The Great Depression Strikes Fond du Lac, 1929-1935
by Nicole Jones

The Great Depression was a very difficult time in America. It marked a time of economic decay and poverty for many Americans. Life during the Great Depression was a great struggle for many. It was sometimes hard to find food, much less a job. Businesses, if they stayed open, were forced to slow their production and people were laid off. One local Fond du Lac woman recalled, “My father worked at Rueping’s. Every morning he left for work at 7 A.M. and was usually home by 10 A.M., He never knew how many hours a day he would work…. About half of the city’s families were on some [form of] relief, to help them through the times.” ¹ By 1933, about one-fourth of the country was out of work. That meant that approximately 14 million people were unemployed. In total, 40 million people, including family members, were without a dependable income in 1933. ² Many people around the country were in need of help. In Wisconsin, large numbers of people were unemployed. In 1930 97,000 people were without work; in 1931 the number increased to 196,000; in 1932 269,000 people were unemployed; and only in 1933 did the number dip slightly to 239,000. ³

What the Great Depression meant to communities becomes even more vivid when it is examined on a local scale. Both the problems faced and the ways communities coped with the economic crisis of the Great Depression come to life. In Fond du Lac, the Great Depression weakened local banks, stimulated the establishment of local relief and aid programs, and brought nagging problems in agriculture to a head. The election of 1932 dramatically changed local politics as Fond du Lac responded to the Depression like many other communities in Wisconsin.

Although the financial panic is often seen as triggering economic collapse, the Great Depression did not start on October 29, 1929 when the New York Stock Market crashed. Instead, the crash was a culmination of many developments. Speculative stock purchasing, the economic effects of World War I, and an enduring series of problems with agriculture in the United States led to the stock market crash. Yet the crisis was a watershed that marked change for a whole nation.

The New York Stock Market was a pillar of American business ideals. America was devoted to building fast and making money. America’s industry was booming, and money was becoming more abundant. Buying stock was a popular trend for people who saw the bull market as risk-free. Unfortunately, some bought stock with little of their own money, a procedure called margin buying in which purchasers borrowed up to 75% of the price of a stock. The stock market was seen as a way for people to make quick money. The borrowed money was largely from banks. When the market crashed, stocks went from “$87 billion (at least on paper) to $55 billion” in a matter of days, and many stockholders who suffered a great loss could not sell their shares. Consequently, they could not afford to pay back their loans to the banks. ⁴ The banks in turn lost their money and could not recover from such large losses. Since banks had no way to insure their deposits, many people lost their life savings when the financial institutions collapsed.

President Herbert Hoover explained that the crash had been caused by “our immediate weak spot was the orgy of stock speculation which began to slump in October, 1929.” ⁵ Hoover’s statement about the cause of the Great Depression resting with speculation has been challenged subsequently by scholars, who now generally agree that American stock prices were not unreasonably high in 1929 and that the October collapse had little or no effect on the level of industrial activity in the United States or anywhere else. ⁶ This means that the stock market crash itself did not have a direct effect on American industry. Yet people still lost their jobs.

President Hoover also offered another, more credible, explanation for the Great Depression and the stock market crash. He asserted that it was a worldwide problem that stemmed from the Great War of 1914-1918. “In four-fifths of the ‘economically sensitive’ nations of the world, including such remote areas as Bolivia, Bulgaria, and Australia, economic downturn was noticeable long before the 1929 collapse of American stock prices.” ⁷ In essence, World War I had created worldwide debt that put a strain on the world economy. Countries were trying to pay off their war debts and could not stimulate world economies, including that of the United States. The crash was thus a culmination of an ongoing problem.

While he might be able to analyze the causes, President Herbert Hoover offered few ways to bring about a rebound from the Great Depression. He favored the traditional approach of balanced budgets, high tariffs to protect domestic production, tight money, governmental economy, and a reminder to the people that they themselves should find a way to recover.

