The Lean Years
1929 - 1939
“War Work”
High School Home Economics Class Making a Charity Quilt/Retailoring Donated Clothes
North Bay Museum Collection
North Bay was fortunate during the Depression to be a transportation hub with three major railroads. Although there was a decrease in the amount of freight, there was never a threat of closure. In 1931, the railroads had a combined monthly payroll in North Bay of $250,000.
The city also benefited from major road building projects: the TransCanada Highway, the North Bay to Temiskaming road, and the runways of the airport. The tourist industry f lourished after the birth of the Dionne Quintuplets.
Even so, unemployment was 4% in 1928, 12% in 1929, and 24% in 1933, and it continued to increase. But, all through the “lean years”, neighbours helped neighbours and the city and its citizens reused and recycled.
Lumber in the Depression
This lumber industry in the North Bay area continued throughout the Depression. In this photo, a farmer uses a saw powered by a tractor to process lumber in Nipissing village.
North Bay Museum Railton Collection
A road building project underway on Temiskaming Road, August 1934
North Bay Museum Railton Collection
Did You Know…
The Capitol movie theatre sponsored a “potato matinee” for children. Admission was two potatoes, and 12 barrels were collected for the city’s Social Welfare Association.
When the city’s Police Department needed more work space, the bricks for a new addition were obtained by tearing down a massive unused 40 year old chimney at the waterworks.
Young people from Trinity United Church rented garden space to grow food for needy families. They purchased seeds and fertilizer and worked for months. Harvest yield was 2000 cabbages, 60 bags of carrots, 12 bags of beets and lots of onions.
Pieced coverlet, c.1930s
A hand-stitched coverlet which was the creation of one woman (unknown). The coverlet contains some new cloth and some cut from old clothes.
On Loan from Karen Koziak
Remember When…
“In the mid-1970’s, my mother and mother-in-law found this coverlet at a Goodwill store in Edmonton. Both ladies were experienced sewers.
“My mother, a quilter, recognized it as a variation of My Grandmother’s Flower Garden. My motherin-law appreciated the hours of stitching spent in making this item. She bought and proudly displayed it in her home.
“The unknown quilter created a “modern” version of a very old and popular pattern during the Depression. I wish we knew her name. She made an amazing piece of art.”
Karen Koziak
Quilts of Valour