USS Oklahoma-- Part 4: Timeline

**  JULY 1929:  Maneuvers were greatly reduced during the Depression because of lack of fuel oil.

**  1933:  An earthquake hit Long Beach, Califirnia, while the Oklahoma was docked there.  Her crew deployed ashore to maintain order.

**  1933:  She  participated in a civil defense drill in Tacoma, Washington,  using the ship's generators to provide all electric power to the city for 24 hours.

**  JULY 1936:  Sailed to Spain to rescue American citizens and refugees during the Spanish Civil War.  While en route to France, a woman gave birth, the first time a baby was born aboard an American battleship.

**  DECEMBER 6, 1940:  Based at Pearl Harbor for patrol and exercises.

**  DECEMBER 7, 1941:  Pearl Harbor attacked by the Japanese.

--GreGen

Percy Jones Army Hospital-- Part 1: A Varied History

From Wikipedia.

This is where former U.S. Senator Bob Dole recuperated for two and a half years after his wound in Italy during World War II.

It is now part of the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Before it became the Percy Jones Army Hospital, it had a long career, first as  the Western Health Reform Institute which opened in 1866 featuring holistic medicine by the Seventh-Day Adventists.  In 1876, it was acquired by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (invented corn flakes) and it became the Battle Creek Sanitarium.

However, the Great Depression caused the place to go into receivership.

With the United States entry into World War II, it became apparent that places would be needed to treat the large number of wounded military personnel.  

A new use was found for the place.

--GreGen

Bedford, Virginia Remembers D-Day-- Part 2: 19 of 34 Bedford Boys Killed in Opening Minutes

Of the 34 soldiers from Bedford in Company A, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, 19 were killed.  Sadly, that included both of Lucille Hoback Boggess' brothers.  The carnage that befell Company A happened in a matter of minutes:  German machine gunners. opened fire on them as the soldiers clambered ashore.

For the little community to suffer so enormously was an anomaly created by the times.  Many of Bedford's young men had joined a Virginia National Guard unit before the war, as the Great Depression lingered.  The unit became a part of the U.S. Army in early 1941.  Through grim luck, the small unit the Bedford boys were part of landed in the teeth of the most destructive German fire.

--GreGen

The "Prompt Liquidation" of Works Project Administration

From the December 13, 2017, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1942, 75 Years Ago.

"President Roosevelt ordered the 'prompt liquidation' of the Works Project Administration.  War work has reached the point where a national work relief program is no longer needed."

Between people going into the military and working in war factories, there was no need to find jobs for people anymore.  The Great Depression was over.  But the WPA had done its job and we have many things still that came about because of this program.

--GreGen

Sky Harbor Airport, Northbrook, Illinois-- Part 2

Shy Harbor Airport was located near Pal-Waukee Airport.  By 1939 it had four 'cinder-oiled" runways, the longest at 2,500 feet.    But by then, it had begun a decline because of the Great Depression and the airport had been abandoned and the once-glitzy clubhouse gutted by vandals.

In 1939, it was sold and started a comeback as a center for Navy fliers from the nearby Glenview Naval Air Station. And, it was also used by the Civil Air Patrol.

By 1950, its runways were paved but it was closed by 1974.  Just part of the hangar remains of it today.

--GreGen

"We Patch Anything": The WPA's Sewing Rooms-- Part 3

I had never heard of this operation before coming across it in one of my "Looking Back" posts.  I especially liked how they took the WPA's initials and turned it into "WE Patch Anything."

Seamstresses took pride in what they did and would say the WPA stood for "We Patch Anything."  Each item they made had a WPA label on it and the inscription "Not to Be Sold."  I wonder if there are any remaining WPA garments?  Perhaps even collector articles now?

By 1940, the Fort Worth sewing room had 650 women,ages 35-64, and had produced 2,341,369 garments and 130,408 household items.

As the United States drew closer to war, the women began finding better paying jobs in defense industries.  Starting pay in the sewing rooms was $35 a month for 140 hours.