Victory over this depression and over our other difficulties will be won by the resolution of our people to fight their own battles in their own communities, by stimulating their ingenuity to solve their own problems, by taking new courage to be masters of their own destiny in the struggle of life. This is not the easy way, but it is the American way. ⁸

This solution did not meet with a lot of support. People who were in need of assistance had no way to improve themselves. Had they a way to live and contribute to society, they would not have needed relief. Farmers in particular were really suffering, and discipline and self-help seemed to be inadequate solutions.

A weakened agricultural sector of the economy was a major contributor to the Great Depression. American agriculture suffered a recession in 1920 and 1921 when wartime conditions ended. Farmers were not able to rebound from their loss of income at this time, and agriculture remained in the doldrums in much of the world for the whole ensuing decade. The pinch was doubly difficult, because the price of machinery remained high, and many farmers could not afford to modernize production. The rsulting inefficiency of production harmed smaller farmers. Many farmers also had mortgages on their farms, sometimes due to expansion during the better times of the war, and corrowing based on expected sale of a crop was standard practice. When prices of commodities remained low, farmers could not pay the banks from which they had borrowed to buy their farms and plant their crops. This put added stress on banks, for there was less and less money coming into them. ⁹ Farmers could not pay the banks money that was not being “grown.” The farm crisis had a direct effect on the stability of banks in the 1929 crisis, for the banks simply could not survive the additional rapid blow of the stock market crash on top of the ongoing stress of the agricultural crisis.

The Stock Market crash of 1929 and the recession in agriculture financially affected banks in Fond du Lac. When the New York Stock Market crashed on October 29, 1929, The Fond du Lac Daily Reporter stated, “prices seemed to have no bottom” that day on the market. “Although trading proceeded more swiftly than ever, the scene on the floor of the stock exchange was no more confused than it has been on many other days, according to veteran traders.” ¹⁰

In 1928, there were five banks in Fond du Lac: First-Fond du Lac National Bank, Cole Savings Bank, The Citizens State Bank, Commercial National Bank, and The First Wisconsin Bank. ¹¹ The First Fond du Lac National Bank was formed in 1918 when the First National Bank and Fond du Lac National Bank consolidated. It advertised that it had served Fond du Lac with 77 years of safe banking in the 1932 Fond du Lac City Directory. The bank enjoyed stable leadership; Ernest J. Perry was President of the bank from 1915 until 1948. ¹² This bank survived the Great Depression and returned to its original name of First National Bank in 1955.

The Cole Savings Bank emphasized its place as a locally-based institution. In 1928, the bank placed an advertisement in the City Directory stating “Keep your money working in this community-whether you spend, invest or bank it. Then you will share in the benefits it brings.” William E. Cole had opened Cole Savings Bank in Fond du Lac in 1879. According to the October 29, 1929 story in The Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, “From a small organization in the days after the Civil War, the bank has grown to be one of the largest of its kind in this section in the country.” ¹³

The Cole Savings Bank expanded in 1924 by building a new bank building, complete with a grand and ornate lobby trimmed with Grecian and Italian marble. While the bank appeared to be doing very well at the time, it may be that the money the bank spent on expansion was a mistake and helped bring about its demise, for the bank failed in 1929. ¹⁴

The Bank of Fond du Lac was established in the same location that the Cole Savings Bank had occupied. The bank continued business with the depositors of the closed Cole Savings Bank, which had held deposits of $758,000 at the time it closed. ¹⁵ George F. Reuz of Milwaukee became the President of the new bank. Reuz was able to pay all Cole Bank depositors in full.” ¹⁶ But the Bank of Fond du Lac failed in its turn in 1932. It was unfortunately unable to recover from the closing of Cole Savings Bank. ¹⁷ It is unclear whether depositors recovered their money from this second closing.

