Masud Shaheen

Cultural anthropology.

-------------- A song in 1930’s

In 1929 America suffered the catasrophe of the great depression . It was a time when millions of worker could not finds job – and unemplyement men and women sold apple on street corner. Some people starved to death. Others shivered in cardboard shacks . The economic collapse that affected the lives of millions of people – worker , farmer, sharecropper, veterans, professional , rich and poor , young and old , men and women.

The great depression was part of a world – wide collapse brought on by world war I , a war wich gave risr to nationallism and the erecting of high tariff walls that restricted international trade. Most countries experienced no strong recovery following the war. The communist revoluation in Russia and other nation added to uncertainty and endangered American investment abroad

In general , there were four common beliefs associate with the great depression : 2

1. The great depression was caused by the stock market crash of 1920’s.
2. The banking system of the 1920’s was fundamentally unsound.
3. The fact that nominal interest rates ware approaching zero meant that Federal Reserved policy was loose and ineffective.
4. Tariff was were primarily responsible for the spread and depth of the depression.

CT Cadenhead was born in Dallas on Oct. 15, 1930. He is the only son of Mr. Clarence Tendy Cadenhead and Mrs. Tommy Cadenhead. " Sonny " is the childhood name of CT Cadenhead but he also known as CT too . He grew up in a middle class family with his parents and one sister named Linda. His father was an insurance salesman and mother was a house wife. They lived in a three bed room rented house in Dallas . In 1945 his father brought a house in Dallas at the cost of $ 10,000 , which build in 1930 at the cost less then $ 3,000. His father woned a car , they doesn’t had any lexuary household item like washing mechine or a refragetor but they had a " ice box " which being used as a refrigarator .

Cadenhead first started his education at Robert E. Lee elementary school in Dallas. The school was located near by his house and he used walk with his mother to go there. In his childhood , he used to play with some of his folks named Roy Blanton, Freeman, Stalling. They played pooker, guns, card game, megic trick, play acting, bi-cycle ride ect. Cadenhead mentioned that they played pooker with phony money. They brought those phony money from the store named " Magic land ".They palyed another game called "Guns " , where they used plastic gun guns . In this game they tried to shoot each other and hide to avoid to get shoot from rival. "Play acting" was another game they played for fun. In this game they performs deferent role to show their parents and neighbors.

As family fun , he played cards with other family member, he called it " Family card game ". He also watch movies for fun. He recall that every Saturday he went to watch movie with his mother and they ride "Street Car " or walk. The bi-cycle ride was another exciting play like " Magic Trick " . He also mention that listening Radio was a great fun for him , like the other folks he loved to listen radio at that time.

After a wonderful childhood , the young Cadenhead received his BA and MS in mathematics from North Texas and a MS and Ph.D from SMU in engineering. After graduation he join Air Force. He worked in Air Force for four years as a Meteonologist and Aerial Weather Reconnaissance officer. In his long life he worked as a photographer , delivery man , actuary , aironautical engineer , system engineer. At present he is a full time professor at the Richland collage. The life of today’s Cadenhead as he describe " … wonderful . I‘ve been blessed with the same wonderful wife for over four decades , and we have enjoyed the privilege of raising three christian childern ".

Although , Cadenhead past one of most important part of his life during the great depression but he was not effected by the depression. He is one of the lucky person , who’s parents were able to grew up their children without poverty and hunger during the depression time. However , he saw the poverty and hunger around the dallas area. Cadenhead recall that his mother used to tell him that she will send him into those poor area for living if he do something bade. He also recall that some hungry people come to his house for food or looking for some work in exchange of food or for few dollars. His mother always helped them by giving those poor hungry people by giving them meal or some kind of work to do.

The great depression of 1930’s was an almost unbelievable era in American history. The life was difficult then for millions of people , but they did not give up. Babies were born , teen-agers went to school or collage and found jobs , young people married and started families . It was a period that taxed and tested American ingenuity and courage , but the nation emerged from the depression fighting and victorious. After focusing Dr. Cadenhead’s ethnography it became clear that American people suffered from the depression.

The great depression is such an experience inevitably wrought many changes in American society – in politics , in economics , in social values , in formal culture .