The great gepression in the 1930s in brantford, canada

Born an early Baby Boomer, I grew up hearing stories about the Great Depression. Not a great deal has ever been written about the effects the Depression had on Brantford, Ontario, which I now call home. Having been raised on a farm outside of the city, I heard stories of the hardships that country folk endured during that bleak period but not much about the city. Country folk fared pretty well during that bleak decade. Though there were many things they could not buy, they grew their own food and traded with neighbors.

Even in Brantford the years of 1929 to 1939 were not as bad as they were in the larger cities. Some say they remember few hardships while others remember food shortages and the lack of work available. Some people’s lives were touched forever by those ten years that seemed like an eternity.

Of those men laid off, some found work but many didn’t. Some of the men left town, hoping to find work elsewhere. Some men created their own work. One local man told of buying vegetables from local farmers and walking door-to-door selling them. Others pulled weeds for ten cents an hour.

There was one significant factor that helped some of the men through the Depression. In 1932, the erection of the Cockshutt Bridge helped to relieve the unemployment situation. Though the construction company had its own crew, it needed men to haul supplies and dig ditches. They received twenty-five cents an hour for the backbreaking labor.

The men didn’t complain about low wages nor long hours for they knew there was always someone willing to take their place. Often, men were standing on the sidelines in hope that someone would either get fired or quit. Being in the right place at the right time often paid off.

Unemployment and lack of money were everyone’s troubles. It is said that even the mayor couldn’t make his house payments for some time. The mayor didn’t allow his personal troubles keep him from the people. It is said he walked the streets of the downtown, talking to unemployed men who lined the streets. As a result, he came to know their needs and concerns and was sympathetic to their problems.

There came a time when putting food on the table became a major cause of concern. Most residents relied on the wages from their jobs to pay the mortgage and provide the necessities of life. When the cash run out, city residents could not rely on their garden or slaughter a cow to provide meat as the country folks did.

During that era, there was a small privately owned grocery store in every neighborhood. The proprietor often knew his customers on a first name basis. Many people bought groceries during the week and paid for them when they got paid on Friday. Credit was readily available.

As unemployment became worse, the residents faced a hard decision. They could continue to have food put on their bills or head for the Relief Office. Those who continued to charge items knew it was only a matter of time before their credit ran out. The other choice was head to the Relief Office. Those who had once been so proud found their pride diminishing. Whatever choice they made would violate their dignity.

In 1931, Prime Minister Bennett initiated a Relief Program in Canada. Though the payments were low - $4.20 for a family of five, each week hundreds of men stood in line at the Dalhousie Street office. Direct Relief covered only two things. It provided money for food and fuel during the winter months. The City of Brantford issued ¼ to ½ ton of coal per family for a one month period.

People at that time tried to remain self-reliant and some succeeded. However, statistics show that out of Brantford’s population of thirty thousand one hundred and seven, in 1931, only ten thousand nine hundred and twelve were working to bring home wages.

Each city had its own rules for those on Relief. In Brantford, one of the requirements was that you had to be a resident. This was quite lenient as many other cities specified residence for at least a year.

A second requirement in Brantford was that you had to turn in your liquor permits to the city Relief Office. It was the city’s intention that Relief money only should be spent on necessities.

A third stipulation was that all people receiving Relief must be willing to work. Some were asked to pull weeds, cut grass, collect garbage or shovel snow to prove they were willing to do most any menial task for their payments. If they refused, there was no check forthcoming.

One of the biggest problems of the day was housing. Most were owned by individuals who had bought them as investments. The banks in those days did not often give out mortgages. Times were hard for those people who were making house payments. They sold their furniture, family heirlooms and anything else that was not a necessity in order to meet their bills. Having used up all resources, many people still lost the homes they had made payments on for many years.

One of the most devastating effects of the Depression must have been the prospect that there was no end in sight. Some people were reduced to despair; hope and determination to survive became almost impossible in such mind-boggling circumstances. The suicide rate went up. Men left their families to go to other provinces to look for work. Some never returned. Women were left alone to fend for their families. The future was bleak. How would they ever make it through this horrible time in history?

No one knew how to change the situation the Depression had trapped them in. Then, an unexpected event on the other side of the globe began to change the pattern of the last decade, not only in Brantford but in all of North America. The declaration of the Second World War began to boost the economy. Men left to fight for their country. Women held on to the home front. It seems so ironic that what was death, fear and destruction for so many people in Europe, was the lifeline of survival and prosperity for those in Brantford and the rest of North America. The Great Depression was finally over.