Other Fond du Lac banks opened during the early years of the 20th century. The Citizens State Bank opened in 1911. Located at 104 South Main Street, the President at the time of its founding was E.A. Curtis. The Citizen’s State Bank, whose President at that time was A.J. Pullen, advertised in the 1928 Fond du Lac City Directory that its resources were $1,000,000, and the Commercial National Bank, whose President was H.R. Potter, advertised the same publication that its capital and surplus amounted to $710,000. In 1932 the Citizens State Bank consolidated with Commercial National Bank, suggesting that one or both of the institutions was experiencing difficulties, for in March 1933, Commercial National Bank failed to reopen after the bank holiday, and it was forced to liquidate.

The Bank Holiday of 1933 was a 14-day cessation of operation of banks nationwide. The temporary closure was intended to prevent a run on banks. Lieutenant Governor Thomas J. O’Malley proclaimed on March 3, 1933 that a banking holiday was needed to sort out the bank crisis in Wisconsin. The holiday proclamation took effect at once and provided that no business was allowed to transact business up to midnight on Thursday, March 16. Lieutenant Governor O’Malley acted upon the advice of the state banking review board and with the approval of Governor A. G. Schmedeman who was in conference with Federal authorities in Washington. ¹⁸

An editorial in The Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter attempted to make the best of the situation.

Throughout the country today the bank holiday, despite the inconveniences and temporary handicaps it may cause, is cheerfully, willingly and gladly accepted. It is recognized as the first step or application of a remedy that will mean safe banking. It is bound to bring about the readjustment that will make for recovery and stability of the entire national economic structure. ¹⁹

The goal, of course, was to lessen panic among Fond du Lac citizens when all their banks suddenly closed.

Many banks disobeyed the proclamation and stayed open. “In Milwaukee and other cities patrons were allowed access to safety deposit vaults, and much currency that had been hoarded in the expectation of just such an emergency was coming into circulation.” ²⁰ Banks in Fond du Lac did remain closed for the most part, although they did make their vaults available to merchants who wanted to put their receipts into the safe. There was also a large increase in night depository bags requested by merchants to put money into the banks. A large increase in the sale and cashing of money orders was reported by American Express and the Post Office in Fond du Lac, as people tried to maneuver around the restrictions. ²¹

During this bank holiday, bank supervisory authorities reviewed the conditions of the banks in Fond du Lac. Each bank was placed in a category. Some banks were allowed to open on an unrestricted basis. Other banks reopened with restricted deposits and withdrawals. The third category was banks that had to close and liquidate. In Fond du Lac, only the First Fond du Lac National Bank was authorized to reopen on an unrestricted basis. It operated as the sole banking institution in the city from March to December 1933, when the National Exchange Bank was organized. ²² The reopened banks tried to strengthen their consumer confidence by emphasizing their financial worth. The First Fond du Lac National Bank advertised in the 1934 Fond du Lac City Directory that their capital was worth $500,000, their surplus worth $350,000, their profits and reserves $99,000, and their resources $6,696,000. The newly opened National Exchange Bank advertised in the 1934 Fond du Lac City Directory that its capital and surplus was $500,000. When president of the bank William Mauthe opened the doors of the new institution, a condition that had existed for nearly a year came to and end: For nine months the citizens of Fond du Lac only had had one bank availably to them locally, The First Fond du Lac Bank. Its major competition, the Commercial National Bank, had consolidated with Citizens State Bank in 1932. This consolidated bank, known as the Commercial State Bank fell into the category of banks that were forced to close. Banking in Fond du Lac was little short of chaotic during this time.

Many local businesses needed to pay their employees but lacked the cash to do so. The Fred Rueping Leather Company was forced to import money from Chicago to pay its employees for two weeks of labor. Approximately $17,500 in cash was procured from Chicago banks. F. J. Rueping and other company officials had the money expressed to Fond du Lac. Fearing that the presence of large sums in such unsettled times could tempt thieves, Rueping said that it would be “useless for safe blowers or hold-up men to visit the plant offices, as the money is safely stored outside the plant and office.” ²³ Employees of other businesses were given paychecks at a time when the banks were not open and they could not cash them, producing much anxiety among the recipients. Cash was in demand and was in short supply; few stores could cash large checks. Yet, workers had to buy food and pay rent. Many couldn’t meet their needs without currency.

