GREAT AMERICAN DEPRESSION - HANDWRITTEN DIARY - Poverty - Sickness - Death - RARE - 1935 - 39
Item History & Price
FANTASTIC, ORIGINAL HANDWRITTEN 5 YEAR DIARY KEPT BY JOHN T. GOODWIN OF ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE. HIS FAMILY IS POOR, ALMOST DESTITUTE IN THE GREAT DEPRESSION YEARS. JOURNAL COMMENCES IN 1935-1939. Our diarist John T. Goodwin of Raymond, New Hampshire commences his 5 year diary while he is still in high school in 1935, and he is 17 years of age. He plays baseball; basket ball; hockey; has a girl named Ellen, that is the love of his life (for a while); and his family is destitut...e. He is somewhat of an artist; has numerous requests to paint, and works with oil paints on glass. In 1935, Mom has to take a job in the town of West Newton, working for a wealthy family, cleaning house for $10 a week. Eventually she is completely exhausted and depleted of any energy. Dad gets laid off from his job and things only get worse. In January of 1935, the family is down to 50 cents and has to borrow $1 to keep food on the table, which consisted of potatoes and soup. At one point dad is making shoes out of an old tire. Within the first couple of years in the 5 year diary, John gets pneumonia, and then pleurisy, and is very sick for a long time. Dad eventually finds another job in the town of Errol, but a year later dad gets sick with the grip that turns into pneumonia and he passes away.
"Feb. 10, 1937, Dad has the grip. He is in a lot of pain and has not slept for 4 days. Dad has pneumonia now and is quite sick. Feb 19, Dad is worse and is out of his head a lot. Dad died at 4:05 this afternoon." The family is devastated and broken, and even worse off than ever before. Those 5 years when John was keeping his diary were some of the worst years in America. They were right in the middle of the Great American Depression, wherein millions of households were affected from 1929-1939. The years of the Dust Bowl and The Grapes Of Wrath. Tucked inside the pages there is a small envelope with a lock of Ellen's hair, Nov. 1939, and a perfectly preserved 4 leaf clover. He liked several girls; Emma, Ellen, Dot, Marion, and the list goes on.
Hand written entries include numerous important historical facts: Rudyard Kipling's death; famous explorer Martin Johnson killed in a plane crash; New England flood of March 1936; King George very sick; Flooding in Ohio and Kentucky in 1937; Dirigible "Hindenburg" explosion in Lakehurst, NJ, in May of 1937; Germany invades Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, etc.
"Jan. 15, 1935, I am going to play center on the Raymond hockey team. May 31, 1935, Dad has a job as inspector for a state road in Errol, New Hampshire. June 5, 1935, Dad is coming home the 15 and taking us all back to Errol. July 4, 1935, Got pinched by Dionne (police friend) on way to Betty's. Fine $46.70. And 30 days in house of correction but sentence suspended. License taken away. I passed car on edge or road nearly caused him to crash into car coming. July 5, 1935, Took Aunt Babbitt to N.E. Sanitarium. She is in a bad way. Hottest day this year. July 6, 1935, Went to Circus. Colebrook with dad and Ed Thibedeau. July 7, Lakeside burned up. Big barn and about six good sized camps. Saw 2 camps burn."
"Jan. 18, 1936, Rudyard Kipling died this week. Jan. 31, 1936, Dad and Bernard McQuaid had collision on curve below house. Dad's car has axle broken, broken steering, gear smashed. Bernard's car has back fender smashed. Bernard is at fault. Feb. 5, 1936, Today is grandma's birthday. Feb. 21, 1936, Three boys at school where burned by a chemical explosion. Woodard, Rogers and Heygood. All temporarily blind. March 19, 1936, More rain. Four feet water over bridge at Raymond. Road to Raymond under water in 3 places. No school. This flood is worse than last weeks. Flooding from Maine through New England. Tracks back of house all washed out. (Flood of March 1936. The winter of 1935-1936 was a severe one with lower than normal temperatures. As of early March it was estimated that the snow-packs in Northern New England averaged about 7.5 inches of water. The combination of heavy rain and melting snow resulted in flooding throughout New England.) August 28, 1936, Dad's car was taken for payment of 2 bills about a month ago. Getting it back in Sept."
