Bad Times Coming
I was deliberating about uploading this artwork for a couple of reasons. Number one (at the time) I was that thinking that most people would not appreciate the dark overtones of the background image in conjunction with the lace inside the border. To explain. The second reason was due to the fact that I had written to my friend, Pete Zarria www.flickr.com/people/toby_d1/ for permission to use his picture as the background for this rather bleak scene. Not having heard back from Pete which was unusual, I inquired once again. This is when I learned the sad news that Pete passed away from cancer on November 1 of 2023. Pete and I go “way back” with flickr and he will be sorely missed by me and the many followers he had during his long tenure on flickr. Pete was the “neon king”, meaning he recorded many, many pictures of neon signs from all around the country. May he rest in peace.
Pete’s original picture can be viewed here.
Hopefully people will not consider it in bad taste that I am incorporating Pete’s picture in this scene - a scene denoting a very trying time in American history, the Great Depression of 1929.
History of the great depression
The Great Depression began in 1929 when, in a period of ten weeks, stocks on the New York Stock Exchange lost 50 percent of their value. As stocks continued to fall during the early 1930s, businesses failed, and unemployment rose dramatically. By 1932, one of every four workers was unemployed. Banks failed and life savings were lost, leaving many Americans destitute. With no job and no savings, thousands of Americans lost their homes. The poor congregated in cardboard shacks in so-called Hoovervilles on the edges of cities across the nation; hundreds of thousands of the unemployed roamed the country on foot and in boxcars in futile search of jobs. Although few starved, hunger and malnutrition affected many.
In a country with abundant resources, the largest force of skilled labor, and the most productive industry in the world, many found it hard to understand why the depression had occurred and why it could not be resolved. Moreover, it was difficult for many to understand why people should go hungry in a country possessing huge food surpluses. Blaming Wall Street speculators, bankers, and the Hoover administration, the rumblings of discontent grew mightily in the early 1930s. By 1932, hunger marches and small riots were common throughout the nation.
However, not all citizens were caught up in the social eruptions. Many were too downtrodden or busy surviving day to day to get involved in public displays of discontent. Instead, they placed their hope and trust in the federal government, especially after the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt to the presidency in 1932.
Source: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
The Car - 1930 Buick Series Series 60 Sport Roadster
Bad Times Coming
I was deliberating about uploading this artwork for a couple of reasons. Number one (at the time) I was that thinking that most people would not appreciate the dark overtones of the background image in conjunction with the lace inside the border. To explain. The second reason was due to the fact that I had written to my friend, Pete Zarria www.flickr.com/people/toby_d1/ for permission to use his picture as the background for this rather bleak scene. Not having heard back from Pete which was unusual, I inquired once again. This is when I learned the sad news that Pete passed away from cancer on November 1 of 2023. Pete and I go “way back” with flickr and he will be sorely missed by me and the many followers he had during his long tenure on flickr. Pete was the “neon king”, meaning he recorded many, many pictures of neon signs from all around the country. May he rest in peace.
Pete’s original picture can be viewed here.
Hopefully people will not consider it in bad taste that I am incorporating Pete’s picture in this scene - a scene denoting a very trying time in American history, the Great Depression of 1929.
History of the great depression
The Great Depression began in 1929 when, in a period of ten weeks, stocks on the New York Stock Exchange lost 50 percent of their value. As stocks continued to fall during the early 1930s, businesses failed, and unemployment rose dramatically. By 1932, one of every four workers was unemployed. Banks failed and life savings were lost, leaving many Americans destitute. With no job and no savings, thousands of Americans lost their homes. The poor congregated in cardboard shacks in so-called Hoovervilles on the edges of cities across the nation; hundreds of thousands of the unemployed roamed the country on foot and in boxcars in futile search of jobs. Although few starved, hunger and malnutrition affected many.
In a country with abundant resources, the largest force of skilled labor, and the most productive industry in the world, many found it hard to understand why the depression had occurred and why it could not be resolved. Moreover, it was difficult for many to understand why people should go hungry in a country possessing huge food surpluses. Blaming Wall Street speculators, bankers, and the Hoover administration, the rumblings of discontent grew mightily in the early 1930s. By 1932, hunger marches and small riots were common throughout the nation.
However, not all citizens were caught up in the social eruptions. Many were too downtrodden or busy surviving day to day to get involved in public displays of discontent. Instead, they placed their hope and trust in the federal government, especially after the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt to the presidency in 1932.
Source: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
The Car - 1930 Buick Series Series 60 Sport Roadster