 MSU Study Shows How Eastern Montana Youth Survived Great Depression
Eastern Montanans, like the rest of the country, worried about losing their youth to booze, crime and communism during the Great Depression, says a Montana State University-Bozeman graduate.
"They feared the stressful economic conditions would produce a
generation who did not understand a work ethic
McKinney won a Washington Foundation Award for Historical
Excellence in 2000. She now works in the Special Collections area
of MSU's Renne Library.
To encourage young people to live wholesome lives and continue on
the path of democracy, the federal government as well as parents,
teachers and community leaders in Eastern Montana fought back,
McKinney said. They countered the Depression with jobs, education
and recreation and were so successful that the "lost generation"
of the 1930s turned into what broadcaster Tom Brokaw calls the
country's "greatest generation."
"Youth, with the help of government and community support,
weathered the hardships of the Depression years," McKinney said.
"They were able to regain a sense of self-worth by having the
opportunity to gain an education and employment. The CCC
(Civilian Conservation Corps) and NYA (National Youth
Administration) helped millions of youth achieve their goals and
provided them with practical vocational guidance. Through
wholesome recreation, national leaders hoped to instill in youth
a connection to their community and nation and hopefully keep
them out of trouble."
Billings, for one, benefitted many times over from the CCC,
McKinney said. After the devastating flood of 1937, for example,
more than 50 CCC youths from Ballantine showed up to repair the
damage. Ballantine was the closest CCC camp to Billings. Near
Sidney and Savage, CCC workers made willow mattresses, laid them
in the Yellowstone River and weighted them down with rocks to
raise the water level and prevent erosion. CCC youth near
Medicine Lake developed a migratory waterfowl refuge.
The NYA program involved more than 400 boys and girls in projects
at Billings, McKinney said. Among other things, they built ice
skating arenas, school playgrounds and athletic fields. At
Plentywood, they planted 200 American elm trees and built a
toboggan slide, ice skating rink, tennis court and football
field. In Sidney, they marked city streets and numbered houses.
In Fairview, they built and repaired furniture, toys and road
signs.
"The NYA provided a much-needed outlet for the youth of Montana
and the nation," McKinney said. "Thousands of youth were able to
stay in school, learn a trade, obtain vocational guidance and
help their families make ends meet. The monetary gain was not
much, but the educational, vocational and psychological
advantages were immeasurable. Once again, youth could gain some
control over their lives."
Eastern Montana leaders were serious about recreation, too,
McKinney said.
"Providing recreation proved just as important as providing jobs
in order to help the youth of the nation stay out of trouble,"
she observed. "Events that provided wholesome leisure also served
as a way to connect youth to their family, community and nation
as a whole. Strong communities were essential because they were
the building blocks of democracy."
Jigsaw puzzles, radio programs and county fairs were just a few
of the recreational weapons that Eastern Montanans launched
against the Great Depression, McKinney said. Caught up in the
jigsaw craze that swept the nation, Plentywood residents could
buy jigsaw puzzles for as little as 10 cents or rent them from
the Plentywood Herald. Sidney sponsored a lawn and garden
contest, claiming that the "Best-appearing towns are feeling the
Depression the least." Billings youth learned ballroom, tap,
ballet and acrobatic dancing.
"Most city programs centered on providing outdoor recreational
facilities such as swimming pools, parks and skating rinks,"
McKinney said. "The Billings and Sidney communities sponsored the
building of new municipal swimming pools that provided
entertainment as well as relief from the heat for youths."
McKinney focused mostly on Billings, Plentywood and her hometown
of Sidney for her research. Billings was the largest community in
Eastern Montana during the Depression, McKinney said. Sidney was
often called "Depression-proof" because of the economic stability
given it by irrigation and Holly Sugar. Plentywood had no
irrigation or sugar factory and fought foreclosures, dust storms
and political divisions.
For photos and more details about Eastern Montana's youth during
the Depression, look for McKinney's thesis in the Western
Heritage Center in Billings, the State Historical Society in
Helena, the Mon-Dak Heritage Center in Sidney or the Renne
Library at MSU. Her thesis is titled "From the 'Lost' to the
'Greatest' Generation: Eastern Montana Youth in the 1930s."
Evelyn Boswell
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