From Book 4
We began 1929 with cold and dismal weather, the heavy rains made us all miserable.
Josiah and Tillie decided to sell their home in San Francisco and return home. They got their property sold in May and were back with us in early June.
By the end of July, cracks were beginning to show in the economy and we started reducing the inventory in the Safe Food Stores. We made sure the banks knew our policy, there would be no putting folks out on the street, each bank had sufficient reserves to ride out any storm.
Hungry children were to be fed, no matter what!
Each store was told to make plans for a "soup kitchen" and they were to let us know if they spotted children going without food, clothing or a place to stay.
That was Poppa's policy and it was now ours!
On October 29th, the house of cards came tumbling down. Businesses and factories closed and there was a wave of suicides.
We readied Blount House, knowing homeless children were on their way.
By December 1st, the first children arrived, Sheriff Jacobs found them at the bus station!
Chapter -1- DESPARATION AND FEAR
People were frightened, suddenly there was no work and there was no money. Men trooped from factory to factory, begging for work that they might feed their families.
Every Safe Food store in our chain had opened a soup kitchen, no one was turned away.
We put several hands to touring Redding and Marysville daily, searching for homeless children wandering the streets. They carried a supply of food and water to immediately feed those children found eating from garbage cans.
The hands would come home, distressed and in tears.
We had to make a rule that they could not keep children in the bunkhouses!
We cut back on our planting and ordered up only 6,000 feeder beeves and 1,200 swine. However, kept milk and cheese production up, the trucks carried 4 cans of milk, fresh every morning as they made their rounds looking for homeless boys and girls.
Each packet boat returned with hungry children, there was no way our packet sailors could turn a starving child away. They, also, began carrying fresh milk, cheese and fresh bread to feed the desperate people.
Tobias finished our year with a reported profit of $14,265,300. It was disappointingly low, but we considered ourselves lucky.
There were over 100 children in Blount House and we were allowing families to camp down at Shady Creek.
When we discovered that thugs and bandits were robbing the campers of food and belongings, we sent hands, armed with 12 gauge shotguns to ride picket in the campground area. It was not unusual to see a grizzled old cowboy riding picket with a small child being held in the saddle in front of him.
Uncle Tim and I went up to Redding to see how bad things were, Porter Fielding, the store manager, had cleared out a warehouse and had set up a soup kitchen and a sleeping area where families without a place to go could sleep and eat safe.
Most of the stores in Redding were closed and there had been a slight run on the bank, but they had sufficient reserves to ride it out. I reminded them about no foreclosures.
Everything seemed calm and secure at the bank, but the school was a disaster. I spoke to Mrs. Grimes, the principal, she told me that the children were not getting any food and there was nothing she could do. I walked into her office and called Blount's Bluff. An hour later, there was milk, cheese, fresh bread and fruit delivered.
I told her there would be a truck each school day until the emergency was over. We did the same for Marysville School also.
When it was time for slaughter, we had Manteca Beef distribute meat to all our Safe Food stores to be used in the soup kitchens.
We had cut way back on grain plantings, but the orchards were producing a bumper crop, we hired whole families to pick the fruit as we began to cautiously dip into our reserves to pay them and to distribute the fruit to the soup kitchens.
There are now over 200 families camping at Shady Creek, so we opened a kitchen there in a tent. Tillie made it her project, she came home in tears, so many of the little children were practically naked. She cleaned out the emporiums in Redding and Marysville for children's clothing and brought it down to Shady Creek on one of the farm trucks.
We ended 1930 with just enough profit to replace the funds we had drawn from our reserves.
We proposed to plant mostly animal feed, oats and corn, so that we could raise feeder beeves and swine to supply the kitchens. At the last moment, we decided to plant 30,000 acres in red wheat; Rainbow Mills was running at reduced capacity, producing mostly bread and baked goods and was begging for grain.
Times got worse as 1931 moved into summer, two young fathers, camping with their families at Shady Creek, hanged themselves from an oak tree.
That was more than our hands could handle, it was Corey Bledsoe who discovered the bodies; two hands brought him back to Blount's Bluff shaking and incoherent. We put him to bed and called Dr. Falcon, who gave him a shot to make him sleep.
When he woke, he came to me, "Mr. Steven, those two men, they had children and families."
He broke down in tears and could not continue.
I called a Family meeting for that evening, several ideas were tossed around, one idea seemed to have a possible solution. We own 5,000 acres adjacent to Shady Creek, if we plowed it and allowed each family a plot of land to grow vegetables on, maybe folks would not feel so helpless.
When we polled the hands, they all thought it a good idea and many volunteered to do the plowing and run irrigation ditches from the creek.
The camping families were pleased with what we were proposing and when we said we would provide the seed, over 100 families signed up to participate.
Things continued to disintegrate, there were fewer packet boat trips to the Bay Area and we became more insulated from the outside world. We saw newspaper stories about roving gangs of men looking for work and terrible food lines of folks begging for handouts.
By the end of the year, many families were at the end of their ability to survive, all their money was gone and living off our charity was sapping their pride.
We were able to hire a few to do labor around the farm, but it was mostly "make work".
We had dipped seriously into our reserves to help people; I am worried about how much longer we can hold out.
