work program for the destitute unemployed. I would guess that there aren't too many visitors to this website who were around during those dark and dreary pre-World War II years. The photo identifies the children who lived in that little house on the corner of Sylvan Avenue and Beal Street. With three bedrooms and three adults, utilizing two of them, the remaining bedroom and the unheated and uninsulated attic became the quarters for the six children. My brothers and cousin tell of sleeping in that attic in the winter and water actually froze in the glass on the window sill.
Even though I was yet to enter into this family until the year 1933, the stories I hear and heard from my mother, father and brothers tell of a pitiful story of survival.

RALPH LUCARELLA said...

HI TOM....THE GREAT DEPRESSION WAS A PERIOD I'LL NEVER FORGET. I WAS BROUGHT UP DURING THAT TIME AND ALL THROUGH THE 30'S WAS A CONSTANT STRUGGLE. AMONG OTHER THINGS WE LOST OUR HOUSE ON BERT AVE. AND I WASN'T ABLE TO GRADUATE IN ORDER TO LOOK FOR WAYS TO HELP OUT. MY FATHER WAS WORKING FOR ONLY A FOOD ORDER WHILE WORKING TO BUILD JUNIOR 2. THE ONLY GOOD THING THAT HAPPENED WAS PLAYING WITH THE SCHROTHS IN 1936. BUT LIKE YOUR FAMILY AND MANY OTHERS WE SURVIVED.

Monday, March 19, 2012

1934: CHRISTMAS GREETINGS FROM DEPRESSION ERA TRENTON NEW JERSEY

This page was printed a year before I was born. However, in listening to my Mom and Dad when they were with us, the early 1930's were really tough times for our family and I dare say many families during those years of the Great Depression. The newspapers didn't focus on the depression, rather, they tried to focus on the positive aspects of those dark years. I took the liberty of adding a hearty "MERRY CHRISTMAS" to all the many visitors to this blog. I hope you all have a delightful Christmas day, and a very happy 2011.

Sally Logan Gilman said...

Greetings Tom: I got all the way to the end before I recognized a name. It was Slatoff -- Mr. and Mrs. Slatoff and their children lived opposite our home on Carteret Avenue. It was fun to see the name. I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a joyful and happy 2011.

Monday, December 20, 2010

1932: FROM THE "GREAT DEPRESSION" FOLDER

Somewhere in my many files, I have an original copy of a receipt from Mr. Tenous, a Hamilton official who was in charge of a Hamilton organization known as "Overseer of the Poor." It is made out to my older brother Len, who apparently received it when he picked up our relief "dole" at the Colonial Fire Company.

1939: YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING!

1938: AREA UNEMPLOYED HOLD THEIR ANNUAL PICNIC

The Glover family wasn't the only area family devastated the Great Depression. Like today, unemployment was rampant and the country was still battling back from the 1929 financial disaster that ruined America financially. Here's a Times photo of those who attended the picnic at the Italian American Sportsmen's Club. The print dress and apron as seen by the ladies was the daily "uniform of the day" for Mom Glover and many other mothers and grandmothers from that era.

1942: SONNY SAXTON AND TOMMY GLOVER

I colored the above formerrly gray scale photo using PhotoShop.

Over these many years, I have often recalled my years as a boy growing up during the "Great Depression." I was born in 1933, right in the cusp of that horrible economic disaster. The Glover family was hit very hard by that national economic disaster. The Glover family was on the "relief" rolls in Hamilton Township for a number of years, making weekly visits to Colonial Fire House on Liberty Street for our weekly "dole" of dried prunes, dried apples, flour, and other staples. By 1942, things were beginning to look up. Even though I was still wearing my older brother Bud's knickers as seen in the photo above, we were slowly moving into a more prosperous era. Re-telling these stories in my numerous public speaking programs, I have almost always had one or more of the attendees make the observation that we were poor, but didn't know it. How very true. When I think of how my mom had to eke out nutritious food for us with WWII rationing and the financial constraints we endured, a tear comes to my eyes.

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COMMENT FROM Ralph Lucarella:

WELL TOM, YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AND ONLY GOD KNOWS HOW MANY OTHERS WENT THROUGH THAT SAME PERIOD. MY FATHER HELPED BUILD JUNIOR 2 WHILE WORKING FOR ONLY A FOOD ORDER. YOU CAN ONLY USE THAT PAYMENT FOR FOOD. SO THE ONLY OTHER MONEY CAME FROM RELIEF. NOT UNTIL MY DAD WENT BACK TO HIS REGULAR JOB WERE WE ABLE TO GET THINGS WE NEEDED. THAT LASTED FOR ALMOST 10 YEARS WHILE I WAS A TEENAGER. I NEVER HAD A BICYCLE OR A CHANCE TO PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, LIKE MY BROTHER. SO ALL I DID WAS PLAY BALL AT WETZEL FIELD. THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS HOW I WON THAT BATTING TITLE IN THE TWILIGHT LEAGUE IN 1937. BUT WE ENDURED, LIKE EVERYONE ELSE AND EVERYTHING WORKED OUT FINE IN THE LATTER YEARS.

BEST REGARDS.

1931: AN OLD FASHIONED THANKSGIVING IN TRENTON

IN THE MIDST OF "THE GREAT DEPRESSION:
A Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixen's for $1.00,1.50, 1.75, and at the Hotel Hildebrecht, a "FULL COURSE THANKSGIVING DINNER FOR $2.00 with a live orchestra and dancing at 6:00 P.M. Bring back the good old days!

Apologies to those visitors who are using a "CRT: (cathode ray tube) monitor. The page is too large to allow for a smaller scan. Even with a high definition LCD monitor, it is a challenge to read the small print.

1933:FDR'S "NRA" STIMULUS PACKAGE

It was called the "National Recovery Act." This ad appeared in the Trenton Sunday Times Advertiser one month before I was born (September 29, 1933). In a former post, I mentioned that the Glover family was trapped in the throes of the Great Depression. At the time, a family of five had to really scrape to exist, unless a family was fortunate enough to have a job with the Bell Telephone Company, Public Service, or many other recession/depression proof organizations. My father operated a freight hauling company known as "Gill's Express." His clientele was made up of the many potteries which proliferated in the Trenton of yesteryear. One by one, companies who owed him money defaulted on their debts. Each week brought a new financial loss to Gill's Express. Bottom line: "Pop couldn't pay his mounting bills and when the telephone company disconnected him, his business became still another victim of what has become known as"The Great Depression".

1933: EMPLOYMENT PICTURE IMPROVES

From the "GREAT DEPRESSION" folder, this article dealing with the slight up-turn in the economy some 3-1/2 to 4 years after the 1929 stock market crash. My parents were among those on what was known as "Relief," but we know of today as "Welfare." Strange the way history repeats many events.