"Jan. 13, 1937, Martin Johnson the famous explorer was killed in an airplane crash. Jan. 19, 1937, King George is very sick. Jan. 25, 1937, Big flooding in Ohio. Worse than last. Jan. 26, 1937, Flooding Louisville, Kentucky. Over 150 lives lost. March 4, 1937, I finally got a job with Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co. $16.70 a week assembling. March 7, 1937, Dad's birthday. I brought flowers to his grave. I am staying at Elsie's for a week due to the new job. I haven't found a place to live here yet. March 8, 1937, Started work today. Like it pretty well. Feb. 5, 1937, Congress passed act for 15 judges in the Supreme Court. Memo; Stayed with Kenneth Seeley for past 2 weeks & Elsie the week before. Got a room in an apartment. 1157 Franklin St., Stoneham. $10 a week. May 6, 1937, Zeppelin "Hindenburg" crashed at Lakehurst New Jersey; 33 lives lost; 64 saved. Explosion caused it.
"May 28, 1938, Left Melrose for Aunt Stella's in Charlevoix, Michigan. Trip took 33 hours via Niagara Falls. Drove all day; all night, and 1/2 the next day. 1100 miles. Sept. 23, 1938, Left Aunt Stellas at Charlevoix, Michigan for Massachusetts. 3 day trip via Saulte St. Marie, Maine, North Bay (Dionne Quintuplets). Alton, Montreal, Plymouth. etc. Sept. 24, Living temporarily at 17 High St. Malden. Moved to Harrington's house in Raymond, NH, About Oct. 1. Dec. 27, 1938, Moved from Raymond, NH, to 17 Chestnut St. Waltham, Massachusetts. Have job as janitor's assistant, 45 Milk St. Boston. Working for Mr. W. H. Ballard at $18.00 per week. Sept. 1, 1939, Germany started war on Poland today. England and France expected to enter for Poland. May 15, 1939, Asked for raise. Feel all pooped out. Need some sleep. Mother has quit her job at the Goldberg's. Her arm not very good. Arthritis."
Genealogy: Our author, John Torrington Goodwin, was born in Melrose, MA on Jan. 13, 1918, and he died in Waltham, MA on April 9, 1993. His father, Arthur Leslie Goodwin, was a civil engineer and a member of the Masons. He was born on March 5, 1890, in St. John, New Brunswick and died of pneumonia on Feb. 13, 1937 in Candia, New Hampshire, which is 6 miles from Raymond. John's mother was Lucy Elizabeth Smith, born Aug. 11, 1890 in Weston, MA, died? John had a sister Patricia Goodwin who was born in 1920, and a brother Arthur Leslie Goodwin who was born May 4, 1923 and died June 1, 1982. John married Marilyn Denise Sloper (1925-2001) in 1970, and they had one child; John Torrington Goodwin, born December 8, 1946 and died December 24, 1999. He was married to Jeanne E. (Whitney) Goodwin.
Condition: Hardbound diary is in good condition, internally fresh and tight, with handwritten entries that are done in pencil for the most part. Latch still works. John does not write in every year, but for the first 3 years he does pretty well on almost a daily basis. Measures approx. 4 x 5 1/2 inches and is a very worthy acquisition indeed.
Payment and Shipping: Please see our feedback and bid with confidence. Never a reserve and very low opening bid as always bidders with no established feedback must contact us before bidding. Payment must be received within 3 days after close of auction. Thank you.
On Jun-30-19 at 19:42:54 PDT, seller added the following information:
"Feb. 10, 1937, Dad has the grip. He is in a lot of pain and has not slept for 4 days. Dad has pneumonia now and is quite sick. Feb 19, Dad is worse and is out of his head a lot. Dad died at 4:05 this afternoon." The family is devastated and broken, and even worse off than ever before. Those 5 years when John was keeping his diary were some of the worst years in America. They were right in the middle of the Great American Depression, wherein millions of households were affected from 1929-1939. The years of the Dust Bowl and The Grapes Of Wrath. Tucked inside the pages there is a small envelope with a lock of Ellen's hair, Nov. 1939, and a perfectly preserved 4 leaf clover. He liked several girls; Emma, Ellen, Dot, Marion, and the list goes on.
Hand written entries include numerous important historical facts: Rudyard Kipling's death; famous explorer Martin Johnson killed in a plane crash; New England flood of March 1936; King George very sick; Flooding in Ohio and Kentucky in 1937; Dirigible "Hindenburg" explosion in Lakehurst, NJ, in May of 1937; Germany invades Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, etc.
"Jan. 15, 1935, I am going to play center on the Raymond hockey team. May 31, 1935, Dad has a job as inspector for a state road in Errol, New Hampshire. June 5, 1935, Dad is coming home the 15 and taking us all back to Errol. July 4, 1935, Got pinched by Dionne (police friend) on way to Betty's. Fine $46.70. And 30 days in house of correction but sentence suspended. License taken away. I passed car on edge or road nearly caused him to crash into car coming. July 5, 1935, Took Aunt Babbitt to N.E. Sanitarium. She is in a bad way. Hottest day this year. July 6, 1935, Went to Circus. Colebrook with dad and Ed Thibedeau. July 7, Lakeside burned up. Big barn and about six good sized camps. Saw 2 camps burn."
