Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Summer II/Section 013/Eva Truelove

Overview
Eva Truelove was a white waitress who worked during the Great Depression. Truelove was interviewed for the Federal Writers Project in 1939 by Mary A. Hicks.

Early Life
Eva Truelove was born in 1912 on a farm in Harnett County, North Carolina. Truelove’s father came from a rich, white family that earned their wealth through slave labor. Starting from a young age, Truelove worked on the farm until she was fourteen. Truelove’s father initially owned a large area of land but lost ownership of the property as a result of poor management. After losing the land, Truelove’s family moved to a dairy farm and worked there for two years. Truelove’s father then got a job at Camp Polk Prison and her family moved again. Her family consisted of twelve children, but only one of her brothers finished high school.

Additionally, Truelove’s family suffered from a history of pellagra. This disease occurred in her family because they mostly ate potatoes, beans, and peas for their diet. Despite being told by the doctor to avoid eating the same foods, Truelove’s family could not afford to do so. In 1927, Truelove’s mother died from pellagra.

In 1931, Truelove’s sister, Elsie, married and gave birth to a child. Since Truelove’s sister was working at the time, the sister hired Truelove and paid her $2 a week to care for the child. After three years, Truelove’s sister quit her job and began taking care of the child herself.

Later Life
When searching for a new job, Truelove did not have the education for a clerical job and did not have skills to obtain a job in the sewing room. Due to Truelove’s lack of education, she became a waitress because she stated, “it was the only kind of work I [she] can do.” However, Truelove still understood the value of education. This is evident during her interview when she stated, “I would get a [an] education now, as old as I am.” Additionally, she acknowledged how people during her time needed an education “to hold any kind of job that pays more than $10 a week.” Despite working eight to ten hours a day, Truelove only earned $6 a week.

View on Birth Control
As a result of Truelove’s experiences living in a large family and witnessing her mom’s struggles, Truelove supported birth control in order to keep families small. Truelove believed that “poor women do have such a bad time trying to look after so many.” Truelove mentioned if her mother didn’t have so many children to care for “she might have been living today.”

Rural Education
Children living in rural families often faced many difficulties while attending school during the early 1900s. This is because many children had responsibilities on the farm and “families usually needed every member working in order to survive.” If rural children did get to school, many would be too tired because of all the farm work done at home. Also, homework would be done only with a candle or kerosene lamp because many homes did not have electricity. Additionally, the educational opportunities at rural schools were “more limited than in urban schools.” In rural schools, teachers employed had insignificant amounts of training, length of the term was shorter, and instructional materials were limited compared to urban schools. Additionally, the United States ignored country life and failed to accommodate to the specific needs of rural community members. For instance, schools did not adjust accordingly to planting and harvesting seasons. Also, rural communities had a lack of “adult education programs and adult services” and “activities designed to extend the school into the community.” The lack of educational opportunities hindered the ability for rural children to obtain necessary skills and knowledge for well-paying jobs in the future.

Role of Women
During the Great Depression, when the workforce was comprised mostly of men, wages were cut and hours were significantly reduced. Thus, women were required to enter the workforce to provide income that the husband could no longer solely provide. Many women “sacrificed education, independence, marriage, and children in order to help their families.” In the time between 1930 to 1940, “the number of married women in the labor force increased by nearly 50 percent, while their numbers in the population increased by only 15 percent.” Women often obtained clerical or service industry jobs that, at the time, were not socially acceptable for men to obtain. By 1940, 90 percent of women’s jobs could be categorized into ten categories such as teaching, civil service, and nursing. However, employers usually paid women workers less compared to male workers. As a result of the increasing number of employed women during the Great Depression, a “rapid growth of the contraceptive industry in the United States during the Depression” occurred because it allowed families to maintain a smaller size and enabled women to obtain out-of-the-home jobs.