The stock market crash of 1929 caused mass unemployment for millions of
Americans. For Charles Darrow, the financial problems grew increasingly
difficult. Once a salesman of heating and engineering equipment, he spent the
early 1930s looking for a job. He'd been feeding himself, his wife, and their
son by taking any odd job he could find. He repaired electric irons, did
occasional fix-it jobs, even walked dogs - when he could find someone to pay
him for his labors.
It wasn't enough, though. Now his wife was expecting their second child. He
had to find a way to make more money.
To fill his idle hours, and help him forget his worries temporarily, Darrow
invented things. Some of them were fun; others were probably devised in
hopes that they would become profitable. He made jigsaw puzzles; he created
a combination bat-and-ball, which was supposed to be used as a beach toy;
he designed an improved pad for recording and scoring bridge games. They
were interesting diversions, but nobody was willing to pay for them.
Darrow's problem, of course, was not unique. Many of his friends and family
were out of jobs, and were having trouble affording even such necessities as
food and shelter. For them, as for most people, the movies, the theater, and
any form of entertainment which cost any money at all was too expensive.
So they got together in the evenings and on weekends, when the offices of
the Federal Emergency Relief Administration were closed, and they talked.
And after the gloomy recital of that day's particular troubles, the conversation
would usually become nostalgic: remember the good old days?