Some local businesses that were strapped for cash because of the bank holiday found imaginative solutions to the problem. Employees of Sanitary Refrigerator, of Northern Casket, and of Demountable Typewriter were issued paychecks as usual. The president of those three companies assured workers that the money was good behind the checks. He worked with the Emergency Finance Corporation to assure that those checks could be converted into a new issue of emergency corporation trade certificates. Each pay check was to be accompanied by a slip advising the employee receiving it that he could secure the emergency currency “dollar for dollar” and that the currency would be protected by securities deposited with the finance corporation by the manufacturing companies, according to William Mauthe, President of the National Exchange Bank.²⁴

By 1934 only three banks were operating in Fond du Lac, the First Fond du Lac National Bank, First Wisconsin Bank, and the newly founded National Exchange Bank. The only two banks that survived the early days of the depression were the First Fond du Lac National Bank and the First Wisconsin Bank.²⁵ Local banking was clearly in crisis. Banks consolidated with other banks to try to become more stable yet still failed. The Cole Savings Bank had been an established bank in Fond du Lac for nearly fifty years, and yet it had to close. Banks didn’t seem so trustworthy after all, despite their marble lobbies.

Increased economic relief for unemployed workers was a major development in Fond du Lac as a result of the Great Depression. Many people were out of work and could not afford to live. Government and local charities sought to provide relief for such people in need of food and housing. Efforts to help those in need began before Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected and implemented his New Deal.

The Fond du Lac Transient Relief Depot was opened in the old Glasow-Tubbs Company warehouse on Forest Avenue in November 1931. Within the first six days of its opening, the depot served 680 meals, and there wasn’t enough room to house those who needed a place to sleep. About 200 men resided there, with a limit to their stay of one day at a time, unless they helped out at the depot. The limit was a mechanism to encourage transients to leave town quickly.

A good portion of the food handed out at the depot was donated by local farmers, butchers, bakers, and other donors. The average cost of a meal was five cents. Donations of cots and blankets were received from Camp Douglass. ²⁶ By November 30, 3,040 meals had been distributed at the depot. According to Reverend E. R. MacKinney, who organized the effort, the depot was designed to get men off the street and to reduce the number of beggars. ²⁷ The citizens of Fond du Lac evidently wanted to keep wanderers off the streets and also to encourage outsiders to move on.

Gardens also became a way for families to supplement inadequate incomes. Sydney S. Miller, the secretary of the City Welfare Association, said that the “garden for every family” campaign was a success. Each family that received aid planted a garden to supply their family with fresh vegetables. About twenty vacant lots were made available for families to use. The Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter publicized the existence of the lots. One strip of garden land, owned by the Wisconsin Power and Light Company, was located on Sixteenth Street. About thirty-five families used that plot of land for their gardens. Families who were on relief and did not plant a garden were not able to collect their aid. This was seen as another way to keep families on aid accountable. ²⁸

Echoing President Herbert Hoover, the concept that those receiving charity were loafers was frequently evident, even in the face of mass unemployment. Fond du Lac Mayor Albert J. Rosenthal stated that he would make sure families were held accountable if they were receiving relief. “No work, no food” was his watchword. He claimed his intentions were not harsh, but he wanted to reinforce a “give and take” rule. According to Rosenthal, this measure “will bring vigorous objection from the habitual incompetent or agitator who has been taking advantage of unemployment conditions to realize his long cherished ambition of enjoying food, shelter and clothing without the slightest effort on his own part. ²⁹

Mayor Rosenthal obviously did not realize that many who were on aid were unable to support themselves. Jobs were not easy to come by. Even if one could find a job, many of these positions were temporary and connected to a certain project. A steady income was hard to come by, and there were few permanent jobs available. Were there really so many incompetents and agitators in Fond du Lac in 1933, long hoping to be able to take advantage of economic hardship to gain access to charity, as was suggested by Mayor Rosenthal’s comment?

