Library Collection Development Suggestion

Link to July 3 Oshkosh Northwestern article, "The Great Depression in Winnebago County is remembered in new book, 'Decade of Despair'".

Excerpt: "Decade of Despair, Winnebago County during the Great Depression, 1929 to 1939," a book by local authors Werner E. Braatz, professor emeritus of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and Thomas J. Rowland, history professor at UW-O, describes the economic conditions of the time and outlines the efforts made locally to ease the searing hardships faced by the people who lived through it.

The book, a regional study, contains both careful research and a human element as it describes what life was like in our nation's, and certainly the city of Oshkosh's, most trying economic time.

Rowland, whose area of expertise is Civil War-era history, came on board after the book had been started and was happy to help. He learned much about local history in the process. One thing that surprised him was the disparity of economic hardship in different parts of the county.

"Neenah and Menasha, anchored in the paper industry, were not unscathed but were not hit as hard," Rowland said. "The American public, despite its impoverished state, was still partial to the use of tissue paper."