Lienne's Diary Entry

When the stock market crashed in October of 1929, my family lost everything. I am a woman living in Northern Ohio with three kids in April, 1933. My husband has now been unemployed for three and a half years and our family of five is not fairing well. We had invested heavily in banks and stocks so when they went down, it took us with it. Former President Hoover did not do much to combat the effects of the Depression when it first began so now many more families like ours must face extreme difficulties to survive. I’m not surprised he didn’t get re-elected in the 1933 election and am glad to see that the new President is stepping up to the plate to help his citizens in these times.

When I learned about the “New Deal” program President Roosevelt had set up, it gave me new hope. The Civilian Conservation Corps were established in March of this year and we jumped at the opportunity. Our family moved from western Indiana to be closer to the camp in Cuyahoga. My husband, who is now 23, has gone to the camp and is now making 30 dollars a month, sending home to us a whopping 25 of that, a miracle in times like this. He is now working to build bridges, roads, and improve the national park in Cuyahoga Valley. It surprises me that he could become such a skilled laborer when he was trained to be a law consultant in Indiana.

My family is now doing well thanks to the efforts of our great President and our new very skilled handyman.