The Depression Years

Two major events had a lasting impact on those who lived in my generation. The great depression of the 1930’s and World War II. The economic depression resulted in mass unemployment, increased suicide and failure of many banks throughout the country. In my adult years I read many articles on the depression and the major impact it had on the lives of many people. Looking back on my early childhood I can’t recall the depression years as being so traumatic. In fact I would not have known that I lived through one of the major depressions in our nation’s history. I now know that my father, a carpenter, was quite often out of work. My mother frequently had to charge the food we ate because of the lack of funds. I’m sure my parents were under tremendous stress but I considered my childhood normal. I didn’t have a lot of toys but neither did all my friends. I was taught to “use it up, wear it out, and make do or do without.”

I remember two events that occurred during the depression years. One Christmas I received a small radio as a gift from Santa. The cost of the radio was $15.00. My parents had to withdraw all the savings I had in a small bank account to pay for the radio.
Secondly, I had two ducks that I named “Flip” and “Flop.” One night we experienced a severe lighting storm. The next morning my parents told me that my ducks had been hit by lightening. Years later I learned that “Flip” and “Flop” had been killed by my father and we had eaten them for a Sunday dinner. Times were tough but I was not aware of how difficult things were.

Many neighborhoods had a corner grocery store. I still remember that the owner of the Ninth Avenue grocery store (Mr. Day) always give us a grapefruit when we were ill. During the depression Mr. Day’s grapefruit gift was very much appreciated.

I was 16 years old when I bought my first car. A neighbor, Dale Josephson, and I went together and bought a 1929 Model A Ford for $50.00 . It was a black four door sedan. One day I drove to the state capital building to get my driver’s license. I had passed the written examination and needed to take the driving part of the test. I went into the driver license division and was assigned to a gentleman who would test my driving skills. The man walked around my car and said, “Where are your license plates?” I didn’t have any license plates. Then he asked how I got there and I told him, “I drove.”
“How did you drive without your driver’s license?”
“I couldn’t find anyone to come with me so I had to drive myself.”
“You can’t expect me to ride with you in a car with no license plate.”
“I was hoping that you would,” I said apologetically. There was a moment of silence followed by “I really should not test you in this car, but go ahead let’s see what you can do.”
We drove around the designated route with only two minor incidents. I had to hold my car in gear when going up hills and then when turning let go of the gears and turn like mad. He shook his head as he watched me maneuver the car. Finally, we arrived back in front of the capital building.
“A child just ran out in front of you. How fast can you stop?” I slammed my foot down on the brake. Unfortunately, as any one who had driven cars with old mechanical brakes can attest to, I kept rolling down the street…..finally coming to a stop. Having completed the test he told me to park the car. The driver examiner’s final words were “Get your car licensed and don’t drive it until you do.” Then with a twinkle in his eye he said” If you can drive this old car you can drive any car….you passed the test.”

Post Script: Dale and I could not afford to have our car licensed. We continued to drive in on dirt roads in the foothills where I lived without a license. After owning the car for a period of time we decided to put an ad in the local paper and sell the car. Our front windshield was broken and I decided to take it to a glass shop in downtown Salt Lake. Unfortunately, a police officer noticed that I didn’t have license plates and pulled me over. I explained that I was selling the car and was only driving it on city streets to get the windshield repaired. He wasn’t very impressed with my story and gave me a ticket requiring that I appear in the juvenile court. I went before Judge Rulon Clark who after hearing my story dismissed the case. I worked with Judge Clark professionally years later, however he couldn’t remember the day I appeared before him.

The car was instrumental in my engaging in activities that I would not recommend nor endorse. We were in the middle of WWII and gasoline along with many other items was heavily rationed. Car owners were issued an A, B, or C stamp depending on their need for gasoline. For example if you only did pleasure driving you were given an A stamp. If you required gasoline to drive for your work you were given a C Stamp. Since our car was not licensed we could not receive any gasoline. To solve the problem we siphoned gas from cars in the area. We frequently siphoned gas from a highway patrol car with the rational that his gas supply was unlimited. We usually spent the day after siphoning gas burping in school. On one occasion someone else used our bottles and siphon hose to siphon our gasoline. This went to prove that there was no honor among thieves. Fortunately, after selling our car our delinquent behavior came to an end.