Like the rest of the United States, the Great Depression hit many Titus County people very hard economically. As is the case in any economic upheaval, a few people prospered, but most found the times very difficult. It was extremely hard to find paying work, and the pay wasn't very good when a job could be found. Therefore, it was hard for a man to keep a roof over his family and feed them, and most women didn't work outside the home then.
Just because women didn't draw a paycheck like most do today isn't to say they didn't work. Titus County's home-makers worked very hard to provide for their families with very limited resources.
Because the county's economy was agriculturally-based, people raised a few cattle for fresh milk and to butcher for beef. They raised and slaughtered hogs, and could smoke or freeze the meat for later use. They used hog lard to make lye soap. They also raised a garden during the growing season to provide the family with fresh food. However, safely preserving home-raised vegetables for later use required that they be carefully cooked and properly canned.
People did not fully understand the importance of proper canning methods then, and it was not uncommon for people to become ill from eating improperly stored or prepared food. Health codes and inspections weren't what they are today, and people in Titus County sometimes became sick after eating sandwiches and other foods purchased from business establishments as shown by the following news article:
Mt. Pleasant Daily Times, Mt. Pleasant, Texas
Thursday, August 2, 1928
FAMILY OF 7 DANGEROUSLY ILL
PTOMAINE POISONING NEARLY CAUSES DEATH OF THE WHOLE FAMILY
The entire family of Bob Southerland, going from Corsicana to Oklahoma, came very nearly succumbing to the effects of ptomaine poisoning Wednesday afternoon. The family stayed all night here Tuesday, and were camped in the south part of town.
Wednesday morning they are said to have purchased a supply of hamburgers at a local lunch counter and in a few hours they were found by passers-by lying on the ground, all in critical condition, and each unable to even lift a hand to help any of the others. Physicians were immediately summoned, and by prompt use of a stomach pump, and by continued attention until far into the night, succeeded in saving the lives of the entire family. The attending physicians say that if the family had been a few miles from town it would have been impossible to have prevented their deaths.
The family was said to have been in indigent circumstances, with no money, but a large number of the good people of this city went to the scene and ministered to each individuals if they had been their best friends. A substantial purse was raised for the unfortunate people in the afternoon.
Thursday morning all of the family were able to be up and moving about, but were very weak from their terrible sufferings of the day before.
Relief rolls swollen by massive unemployment and under-employment strained the federal treasury. By canning their home-grown fruits and vegetables, women could help support their family for far less money than would have otherwise been required. Many households couldn't afford to purchase enough food for their families, and home-canned goods meant having ample food when money was limited. The money saved on food was available to purchase other necessities, and the family did not have to enter the welfare system, easing the government's financial load.
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) was established in 1932 during the Hoover administration as an independent United States government agency. It was the forerunner to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and its original purpose was to make loans to banks and financial institutions. President Roosevelt continued the RFC as part of his New Deal program, and significantly expanded its duties to include among other things, creating the relief programs to assist farmers. RFC assistance provided to farmers during the New Deal years was second only to its assistance to bankers.
To combat rural poverty, the RFC made loans to establish canning clubs in most rural communities. Canning clubs taught women how to safely preserve fruits and vegetables to prevent bacterial growth that would cause "food poisoning." They provided a sanitary workplace, steam pressure cookers, food preparation utensils, safe food containers, and sealers for the ladies to use. Ladies could bring fruits and vegetables from their garden and pay a small fee to use the canning club's equipment and containers. Instructors were on hand to teach safe and sanitary canning methods.
County Agent DeWitt Huckabee coordinated Titus County's program to obtain RFC loans to establish canning plants in rural communities. The plan called for interested people in various communities to erect a building to house the equipment, returning part of their wages to purchase a canner and sealer that would be accessible to people who wanted to can foods for winter use. People investing in the project became stockholders in the canning plants, and people paid a small fee to use them.
In mid-March, 1933, Farmer's Academy became Titus County's first community to establish a canning plant when several citizens erected one on E. C. Davis' farm. Soon after it was established, plant stockholders canned ten beeves and several other products. After the plant was established, the community held a meeting to work out details of the program and to decide which products to can for the next winter's use.
