by Harlan E. Anderson
“Some years, like poets, politicians, and some lovely women, are singled out for fame far beyond the common lot, and 1929 was clearly such a year.” — John Kenneth Galbraith
I was born on October 15, 1929. At the time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wall Street was 311; talking motion pictures or “talkies” were just starting to gain popularity; and a new house cost only about $7,000.
On October 24th, in my Dad’s 42nd year, “Black Thursday” struck and the ensuing stock market crash wreaked havoc on the lives of countless Americans. There were millions of Americans not invested in the stock market who probably thought of this event as having no effect on them. History was to prove them wrong.
My birth and the stock market crash were coincidental, but my birthday did make it easier for me to remember what was perhaps the most important date in America’s economic history. Of course, I don’t remember it. My earliest memory was the World’s Fair of 1933 held in Chicago. I remember it because I was too young to go.
The World’s Fair was important because the country was experiencing the effects of a major Depression. The stock market crash four years earlier was now affecting even the smallest towns. Many businesses had failed and companies that had not closed were conservative about buying new equipment. Families were also reluctant to buy things that could be deferred. These events had cascaded into innumerable financial problems for the country. Some borrowers were unable to repay loans and some banks were forced to close. But in the midst of this dismal environment, the World’s Fair was a symbolic and uplifting event.
