HIDDEN HAPPINESS IN THE GREAT DEPRESSION

By Tamara Lyn Culver

ATL 12, Section 52
Dr. Jeffrey G. Charnley
May 25, 1989         

The Great Depression of 1929-1941 had a lasting impact on the people who lived
through it.  Most of the stories and images that go with the Great Depression 
are sad, melancholy, and somber.  "Hard times", people usually think, no money,
starving families.  These memories are fitting for a lot of people, but for others,
The Great Depression was a happy time.  For Mabel Zischke Bauerle, who was born 
in Clinton County, Michigan, The Great Depression was a time of new beginnings.  
Mabel was born on a farm, eventually married a farmer, and still lives on a farm
today.  During The Great Depression, in this farming community of DeWitt, Michigan,
Mabel started a new career, a marriage, and a new family.  Although there may 
have been some difficult times, Mabel's life on the farm, during the years of 
1929-1941, was very happy, productive and content.
         
At the start of the Depression, Mabel was living at home, with her parents, 
William and Lovina Zischke, and three sisters, Glenna, Grace, and Gertrude.  
Home for the Zischkes was a farm in Riley Township, Clinton County, Michigan.  
(Appendix C-1).  Mabel had graduated from St. [Johns] High School in 1927, 
and was working on getting her Michigan Teaching Certificate.  Her first memory 
of the Great Depression was reading stories in the "Lansing State Journal" about
men committing suicide due to the Stock Market Crash.  She remembers accounts 
of people not being able to cope with the loss of property.  Mabel was not 
affected personally by the Crash of October 24, 1929, but her parents lost some
bonds.  The local bank in Bath, Michigan was forced to close, and Mabel's future 
husband, Herbert Bauerle, lost some of his money he had placed in the bank.  
She remembers that eventually he got back about 25c for every one dollar, 
but even that took some time.  (Bauerle Interview).
         
After Ms. Zischze got her teaching certificate, she was employed by Clinton County
to teach primary school.  In 1930, her salary for nine months of work was $1012.50.
(Appendix B-1).  The average salary for nine months of work for all United States
educators in 1930 was $996.75, so Mabel was earning more than average. (Historical 
Statistics 167).  In 1931, Mabel was still employed by Clinton County, but her
salary had decreased to $900 for nine months of work. (Appendix B-2).  This 
decrease was one of the first places Mabel felt the saving efforts of The Great 
Depression.  The schools were cutting salaries in order to save money and keep
education opportunities available.  The average salary of United States educators
also dropped during the years of 1930-1940, reaching the low of $871.50 in 1935. 
(Historical Statistics 167).
         
During the time of her teaching, Mabel Zischze had been courted by Mr. Herbert 
Bauerle.  Mr. Bauerle was a farmer in DeWitt, and worked with his father on the 
family farm.  This was a happy time for Mabel, and Herbert would come visiting
in the Bauerle family car. (Appendix A1-1).  Mr. Bauerle was very attentive, 
as seen by the numerous greeting cards that Ms. Zischze was given and has kept 
throughout the years. (Appendix B-3).
         
The depression obviously did not have a negative impact on Mr. Bauerle's and 
Ms. Zischze's relationship as they were married on June 15, 1932.  Mabel bought
her wedding dress at Mahoney's in Lansing for the price of $9.85. (Appendix B-4).
The following is the entry in Herbert's diary for June 15, 1932:
         
    Went to St. John in morn, took Mabel then I went to Lansing in P.M., 
    got ring and flowers.  Started to get my lovely bride at 7 o'clock P.M.  
    We both started for parson at 7:45.  We were married at 8:00 P.M..  
    May God bless us....  (Bauerle Diaries 1932)
         
In Mrs. Bauerle's personal belongings, there is a wedding photograph of the 
new couple. (Appendix A1-2).  The portrait was taken at Derby's Studios in
Lansing, Michigan, and is very important to Mrs. Bauerle.  The fact that the
couple paid to have a professional portrait taken of their wedding day signifies
how special the day was to them.  Mrs. Bauerle is sitting in her wedding dress, 
holding the bridal bouquet, while Mr. Bauerle stands behind her.  The Depression
did not mean that people did away with traditions such as wedding photos.
         
