A Day in the Life: The Great Depression

Grace Spellman
HIST 153
3-4-17
 My name is Henry Jackson, Im 18 years old, and Im a dead man. Everything I had was

taken. My home, my daddy, my hope. All because of this depression, its slowly but surely going

to take me too. I grew up an only child outside of Cimarron County, Oklahoma. I was a farmer,

my daddy was a farmer, his daddy was a farmer, it was in our blood. My mama passed away

before I could plow the fields. I barely recall anything about her, except that she was a sweet

southern-bell who always made me smile. My daddy was, and is my hero. He had the heart and

mind of a special man, he was honest, and he worked dang hard to give me an amazing life-

despite having no mama. He died when a storm hit our farm. A colossal dust storm. It terrorized

the south, our stable roof collapsed on my daddy leaving him broken. Who knew the farm, the

place my daddy loved the most, ended up killing him. It breaks my heart, and makes me wish the

roof fell on me instead.

I had no choice but to leave, I left my land, my dead daddy, and my life behind. I was a

loner now. Im a nobody who has nobody. I had two choices, either wait for the storm to sweep

me away, or go find a so-called Civilian Conservation Corp and start over. Which I briefly heard

about on the radio. I contemplated both, it would be easier to just rot away on the side of the

road, but I dont want my daddy, whom is watching from above to have died for nothing. So, I

must carry on, for my daddys sake. I have to, or Ill die in deep regret.

I fled the farm town and gradually got closer and closer inland, I stowed away on rogue

trains. Other homeless men accompanied me, they gave me advice, scraps, and told me where

the camps were located. Finally, I had arrived. It was July 17th, 1933. 10 days after my daddy had

died. The CCC was surprisingly welcoming. I always imagined the government punishing us

folk for being jobless. I wasnt going to take it for granted. There were tons of other guys, some

even younger than I, and in even worse shape. I was polite like my daddy taught me. There was

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one guy who seemed in charge, like the Sargent. I felt like an enlisted soldier getting prepared for

war. But instead of a battle with the enemy, it was a battle for our survival.

I woke up confused where I was, it was weird to sleep in an actual bed. The other men

appeared much larger than me, some might actually have been soldiers. I was surely intimidated.

I was quiet and remained that way. I didnt want any trouble. We were all treated equal, despite

what you looked like or where you came from. I went into the dining hall and like a buffet they

had various breakfast servings. I grabbed as much food as my plate could contain. I stuffed my

face like an animal. I knew if I wanted to have the energy to work all day I needed a full belly.

We were called out to begin our work. I still hadnt talked to anyone. I didnt care to. We were

ordered to plant trees, over massive areas of land. I started digging up holes to plant the tree, I

met a swell guy named Stanley. He was a big talker, he just kept going on and on about how he

had no job, food, or a home before thisIm sure every man here could relate. Stanley was very

grateful though, he said his Christian faith was restored after getting a second chance at the

CCC. I just kept nodding and we maintained small-talk, he asked about my family, I paused for a

long while. I smiled real big and exclaimed theyre in heaven, and that Im here because of them.

He smiled back and said they would be proud. I sure hope hes right. We finished work for the

day which seemed like forever, but also went by in a blink of an eye. Stanley and I got dinner, we

sat together and he told me about his sweet heart Sandy, whom hes sending his income to. We

went back to our bunks. I started to cry, not because I was sad, but because I felt like my life was

coming back into place. I was meant to be here, and my mama and daddy get to watch me

prosper.