At noon they held a picnic with chicken stew, canned goods, pies, cakes, coffee and other things. After dinner, J. R. Hart, Mr. Warren of Chapel Hill, George H. Smith of Wilkinson, E. C. Davis and Raymond Mattingly of Farmers' Academy, and Frank A. Briggs of Dallas, editor of Farm & Ranch magazine, spoke to the group.
By mid-May, other plants had been established in Argo, Concord (south of Mt. Pleasant), Cookville, Hickory Hill, Mt. Pleasant, Yancey, and Wilkinson (Sugar Hill). The Wilkinson canning plant was located on the school grounds. Oak Grove, Old Union, West New Hope and Union Hill planned to establish canning plants, and other Titus County communities may have established them, too.
The Cookville plant was a 10x20 foot building, divided into two rooms. One room contained storage space, shelving, tables and general food preparation and canning equipment. The adjoining room contained a large furnace, retorts (for pressure cooking), a sealer, meat blocks, tables and other things needed to finish canning items that community patrons wanted to put up. The local vocational agricultural teacher supervised the plant.
Then as now, clothing was another of a family's largest expenses. Most girls and young ladies learned to sew before they left home, but the cost of a sewing machine was beyond some budgets.
To help families reduce clothing costs, the government also provided sewing rooms that operated similar to the canning clubs. The sewing rooms were set up in empty commercial buildings, and ladies who wanted to do so could use them to make clothing for their family. Mt. Pleasant's Grisham Ice Cream plant closed early in the Depression, and a sewing room was established in its former building on the southwest corner of East Ninth Street and North Washington Avenue. News articles do not specifically mention others, but we suspect they were also established in other communities like canning clubs.
Flour and animal feed came in cloth sacks during this period. In a shrewd marketing move, manufacturers packaged their products in pretty print material. When empty, ladies could remove seams from the sack and make the pretty printed material into clothing. Home Demonstration clubs set up a large display at the 1931 Titus County Fair showing clothing made entirely from various sacks to illustrate what ladies could make from things they usually threw away. Unfortunately, the display was destroyed when the fair building burned on September 30.
We do not know where the above photo of the Titus County Canning Club was taken. No one we have showed the photo to recognizes the building, so we don't know if it was taken in Mt. Pleasant or possibly in another town where the canning club attended a regional meeting. Please contact us if you know anything about the photo.
Likewise, we have not located photos of other canning clubs or the sewing club. Please contact us if you have photos or information about either.
Mt. Pleasant Daily Times, Mt. Pleasant, Texas
Tuesday, March 14, 1933
Planning to Put Canning Plants In Communities
County Agent Huckabee announced at the Chamber of Commerce meeting Monday night that an effort will be made to place a canner and sealer in different communities of the county through the application of R. F. C. funds. The plans are for the people of the various communities who are interested to erect the buildings to house the equipment, returning a part of their wages for the purchase of the canner and sealer, which would be accessible to those people of the community desiring to ca their foods for Winter use. Mr. Huckabee said that community desiring to can their foods for through the seed loans is for the purchase of food and feed, and that if canners were placed in every community much food could be conserved. Mr. Huckabee also gave a report on the work of the offices handling the stock and seed loan applications for the farmers of the county. Up to Saturday night there had been a total of 85 applications filed for stock loans, aggregating $25,315, and that there had been 94 applications for seed loans, aggregating $5,405.
Dr. D. M. Witt reported that the program committee had secured Curtis Morriss of the East Texas Chamber of Commerce to be the principal speaker at the annual Chamber of Commerce banquet to be held at the Jefferson Hotel on the evening of March 24th. A committee composed of S. H. Spurger, Gilbert Anderson and Webber Beall was appointed to handle the ticket sales for the occasion.
