Effects of the Depression
What happened to a town that relied solely on one economic force during the Great Depression? Is it better for a community to be centralized around one large institution during hard times, or is it dangerous? Even for the people who lived through it themselves, it depends on who you ask. We can find a few common threads, however, when we listen carefully.
"One cannot generalize about life in Potlatch. Some aspects were very different from living in other small towns, and remained so throughout Potlatch’s history as a company community: the inability to own housing; the company’s insistence upon cleanliness and orderliness. Other things were thoroughly typical of small-town life: neighborliness; club activity; interest in high school sports. Some activities were confined to certain classes and some characterized Potlatch for only brief periods." - Keith C. Peterson, Company Town: Potlatch, Idaho, and the Potlatch Lumber Company.
The company
"As always, the fate of the town hinged upon the progress of the company, and those were bleak times for lumbermen throughout the Pacific Northwest" - Keith C. Peterson, Company Town
The years leading up to Great Depression had already been tough on the Potlatch Lumber Company as they found themselves overproducing with very little profit. When the stock market crashed and business was bad for the whole country, things went from bad to worse in Potlatch. At the beginning of 1931, Potlatch Lumber Company made their first wage cut for all employees, and by autumn of the same year, the Potlatch mill site was temporarily shut down. Hundreds of lumberjacks and mill workers were now out of work, and those few who kept their jobs received another wage cut in early 1932. The mill town no longer had a mill.
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However, though the residents of Potlatch were no longer employees of Potlatch Lumber Company, they were allowed to continue renting the company-provided housing and send their children to the company-owned schools (though the teachers also received a significant pay cut). The company continued to provide what they could for the employees and their families, even if they could not provide work. Unlike many small towns during the Great Depression, Potlatch schools and businesses remained open, and the town's inhabitants always had access to electricity, running water, and fuel wood. When some work was available, the company attempted to spread it evenly among men with families and give preference to town residents. Major sacrifices were still required, however, and this is when Potlatch and Palouse area residents demonstrated true perseverance and creativity.
Burden School Girls - 1936
Potlatch High School Girls Basketball Team - 1931
Creative Perseverance
"And we used to raise quite a few chickens, and the peddlars would come by. Had those great big Rhode Island Reds, and they'd trade me a box of peaches for a chicken. And apples and tomatoes, and that way I could can. Oh, I canned everything I could get my hands on." - Ella May Benge, Oral History Interview
The people of Potlatch found other ways to sustain themselves when they no longer received a paycheck from the company. People began to cut their own wood to sell outside of Potlatch. Families planted gardens and raised small livestock to provide their own food. The company provided the land for these gardens, and, though livestock had been prohibited within Potlatch neighborhoods since the first years of the town, the company now allowed it.
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Many men found low-paying, temporary jobs with the Works Progress Administration, a Depression-relief program established by the Roosevelt administration, working on public building projects. Many social organizations and clubs raised charitable funds or assembled to provide skills or resources for those in need.
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Debts were allowed to accumulate and credit was extended until there was money to pay. Trading and Bartering instead of monetary transactions became commonplace. Many people followed the honor system of honestly paying what they could for goods, even if it meant paying more or less than someone else for the same item, in order to keep the business afloat and necessaries circulating.
Ida Soncarty with Hog - 1930
The Soncarty Boys processing their own timber - 1935
Community strength
"Everybody socialized and fraternized and had a good time. Everybody, you know, was in the same boat. But then, just as soon as times picked up again and people start getting some money, well then, all this fraternizing kind of died out and then they divided up into small groups. You'd have two or three friends and I'd have two or three friends and this way and that way. But during that toughest part of the Depression, why, they were altogether in a group." - Arthur Sundberg, Oral History Interview
Though people did not have much, they had time and each other. Many residents looked back with fond memories of their social life, even when times were at their worst. People organized dances and parties to celebrate the smallest events so they could forget their hardships for a few hours. Clubs and social organizations through local churches, the library, and the Athletic Club continued meeting, hosting events, and assembling fundraisers for various needs. Families and neighbors worked together to raise their gardens and maintain their homes. During this moment in Potlatch history, neighborliness thrived and you could find a generous helping hand in almost any home.
"Well, one particular instance I remember. We didn't have any coffee. Course, I was just quite small, but, they didn't have any coffee, and our neighbor lady was down there in this first house. So she sent word up saying they had gotten some coffee and she had a cup of sugar, so she made a cake, and they invited everybody down. You know, big deal! You know, it was really togetherness and gung-ho, just like you were having a fiftieth anniversary now. Big deal! Cake and a cup of coffee! Went down, and they drank coffee all afternoon and nobody slept for three days, because they hadn't had any coffee and the caffeine kept them awake for about three days! Now, I mean, this is togetherness. You drank together and everybody suffered together. I do remember that." - Peggy Schott, Oral History Interview
Ella May Benge -
Hatter Creek
Listen to Ella May describe how community dances were hosted during the Depression. Everyone brought what food they had, played their own instruments, and danced the whole night.
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Sam Schrager (interviewer): The dances sound like real togetherness. Real neighborliness.
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Ella May: Yeah it was.
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Sam Schrager: Do you think that the Great Depression made people draw closer together?
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Ella May: Well it sure didn't drive 'em apart!
A Toddler's First Birthday - 1930
Burden School Class Photo - 1936-37
Bysegger Family Get-Together - 1930