Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2022/Fall/Section087/Roy Clinton Hale

Overview
Roy Clinton Hale was a white businessman turned shoe salesman from Athens, Georgia. Hale was interviewed on August 4, 1939 by Sadie Hornsby for the Federal Writers Project in Augusta, Georgia.

Growing Up
Roy Clinton Hale was born in 1897 into a full family on a family farm about three-and-a-half miles from town in Athens, Georgia. Hale was privately educated, and after traditional schooling, he enrolled in a business course. Soon after, Hale discovered his interest in business, and after completion of the course, he took over a small bike rental business from his father. Here, Hale first-handedly learned the fundamentals of operating a business.

Early Endeavors
Later on in life, Hale would save up enough money to qualify for a loan to open a high-end grocery store. Soon after opening, Hale and his partner earned an average monthly revenue of five-thousands dollars, splitting an average profit of one-thousand dollars amongst each other. This would be Hale’s first successful business, of which he would later sell for a profit of seventeen-hundred dollars. While running this business, Hale not only learned the numbers of business, but also the psychology of it while dealing with tough customers.

Later Life
After selling this business, Hale opened another business, a wholesale feed store. Hale saw much success with this business, but as WWI started, he was forced to close down. From here on out, Hale was forced to work various jobs across the country to support himself and his family. The most consistent form of work he found was shoe sales, and after a while he claimed to have become quite good at it. When the Great Depression occurred, good wages became hard to find, causing Hale to bounce from job to job, earning barely enough to support himself and his wife. In his later years, Hale wanted to start a family and another business; however, he was unable to do either due to his financial status.

Early 20th Century Farm-Life in the Rural South
In the early twentieth century, farmers were able to remain very self-sufficient, being able to produce their own foods (i.e., fruits, vegetables, eggs, chicken). With the profits farm families made, they were also able to purchase materials they could not make, such as flower, sugar, coffee, and other necessities/occasional luxuries. Overall, farmers normally made a good living, being able to live comfortably with the earnings of their labor. However, because "modern conveniences and technology had not yet come to rural America," in the 1920s through the 1930s, many farms lacked indoor water distribution, plumbing, and basic electricity. Instead, during this time farmers used kerosene lamps to provide light, wood fireplaces to provide heat, and well water for cooking and bathing. The day-to-day life of a farming family in the rural south involved a lot of hard work, a lack of technological convenience, and opportunity for self-sustainability in the U.S. However, it’s important to note that since the 1910s, agricultural tractor use grew astronomically, allowing farm families to take back land dedicated to sustaining work animals and to increase overall production, meaning that farm life slowly became more technologically adaptive and efficient.

World War I on Business
The outbreak of World War I in Europe in 1914 "touched off a severe financial disturbance in the United States." "The New York Stock Exchange was closed - because the market might be demoralized when European holders in the U.S. securities dumped them - and a run on the banks began," causing much instability and uncertainty within the American economy. The initial effects of the war on the U.S. economy were the worst of the fluctuations. Additionally, during the later years of the war, taxes rose an astronomical amount, putting a strain on peoples' incomes and freedom to pursue certain things. From 1913-1915, taxes rose a mere 1.5 percent; however, in 1918 alone, taxes rose more than 18 percent. Overall, businesses were greatly harmed during the initial stage of the war. The ones that were able to weather the uncertainty and/or produced goods that could be used in war were able to get back on their feet and even thrive throughout the rest of the war.

The Roaring 20s on the Shoe Industry
During what would be known as the Jazz Age, massive political and cultural change took place. The ratification of the 19th Amendment occurred, people were able “to travel to public spaces like never before” following Henry Ford’s mass production of cars, and cities saw popular booms of youth seeking financial opportunity. Overall, the Roaring 20s became a decade of surplus, opportunity, and economic growth. Due to this, many people began to have excess money to spend on more non-essential goods. With this excess, the shoe industry (specifically the women's shoe industry) got a lot of new attention. A vast array of new shoe designs were created (and sold) during this time to match the trending fashions and growing functionalities. Additionally, with this large increase in demand, many shoe companies started hiring large numbers of workers, a phenomenon seen not only within the shoe industry.

The Great Depression on Southern Labor Markets
The Great Depression is largely considered as the worst economic crisis in U.S history, one involving widespread uncertainty and lack of financial stability following the Stock Market Crash of 1929. During this period, many Americans’ financial standings were turned upside down due to job scarcity and volatility following the forced mass layoffs in the workforce during the early depression. Many workers during this time “were unemployed for much longer than one year,” and those who were able to find work “experienced cutbacks in hours” and wages. Farm and factory laborers were displaced in large numbers during the depression, being forced to travel far to find alternative sources of work. Consequently, states with economies primarily “dependent on agriculture and manufacturing reported high unemployment rates.” The south was hit hard during the Great Depression because they consisted of less job opportunities than the north due to their rural setting and agricultural-based economies. The Great Depression would last approximately a decade, forcing many to relocate and travel where any opportunity presented itself until times became more stable and optimistic.