After the wedding, the new Mrs. Bauerle moved to the Bauerle farm.  The farm 
was in DeWitt Township, Clinton County, Michigan. (Appendix C2, 3, and 4).  
The farm at [] was 80 acres, and was owned by Herbert's parents, Hertha and 
Henry Bauerle.  The farm was divided into several fields, at about 8-10 acres 
per field.  The fields were separated by fences.  The new couple, with or without
the Depression, did not have a lot of money to start out with.  They got along 
on approximately $26 a month, plus the money that Mabel had saved from her 
teaching salary. (Bauerle Interview).

The crops that the Bauerles raised were corn, wheat and oats.  These crops were 
typical during the Depression, and other farms around DeWitt were raising the
same crops.  The Bauerles did not necessarily sell all of the actual crops,
but traded some of them for other goods.  For example, instead of buying flour, 
they would take wheat to the mill in Lansing and exchange it for a sack of flour.
(Bauerle Interview).
         
If the wheat was sold commercially, Mrs. Bauerle remembers getting approximately
50c a bushel. (Bauerle Interview).  This was in about 1933, when the average 
price for a bushel of wheat was 74C.  (Historical Statistics 511).  The lower 
price that the Bauerles were getting was probably due to the fact that during 
the Depression, smaller farms were getting pushed around by the larger farms.  
The farm subsidies programs rewarded big farmers enough to enable them to purchase
more modern equipment and improve their acreage. (Bird).  Therefore, the big farms
were involved in a cycle that encouraged them to grown bigger and bigger, 
while making it harder for the smaller farms to compete.
         
The [Bauerles] also had some livestock during the Depression.  They kept 8-10 dairy
cows, about four horses used for farm labor, and a few pigs for meat.  Livestock
involved too much land and labor to be productive on a smaller sized farm.  
After they had been on the farm for awhile, Mrs. Bauerle started raising chickens
to supplement the farm income.  The chicken coop still stands on the farm today.
(Appendix A2-1).  Many people had to supplement their incomes during The Great 
Depression.  For some people, this extra money was necessary to just survive 
during The Great Depression.  This was not the case for Mrs. Bauerle.  With
the extra money, Mabel was able to buy a telephone, pay all the phone bills, 
and purchase some extra things for the house. (Bauerle Interview).
         
Herbert's parents had owned the farm and house until Mabel and Herbert's second 
child, [], was born in [].  At that time, the Bauerles decided that now they 
were a family, and needed a place to call their own.  Mrs. Bauerle recalls that 
they did not have to pay quite as much for the farm, since Herbert had worked 
on it for many years without getting a regular salary. (Bauerle Interview).  
The farm was 80 acres, and the large, white farmhouse still stands today,
looking basically as it did during The Depression. (Appendix A2-2).  The Bauerles'
ability to buy the farm at a time when the majority of farmers were having enough
trouble just staying alive is proof that they were very fortunate during the 
Depression.

Another example of [Mabel's] and Herbert's good fortune is that they were able 
to build a new barn in 1935, right in the middle of The Depression. (Appendix A1-3).
The building started in the spring, and Herbert hired one full carpenter as well as
3-4 other neighbors to help with the labor.  The materials for the barn cost 
about $800, and were purchased from Eaton Lumber Company in Eaton Rapids, Michigan.
(Appendix B-5).
         
The men would have a half hour at noon for dinner, and it was Mabel's responsibility
to feed them.  She remembers always making potatoes, since the men liked them, 
they filled up the hungry workers, and they were readily available on the farm.  
Mabel would also serve canned beef or cheese casserole, and plenty of vegetables.
(Bauerle Interview).
         
The farm life that Mabel had was typical of farm life all around the country 
during The Depression.  Farm life in Hannibal, Missoui is described as milking 
cows, raising gardens and chickens, and doing all the baking and cooking. 
Some people found farm life so beneficial during The Depression that they sold 
their houses in the city and moved to the country.  Such is the case for Frances
Ridgway, of northern Michigan.  Living on a farm, at least the family had food 
to eat although they were lacking in such things as electricity and no flushing
toilets.  (Westin)
         