Dr. W. A. Taylor announced that a total of $10 has already been pledged to help finance the rat eradication campaign, which will begin on Monday March 27th. A united campaign of poisoning rats all over town will be waged, so that everybody in town will be benefited. As the eradication work will be under the direction of a representative of the Extension Service, there will be no expense other than the cost of materials, and for the labor of men and boys employed in putting out the poisoned bait. The poison is harmful only to rats and mice.
A letter was read from J. Alvin Gardner, president of the Texas Baseball League, announcing a meeting at Longview on next Sunday for the purpose of forming an East Texas League of Class D players.
J. A. Petty, president of the Titus County Fair Association outlined plans for the erection of a building on the fair grounds to be used by the women's clubs of the county for their monthly meetings and for exhibit of women's articles at the fair each year.
Mt. Pleasant Daily Times, Mt. Pleasant, Texas
Tuesday, March 14, 1933
Banquet Held Celebrating Canning Plant
Residents of the Farmers' Academy community held a big outdoor banquet Saturday at noon celebrating the installation of a community canning plant. The plant is located at E. C. Davis' place, and is owned by a number of citizens of the community. Although it has been in operation only a short while, stockholders of the plant have already canned ten beeves, and a number of other products.
At the meeting Saturday, plans were made for the planting of truck patches, the materials from which will be selected the products to be canned for next Winter's use. Details of the year's program were also worked out at this time.
A big picnic dinner, consisting of chicken stew, a variety of canned materials, pies, cakes, coffee and other good things was served at noon. Following the dinner, talks were made by J. R. Hart, Mr. Warren of Chapel Hill, Geo. H. Smith of Wilkinson, E. C. Davis and Raymond Mattingly of Farmers' Academy, and Frank A. Briggs of Dallas, editors of the Farm & Ranch.
Mt. Pleasant Daily Times, Mt. Pleasant, Texas
Thursday, March 30, 1933
Cookville Constructs Large Community Canning Plant
The people of Cookville community are constructing a canning plant 20 feet by 10 feet with two rooms, which will accommodate several families at a time in their work canning and preserving all kinds of meats and vegetable products during this and the following years.
In the plant will he storage space, shelving, tables and general equipment in one room for preparation of the products for canning. The adjoining room will contain a large furnace, retorts (for pressure cooking) sealer, meat blocks, tables and other modern devices for finishing the canning of the products that the patrons of the community may desire to put up for their own use on the home farm. This enterprise is to be under the supervision of the local vocational agricultural teacher.
Mt. Pleasant Daily Times, Mt. Pleasant, Texas
Saturday, March 12, 1932
Woman's Canning Club At Forest Grove Wins Prize
Mrs. Alba Tidwell, Home Demonstration Agent, received Saturday a check from the Cotton Belt Railway to be presented to the Forest Grove Women's Club as a premium offered by that company for the best record for canning in Titus County for the past year.
The premium was offered for the club which canned the largest amount of materials which will give a balanced ration for families of members to be used, for the six months period when there is no production from gardens and fruit trees.
According to Mrs. Tidwell, the Forest Grove club had an unusually good selection of canned foods arranged, and as a result it was awarded the prize, which amounted $25.
More food was canned in Titus County last year than ever before in history, and as a result, farm families who gave close attention to this detail are enabled to make the Winter at far less expense than otherwise. Conservation of foods in this manner has a large place in the efforts of the people to live at home.
Mt. Pleasant Daily Times, Mt. Pleasant, Texas
Tuesday, December 12, 1933
Class Members Attend C. of C. Meet on Monday
Members of the trades and industries class of the High School visited the Chamber of Commerce meeting Monday night, assisted in the program and took notes on how the organization is conducted. Short talks were made in which they told of some of the work which is being done in the class and how they are preparing themselves for a business career. Those who spoke are: Mildred Shelby, Evelyn Bolster, Connie Smith, Lorene Wright, Mildred Wilbanks, Hazel Wise, Cleo Roberts, Marie Roberts and, Elwin George. Each was introduced by the coordinator, C. B. Gatchell.
Hiram G. Brown spoke of the possibilities of securing a new State designated highway from this place to Terrell and urged a good attendance at the meeting at Winnsboro Tuesday afternoon.
