Elizabeth West Pease was born in the year of 1927, two years before the Great Depression and twelve years before World War II. She lived with her parents, her two sisters, Martha, Jean, and brother George on Pleasant Street in the blue-collar town of Woburn, Massachusetts. The Depression of 1929 was set into motion due to the great economic crash of Wall Street, that was triggered when investors traded around sixteen million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day and billions of dollars were lost. Even though the country fell into a great debt and hard times, the West family wasn’t entirely effected.
Biff’s father was the neighborhood doctor, so her family was well supported. She wrote to me a story of life during the depression. ‘It was probably 1931 or so. The Great Depression was in full swing. Nobody had any money, or jobs. The banks were closed during this horrendous era. The West family was gathered for dinner around the dining room table: staring up at all us was the nicely browned roast pig with an apple wedged …show more content…
They were shoveling the sidewalks and street in front of our house on Pleasant St. and were paid by the newly established emergency fund-- WPA (Works, Progress, Administration) by Pres. Roosevelt. Those men had lost their jobs, and one of them was a friend of my parents who had graduated from and had worked at MIT.’ The kindness of her father and mother - my great-grandparents - helped unemployed men find work, and warm while doing so. The fact that they were so selfless and aided people during such a difficult time- and when they had little themselves- helps me to see from another point of
Biff’s father was the neighborhood doctor, so her family was well supported. She wrote to me a story of life during the depression. ‘It was probably 1931 or so. The Great Depression was in full swing. Nobody had any money, or jobs. The banks were closed during this horrendous era. The West family was gathered for dinner around the dining room table: staring up at all us was the nicely browned roast pig with an apple wedged …show more content…
They were shoveling the sidewalks and street in front of our house on Pleasant St. and were paid by the newly established emergency fund-- WPA (Works, Progress, Administration) by Pres. Roosevelt. Those men had lost their jobs, and one of them was a friend of my parents who had graduated from and had worked at MIT.’ The kindness of her father and mother - my great-grandparents - helped unemployed men find work, and warm while doing so. The fact that they were so selfless and aided people during such a difficult time- and when they had little themselves- helps me to see from another point of