Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2021/Spring/105/Section 88/Sharon Cousins

Overview
Sharon Cousins was an experienced vagabond during the time of the. He spent his adult years traveling across the country and acquiring many jobs along the way. In February of 1939, he was an interviewee for the

Childhood
Cousins was born on September 11th, 1914 at. He was the child of Elizabeth McDermott and Bert Cousins. His father was a government engineer who worked on dams, he later died while working for a lumber company when Cousins was fourteen. Cousins had a brother, James Cousins, 8 years his elder, and a sister, Mrs. Harry C. Atwood, who was 5 years older. Cousins attended Ellensburg Public School from the age of seven to nineteen, graduating from the eighth grade.

Jobs and Adulthood
Cousins acquired his first job at the age of fourteen as a, cutting Sequoia Timber, still residing within Washington State. After seven months as a sawyer, Cousins became employed on a cattle ranch tending the livestock. His employer, Mr. O’Donaghue, he had met by chance on a fast freight train. Mr. O’Donaghue went on to employ and house Cousins multiple times throughout his travels. Soon after his first employment under Mr. O’Donaghue, Cousins left the State of Washington to head to Idaho, to pick Irish potatoes, beginning his travels across the country, often by train. Finding employment in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, Nebraska, Indiana, North Carolina, and Florida, Cousins rarely stayed with a job for more than a few months as he was often hit by a “wanderlust”.

Child Labor
Child labor was a prominent issue during and before. Children were often underpaid, less likely to unionize, and their small stature allowed them to have advantages in certain fields, all making them a highly desirable workforce. Child Labor came with possible future consequences, with the harsh work children often faced malnutrition was often exacerbated causing stunted growth and impaired productivity into adulthood, as well as the job-specific hazards. With the passage of the Great New Deal, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the workforce became more secure and many adults escaped unemployment, the prominence of child labor quickly dissipated.

The Great Depression
The Great Depression was an extreme economic collapse with its effects being felt worldwide. The Great Depression took place in the 1930’s, causing “drastic declines in output, severe unemployment, and acute deflation in almost every country of the world”. Starting in the United States in 1929, the Great Depression led to a drastic decline in world output and standards of living with one-fourth of the workforce unable to find employment, lasting until the United States’ entrance into World War II.

Hobos during the Great Depression
The United States saw an increase in the homeless lifestyle due to the impact of the Great Depression. Many individuals left their homes in search of jobs due to seasonal occupations, local changes in industry, seasonal fluctuations in the demand for labor, and periods of unemployment. Being out of employment often led to a desire to wander leading to the hobo lifestyle. Hobos tended to rely on trains as a means of travel, whether as a ticketed passenger or an illegal stowaway. A culture of hobos was created as a result of the common lifestyle where trains became a location where “[hobos] would meet, talk, scheme, and help one another”.