MARY BRASWELL: Looking back at April 1937

In April 1937, America was in the waning years of the Great Depression. Unemployment was “down” to just over 14 percent after seeing a fourth of the workforce without a job just a few years earlier. See what was making local news during that time.

— Dougherty County Health Commissioner Dr. T.W. Collier told the local health board that there was a concern within the public schools concerning hookworms. In a survey of just 114 students, 21 cases were positive.

— The Children’s Welfare Bureau, serving Dougherty, Worth and Baker counties, reported that a child in Sylvester had been furnished with glasses. The same child, once provided with clothing, “went to Sunday school on his own accord.”

— A new sausage made by the Albany Cudahy Packing Company was named “Pride of Albany.” The sausage package featured a picture of the local plant and was made with the meats of hogs slaughtered in the plant.

— Albany Police Chief C. Ray called for an immediate stop to rummage sales on public streets. “Second-hand goods sellers must display their items in stores with a license to operate.”

— — —

QUIZ QUIZ

In 1937, the Cameron Art and Sales Co. of Doerun produced which of the following?

a) Watercolor prints

b) Women’s hats

c) Pottery

d) Rugs

The answer is at the end of Mary’s column.

— — —

— April 8 was the deadline to have a dog inoculated against rabies. All dogs without proof of inoculation were subject to be impounded and possibly destroyed. The fee for the return of a dog in the city pound was $6.50 while the inoculation cost $1. Note: By the deadline, more than 1,000 dogs had been inoculated.

— The federal Social Security Board approved Georgia’s new unemployment tax. Employees’ coverage for benefits would start 24 months after the first taxes were collected. An eligible worker would receive 50 percent of his or her regular salary for a maximum of 16 weeks, not to exceed $15 per week.

— Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone With the Wind” won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. The book was published in 1936 and went on to become a motion picture success in 1939.

— For sale: 40 acres and a 2-room house less than four miles from Albany. Price: $1,000 (terms available).

— Blue mold had caused a shortage in tobacco plants for Worth County. Farmers were reporting the theft of their healthy new plants from the fields at night. Many were guarding their plant beds at night and keeping a careful watch during the day.

— Western Union announced it was installing a teleprinter service in Dawson. The modern and efficient electric typewriter would replace the Morse telegraphy system.

— A truckload of whiskey bound from Jacksonville to Cincinnati was hijacked just south of Baconton. The driver was beaten by three men. A reward of $300 for the recovery of the truck and cargo, as well as an additional $100 per hijacker, was offered by the truck owner. The truck and whiskey were valued at $5,000.

— The senior class of Blakely High School purchased a new bus. The 28 seniors were planning a trip to Washington, D.C., and had no adequate transportation. The 30-passenger bus would be given to the school after the trip for use in athletic competitions and field trips.

— A 2-year-old child died after drinking some potash (potassium carbonate). The Society Avenue child apparently found the potash in the yard of a neighbor who was doing laundry. He was rushed to the hospital but could not be saved.

— Following a special citizen vote in Albany, it was decided that the mayor of the city would henceforth be elected by the citizens. Up until that time, the mayor was appointed by the city commissioners.

— The monkeys at the Tift Park zoo got a new cage. The cage measured 28-by-10-feet with a concrete floor for easy cleaning. Part of the cage was walled in for a house, while the rest was surrounded by cyclone wire. Of note at the zoo was the growing population of alligators. Including babies, Tift Park was home to 54 of the reptiles.

— Due to heavy and persistent rains, about 40 percent of the Terrell County cotton seed rotted in the ground rather than germinate. The fields were being plowed under. Some cotton was replanted, but most of the ruined acreage was planted in peanuts.

— Rosenberg’s Department Store held an event for women customers in their Cotton Shop. All dresses were made of 100 percent cotton and of a variety in styles and sizes, including those for the “woman who is no longer slender.”

— Swift and Co. fertilizer plant in Albany was enjoying resumed prosperity. The plant was operating 12 months a year and making use of many area products, including cottonseed oil and livestock by-products. Swift employed about 75 workers and from the laborer to the executive, all were allowed generous benefits including paid vacations.

— Three members of the chain gang escaped from the Dougherty County Convict Camp. The trio managed to saw through five metal bars, climb a 12-foot fence, steal a car and disappear. A $25 reward for each escapee was offered for information leading to an arrest.

— Ford revealed details about its 1937 Ford 60. The model came with a V-8 engine and traveled smoothly and quietly, even at 70 mph. Most touted was the fact that the automobile would travel 22-27 miles on one gallon of gasoline.

— An indictment was filed against the manager of Albany’s Dixie Theatre for running a motion picture operation on Sunday. Simply stated, the law prohibited the operation of a “week-day business” on Sunday.

— The weekly egg sale held in Arlington in mid-April by the poultry growers of the Arlington territory totaled 1,590 eggs.

QUIK QUIZ ANSWER: d) Rugs. The rugs were woven on hand-looms from hosiery mill waste.

Each week Albany Herald researcher Mary Braswell looks for interesting events, places and people from the past. You can contact her at (229) 888-9371 or [email protected]. Follow @ABH_MBraswell on Twitter