An Average Day in the Thirties
Part of “The Thirties”
This page is an exploration of the average day in the thirties for an average American. We feature pictures from this time period with prose that might have accompanied such pictures sent between friends and family.
Margie and Joyce are sisters. Margie lives in New York City with her husband, Richard, and Joyce lives on a farm in Oklahoma with her husband, Bob, and daughter, Lil.
Margie,
The Dust storms are horrendous. The barn is completely covered in sand. We can’t get the tractor out, not that we need to use it anyway since the wheat won’t grow. Hope your days are less sandy up there in New York.
~Joyce
Joyce,
By golly! I insist that you pack up and bring your family up North to stay with Richard and I. While you’re here, we can finally show you Father Duffy’s statue in Times Square. It is such a blessing to be able to bear witness to a Catholic statue in a secular setting. We’ll have the guest room made up for you.
~Margie
Margie,
Our car’s engine is out due to the dust. Bob accidentally left the hood up and the darn thing won’t start. In my spare time, I have been reading “Nature Lover’s Knapsack.” Edwin Grover is lovely to read. It reminds me that there is beauty somewhere, even if it is buried under the dust here.
~Joyce
Joyce,
I do hope you get your car fixed soon. I will look into getting that book for myself. Richard and I went to the movie theater this past Friday. It was a hoot! We saw “In the Land of the Soviets.” The way technology is growing is certainly something.
~Margie
Margie,
I love days like these, when the house is full of company. It was our little Lil’s birthday and we had friends and Bob’s family over to celebrate with cake and checkers. We didn’t have many presents for Lil, but I made her a doll out of old fabrics. She has been carrying around the doll as if it were her own baby. ~Joyce
Joyce,
I will get a card in the mail for Lil as soon as possible. I can’t believe I forgot. We’ve been so busy with Richard’s work outtings that I’ve barely had any time to myself. This past weekend we went to a baseball game. It was lovely.
~Margie
Margie,
So glad to hear from you in your busy times. We do not have a theater in our town, but Lil has been listening to the radio and has her heart set on seeing Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Perhaps the next time we visit you, we can all go see the movie.
~Joyce
Citations
“Dust storm, Kansas.” Drought and dust storm conditions in the Great Plains area and preventive treatments. 1934–1935. 1934 or 1935. LCPPD:Wa,DC
Gustaf Tenggren. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Walt Disney Productions and RKO Radio Pictures. 1938.
Rothstein, Arthur. “Wide shot of baseball game in progress.” 1940.
Sekaer, Peter. “Times Square with Father Duffy’s statue still wrapped up.” 1937. LCPPD:Wa,DC
The Nation. July 1934. Print.
The Film Archives. “Classic Movie Bloopers and Mistakes: Film Stars Uncensored — 1930s and 1940s Outtakes.” Youtube.
“Three men seated at table with checkerboards, spectators looking on.” Visalia, California, 1941