"Jan. 18, 1936, Rudyard Kipling died this week. Jan. 31, 1936, Dad and Bernard McQuaid had collision on curve below house. Dad's car has axle broken, broken steering, gear smashed. Bernard's car has back fender smashed. Bernard is at fault. Feb. 5, 1936, Today is grandma's birthday. Feb. 21, 1936, Three boys at school where burned by a chemical explosion. Woodard, Rogers and Heygood. All temporarily blind. March 19, 1936, More rain. Four feet water over bridge at Raymond. Road to Raymond under water in 3 places. No school. This flood is worse than last weeks. Flooding from Maine through New England. Tracks back of house all washed out. (Flood of March 1936. The winter of 1935-1936 was a severe one with lower than normal temperatures. As of early March it was estimated that the snow-packs in Northern New England averaged about 7.5 inches of water. The combination of heavy rain and melting snow resulted in flooding throughout New England.) August 28, 1936, Dad's car was taken for payment of 2 bills about a month ago. Getting it back in Sept."
"Jan. 13, 1937, Martin Johnson the famous explorer was killed in an airplane crash. Jan. 19, 1937, King George is very sick. Jan. 25, 1937, Big flooding in Ohio. Worse than last. Jan. 26, 1937, Flooding Louisville, Kentucky. Over 150 lives lost. March 4, 1937, I finally got a job with Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co. $16.70 a week assembling. March 7, 1937, Dad's birthday. I brought flowers to his grave. I am staying at Elsie's for a week due to the new job. I haven't found a place to live here yet. March 8, 1937, Started work today. Like it pretty well. Feb. 5, 1937, Congress passed act for 15 judges in the Supreme Court. Memo; Stayed with Kenneth Seeley for past 2 weeks & Elsie the week before. Got a room in an apartment. 1157 Franklin St., Stoneham. $10 a week. May 6, 1937, Zeppelin "Hindenburg" crashed at Lakehurst New Jersey; 33 lives lost; 64 saved. Explosion caused it.
"May 28, 1938, Left Melrose for Aunt Stella's in Charlevoix, Michigan. Trip took 33 hours via Niagara Falls. Drove all day; all night, and 1/2 the next day. 1100 miles. Sept. 23, 1938, Left Aunt Stellas at Charlevoix, Michigan for Massachusetts. 3 day trip via Saulte St. Marie, Maine, North Bay (Dionne Quintuplets). Alton, Montreal, Plymouth. etc. Sept. 24, Living temporarily at 17 High St. Malden. Moved to Harrington's house in Raymond, NH, About Oct. 1. Dec. 27, 1938, Moved from Raymond, NH, to 17 Chestnut St. Waltham, Massachusetts. Have job as janitor's assistant, 45 Milk St. Boston. Working for Mr. W. H. Ballard at $18.00 per week. Sept. 1, 1939, Germany started war on Poland today. England and France expected to enter for Poland. May 15, 1939, Asked for raise. Feel all pooped out. Need some sleep. Mother has quit her job at the Goldberg's. Her arm not very good. Arthritis."
Genealogy: Our author, John Torrington Goodwin, was born in Melrose, MA on Jan. 13, 1918, and he died in Waltham, MA on April 9, 1993. His father, Arthur Leslie Goodwin, was a civil engineer and a member of the Masons. He was born on March 5, 1890, in St. John, New Brunswick and died of pneumonia on Feb. 13, 1937 in Candia, New Hampshire, which is 6 miles from Raymond. John's mother was Lucy Elizabeth Smith, born Aug. 11, 1890 in Weston, MA, died? John had a sister Patricia Goodwin who was born in 1920, and a brother Arthur Leslie Goodwin who was born May 4, 1923 and died June 1, 1982. John married Marilyn Denise Sloper (1925-2001) in 1970, and they had one child; John Torrington Goodwin, born December 8, 1946 and died December 24, 1999. He was married to Jeanne E. (Whitney) Goodwin.
Condition: Hardbound diary is in good condition, internally fresh and tight, with handwritten entries that are done in pencil for the most part. Latch still works. John does not write in every year, but for the first 3 years he does pretty well on almost a daily basis. Measures approx. 4 x 5 1/2 inches and is a very worthy acquisition indeed.
Payment and Shipping: Please see our feedback and bid with confidence. Never a reserve and very low opening bid as always bidders with no established feedback must contact us before bidding. Payment must be received within 3 days after close of auction. Thank you.
On Jun-30-19 at 19:42:54 PDT, seller added the following information:
