I grew up in a small town called Lindsborg, Kansas with my dear parents and 5 siblings. We lived on a farm. The population here was about 1,000 and pretty much everyone knew each other in town.

My Hometown

I was a rather quiet child, probably because I didn't always get along with the other kids in my town. I was often picked on because I had to wear all my brothers' hand me downs since it was all we had. It was all I knew at the time and the only people that seemed to have a problem with it were the wealthy children.

Childhood

As I grew a little older and entered my teen years, I was tired of my life and my family's living conditions. It wasn't anyone's fault that we were poor. With my dad working in agriculture and my mother being a stay at home housewife, we were not lavish at all.

Yearning for a Change

I used to read magazines in my free time since I didn't have many friends or sports to occupy me. Seeing all of the beautiful models and actresses in their pretty silk and nylon dresses. Sure, fashion was less extravagant at this time, but I wanted so badly to design beautiful clothes in New York or to at least model for my idol, Coco Chanel. I felt so happy fantasizing about ditching all my boy clothes and being able to pay for luxuries for not only myself, but for my family. It was my dream.

My Dream!

I spent my childhood years yearning for the good life and sketching clothing designs in my tiny notebook my father had gotten for me when I was 8. By the time I was 19, I had saved up enough money working at the local food market and planned on leaving my family to go to New York. I swore I would make enough money there following my dreams to bring them out there with me eventually.

The Big Move

After moving into this big of a city from Lindsborg, it was such a delightful change. I began working on sketches for a clothing company, and I was even noticed by a designer and asked to model for his company. I fell in love with one of the set photographers named Charles; you can see how handsome he was (and still is, ha!) My life took a turn for the better.

My New Life and Love

At this point in my life, I was a young and beautiful clothing model for various fashion companies. This picture is one of my modeling photographs. I spent my time attending expensive parties, going on fancy dinner dates with my new and first boyfriend ever, and writing letters to my family back in Linsborg. I didn't make enough money still to support the life style I was living, but credit helped with that.

The Glamorous Lifestyle

October 29th, 1929, was the day that changed my life immensely. It was the worst stock market crash the world had ever seen, and people all over the country lost mostly everything they had. Stock prices collapsed and my lavish life came to a sudden halt before I even had time to process it.

Black Tuesday

Before anyone in my time knew it, the Great Depression swept us all from under our feet. Unpaid loans, built up credit, unregulated business, and uneven distribution of wealth were all major causes of this devastating time.

The Stock Market Crash

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The money I had been making modeling did not account for all the money I had spent on parties and jewelry, or those gorgeous shoes with pearls on them that I wore so much that I forgot what my own feet even looked like! I racked up so much credit due to my foolish and unnecessary spending. I ended up having to use all the money I had saved up for bringing my family to New York to help pay off my debt.

Beggining of a Downfall

So many people I had once sat next to at the fanciest of clubs were now standing behind and in front me in breadlines. I will never forget the mother I saw giving away all her bread to her children and other children she passed on the street. This was an indisputably hard time on everyone living in the U.S. and we only had each other at this point.

Breadlines and Bummers

Poverty was spreading like crazy everywhere. People were losing jobs left and right and soup kitchens and breadlines became a common sight. Lots of people lived in shantytowns, and others were homeless.

The Spread of Poverty