More About Sherburne County Depression Era Programs

Young men, most likely from the NYA, taking a break
 from working on the Handke Stadium, a joint NYC and
WPA project in Elk River

Recent blog posts regarding Depression era programs in Sherburne County suggest a number of county residents received federal assistance.  Further reading the pages of the county newspaper, the Sherburne County Star News, shows the county nearly dependent on federal programs for survival. 

Several articles in the newspapers report the Sherburne County farming community received significant support from Franklin Roosevelt’s economic programs.  In 1940 and 1941 nearly 90 percent of the farms in Sherburne County received benefits from the Agriculture Adjustment Administration.  In 1941, 1630 farms in Sherburne County, out of a total of 1822 farms, received some payments from the AAA programs. 

In addition to farm aid, depression era programs included the construction around Handke Stadium.  The Works Progress Administration (the WPA) funded a variety of road construction and gravel paving projects throughout Sherburne county.  The federal program also funded construction of a 115-foot steel and concrete bridge in Big Lake.  The WPA also funded a hot lunch program at Elk River school.  The program fed 125 children.  The WPA also funded book repair programs and community education programs in Sherburne County. 

Simple mental calculations show the amount of federal aid spent in Sherburne County significantly assisted the community in recovering from the 1930s economic depression.  With the WPA, AAA, CCC, and NYA the county clearly received significant benefits and assistance, assistance impossible to fully calculate.

Information Updates

Yet, another follow-up detail from the pages of the Sherburne County Star News. 

Recent research noted a depression era program offering mattresses to farm families in the county.  A program offering low income families an opportunity to “make your own mattresses.”

Although this image originates from the mattress program
 in New Orleans, it provides an understanding of the entire
mattress making process. 
Photo courtesy of the National Archives

In a follow-up article from 1941, the newspaper reported families requested and made 470 pieces of bedding in Sherburne County during the first six months of the year.  Operating out of Bowles' Garage in Zimmerman and the Clear Lake Town Hall, the program provided quite a few families with mattresses in this brief aid experiment.  Under the direction of Mrs. Charles Hetrick in Zimmerman and Mrs. John Leitha in Clear Lake, the Sherburne County Extension Office taught families how to make the mattresses and expedited the process to provide comfortable sleeping for county residents. 

Although the program offered opportunity to low income families, “Make Your Own Mattresses” developed as a plan to reduce surplus cotton supplies in the Southern United States.   Although the plan originated with the Agriculture Adjustment Administration, a second, lesser known agency provided assistance in the program. 

The National Youth Administration, another New deal agency, provided job training and work to young people between the ages of 16 and 25.  The N.Y.A. uniquely trained women and men for work outside of the home.  In the case of the “Make Your Own Mattress” program the N.Y.A. employees assisted in the construction and sewing of the mattresses.