Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2021/Spring/105/Section 56/Bonnie Basté

Overview
Bonnie Basté was interviewed by Harry Fain on January 2, 1939 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The interview was part of the Federal Writers Project created by the US federal government.

Biography
Bonnie Basté was born and raised in Louisburg, North Carolina with her three sisters. She stopped attending school after seventh grade and quickly began pursuing her passion for hairdressing. Basté never went to beauty school, but she claimed she was “a natural born hairdresser.”`[1] Throughout her teen years she perfected her skill by cutting the hair of her sisters and the neighborhood kids and parents. When she was 19, WWI started, and many soldiers crossed through Louisburg. She married one of the soldiers, but they were quickly divorced. Shortly after they were divorced, Basté moved to Raleigh with her second husband Pedro Basté and son Pedro Jr. In Raleigh, Basté opened her first salon “Bonnie’s Beauty Box” on Fayetteville Street where business boomed—she was making 50$-100$ a week. After a couple years of working on Fayetteville Street and after divorcing Pedro, she sold her store, and eloped with her third husband Charlie. After six months of traveling with Charlie, they separated, and Basté returned to Raleigh. Shortly after her return to Raleigh, Basté opened a new “Bonnie’s Beauty Box” in a corner store not too far from the original location. Within the next year, the Great Depression started in the United States. Although business decreased drastically for Basté, she was able to keep the salon afloat and provide for her and her son. Basté never remarried after Charlie and her store became an “institution in Raleigh.”[1]

Changing Female Roles in Society
WWI provided opportunities for women to branch out of the stay-at-home mom job and move into the workforce. Female activists blossomed during this time, rallying for the right to vote, fair working conditions, and minimum wages.[2] As the 1930’s approached, marriage rates declined by 22% creating more single and financially independent women.[3] These single women had to find ways to support themselves which was challenging during the Great Depression when unemployment rates skyrocketed. Although many American’s lost their jobs during the Great Depression, the employment rates of women actually increased about 24%.[3] Job opportunities for women expanded during this time partly because women could be paid less and jobs that were considered “women’s work” were not as impacted by the stock market crash. Many women were forced to enter the workforce during the Great Depression because their husbands lost their jobs, and someone had to provide for the family. Despite the opportunity and social change that happened during this time, women were still discriminated against in the workforce. There was a huge wage gap and women were confined to specific jobs such as teaching, nurses, and civil services.[2]

The Great Depression in North Carolina
The Stock Market crash of 1929 impacted the United States as a whole. Every state was impacted in a significant way between 1930-1940. Crop prices decreased drastically and because of that, agricultural states like North Carolina struggled to make money. “By 1933, 27 out of 100 North Carolinians were on relief.” The mountainous and coastal regions in NC were hit the hardest and there was a “trail of poverty” that ran through the state.[5] The banking industry of NC was closely linked to the farming community, so the banking industry also grew weaker. As the Great Depression neared an end Roosevelt proposed the New Deal which helped both the farming and banking communities in North Carolina to gain strength again.