One of the main advantages to living on the farm during The Depression was the 
availability of food.  As Mrs. Bauerle states, "We may have been poor, but we 
didn’t know it since there was always food on the table".  The Bauerles always 
had plenty of vegetables, including string beans, beets, potatoes, and carrots.  
Since they [didn't] have electricity, it was important to raise [vegetables] that 
could be kept in the cellar.  Mabel would can some of the vegetables, such as 
beets, and when pressure cookers became available, she canned sweet corn, 
squash, and pumpkin for pies.  They used lots of lard in their cooking, which 
was available from the few pigs kept on the farm.  Mabel would preserve meat 
by putting it in 30 gallon containers of brine, and then bring it up and 
soak it when it was time to eat.  Another way of saving meat was to fry it up, 
put it in crocks, and [pour] hot fat on it. (Bauerle Interview).  This way, 
the Bauerles avoided the hardship of finding food during The Great Depression.  
Other people were not so lucky.  The only things that Mrs. Bauerle remembers 
having to buy are sugar, coffee, crackers and tea.  Mabel would buy tea siftings,
similar to powdered tea, at 10c a pound and sugar at about 4-5c a pound. 
(Bauerle Interview).
         
When it came to clothing, Mabel was careful about saving money and ended up 
making most of the clothes for the two children she had at the time, [], 
who was born in [], and [], born in [].  Mabel would send away for "rag bundles",
which were five pound bags of scrap material.  From these, she would make the 
[kids'] clothes, and pot holders from the smaller pieces.  Mrs. Bauerle could 
get good percale sheeting for about 10 or 11c per yard.  Anything that couldn't
be made was ordered from Sears, Penneys or Montgomery Wards.  A pair of overalls
from Penneys cost 49c.  Although The Depression made buying clothes hard, the 
kids would usually get nice, new outfits from their Grandma Hertha at Christmas
time. (Bauerle Interview).

The Depression made it necessary for farmers to produce as much as possible 
using as little time and labor as possible.  The best solution to this was the 
use of machinery.  The [Bauerles] generally had equipment that was a bit older.
Henry Bauerle, Herbert's father, didn't want to pay for machinery, and Herbert 
and Mabel were limited in what they could buy.  The first machine they bought 
was a hayloader, purchased for no more [than] $125. (Bauerle Interview).  
In 1936, partially with the money that Mabel had saved from teaching, the Bauerles
were able to buy a [threshing] machine. (Appendix A1-4).  The [Bauerles'] thresher
was the first in town.  This was one of the turning points in [Mabel's] and Herbert's
life, since Herbert was able to loan out his machines.  They began to make some
money that was actually theirs, and not Herbert's parents.  The thresher cost over
$1300, which was a huge sum of money during The Depression. (Appendix B6, and 7).
However, this cost was offset when Herbert would make about $15-25 for a day 
of threshing for neighbors. (Bauerle Interview).
         
The threshing machine also proved to be helpful in other areas, such as the 
social life during The Depression.  Since people lacked a lot of extra money, 
getting together to do the threshing was a way to socialize with neighbors and
friends.  Mabel does not remember going to the movies at all, but the government
sponsored some movies in town.  The movies were shown twice a week, outside, 
on the side of a building.  Mrs. Bauerle remembers when her husband's younger 
sister, Esther, would ride her bike to Mabel's house and then go see the movies
from there. (Appendix A1-5) (Bauerle Interview).  This was a way for the younger
people to get together.
         
Mrs. Bauerle would have people over for dinner almost every Sunday and this gave
the Bauerles a chance to have time with parents, friends, and other relatives.  
Herbert bought one of the first radios in the neighborhood, which was a luxury 
few could afford during The Depression. (Appendix A2-3).  One of Mabel's favorite
memories of The Depression was an evening when neighbors filled the kitchen, 
surrounding the radio, listening to the returns of the Presidential election
when Roosevelt was elected to his second term. (Bauerle Interview).
         
Another form of entertainment during The Depression was reading.  Books were 
available in the Bauerle household, some of them being given to Mabel as a child.
Some of Mabel's favorites were stories written by Gene Straton Porter, which
centered on topics in nature. (Appendix A2-4).  Another favorite author was 
Albert Terhune, who was famous for his dog stories.  The Bauerles also subscribed
to several newspapers including "Michigan Farmer", "Successful Farming", and
"Farm Journal". (Bauerle Interview).  The Depression forced people to look 
for inexpensive ways to entertain themselves at home.
         
