The Drive-In During the Depressionby Sarah MurrayThe old gazebo-type building, with its rusted metal and rotted wood, can easily be seen from the bridge crossing over into Vaughn, Montana from the east. Yet, I wonder how many people actually do see it. To many it does not look like much; the years have taken their toll. Some would say that the beauty has disappeared forever. But it is not gone; it's only buried deep within one's imagination. I never realized the significance of this building's history either, until I discovered that it once thrived as a drive-in. This worn out building was a major business in Vaughn. According to Joyce Wohlgemuth, it was built in the early 1930s, and the Penwells owned and operated it. During the Great Depression it provided an escape from the everyday worries of that time, but now the life has drained out of it. When I first saw the building up close, I was awestruck. It oozed history, from the mysterious rusted can I found on the ground a few feet away, to the broken words nailed near the pointed top. I decided that these letters once probably showed the name of the drive-in, but some of them had fallen or been pulled off, so I could not read what it had said originally. Walking around it, I tried to figure out where the steps to this wondrous building had stood about eighty years ago. When I saw a place with several boards strewn about the ground and only a few still nailed on, I decided that this must have been the site that hundreds of feet, belonging to hungry patrons, passed over so they could purchase candy, gum, soda pop, ice cream, and other items that make snacking delightful. I thought to myself, what kinds of snacks did people buy most often back then, especially when not many had money to spare? Had Coke been invented at that time, or was another kind of beverage popular? How much less did merchandise cost in the late 1920s and early 1930s than in the 1990s? Passing around it for the second time, I caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye. It lay inside the building, sandwiched between what probably used to be the floor, and the ceiling. Looking closer at this contraption, I noticed that it seemed to have some sort of turning handle on it. I couldn't imagine what people had used it for when life was much simpler, and this rundown building was a place where many people came to enjoy what little spending money they had. Suddenly I felt a burst of cold air rush through me. I swung around, only to find no one there. Had it just been my overactive imagination? I could not help but wonder if something resided here that could tell this building's stories; maybe I just had to listen. Then the realization came to me that this place itself could tell those stories from so long ago. In 1929, along with the Stock Market crash, came economic ruin for millions of people in this country. It did not matter where someone lived; if they had money in banks, they lost it. As Nancy Dear recalls, even people in the Sun River Valley went broke during the Great Depression. According to the September 18, 1933 Fairfield Times, young men, desperate for the money necessary to live, set out on foot to roam the countryside looking for jobs. Many people who were not much better off than those seeking jobs felt terrible about having to turn them down. They knew that difficult times had forced decent young men to do this. The public did not blame them, they understood they just had trouble finding work. The government thought that each community should keep their boys and young men at home and that would solve the problem. That way, other people would not have to worry about turning them away when asked for a job. Joyce Wohlgemuth remembers one story that demonstrates how people had to improvise when the lack of money prevented them from buying the best food. He was out working hard one day. When he finished the job, he stopped by the hotel in Vaughn because he knew the owners. He sat down and ate lunch with them. Afterwards, Wohlgemuth recalls, they asked him, "How did you like the porcupine?" He realized then that the Depression made a large difference in people's lives. In Vaughn, the drive-in did manage to bring in business. According to Joyce Wohlgemuth, though, it was not a drive-in in the real sense of the word. Customers had to get out of their vehicles and walk into the store. People called it a drive-in because they could buy gas there. Many people also shopped at the other store, which Joyce Wohlgemuth's father owned, during 1925-1935. His father gave out credit to just about anyone, and because of his generosity most people in Vaughn didn't become completely ruined by the Depression. The store that Joyce Wohlgemuth's father owned gave people a place to buy their groceries and other living essentials. The drive-in probably gave members of the community a place to have fun, socialize with their friends, and forget the stresses of living during the Great Depression. As I looked at the historical, old drive-in, I am amazed at how much it has changed since the days when it was open for business. It closed down years ago and no paint remains on its exterior. Nowadays, most people do not realize the hardships that those who lived during the Great Depression went through, and they do not appreciate the value of this old building. People in Vaughn take the fact that they can just go to either the Valley Country Store or the BP for food, candy, or probably anything else they want, for granted. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, things were much different. People had to watch their money carefully. The frivolous spending that happens so often today could rarely be found. The part Vaughn's drive-in had in this history makes its existence important. Even in those problematic times, people found a way to enjoy what they had in life, and anyone can learn a lesson from those that made the best of a difficult situation. Now, I have a newfound appreciation for the generation that lived through the Depression and their experiences during that disconcerting time.
Works Consulted
|
|