BACK THEN

A recent cartoon shows Grandma seated in a rocking chair and a little child saying to another child, “Don’t ask Grandma anything about ‘old times’ if you have anything to do the rest of the day.”

Having lived a long time, I have a large store of memories from which to cull bits on occasion as the spirit directs. My own memories go back to l9l8 when I was three years old, when a fat little boy kissed me at a birthday party, causing tears and humiliation for me as the grownups laughed and applauded. I have a faint memory of World War I which I have written about elsewhere. I can still picture an open-topped Maxwell auto that my father had. I also remember stories of the early days told by my parents and siblings. Some of the stories have been recorded; surely there are those which are lost because no one bothered to write about them. It seems to me to be important to preserve the family stories. I do remember the “merry-go-round” (shown in the picture) which was made by my brother from a plank and a wagon wheel. I was the 3-year-old in the picture. I have always loved the picture because of its scenic background!

It has been suggested that I write about events of the 20’s and 30’s, mentioning such things as movies we enjoyed, and effects of major national events on my family and me. I well remember Lindbergh’s flight across the ocean. My father came home in some excitement from being up town and hearing the news and exclaiming, “Lindbergh got across!” Many people around the world were thrilled by this accomplishment.

I don’t remember that our small town was greatly affected by the ’29 crash except that everyone lived through depression years afterward. We had large gardens and meat was available from farms in the area, so we didn’t have food shortages. Years later I learned of the problem of a local man who almost lost his clothing store in those days.

Things which seemed important to me in those early days included learning to do the Charleston (that took practice), going to movies, and finally being emancipated from wearing long winter underwear. The legs of that garment came down to the ankles, and black stockings were pulled up over them. I hated having to wear the outfit and before entering the schoolroom I would pull the legs of the underwear up to my knees and under my dress . Before going home and facing my mother I would try to put them back down under the black stockings. Eventually I was allowed to quit wearing them. That was a good day!

Movies which I found thrilling in the 20’s were “The Mark of Zorro,” with Doug Fairbanks, “Seventh Heaven,” with Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor, and any picture with Clara Bow (the “It” girl). Gloria Swanson was an actress at that time as well. There was no sound and a local pianist played on an upright piano during the show, trying to match the music with the action in the movies with loud chords during battles and tender, heart-tugging music during love scenes.

Some of the songs which were popular at that time were “Let the Rest of the World Go By,” “Whispering Hope,” and “My Wonderful One.”

Those were the days of “flappers”—women who wore short skirts and cloche hats. In 1931 women wore Empress Eugenie hats. This was a style, copied from the wife of Napoleon, which tilted over the right eye and was often trimmed with feathers.

One event of the ‘20’s that is worth remembering is the visit to our small town of an evangelist named Owen Mickel. He was a real cowboy and he dressed as one, wearing chaps (leather leggings) which he referred to as “my shaps.” He told many stories of his ministry to hard-bitten cowboys and their religious conversions. Along with him came his teen-aged son, Owen Mickel, Jr., who wanted to be called Montie Mickel. This slender, handsome, guitar-playing young man caused many a heart throb among us pre-teen girls. This man later became famous as Montie Montana when he played in a number of cowboy movies with stars like John Wayne, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers. He was the marshal of the Rose Parade for many years. As an expert in roping, he once lassoed “Ike” during a parade. He received international recognition and some of us feel we “knew him when.”

During the depression days of the 30’s nobody had much money and prices were low. I bought a pair of saddle shoes for $2.50. The price of a dress was in that range also. Hamburger cost l0 cents per pound and liver was given away free. Salaries were at rock bottom. While in college I lived with my two married sisters and their husbands. Both of the men were graduate students with stipends of $66/mo. My sisters had taught school but were not permitted to continue in those jobs after they married, since married women were not employable during the depression years. There was no air conditioning and there were many days with temperatures of over l00° in the summers of the ‘30’s. I remember the five of us stretched out on the living room floor of a second-floor apartment, trying to sleep with the help of a large oscillating fan, “borrowed” from the Physics Department at the college.

One event of those days which I remember is my brothers-in-law going out at night and helping themselves to grapes grown by the college and bringing them home to be canned and made into grape juice.

I was able to show financial need when in college and was given a secretarial job at the local radio station and my fees were reduced. This was a part of the fee exemption program which helped students to make it through college.

These were the years, sometimes called the alphabet years, of President Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal.” A number of agencies with alphabetical designations were established which gave financial assistance to citizens and made jobs available. The NYA (National Youth Administration) paid stipends to needy young people who enrolled in work study programs in their schools. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), established in 1933, employed young men to perform unskilled work in rural areas, under Army supervision. There were separate programs for Native Americans.

Great entertainment during the ‘30’s came with the movies of Jeanette McDonald and Nelson Eddy, truly America’s sweethearts. I saw every one of their movies and still enjoy watching them on video. Another great movie was “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,” with Gary Cooper. There were many good radio shows. We especially enjoyed “One Man’s Family,” and “The Great Gildersleeve.” People in the cities stood in line to hear performances by Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, the Dorseys, “Satchmo” Louis Armstrong, and Glenn Miller.

As other writers have said, that was a simpler time. There was good in it, and the best of it was that we were young!

Story ID:	843
Written by:	Wanda Molsberry Bates (bio, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Family Memories
Location:	Clarksville IA USA
Year:	1918
Person:	Wanda Bates