Mayor Earl M. Lide gave a report on C. W. A. work, saying that only three projects have been approved at present, but that several others are awaiting approval, which is expected soon. He also mentioned that the Federal Government is preparing to improve two thousand emergency landing fields in various parts of the country, and that Mt. Pleasant has an opportunity of securing one if it goes after it at once. A committee was appointed to see about securing a site, as a minimum of $10,000 will be expended on such sites as are approved. Secretary Snider reported that all right of way on the new route for Highway One has been secured, but that there are 36 easements which must be secured for completion of improvement work on Highway 49, at once. The highway committee was urged to assist the commissioners in securing this right of way for widening.
P. E. Wallace suggested that Gutzon Borglum, famous artist who will be in charge of highway beautification in Texas, be contacted at once and urged to include this section in his plans.
The interest of Division Engineer Dockery in promotion of improvements and the efforts of the County Judge and Commissioners was publicly commended at the meeting.
F. T. Ward reported that the money loaned last year for canning work in various communities of the county is ready for return to those who assisted in this work.
[NOTE: Sentence was highlighted for website use]
Mt. Pleasant Daily Times, Mt. Pleasant, Texas
Friday, August 31, 1934
Farmers May Use Meat of Cattle Taken on Relief
The question is being asked "What can one do with the meat from the condemned animals that are being killed when the government buys the cattle?" The answers apply to the animals fit for human consumption, but unfit for shipping.
The farmer may use the meat for his own family and for his tenants. The meat may be put in cold storage and used as needed by his and tenant's families. The meat may be canned for his own use and his tenant's. This meat can not be canned in the relief community canning centers, so the Texas Relief Commissioners say.
There are certain precautions to follow in meat canning at this time of the year:
1. Carcasses must be washed with cold water and wiped dry with a cloth before transporting to cold storage plant or put in refrigerator.
2. Meat should be thoroughly chilled before using, which takes around 18 hours.
3. Chilled meat must be canned promptly after leaving the storage plant or refrigerator to avoid deterioration. Take out only a quarter at a time, and as soon as it is cut put in refrigerator until ready to use; work rapidly.
4. This time of the year the meat should be worked up rapidly, so the best products to put up would be roast, hamburger and stew meat.
ROBBIE LILLY, County H. D. Agent
Mt. Pleasant Daily Times, Mt. Pleasant, Texas (007)
Tuesday, May 7, 1935
COLORED WOMEN PLAN ERECTION COMMUNITY HOUSE FOR CANNING
A club of colored women of the city are planning the erection of a community building on the colored people's park in the southwest part of town. The building will be utilized for community meetings and for the installation of a canning plant, provided sufficient funds can be raised for its completion as a part of a FERA project. Plans call for native stone to be used in the construction, and it will be located in a place of natural beauty, where the colored people already have installed a park for their use.
Mt. Pleasant Daily Times, Mt. Pleasant, Texas
Wednesday, June 19, 1940
Red Cross Sewing Project Showing Excellent Results
Large Number Women Taking Interest In The Work
The recently announced Red Cross sewing project, in which garments are being made for British and French refugees in Europe as a part of the local Chapter's donation to the American Red Cross, is meeting with the usual success and a large number of persons have become interested in the work.
Tuesday the following women were actively engaged in making the garments at the Titus County WPA sewing room Mmes. O. C. Lilienstern, Sr., O. C. Lilienstern, Jr., Clyde Welch, Alice Gilpin, Louis Slayton, Jeff Harvey, Morris Hicks, Clint Allen, Ethel Milam, Alma Coker, Ben Patrick. F. W. Haney, Maud Duncan, Webber Beall, Marshall Branch, George Moore, Ruth Ferguson, Gilford Sloan and Miss Lallah Pounders.
Others interested in contributing their time to the project are urged to get in contact with Mrs. O. C. Lilienstern, Sr. Mrs. George Lilienstern has already donated a large amount of material for the garments.
The work will be carried on at the sewing room on Saturdays and Tuesdays, and at other times when the location will be available.