When Roosevelt was elected in 1932 and again in 1936, Mabel was happy, even 
though she did not vote for him.  She had good things to say about Roosevelt,
and approved of what he did for the country.  She states, "He probably did 
as well as anybody could have done, with getting the country back together." 
(Bauerle Interview).
         
Although farms were an essential part of the economy during The Depression, 
a lot of the programs Roosevelt created as part of The New Deal did not affect 
the farmers.  One of Mabel's future son-in-laws, [], was involved with the 
National Youth Administration (NYA). (Bauerle Interview).  This was a training 
program for older teen-agers.  The kids went to actual camps where they were
trained and paid.  This program was similar to the Civilian Conservation Corps 
(CCC), which provided work for teen-agers in the area of environmental cleanup.
(Loucheim 298).  Mrs. Bauerle remembers Mr. [] getting paid about $18 per month,
which was a good way for the youth to make some money. (Bauerle Interview).
         
The Welfare program and the Social Security programs were also implemented 
as a part of The New Deal. (Loucheim 151-158).  Mrs. Bauerle thought the programs
were a good idea, but did not anticipate ever having to use them.  She had started
saving money as soon as there was a surplus to save, and had always planned 
on taking care of all of her own expenses.

The Roosevelt program that had the most effect of Mrs. Bauerle during The Depression
was the Rural Electrification Program.  This was the only way that they were able
to get electricity to the farm.  Mabel remembers being most grateful for the 
addition of a refrigerator (Bauerle Interview).  This program provided electricity
to rural areas, where it had been scarce before.  It had not [been] profitable 
for power companies to put up power lines, and therefore, farms had to suffer 
without power.  The Rural Electrification Administration (REA) was set up, 
as part of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, and the purpose of this was 
to help the farmers get the power they so desperately needed.  The REA helped
by convincing the power companies that the farmers did need the power, and also
stimulated the manufacturing companies to make more power eouipment.  The farmers 
would use this power equipment in place of manually powered equipment and make 
it more advantageous for power companies to install the power lines. (Benedict 338).
         
The Depression made it necessary for the government to implement Federal Aid 
Programs for farmers.  So many farmers were on the brink of bankruptcy and 
starvation, and the Federal Aid Programs helped tremendously.  The farmers 
would produce surplus crops, and instead of having them rot in the cellars,
the government would buy them. (Friedman 733).  Some large farms got checks 
in excess of $10,000 for crops they did not grow.  Or some of the surplus food
went to school lunch programs.  The Federal School Lunch Program has been
going ever since. (Bird).
         
Although many farmers in the DeWitt area received Federal Aid, the Bauerles 
were doing well enough on their own and did not require it.  Some people thought
that the legislation would create disharmony between the agricultural world and 
the business community.  One piece of legislation authorized a fund of $500,000,000
to finance the marketing of farm crops. (Appendix D-l).
         
The Depression definitely had some bad points.  Living in the city would have 
made things much harder.  Mrs. Bauerle thinks that one of the advantages 
to living on the farm during The Depression was that they were not faced with 
the everyday realization that people were starving and out of jobs. (Bauerle 
Interview).  Although all farms didn't have as much luck and prosperity 
as the Bauerles, at least living on the farm provided food.  The farmers also 
didn't have to worry about finding a job, since farming was their employment.
         
There were many lessons to be learned from The Depression.  People learned 
to live simple lives, content with what they had.  When special things came
around, it was an exception, and it made those things all the more special.  
People learned to be resourceful.  Some of Mrs. Bauerle's observations 
of children today are that the younger generation, "Doesn't know how to make 
their own play, they've got to have something to play with", and "Kids don't
stoop to pick up a penny any more." (Bauerle Interview).  The lessons learned 
during The Depression were valuable both then and in more modern times.
         
The Great Depression was not always so depressing.  Not everyone lived a horrible
life, starving in gutters, or homeless, without a job.  Mrs. Bauerle is proof that
many people had good lives, raised joyful, healthy families, and learned such 
things as "It isn't just the material things that count in life, there's more".
(Bauerle Interview).  Yes, The Depression had a terrific impact on everyone 
who lived in those years, and our country learned a lot from its experiences.  
The Great Depression is an excellent example of people finding hidden happiness
and prosperity in the midst of potential tragedy.