1938, the view from Arcade, NY

Here in Arcade, we are in the middle of celebrating the 75^th Anniversary of the Hendershott-Manness Post 374 Veterans of Foreign Wars. The post was founded in 1938 with 25 charter members. The first Post Commander was a veteran of the Spanish-American War, John Henry Connors. In addition to post history at the exhibit, we went through all the 1938 issues of the Arcade Herald to see what going on locally and also did a search for national and global news. Here is a sampling of what can be found at the exhibit:

·         Unemployment in the U.S. was 19%.

·         The minimum wage in the U.S. was 25 cents an hour.

·         Oil had just been discovered in Saudi Arabia.

·         A Duck Dinner at the Holland Willows was 35 cents on special.

·         A car “caravan” opened scenic route 39.

·         The wooden Fire Hall on Liberty Street in Arcade was torn down and the brick Fire Hall was built (the building which the VFW exhibit is in this month, July 2013).

·         The Niagara Falls View Bridge between the U.S. and Canada fell into the gorge after being weakened by ice jams.

·         Sportsmen “up in arms” over the new Cummings Bill proposing that all firearms be registered.

·         Superman comic book number 1 debuts.

·         Inventions: xerographic print, ballpoint pen, nylon, Teflon

·         German Troops invade Austria - anchluss (the event the Sound of Music is based on).

·         Arcade votes to centralize the schools – 26 schools (local one room school houses and the Arcade Academy) to form Arcade Central School.

·         Animated Disney movie “Snow White” is shown in local theaters.

·         Arcade remained on Standard Time while areas north (Buffalo, Holland, East Aurora) switched to Daylight Savings Time.

·         The Arcade Congregational Church celebrated their 125th anniversary – which means in 2013, they are celebrating their 200^th!

 

See the VFW Anniversary page on our website, www.arcadehistorical.org for dates and times of the exhibit.