WPA sewing rooms disbanded in 1941.

Something Else I Didn't Know About.  --GreGen

"We Patch Anything": The WPA's Sewing Rooms-- Part 2

Some women were placed in clerical jobs by this program.  Others became librarians, worked in canning, gardening and sewing.

Nationally, some 7 percent of WPA workers were women engaged in sewing projects.

The Fort Worth sewing room opened in 1935 and later had separate sewing rooms for black and white women.  It provided job training for illiterate women also included basic education.

The federal government paid the women's salaries while the city and county paid a portion of the expenses.

--GreGen

"We Patch Anything": The WPA's Sewing Rooms-- Part 1

Continued from the January 7 and 8 blogs.

From the May 27, 2013 "Living New Deal site "We Patch Anything: WPA Sewing Rooms in Fort Worth, Texas."

This is in reference to my posts of January 7 and 8 referring to the closure of the sewing room formerly housing the KPA (actually WPA) in DeKalb and reopening as a Red Cross sewing room, now for the war effort.

Most think of the U.S. government's attempt to get the country out of the Great Depression called the Works Progress Administration usually referred to by its initials WPA as mostly men working on highways, parks and schools.

But, there were also programs for women starting in 1933 through the Women's Division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) and later under the auspices of the WPA.

--GreGen

About That KPA in the Last Post

I looked up KPA in the last post and found it should have been the WPA sewing project, not the KPA.

WPA, of course, stands for the Works Progress Administration, a major government agency formed by FDR to get us out of the Great Depression.

I'll do some more research on the WPA sewing project.

--GreGen

The Cubs, World War II, Chicago, in 1945-- Part 2: Gold Stars in the Windows

The spring of 1945 brought good news for Chicagoans.  It was beginning to appear that World War Ii was about over and, also surprising, the fact that the Chicago Cubs were already favorites to win the National League pennant.  The last time the Cubs had made it to the World Series was during the depths of the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Then came Pearl Harbor and over the following years, many a bungalow window had a Gold Stat in its window, marking the home of dead hometown hero.A homemade memorial plaque on the 4900 block of South Princeton Avenue listed six names of 48th Precinct servicemen who had died defending their country.

One small part of the South Side had sent 139 off to fight.

--GreGen

North Carolina's Fort Macon in World War II

From the Encyclopedia of North Carolina "Fort Macon" by Paul Branch.

In 1923, the Fort Macon, built between 1826 and 1834, was deeded to North Carolina by the federal government and became the second area acquired by the state for public use in what is today the system of state parks.  During the Great Depression, a Civilian Conservation Corps camp at the site restored the fort and constructed recreational facilities.

On 1 May 1936, Fort Macon State Park officially opened as the first developed, functioning park in North Carolina.  The park was an instant hit and grew in popularity.  The Works Progress Administration established a public beach at the site in the early 1940s.

When the United States entered World War II, the old fort went to war once again.  On 21 December 1941, Coast Artillery troops occupied the park for military defense purposes.  By November 1944, when German U-boat activities off the coast of North Carolina subsided, the fort was deactivated.

The Army terminated its lease on 1 October 1946, and the property was once again returned to the state and resumed its former role as a state park.

--GreGen

V-E Day in Chicago- Part 4: Coming Out of the Great Depression

When the war vegan in 1939, the United States was deep into the Great depression.  For a decade the American economy was in bad shape with nearly a quarter of the people unemployed.  President Roosevelt's New Deal programs brought some hope, then Europe went to war.

The United States first began to aid beleaguered Great Britain, then turned to itself to rearm and prepare for war.  Even before Pearl Harbor, out military was being built up and our factories began turning out amazing amounts of war munitions.  Jobs were now plentiful, if not in factories, definitely in the military.

Now, with the end of the war looming, the prospect of millions of ex-servicemen suddenly returning and competing for jobs made many wonder if victory was going to set the stage for another depression.

--GreGen