Other forms of relief came from the Federal government. The Wisconsin Association of Public Relief Officials administered a Federal fund for relief to Fond du Lac. One Fond du Lac City relief worker, J. C. Viets, stated that all such funds had to be distributed through public relief agencies. Viets also said that all relief work had to be done on state or local projects, that is, public works. The money given to the agencies by the government could be used for food, shelter, light, gas, fuel, water, household needs, clothes, and medical supplies for those receiving aid. ³⁰

Assistance was also provided by private organizations in the city. For example, the Annals of the Congregation of Saint Agnes records that in the month of August 1931, 1250 meals were given to the hungry at the hospital and about 400 meals were served at the convent. ³¹

Local projects created jobs for the unemployed in Fond du Lac. A mile- long pipeline needed to be built to connect the Bischoff Street well to the West Rees Street reservoir. It was estimated that the completion of the construction would require 12,000 man-hours. This equated to only about one and a half months’ time. Only unemployed men were eligible for these jobs. The intent was to take men off the streets and put money in their pockets, at least temporarily. E. J. Braun of the Water Department estimated it would require 25 men to carry out the project. ³² Thus the city created some jobs for the unemployed, while helping the welfare of the whole community.

Other types of relief were also implemented in Fond du Lac after Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced the New Deal in 1933. “The federal government poured millions of dollars into construction projects, including the March 16, 1934 construction of a Fond du Lac County poorhouse. The project was initiated by the Wisconsin Civil Works Administration.” ³³

Agricultural relief was also given to the state by the Federal government. Designed to stop overproduction, the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was created during the first hundred days that Franklin D. Roosevelt was in office. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration was created to disperse relief money to farmers who were willing to cut production. ³⁴ In 1935, Wisconsin received $8,970,225.61 in AAA benefits. Fond du Lac County was given $213,991 in aid for sugar beet benefits. Other benefits were received for wheat, tobacco, sugar, and corn-hogs. ³⁵ The Agricultural Adjustment Act set up an allotment system for major commodities though providing cash subsidies for farmers who reduced production. New Deal planners thought prices would rise in response to federally induced scarcity, and they hoped this would stimulate broader recovery. ³⁶ Agricultural overproduction seemed to be a major problem. President Franklin D. Roosevelt understood that farmers needed an incentive to prevent a flooding of the market that would cause commodity prices to collapse. Reduced production would bring better prices for commodities. Unfortunately, this approach also destroyed food that hungry people desperately needed.

Agriculture was a major part of Wisconsin’s livelihood. The state’s dairy farmers had been frustrated for years by falling prices. The response was to produce more in order to make the same amount of income they made previously, and that in turn pushed prices further downward. This “scissors” crisis hit the industry hard. There were two prices set for milk at the time, one price for fluid milk and one for milk that was to be made into butter, cheese, and other dairy products with a longer shelf life. Fluid milk brought a higher price than milk for other products, largely because fluid milk spoiled more easily on the way to market, and because it cost more to cool that milk in order to get it to the marketplace. The price differential started to squeeze consumers and they cut back on purchases of fluid milk. Larger dairies were able to control the market price of milk, because it was easier for them to produce mass quantities of milk. Smaller farms could not do this, and this set the stage for strife among dairy farmers. ³⁷

The Wisconsin milk strikes started in 1933. The small farmers were sick of dictation by the large producers who controlled the market. These farmers formed a group called the Singler’s Milk Pool. They wanted farmers to withhold their product until a fair price for milk was met. Those who tried to get their milk to market had to confront members of the group. Strikers from the Milk Pool dumped shipments of milk on the side of the road and harassed farmers who were trying to sell their milk. ³⁸

By February 1933, farmers were picketing in Fond du Lac County and there were local reports of milk dumping. Large producers of milk in the county were warned by the protesters that their milk shipments would be dumped unless they paid farmers $1.40 per 100 pounds of milk. ³⁹ Often such actions were farcical. Picketers in Dotyville stopped one milk truck but only made faces at the driver, perhaps because a sheriff’s deputy was riding in the truck. The deputy warned the picketers that they would have to pay for any damage they did. There were bad feelings in the community against the milk strikers.

