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 The
Depression took place during the 1930s. This decade is also known
as the "Dirty Thirties." The "Dirty Thirties" were incredibly
hard on all the settlers. Production ceased and many jobs were
lost. Many had to struggle just to survive. Severe dust storms
and hot weather made farming impossible. Money was scarce so settlers
had to spend their money as carefully as they could.
 The
Depression started in October 1929 when the stock-market crashed.
It reached its lowest points in 1933. Once the stockmarket crashed
all aspects of life went down hill for some people. Industrial
output came to a near standstill. It seemed, to some, that wherever
settlers went to look for a job they were turned down. There were
only a few businesses that were fortunate enough to be able to
continue running. Others were not so lucky; they often went bankrupt
causing them to have to move to another village or out of province
in order to survive. Wholesale prices fell drastically.
The
Depression was a disaster for those who farmed. Many farmers went
bankrupt and had to leave to look for work somewhere else. These
transients found that the Depression had affected all parts of
the country. Those who stayed to try and wait the "dirty thirties"
out received relief from Government program's. With these programs
people could get groceries on credit and also transfer goods from
elsewhere on credit.
A
certain amount of money was received from the government for each
person living on the homestead. Everyone in Southern Saskatchewan
was on the relief program. Strong, relentless winds made farming
impossible. The prairies were known better as the "dust bowl"
during the 30s. The crops couldn't withstand the severe dust storms
that blew all day and continued through the night. Crops were
usually flattened to the ground by the dust storms as soon as
they started to pop out of the ground. There was very little rain.
The sloughs, ponds and dugouts dried up. Farmers had to ship their
cattle to community pastures so the cattle wouldn't die. At some
times the dust was so bad it darkened the sky. Those who had to
work outside found it difficult to breathe. Farmers were lucky
to make any money during the 1930s; the fortunate ones didn't
lose their house. The government sent feed for cattle to help
out the farmers. The Canadian government regulated the amount
feed allowed to each head and limited the number of head each
farmer was allowed. The government also sent seed wheat for the
farmers.
Food
was very hard to come by during the 1930s. The government sent
dried codfish, and apples to help with the relief. They didn't
eat very much food during these years. The best food they ate
during these years was potatoes. The housewives found it very
hard to keep the house clean. The dust would get everywhere and
get into everything. They found it almost pointless to clean the
house some days because it would get dirty so fast. Those who
had a water well were very lucky because the wells held good water.
For those that didn't have a well they had to walk several miles
to get water.
The
Depression wasn't entirely negative; it also caused a few good
things to happen. During the 1930s, people were all experiencing
the same thing, and this brought many of them closer together.
If someone had a problem a neighbor was always there help you.
A person in need would never be turned away. During the Depression,
people learned to get along better which helped create a more
