Macro View
1) Fair Labor Standards Act
Established on June 25, 1938, the FLSA banned oppressive child labor, set minimum wage to 25 cents an hour, and set a maximum forty four hour workweek.
http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/flsa1938.htm
Jim, who made eight five dollars a month, would be making $1315.26 a month today, and Tom, who made sixty five dollars a month, would be making $1005.79 today.
2) Chamberlain meets Hitler at Berchtesgaden, September 1938
Hitler threatened to invade Czechoslovakia unless Great Britain supported Germany's plan to take over the Sudetenland. Chamberlain deems Hitler's plans unacceptable.
Tom mentions, as a part of changes that were imminent, the mist over Berchtesgaden and Chamberlain's umbrella.
3) Germany invades Poland
The German-Soviet Pact of August 1939 partitioned Poland between Germany and the Soviet Union. This pact enable Germany to attack Poland without fear of intervention from the Soviet Union. This is a significant event because it sets off World War II.
4) The bombing of Guernica
On April 26, 1937, Guernica was heavily bombed by Germain air raiders. Grenades, incendiary bombs, and machine guns wiped out the town, except for most of a church, a six hundred year old tree stump and new shoots, and the Casa de Jontas. Hundreds of civilians were killed.
Tom mentions that change is right around the corner for all the kids at the dance hall, and mentions Guernica.
5) The Spanish Civil War ends
The Spanish Civil War began in 1936 and ended in April 1939. After the Nationalist capture of Catalonia, the republics were defeated. Great Britain and France recognized Franco's regime, and on April 1, the Nationalists entered Madrid and received the unconditional surrender of the Republican army.
6) World War II begins and the Great Depression ends
America had established the Neutrality Act of 1937, however, after Germany's invasion of Poland and the beginning of the war, President Roosevelt increased the size of the Army and National Guard and permitted munition sales to France and Great Britain, bringing the U.S. out of the Depression.
7) Popular music
Swing and big band music were popular in 1939. Young adults would go to dance halls and dance to songs such as Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean a Thing (If it Ain't Got That Swing)." Other popular artists included Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller.
There is a dance hall across the street from the Wingfield apartment that is always lively with people.
8) 1939 -- Hollywood's Golden Year
A dozen or so movies were released this year that are deemed classics. Movies include "The Wizard of Oz," "Gone with the Wind," "Stagecoach," and "Wuthering Heights."
Tom is always at the movies because they provide a sense of escape for him from the life he is unhappy with.
9) The Dust Bowl ends
After eight years of families moving west to escape massive dust storms, rain finally falls in1939. The Southern Plains once again saw fresh crops with the rain and end of the Depression.
10) Chicago's Cook County Hospital opens nation's first blood bank
Though accidents and illnesses were still common, there were a few medical advances, which included safer blood transfusions, new medicines, and improved anesthesia.
Though accidents and illnesses were still common, there were a few medical advances, which included safer blood transfusions, new medicines, and improved anesthesia.
Micro View
1) The population in St. Louis, per the 1940 census, was a total of 274,230 people; 133,667 men and 140,563 women. A significantly larger amount of men worked in industries such as agriculture, construction, and manufacturing. The only industry where more women worked than men is simply "services."
http://mcdc.missouri.edu/trends/tables/historical_indicators/moco_agecohorts_1940_1990.pdf
http://mcdc.missouri.edu/trends/tables/historical_indicators/moco_empbyind_1930_1990.pdf
2) "Black Tuesday"
On November 28, 1939, smog was so bad in St. Louis that people needed to use their headlights on their cars and street lights were kept on for even just a little bit of visibility.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/article_00c3b6cd-ba69-5a19-b498-fbc29f9630c4.html?print=1
4) The Jewel Box Laura refers to was opened on November 14, 1936. It is a building of 50 foot high glass walls that allows a lot of sun and prevents damage from hail. Though one hailstorm broke many panes of glass in other greenhouses, the Jewel Box was left undamaged.
http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/parks/jewelbox/history.html
5) The St. Louis Housing Authority is established. It helped facilitate Housing Act programs that allowed local government to use government funds for housing with rents scaled according to income.
On November 28, 1939, smog was so bad in St. Louis that people needed to use their headlights on their cars and street lights were kept on for even just a little bit of visibility.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/article_00c3b6cd-ba69-5a19-b498-fbc29f9630c4.html?print=1
3) The St. Louis Cardinals played 153 games in 1939. They won 92 games and lost 61.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1939&t=SLN
4) The Jewel Box Laura refers to was opened on November 14, 1936. It is a building of 50 foot high glass walls that allows a lot of sun and prevents damage from hail. Though one hailstorm broke many panes of glass in other greenhouses, the Jewel Box was left undamaged.
http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/parks/jewelbox/history.html
5) The St. Louis Housing Authority is established. It helped facilitate Housing Act programs that allowed local government to use government funds for housing with rents scaled according to income.
6) "The Meeting of the Waters" fountain is completed at Aloe Plaza. It depicts the union of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.
Images
St. Louis Cardinals
Police Station with typewriters
People at a wedding anniversary
Blewett High School graduation class of January 1939
Downtown St. Louis
Downtown St. Louis
Recent picture of the Jewel Box
Recent picture of Aloe Plaza
"The Meeting of the Waters"
There was a good amount of events occurring in the world that played a part in the lives of many Americans in 1939, and throughout the 1930s in general. The Great Depression, lasting for just about the entire decade, affected people's lives and outlooks. Money was worked very hard for, but barely earned. It was not until Germany's invasion of Poland in September of 1939 did the Depression truly end. The United States providing munitions for the Allies increased job opportunities and a more consistent flow of currency throughout the nation.
"The World of the Play"
There was a good amount of events occurring in the world that played a part in the lives of many Americans in 1939, and throughout the 1930s in general. The Great Depression, lasting for just about the entire decade, affected people's lives and outlooks. Money was worked very hard for, but barely earned. It was not until Germany's invasion of Poland in September of 1939 did the Depression truly end. The United States providing munitions for the Allies increased job opportunities and a more consistent flow of currency throughout the nation.
President Roosevelt passed the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, making minimum wage twenty five cents an hour and the work week forty four hours. Tom was averaging sixty five dollars a month, while Jim was averaging eighty five dollars a month, and so Tom was making around thirty six cents an hour, and Jim almost double, at forty eight cents. Today, those numbers would mean around one thousand dollars a month for Tom and around thirteen hundred for Jim.
During the 1930s, much of the popular music was swing and jazz. The dance hall across from the Wingfield apartment was a popular one, and it is most likely that songs from Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller were played there. One of the top songs of 1939 was “Moonlight Serenade,” so I imagine Laura and Jim dancing to this song by candlelight, after the lights in the apartment have gone out.
1939 was known as Hollywood’s Golden Year, and so it is interesting that Tom was always at the movies. Movies of not only that year, but also of the decade, included plenty of adventure and fantasy, providing an escape for those who were hit hard by the Depression. Tom most likely found the movies so appealing because he was exhausted from his life at home, working to please and provide for others, while he had his own dreams and aspirations that he had to put to the side.
The Jewel Box was one of Laura's favorite places to go whenever she skipped her classes at Rubicam's Business College. It was a large, glass greenhouse that contained many tropical flowers. The greenhouse received its name because the arrangement of the flowers resembled jewelry laid out in a jewel box.