An even larger group, the Wisconsin Farm Holiday Farmers, joined the cause. Their membership included more than 130,000 farmers. Governor Schmedeman responded by mandating that companies such as cheese factories and milk distributors pay fifteen cents more per pound of milk. With that demand met, the Wisconsin Farm Holiday Organization then withdrew from the strike, but labor actions in the dairy industry continued for a couple of years. The farmers had cost themselves over $10,000,000 in lost production, while the state had to pay $100,000 for 2,000 troops, and Wisconsin counties paid $70,000 for 4,000 special deputies to protect milk deliveries from strikers. ⁴⁰ The strike ended in a loss for the smaller farmers, because they had no money to pay their bills. The milk that had been dumped was a complete loss. Dairy farmers hoped President Roosevelt would have an answer to the agricultural problems in the state, but unfortunately their problems went largely unanswered.

Fond du Lac County experienced many of the features of the dairy strike. Dairy plants had to close on May 12, 1933, the eve of a major strike action. The holiday was set so farmers could agree on a set price for milk. The dairy plants wouldn’t even sell milk to most customers that day. They would only sell milk to children under eight, invalids, and hospitals. About 10,000 farmers in Fond du Lac were ready to join in the milk strike. Local police tried to make sure that violence did not occur on the roads and at the dairies. The Galloway-West dairy plant closed at midnight due to the strike. ⁴¹ By fall 1933 both the Milk Pool and the Farm Holiday Association strikers’ organization had concluded that President Roosevelt would not support an increased price for milk production. The strike “petered out” during the first ten days of November, as farmers in the striking groups gradually voted to reopen milk plants. ⁴² President Roosevelt had failed to solve the problems of the dairy farmers; in turn, their efforts at direct action had failed, too.

The Election of 1932 brought many changes in Fond du Lac. Fond du Lac County, traditionally a Republican stronghold, cast 15,100 votes for Franklin D. Roosevelt while recording only 8,074 for President Herbert Hoover. The whole county overwhelmingly voted Democratic for all offices. ⁴³ Fond du Lac voters voiced their demand for change in the oval office and in government in general. After his inauguration, President Roosevelt had to implement a plan for economic recovery for the United States. This was the New Deal. An editorial in the Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter commented that President Roosevelt had three objectives: the security of the home, the security of livelihood, and the security of social insurance. The editorial observed that the ideals of President Roosevelt would be viewed as “fanciful” by some but would appeal to the majority because of their basic worth to the common American. ⁴⁴

Many new programs were created during the Great Depression and the New Deal era. The National Recovery Act (NRA) was touted as the centerpiece of the program that Franklin D. Roosevelt implemented. In a radio address given on August 29, 1933, a Reverend Stecker implored the citizens of Fond du Lac to enter into the recovery efforts wholeheartedly. The citizens must “co-operate and fulfill the spirit as well as the letter of the NRA in order to hasten the coming of those times which are prayed for by all Christian men and women.” ⁴⁵ This was an attempt by a community religious leader to stimulate support for President Roosevelt’s efforts, but of course the NRA was soon declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court.

Another notable program of the New Deal was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). This project gave young men a place to work in return for room, board, and some pay. In effect, it got them off the streets, thereby reducing unemployment, and carried out useful public works. John C. Viets, the county relief director who helped manage this program, opened opportunities for a large number of Fond du Lac County men and boys. ⁴⁶ President Roosevelt got the idea of CCC camps from Canada, where work camps engaged unemployed single men in construction and environmental projects. It was seen as an alternative to “drifting” for young men. ⁴⁷ They built roads and bridges, and developed parks and other projects. Of course men from Fond du Lac joined the CCC not because of the value of the projects, but because there weren’t any other jobs available. Over 1500 men from Fond du Lac County served in the CCC between 1933 and 1942. ⁴⁸

Robert Hoey Sr., a resident of Fond du Lac, was one Fond du Lac man who joined the CCC. Hoey joined in 1939 and served two six-month terms.⁴⁹ He first learned of the CCC because he knew other men who had joined, and he thought it would be a good way to make some money. He applied at the Relief Department to join the organization.

