2 SH: What was the college called when you attended it?   JT: Arkansas State Teachers College.   SH: Now, let's switch topics and talk about the depression. How did the depression effect your family?   JT: My father was superintendent of school in Nevada county when the depression hit. That was a good job in its day. It paid $3,600 a year. (Laughs) Within 30 days of the stock market crash, the economic viability went down. The county went practically broke and tax revenues went to nothing. They paid the hourly employees, but the department heads and elected officials were issued.a warrant for the amount of their pay, because the county didn't have the money to pay it. This is where I learned the importance of banks. My father would buy a couple of dollars worth of gasoline and we'd drive around to all the banks to find someone who would buy the warrant at a discount. They'd hold it until the county could pay it off. They'd usually discount it for 8%, 10% or 12%, but sometimes they'd be as high a 20%. That is how you got paid. Now I understand, from county records, that some of those warrants weren't paid off up until the 1940's. (Laughs)   SH: Who were some of the key people in Prescott during the depression?   JT: The bankers. One of our banks, First State Bank, went under. Mr. Smith was president of it. The Bank of Prescott was very sound. It survived and did very well. Mr. McRae, the son of Governor McRae, was president of it. Some of the anchor businesses then were the Ozan Mercantile Company (Mr. Sam White), Mr. R.P. Hamby was mayor, Prescott Hardware (Pittman Family), and the Law Offices of McRae and Tompkins. We had four drug stores, nine doctors, and two hospitals. The businesses I've already named were on the east side of town. On the west side of town was the Lee Montgomery Department Store, the Fair Store, the W.K. Hamilton Store, and Mr. J.M. Strickland was one of the banker/merchants on West Main Street. There were also three hotels. We had the saw mills. The Junction City Lumber Company failed and the E.L. Bruce Company left town. They didn't fail, they're still in business today. But they finished their timber holdings here and left. In addition to the depression we were depressed because of the loss of the two mills which gave employment to a lot of people. But, we survived as you can see.   SH: Can you tell me what you thought about some of the key national people, like the president. What do you think they did to help?   JT: All I can say about that is what I heard my parents and other adults say. Everybody thought Herbert Hoover was a devil with horns (Laughs). Of course, when President Roosevelt took office in 1933 it was a very encouraging time. It is hard for people to realize that in 1929-30.           Contents       Next