The 1930s Lifestyle

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Activities & Trends	-----	In the 1930s, our lifestyles were changed by the Depression. Visit my Great Depression page to learn about it.
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hobos & tramps From the 1880s to the 1930s, tramps were a familiar sight along the backroads and railroads of America. Some were men who felt the pull of the open road....they were always looking for that elusive "something" that lay just over the next hill. Others were simply down on their luck, looking for a better opportunity and a place to call home. Hobos rode the rails: they hopped freight trains and stowed away in boxcars, hoping that the "railroad bulls" and "yard bulls" wouldn't find them and throw them off. Near railroad yards, hobos congregated in hobo jungles, where they boiled coffee in the shadow of the water tank and cooked up "mulligan" stews. Sometimes they stole chickens and were jailed. They begged for meals at the back doors of homes and spent cold winter nights at relief shelters. Hobos communicated with each other by leaving markings on fences and gateposts. A simple drawing was enough to tell a hobo about the inhabitants of a house and the type of hospitality he could expect there. There had always been teenage hobos, but their numbers increased dramatically during the early 1930s. Known as "roving boys" and "boxcar boys" (and "boxcar girls"), their reasons for leaving home were as varied as they were: some sought adventure, some were looking for work, while others were fleeing broken homes, orphanages and reform schools. For them, life on the road was dangerous....in addition to the usual perils, they were easy targets for criminals and sex-offenders.		Some hobos were women, who frequently dressed like men. Life on the road was no picnic. Each year, thousands of hobos were killed or injured while hopping moving trains. They often went for days without eating and were prone to catching pneumonia. During the early 1930s, the number of hobos increased, thanks to the Depression. Misery knows no prejudice: black and white hobos were often seen traveling together. Tramp art: a wall shelf made of twigs Many tramps repaid homeowners for their hospitality by giving gifts of their own handiwork. They made functional and decorative objects that became known as tramp art. These objects have since attained the status of classic American folk art. Hobo Signs Hobo Terminology History Of Tramp Art Teenagers Riding The Rails Folk Artisans Tramp Art The Hobo some hobo terms *bindle stiff --hobo who carries his belongings in a rolled-up bundle *catch out --to hop an outbound train *reefer --refrigerator car *gaycat --novice hobo *dingbat --experienced hobo *riding the rods --lying in the undercarriage of a boxcar near the wheels *mulligan stew --a stew made out of anything that was edible
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magazines At the newsstand, there were dozens of magazines to choose from, covering every topic under the sun. By far, the most popular themes were detective fiction and western fiction. detective fiction Double Detective Detective Tales Clues Ten Story Gang Detective Weekly Detective Novels Detective Story Black Mask Private Detective Undercover Detective Black Book Detective Secret Agent Detective Mysteries Inside Detective True Detective other magazines Collier's Life Look Redbook McCall's Companion Liberty Vanity Fair The New Yorker Time		western fiction Western Story Popular Western Real Western Western Love Story Western Novel Cowboy Short Stories Thrilling Western Famous Western Sure-Fire Western Western Fiction Smashing Western The Western Raider Two-Gun Western Red Seal Western Lariat Story Magazine movies & radio Silver Screen Photoplay Screenland Radio Round-Up Film Fun RadioLand Billboard romance True Story True Confessions Breezy Complete Loves Romantic Range Sweetheart Stories Love Tales True Romances adventure Golden Fleece Sky Fighters Sky Devils Adventure Stars Of Radio And Things You Would Like To Know About Them
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most popular baby names of 1935 girls Mary Shirley Barbara Betty Patricia Joan Dorothy Margaret Maria Helen boys James Robert John William Richard Charles Donald Thomas Ronald David Brenda Frazier, glamour girl of 1938		debutantes & "cafe society" Not everyone suffered financial hardship during the 1930s. Young ladies from upper class families in Newport and Long Island still attended finishing schools in Connecticut and made their debut in adult society. Every year, reporters chose a "society heroine" to profile in their magazines. Many were featured in the new Life magazine, which switched from a humor format to photojournalism in 1936. During the Depression, they focused on "poor little rich girls" like Doris Duke and Barbara Hutton. Later in the 1930s, they featured more traditional debs like Eleanor "Cookie" Young, Gloria "Mimi" Baker, Cobina Wright Jr. and the most famous of them all, Brenda Frazier. Barbara Hutton's 1930 debutante ball was the most expensive in history, costing over $60,000. A more modest ball in the 1930s cost around $16,000. Brenda Frazier's 1938 debut was held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York City, and was attended by 1,400 guests. At the ball, debutantes wore light-colored evening gowns and above-the-elbow white gloves. After their debut, wealthy young ladies entered cafe society. They were paired up with every eligible young bachelor and playboy in town, and they partied until dawn at the 21 Club, the Stork Club and The Colony. Barbara Hutton Brenda Frazier
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telegrams telegram usage in the 1930s All long-distance phone calls were assisted by an operator, and making a call to another exchange could often be a time-consuming, frustrating process. Consequently, telegrams were a popular alternative for sending long-distance greetings. History Of Telegrams sending a telegram First of all, you wanted your message to be as short, and therefore as cheap, as possible. If you needed help, there were many booklets available that suggested messages for every occasion and provided one-word abbreviations for common phrases. To send a telegram, you called your message in, or filled out a blank form at the telegraph office. The message was sent out over telegraph lines, and was printed out by a teleprinter at the receiving end. Uniformed messengers used bicycles to deliver telegrams to their intended recipients. In the 1930s, Western Union employed 14,000 uniformed messengers.		new kinds of telegrams In 1933, Rudy Vallee received the first singing telegram. They became very popular, and were soon known as Sing-o-grams. In 1935, Western Union introduced the first decorated holiday greetings. For 25 cents, you could choose a message from the options provided, or for 35 cents for 15 words, you could compose your own message.
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school days The Depression had a big impact on school attendance. Although the lack of jobs persuaded some students to stay in school rather than quit, nearly half of the nation's children were not in school in the early 1930s. Many children stayed home when a lack of funding forced their schools to close. For others, putting food on the table was more important than staying in school. Many young people were forced out of necessity to leave school and find a job. This wasn't easy....in the early 1930s, 75 percent of teens looking for work couldn't find it. Later on, as the economy improved, things began to look up. The high school graduation rate jumped from 29 percent in 1930 to 49 percent in 1940. Of those who did graduate, the majority were female. While the young men were going out to get jobs, the young ladies usually stayed at home, and consequently more of them finished school. For nearly 100 years, children learned to read using outdated books like the McGuffey Readers. In 1931, it was time for a change, and we were introduced to the characters of Dick, Jane and Sally in the first Dick & Jane readers.		At the beginning of the decade, there were still 150,000 one-room country schools in the United States. Each school had between six and 40 pupils, and all grades were taught in the same room by the same teacher. At recess, students played baseball, and in the winter they went sledding and skating. Often, the teacher joined in the fun. The end of the school year was celebrated with a picnic. By the end of the decade, the number of one-room schools was beginning to decrease, thanks to the new consolidated school districts. The communities that chose to consolidate were closing their country schools and sending the rural kids to schools in town. In the old days, you either found your own way to get to school, or you took school-sponsored transportation in the form of a rickety old wagon or bus. In the 1930s, school transportation was offered nationwide, and the first school bus standards were enacted in 1939. The number of children who took a bus to school increased from 7 percent in 1930 to 16 percent in 1940. Dick & Jane Books Sample Dick & Jane Pages

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