There were certain eligibility requirements, including a limit on the amount of money one’s family could make. Hoey was allowed to join because there was a vacancy when he applied. The men were first sent to Oshkosh for physical examinations. Hoey worked at Blue Lake with thirty other men for his first six-month term and was sent to Mountain, Wisconsin for his second term, where he worked as a logger. There were additional benefits that were generated by the CCC. The men who operated the camp bought food from the local community near the camp, and Hoey observed that this helped to support the economy where the camps were located. “In communities close to the camps, local purchases averaging about $5,000 monthly staved off failure for many small businesses.” ⁵⁰

The men in the CCC lived in simple, army-like barracks. These were long, one-room dormitories in which all the men lived together. Hoey remembered that one of the best parts of the CCC was when new clothes and gear were distributed. He said it seemed just like Christmas; he got new shoes, underwear, socks, pants, shirts, and coats. The men were paid five dollars a month to keep for themselves, and twenty-five dollars was sent home to their families. No CCC camps were located in Fond du Lac County. There were three projects in the Milwaukee area, and there were a total of 129 camps in Wisconsin.

The Great Depression affected everyone in one-way or another. All classes of the population suffered, not just the poor. Bankers lost their businesses, investors lost their savings, farmers lost their livelihoods, and many lost their jobs and homes. The community, the state, and the nation struggled to cope with an enormous economic upheaval. Efforts to deal with the crisis provided some aid, to the unfortunate, but the effects of the Great Depression lingered for years, shaping the experiences of a generation of Fond du Lac citizens.

1 - Fond du Lac: “150 Years: 1836-1986 Sesquicentennial Historical Commemorative Booklet,” 1986. Fond du Lac County Historical Society. return

2 - Robert S. McElvaine, Down & Out in the Great Depression: Letters from the Forgotten Man. (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1983), 7. return

3 - The Committee on Economic Security, Social Security in America, Social Security Board. Available from World Wide Web: http://www.ssa.gov/history/reports/ces/cesbook.html, 1937. return

4 - David Brody, Lynn Dumenil, and James A. Henretta, America: A Concise History v. 2, Since 1865 (Boston: Massachusetts: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 1999), 667. return

5 - John Garraty, “President Hoover’s Efforts” in Edward Robb Ellis, ed., The Great Depression: A Historical Reader (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000), 64. return

6 - Garraty, 65. return

7 - Garraty, 63. return

8 - David Donald, Depression, Recovery, and War: 1929-1945 (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1966), 17. return

9 - David Brody, Lynn Dumenil, and James A. Henretta, 668. return

10 - “Stock Exchange Drops,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, October 29, 1929. return

11 - Fond du Lac City Directory. 1928. return

12 - Fond du Lac Historical Society. Banks folder. return

13 - “Cole Savings Bank occupies Front Rank In Financial Institutions of Middle West; Was opened In 1879 by William E. Cole,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, March 14, 1924. return

14 - Fond du Lac County Historical Society. Banks Folder. return

15 - “All Depositors of Closed Bank Are Fully Paid,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, November 3, 1931. return

16 - Fond du Lac County Historical Society. “History of the First Wisconsin National Bank of Fond du Lac and Banking in Fond du Lac,” typescript dated July 1967. Banks folder. return

17 - Fond du Lac Historical Society. Banks Folder. return

18 - “14-Day Cessation Of Operation is Ordered By Official Proclamation,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, March 3, 1933. return

19 - “Roosevelt Acts,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, March 7, 1933. return

