April 14th

How much do we have to see on television, hear on the radio, or read in newspapers and magazines to realize we are in a downturn in the economy. In recent days Home Depot made close to a thousand job cuts.  In March 2008, the jobless rate was up according to the U. S. Department of Labor and I can take some credit for that since I was unemployed last month. I have heard it said that when your neighbor gets laid off it is a recession but when you get laid off it is a depression.

My grandmother used to tell me about life in Tallapoosa in the 1930's when the country truly was in the deep hole of an economic depression that was felt not only in America but around the world. My grandmother and grandfather opened a cafe on Head Avenue during this time about where Hart's Jewelry stands now. Jack's Place wasn't a fancy restaurant. The menu was sandwiches, hot dogs, chili spreads, Irish stew, and a pretty good hamburger according to some long past residents that remembered my grandmother's enterprise. Her accounts of business during the Great Depression wasn't a very pleasant one. She told me of hungry families traveling through Tallapoosa, north toward Chattanooga, south to Columbus or east bound to Atlanta or heading west for Birmingham stopping in with little or no money seeking a job in the big city. My grandmother never let anyone go hungry regardless of their ability to pay. My Uncle Henry once told me that my grandmother probably gave more food away then she sold. I pictured the situation as being similar to John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" that chronicled the life of people fleeing the dust bowl of Oklahoma for the promise of work and a better life in California during the 1930's. Bank foreclosures were common. Factories shut down and mills closed from coast to coast. Farmers ceased to plant or harvest crops because there was no money to buy the the agricultural bounty. 

I recall hearing people talk about "Hoover Days" and how Franklin Roosevelt helped get America back on track. Tallapoosa resident Coen McClain is the father of my oldest friend Scott McClain. Scott and I graduated kindergarten, Tallapoosa Elementary School, Tallapoosa High School and even West Georgia College together. His dad Coen taught me how to fish. He'd take us fishing up into Cherokee County, Alabama in places like Forney and Cedar Bluff. He chewed "Bull Of The Woods" chewing tobacco and when I requested a plug of it when I was about 12, Coen obliged. I swore it off forever 5 minutes later. Coen told us of his work as a young man during the depression working at federally sanctioned camps that put people back to work and help feed a lot of hungry folks. The National Recovery Act perhaps saved our republic. I am yet to meet anyone who lived in the 1930's that didn't adore FDR because of his leadership in getting America back on its collective feet. I worked at American Thread when I was 18 with a fellow who lived in those times and when you mentioned President Herbert Hoover, a string of expletives would spew from him. Hard times is what it was referred to by many who lived during that challenge to our democracy. Americans made it through it because that is what Americans do. I have deep respect for anyone who lived through the Great Depression and World War II. Tom Brokaw's book "The Greatest Generation" should be read by every high school student in our country. It shows the character and commitment of Americans in our parents and grandparents era.

Fast forward to 2008 and we all share dismay over sky rocketing gasoline prices that trickle down to the higher prices we are paying for milk, eggs, meat and about anything we eat. We all see the crisis in the home mortgage business and we are witnessing a record number of foreclosures and bankruptcies. Many people are putting off purchases because of a lack of confidence in our economy. The head of the Federal Reserve speaks and Wall Street goes nuts. The media feeds off that fear and slows our confidence in buying.  Rest easy dear hearts, it is all about to change in the coming months. We are all going to be dusting off our Kate Smith recordings of "Happy Days Are Here Again" just like our parents and grandparents did when America came out of the Great Depression. 

As a one time political science major and an observer of American history I strongly believe that the economic down turn of the past months are going reverse itself because we are going to elect somebody new to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Elect a new President of the United States the economy gets better. The real estate market will pick back up and consumer confidence will most certainly return. 

As for my unemployment I have been reminded of my grandmother's axiom of when times are good you have friends, but when adversity strikes you find out who your real friends are. I have discovered that to be true since March 1, 2008. 

I am blessed to have so much support about my situation. I have received hundreds of emails and I have had about 26,000 hits to my website in a few short weeks. I also am pleased to tell you dear readers of the Tallapoosa Journal that in the next issue or so, l your humble columnist will have an announcement about my next career challenge and opportunity. Happy days are certainly going to be here again.

 

 

Rhubarb Jones is a Tallapoosa native and is a member of the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame, the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame in Nashville and the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame. Your comments are welcome at P.O. Box 1001, Tallapoosa, Ga. 30176 or via email at Rhubarbjones@aol.com