Raymond and Anna Marie McIntyre: What was popular for entertainment during the Great Depression?
Raymond (born in 1923) and Anna Marie (born in 1927) discuss how neighbors and family helped each other during the Depression, entertainment during hard times, their jobs and salaries and transportation options.
In this segment, Raymond and Anna Marie talk about what was popular for entertainment during the Depression.
RAYMOND: Well, I do remember, even as a young man I liked to watch or listen to the fights. We had a radio, and Friday nights was our big night to listen to the fights. And I do remember Joe Louis and Billy Conn. And I do even remember when Jimmy Braddock, the Irishman-- there is a movie out about him now, I believe, or it was out.
HOST: Cinderella Man. Right. The Cinderella Man.
HOST: Did you listen to it?
RAYMOND: And I was a great-- I don't know if anybody remembers the Knothole Gang at the ballpark. I was fortunate enough through grade school to get a Knothole Gang ticket. And after school, we used to rush over to Sportsman's Park to watch the ballgame. And a little antidote to that was when we'd go in, somebody wouldn't have their ticket or wouldn't-- so we'd stand over the top and throw it over the railing. They'd pick it up and they'd come in.
HOST: [LAUGHS] If you had to pay for a ticket to the ballgame, what did it cost?
RAYMOND: Oh, gosh. I don't think it even reached a dollar.
HOST: Less than a dollar.
RAYMOND: Yeah. I mean, if you just wanted-- unless maybe you wanted a box seat; you might have had to pay a little more. But price of admission then was very reasonable.
HOST: Mm-hmm.
Raymond and Anna Marie McIntyre:
- What was popular for entertainment during the Depression?
- How did you get around during the Depression?
- What types of jobs did you have then?
- Discussing a Christmas party held during the Great Depression...
- Were you affected by banks closing?
- How were you helped by the Works Progress Administration?
- What lessons did you take away from the Great Depression?
- Full Interview
Byron Gross and Sam Weber:
Byron (born in 1914) and Sam (born in 1913) talk about President Roosevelt’s fireside chats, how the crisis affected them and their fellow St. Louisans, and lessons they learned from the Great Depression.
- Introductions
- What were you doing during the Great Depression?
- What were some difficult adjustments you had to make during the Depression?
- Discuss the conditions endured by some during the Depression.
- Were you affected by bank closings during the Great Depression?
- What was it like to listen to Roosevelt's fireside chats?
- A story about helping each other to get by...
- What was something people wished for?
- Lessons Byron took away from living through the Great Depression...
- Lessons Sam took away from living through the Depression...
- Full Interview
Margaret Barrett:
Margaret (born in 1917) talks about bank closings, struggles in farming communities, her jobs and salary, going to school during the Depression, and the wonder of modern conveniences like electricity, indoor plumbing and the radio.
- Introduction
- Where did you live during that time?
- Did you notice people helping each other more during the Depression?
- What things did your family do to get through the Great Depression?
- What was school like during the Depression?
- Did you have modern conveniences in your home like electricity?
- Did you have a radio during the Depression?
- Full Interview
The Great Depression Curriculum Interview series, recorded in 2008, is made up of conversations with St. Louis-area residents who lived through the Great Depression. The interviews provide students with first-person accounts of life between 1929 and 1940.
Teachers can get students talking about the videos with discussion questions (pdf) based on the interviews.
For additional Great Depression-related multimedia resources, from newsreels to oral histories, visit our audio and video collections.