20 - “14-Day Cessation Of Operation is Ordered By Official Proclamation,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, March 3, 1933. return

21 - “Banks Offer Safety Facilities To Customers; Post Office Cashes All Orders,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, March 4, 1933. return

22 - History of the First Wisconsin National Bank of Fond du Lac and Banking in Fond du Lac. return

23 - “Tannery To Pay Employees with ‘Imported’ Cash,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, March 4, 1933. return

24 - “Tannery To Pay Employees with ‘Imported’ Cash,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, March 4, 1933. return

25 - Fond du Lac City Directory, 1934. return

26 - “Transients Visiting City Relief Depot Choose Floor As Beds; Cots Are Awaited,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, November 12, 1931. return

27 - “Relief Depot Aids 1,113 Men First 25 Days,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, December 2, 1931. return

28 - “Garden for Every Family Effort Called Success As Aid Recipients Plant Seeds,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, May 25, 1932. return

29 - “Proper Course,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, August 28, 1933. return

30 - “Federal Fund for Relief is Assured City,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, August 28, 1932. return

31 - Sister Margaret Lorimer, CSA, historian of the Congregation, notes that this is the only reference to such charity in the archives of the Agnesians, but meals were regularly given by the Sisters to those who asked, at through the 1940s. Unpublished manuscript history of the Congregation of Saint Agnes. return

32 - “City Project Gives 12,000 Labor Hours,” Fond du Lac Reporter, August 5, 1932. return

33 - Dick Snow, “A History of Construction.” The Daily Reporter. Available from World Wide Web: http://www.dailyreporter.com/special/history/thirties.html (link no longer functioning 11/20/2006), 2001. return

34 - Stanley K. Schultz, & William P. Tishler, “The Great Depression and the New Deal.” In American History 102: Civil War to the Present [online]. Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin, 1999. Available from World Wide Web: http://www.us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture19.html (link no longer functioning 11/20/2006). return

35 - “County Leads in AAA Crop Award,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, August 26, 1935. return

36 - Brody, Dumenil, & Henretta, 697. The commodities included wheat, cotton, corn, hogs, rice, tobacco, and dairy products. return

37 - William Thompson, The History of Wisconsin: v. V, War, a New Era, and Depression, 1924-1940, (Stevens Point, Wisconsin: Worzalla Publishing Company,) 1990, 409-410, 413-319. return

38 - Herbert Jacobs, “The Wisconsin Milk Strikes,” Wisconsin Magazine of History, v. 35, 1 Autumn, (1951): 30-35. return

39 - “Milk Dealers in 6 Counties Serve Notice,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, February 21, 1933. return

40 - Jacobs, 30-35. return

41 - “Dairy Plants Close on Eve of Big Strike,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, May 12, 1933. return

42 - Jacobs, 30-35. return

43 - “County Goes to Roosevelt and Madison Mayor,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, November 9, 1932. return

44 - “Greater New Deal,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, June 9, 1934. return

45 - “NRA Program Offers Hope Of Brighter Winter, Says Pastor in Radio Address,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, August 29, 1933. return

46 - “Forest Camps Are Opened to Relief Groups,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, August 26, 1935. return

47 - “Labor Army Plan Like That of Roosevelt Provided Jobs for Thousands in Canada,” Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, August 28, 1933. return

48 - Elmer Dins, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Civilian Conservation Corps Replica Barracks 1933-1942. Brochure from Fond du Lac County Historical Society. (They formed Chapter 94 of the National Association of CCC Alumni.) return

49 - Robert Hoey Sr., interview with the author, September 23, 2004. return

50 - Fred E. Leake, Roosevelt’s Tree Army: A Brief History of the Civilian Conservation Corps. 1987. Pamphlet in Fond du Lac County Historical Society Collection. return

Copyright Clarence B. Davis 2005. Marian College Press, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin 2005.
Electronic publication by Fond du Lac Public Library has been approved by Clarence B. Davis.

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