Written by Kimberly Eden, Heath's Row: A History of Herman and Beula Heath
The Great Depression hit the U.S. hard but almost no other state was hit as hard as Utah. Utah was the ninth state to receive the most aid from the federal government and ranked fourth in unemployment with nearly 36 percent of the state without jobs. The national average was 25 percent. The wage level declined 45 percent and the workweek by 20 percent by 1932. By the next year 32 percent of the population received their basic necessities through government aid. By then 32 of the 105 banks in Utah had failed and the number of business failures increased to 20 percent.
Few people held jobs long enough to receive unemployment compensation and by the time they were able to procure another job, they were broke again. For many the solution was farming, but the drought conditions made this hard also. During this time the Great Plains suffered an extended drought causing dry windstorms. The overall effect became known as the Dust Bowl and many farms failed leaving people homeless. Utah was part of this Dust Bowl and the rainfall during the year of 1933 was only 51 percent of the normal. The lakes receded and many people had limited use the the water supply.
Gov. Henry H. Blood and George Dewey Clyde worked together to find a solution. Clyde reported that the state's irrigation water supply was at 35 percent and the likelihood of them producing enough food for sheep and cattle that year was slim. The report eventually was sent to the federal government and President Roosevelt eventually sent $600,000 and FERA (Federal Emergency Relief Administration) sent $400,000. The money was used to drill wells, develop springs, line irrigation ditches, and lay pipeline. Also Deer Creek and Pine View dams were built. The drought did not end that year until November. The crops were not rescued, but the brush for the cattle and sheep was benefited. Farming was not a productive enterprise during the depression and many farmers were lucky to break even.
"Hoover Cafes" gave free food to the numberless hungry, but nothing seemed to improve the situation. Divorce increased, birth rate decreased as did the marriage rate. Protesters lined the streets in Salt Lake City, more expressly during the spring of 1931 - the year Herman lived there for first grade with his father. Herman lived in an orphanage from 1926-1929. He lived with his grandmother for a short time and back with his father during 1931-1932. Herman's father worked for the railroad. Five cents was the normal wage and one had to work a long time to earn 1 dollar. According to the Consumer Price Index the dollar in 1935 is worth !14.68 today. Herman remembers school buses had two rows of seats- one on each side and a coal burning stove in the back. Herman's father was quiet and tired of raising kids according to Herman. Their home in Green River did not have indoor plumbing.
Showing posts with label Herman's Youth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Herman's Youth. Show all posts
Friday, January 2, 2009
Sunday, December 7, 2008
The Teen Years
Written by Kimberly Eden, Heath's Row: A History of Herman and Beula Heath
When Herman was in high school he took jobs working for the state highway, which paid more. One year he even moved to Price, Utah where he worked for the movie theaters transporting movies from Green River to Price to Cleveland. He attended Carbon High that year and lived with his boss, Ray Web. The other years of school, Herman worked hard with his education and received Excellent Achievement in Oration in April 1943 and a Certificate of Commendation of Public Safety. He also won awards for fourth place in 100-yard dash at 9.8 seconds in Regionals and held the record of first place in track at Green River High School in May 1943. He held the Emery County record in the 100 and 60-yard dash for 20 years. His other track records were in the 440 relay, one mile, and half mile. He won the county championship in the mile, running it under five minutes. He took fifth in the 100-yard dash at state.
When Herman was in high school he took jobs working for the state highway, which paid more. One year he even moved to Price, Utah where he worked for the movie theaters transporting movies from Green River to Price to Cleveland. He attended Carbon High that year and lived with his boss, Ray Web. The other years of school, Herman worked hard with his education and received Excellent Achievement in Oration in April 1943 and a Certificate of Commendation of Public Safety. He also won awards for fourth place in 100-yard dash at 9.8 seconds in Regionals and held the record of first place in track at Green River High School in May 1943. He held the Emery County record in the 100 and 60-yard dash for 20 years. His other track records were in the 440 relay, one mile, and half mile. He won the county championship in the mile, running it under five minutes. He took fifth in the 100-yard dash at state.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Herman Lavon Heath's Youth
Written by Kimberly Eden, Heath's Row: A History of Herman and Beula Heath
Herman Lavon Heath was born July 1 1925 to William Marquette Heath and Sarah Mae Chidester and blessed august 2, 1925 by Joseph Shepard int he Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was their third child. Sarah divorced William when Herman was 18 months old. William could not work and take care of all the children so Herman was placed in an orphanage until he was nearly four. From there he remembers getting a sunburn while riding in the family Model T from Salt Lake to Altuna to where his grandmother, Ellen Burgess, lived. Herman claims the sunburn gave him freckles. The only memory Herman has of the orphanage is the fire engine toy his father gave him was taken away by the more dominating children, which angered his father. Many years later, Herman made peace with his mother for never being in his life. He only met her three times in her life. Not all of his siblings survived the unstable life at home. One of Herman's brothers spent a short time in prison for cattle wrestling and then he was sent to the mental hospital.