tightly-knit community for the future.
Wheat Production in Saskatchewan
| Year |
Acreage |
Yield |
Production |
Year |
Acreage |
Yield |
Production
|
| 1889 |
276,253 |
17.3 |
4,780,440 |
1934 |
13,262,000 |
8.6 |
114,200,000
|
| 1899 |
328,459 |
18.5 |
6,083,508 |
1935 |
13,206,000 |
10.8 |
142,198,000
|
| 1900 |
382,540 |
9.0 |
3,443,671 |
1936 |
14,744,000 |
7.5 |
110,000,000
|
| 1901 |
469,953 |
25.4 |
11,956,069 |
1937 |
13,893,000 |
2.6 |
36,000,000
|
| 1902 |
580,860 |
22.6 |
13,110,330 |
1938 |
13,793,000 |
10.0 |
137,000,000
|
| 1903 |
777,822 |
19.4 |
15,121,015 |
1939 |
14,233,000 |
17.6 |
250,000,000
|
| 1904 |
910,359 |
17.5 |
15,944,730 |
1940 |
15,571,000 |
17.1 |
266,700,000
|
| 1905 |
1,130,084 |
23.1 |
26,107,286 |
1941 |
12,217,000 |
12.0 |
147,000,000
|
| 1906 |
1,730,586 |
21.4 |
37,040,098 |
1942 |
12,535,000 |
24.7 |
305,000,000
|
| 1907 |
2,047,724 |
13.5 |
27,691,601 |
1943 |
9,622,000 |
15.2 |
146,000,000
|
| 1908 |
3,703,563 |
13.7 |
50,654,629 |
1944 |
13,200,000 |
18.3 |
242,100,000
|
| 1909 |
4,085,000 |
22.1 |
90,215,000 |
1945 |
13,610,000 |
12.4 |
168,100,000
|
| 1910 |
4,664,834 |
15.6 |
72,666,399 |
1946 |
14,266,000 |
14.6 |
208,000,000
|
| 1911 |
5,232,248 |
18.5 |
96,796,588 |
1947 |
14,266,000 |
12.2 |
173,000,000
|
| 1912 |
5,384,092 |
19.9 |
107,167,700 |
1948 |
14,389,000 |
13.3 |
191,000,000
|
| 1913 |
5,760,249 |
19.5 |
112,369,405 |
1949 |
15,737,000 |
11.8 |
186,000,000
|
| 1914 |
6,003,522 |
12.4 |
74,610,643 |
1950 |
16,500,000 |
16.5 |
272,000,000
|
| 1915 |
8,523,600 |
25.2 |
214,794,720 |
1951 |
15,635,000 |
20.8 |
325,000,000
|
| 1916 |
8,532,700 |
14.2 |
121,864,454 |
1952 |
16,600,000 |
27.0 |
449,000,000
|
| 1917 |
8,273,253 |
14.2 |
117,921,300 |
1953 |
16,800,000 |
23.3 |
391,000,000
|
| 1918 |
9,249,260 |
10.0 |
92,493,000 |
1954 |
16,000,000 |
10.2 |
169,300,000
|
| 1919 |
10,587,363 |
8.5 |
89,993,685 |
1955 |
14,100,000 |
22.7 |
320,000,000
|
| 1920 |
10,061,069 |
11.2 |
113,135,274 |
1956 |
14,569,000 |
24.4 |
355,000,000
|
| 1921 |
13,556,708 |
13.7 |
188,000,000 |
1957 |
13,800,000 |
16.6 |
229,000,000
|
| 1922 |
13,332,297 |
20.2 |
250,167,000 |
1958 |
14,200,000 |
15.0 |
213,000,000
|
| 1923 |
12,791,000 |
21.2 |
271,622,000 |
1959 |
15,800,000 |
16.0 |
253,000,000
|
| 1924 |
13,033,000 |
10.2 |
132,918,000 |
1960 |
15,800,000 |
20.7 |
327,000,000
|
| 1925 |
13,002,741 |
18.5 |
240,551,000 |
1961 |
16,082,000 |
8.5 |
137,000,000
|
| 1926 |
13,558,384 |
16.2 |
219,646,000 |
1962 |
17,388,000 |
20.4 |
354,000,000
|
| 1927 |
12,479,279 |
19.5 |
252,500,000 |
1963 |
17,910,000 |
27.5 |
493,000,000
|
| 1928 |
13,790,854 |
23.3 |
321,215,000 |
1964 |
19,200,000 |
18.1 |
348,000,000
|
| 1929 |
14,445,286 |
11.1 |
160,565,000 |
1965 |
18,500,000 |
21.3 |
400,000,000
|
| 1930 |
14,326,000 |
14.4 |
206,700,000 |
1966 |
19,405,000 |
27.7 |
537,000,000
|
| 1931 |
15,026,185 |
8.8 |
132,466,000 |
1967 |
19,670,000
|
17.2 |
339,000,000
|
| 1932 |
15,543,000 |
13.6 |
211,551,000 |
1968 |
19,000,000 |
19.6 |
372,000,000
|
| 1933 |
14,743,000 |
8.7 |
128,004,000 |
1969 |
16,600,000 |
27.8 |
461,000,000
|
Ten Year Average - Wheat
| Year |
Acerage |
Yield |
Production |
| 1900-09 |
1,581,849 |
18.8 |
29,128,433 |
| 1910-19 |
7,222,112 |
15.8 |
110,067,789 |
| 1920-29 |
12,955,062 |
16.6 |
215,031,957 |
| 1930-39 |
14,276,918 |
10.3 |
146,891,900 |
| 1940-49 |
13,515,100 |
15.2 |
203,290,000 |
| 1950-59 |
15,215,400 |
19.2 |
291,630,000 |
| 1960-69 |
17,955,500 |
21.0 |
376,800,000 |
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