Herman lived with his grandmother Ellen for a number of years before his father remarried. Herman called her "Little Grandma" but Herman's nickname was Moses because he used to stand with his hands behind his back and walk along or mosey along. Ellen Burgess has remarried to a James Burgess who worked at the quarry that supplied stone for the Salt Lake Temple. Herman lived with them until he was six when his father remarried but his new mother did not live long, dying of heart ailment only a year and a half later. Herman returned to live with his grandmother until the end of second grade when he moved to Green River, Utah with his father to live on a farm. Wilford and Evelin, Herman's elder siblings also lived with them in Little Valley in 1933. The next year, they moved to Elgin on the east side on Green River where they stayed for the next 10 years.
During those ten years Herman did not always live at home. This constant moving continued throughout his life and even probably contributed to it later in life. For extra money and safety, Herman lived with other families in town. He worked for them on the farms, the ranch, building and repairing barns and homes. He didn't enjoy the work as a rancher rounding up cattle because he didn't like horses. He said, "They bite and kick." One day his horse got spooked and bucked Herman off. He walked home and the rancher told him that the lost horse would cost Herman $10 bye the lost saddle $100. Fortunately the horse and saddle were easily found the next day. Herman's main choice of transportation was the bicycle and even took his first date around on it. His other jobs included digging ditches, killing chickens and working any odd job for $.50 a day. He paid for room and board but still managed to save money on the side. He said, "I was grateful to have three meals a day and a comfortable place to stay." His other motive for living away from home was to hide from his abusive older brother. Herman turned his brother's bad behavior into a life long lesson. "I was a good little boy. I never spent a night in jail and the only thing I ever stole were watermelons." To steel the watermelons, he picked them from someone's farm and placed then in the irrigation canals. The melons would float down stream through town and out again where Herman would retrieve them.
Herman Lavon Heath was born July 1 1925 to William Marquette Heath and Sarah Mae Chidester and blessed august 2, 1925 by Joseph Shepard int he Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was their third child. Sarah divorced William when Herman was 18 months old. William could not work and take care of all the children so Herman was placed in an orphanage until he was nearly four. From there he remembers getting a sunburn while riding in the family Model T from Salt Lake to Altuna to where his grandmother, Ellen Burgess, lived. Herman claims the sunburn gave him freckles. The only memory Herman has of the orphanage is the fire engine toy his father gave him was taken away by the more dominating children, which angered his father. Many years later, Herman made peace with his mother for never being in his life. He only met her three times in her life. Not all of his siblings survived the unstable life at home. One of Herman's brothers spent a short time in prison for cattle wrestling and then he was sent to the mental hospital.
Herman lived with his grandmother Ellen for a number of years before his father remarried. Herman called her "Little Grandma" but Herman's nickname was Moses because he used to stand with his hands behind his back and walk along or mosey along. Ellen Burgess has remarried to a James Burgess who worked at the quarry that supplied stone for the Salt Lake Temple. Herman lived with them until he was six when his father remarried but his new mother did not live long, dying of heart ailment only a year and a half later. Herman returned to live with his grandmother until the end of second grade when he moved to Green River, Utah with his father to live on a farm. Wilford and Evelin, Herman's elder siblings also lived with them in Little Valley in 1933. The next year, they moved to Elgin on the east side on Green River where they stayed for the next 10 years.
During those ten years Herman did not always live at home. This constant moving continued throughout his life and even probably contributed to it later in life. For extra money and safety, Herman lived with other families in town. He worked for them on the farms, the ranch, building and repairing barns and homes. He didn't enjoy the work as a rancher rounding up cattle because he didn't like horses. He said, "They bite and kick." One day his horse got spooked and bucked Herman off. He walked home and the rancher told him that the lost horse would cost Herman $10 bye the lost saddle $100. Fortunately the horse and saddle were easily found the next day. Herman's main choice of transportation was the bicycle and even took his first date around on it. His other jobs included digging ditches, killing chickens and working any odd job for $.50 a day. He paid for room and board but still managed to save money on the side. He said, "I was grateful to have three meals a day and a comfortable place to stay." His other motive for living away from home was to hide from his abusive older brother. Herman turned his brother's bad behavior into a life long lesson. "I was a good little boy. I never spent a night in jail and the only thing I ever stole were watermelons." To steel the watermelons, he picked them from someone's farm and placed then in the irrigation canals. The melons would float down stream through town and out again where Herman would retrieve them.
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