As 1932 began, we saw no hope for improvement, we had to fund the hospital, they were out of funds to continue to stay open. The schools were providing a meal of food we supplied each day, for many of the children, that was their only meal.
We were providing much of the food that was being served and all of the milk at the local food kitchens.
Blount House was overcrowded with 180 children living there.
Now, over 300 families were living at Shady Creek, sanitation and clean drinking water was becoming critical.
Animals started disappearing, a pig or a calf, a few chickens at a time. We had to put armed hands on guard, but that didn't solve the problem, it only prevented the disappearance of the livestock.
Sheriff Jacobs stopped by, he told us that surrounding farms were experiencing wholesale theft of animals and even seed for planting!
As summer began Colonel Thompson told us that the Army would begin to distribute food as soon as it arrived. Shortly after that, rail cars began to show up, filled with Army rations and foodstuffs. They used our siding and set up distribution centers in Redding and Marysville.
That took some of the pressure off us, but the problem remained, these folks had no jobs, no work and that robbed them of their dignity and self-worth.
Tillie came up with an idea that was to prove our salvation, she suggested we provide more seed and let them set up a co-op. What food they did not need to eat, they could sell or trade for thing they needed with other co-ops.
Josiah and I went down to Shady Creek, I thought if anyone could sell the idea, it would be Josiah. I introduced him as Vice President, Sales, his eyes shot up and I smiled and nodded my head yes!
He waited until a large crowd gathered and then he started, "Folks, a few short years ago, I was where you are now.
My Daddy was out of work; my Mamma had run off with another man, leaving my little brother and me to our Daddy. We were camping out, right here at Shady Creek, we had no food and no clothing, Toby and I didn't even have shoes!
Now, my Daddy is Executive Assistant to Mr. Steven of Blount Farms and you heard what Mr. Steven called me. My baby brother is Vice President of Business Development for Blount, Inc.
Mr. Steven wants to give you all a chance, like we have had, he will stake you to start up a Farm Co-op.
What you don't need to eat, you can sell or trade to other co-ops for things you need. We will give you the land to grow stuff on and provide the first seed. We will run a plow over whenever it is needed, all you folks need to do is tend the plants and harvest the vegetables."
A man spoke up, "Mr. Blount will want a share of the profits?"
Josiah replied, "Nope, all the profits will go to you folks, but remember, you gotta buy more seed for next year."
Another man asked, "Who do we buy seed from, Mr. Blount?"
Josiah said, "From anyone you want, sure, you can buy it from Blount Farms and I guarantee it will be the lowest price around, but you can even send away mail order, if you want."
A woman asked, "What about advice, we's never farmed a'fer?"
I spoke up, "You can ask our Head Cropper or the University Extension Service Officer in Marysville."
A man in the back shouted, "We're in!"
Before the afternoon was out, 160 families had signed up to join the Shady Creek Farm Co-op!
Josiah had the surveyor's plot map and they drew lots for farm plots.
An older man came up to me and Josiah and said, "Mr. Blount, sir, I knowed you when you was Colonel Blount, I followed ya then and I'll follow ya' now! I doesn't know you yet, young man, but iff'in ya work fer Colonel Blount, I follow ya too!"
We dug a little deeper into the reserves and got the seed needed for the co-op.
The land at Shady Creek had been fallow for several years, the soil was rich and well rested, the novice farmers had bumper yields of root vegetable, lettuce, and table corn.
There were two other co-ops being started nearby, Saturdays were lively trade days on the lawn of the Courthouse. Not much cash money changed hands, but shirts and shoes, caps and trousers were all traded for carrots and beets! The best part of it was that there was pride in the folk at Shady Creek.
Tobias reported a slight profit for the year and we entered 1933 with more hope than the year previous.
Chapter -2- HOPE BEGINS AGAIN
There was a move in Congress to repeal the Prohibition Act, after a Family Meeting and a long discussion with Josiah; I took a chance and ordered seed rice and seed to plant additional red wheat. If there was going to be grain alcohol, both would be in high demand.
We didn't have much market for mash corn, but we could always use it for animal feed.
By spring, we had 97,000 acres in grains and the hands had a spring in their steps!
Caleb Vance called me, asking if we had planted any rice for him, he near kissed me over the telephone when I told him all "his" fields were planted.
We ordered up 9,000 feeder beeves and 2,000 swine, hoping that the market for meat would also rise.
As factories began to hire, many of the folks at Shady Creek left, but the core of the folks involved in the Co-op decided to stick it out and become full-time farmers.
As the feeder animals started to reach maturity, Manteca Beef parked a buyer in our farm yard, waiting for some sign we were ready to sell.
Tillie was being run ragged, trying to get inventory in her Emporiums and canned goods were flying off the shelves at all the Safe Foods stores.
The sad part was, however, Blount House was full of children whose parents never came for them. It was heartbreaking, those little faces pressed up against the window whenever a car drove up, hoping it was their Mamma or Poppa coming for them.
It was beginning to look like Josiah and Tillie weren't going to have any children of their own, and one day, they showed up to the house with a boy about 8 and a little girl who looked to be around three years old. Josiah had a grin on his face, the likes of which we had not seen since the day he asked Tillie to marry him! They had been up to Redding and the boy was Joseph John Fiest and the little girl was May Ellen Fiest.
John was near busting his straps as he was introduced to his Grandchildren!
That day wasn't done with us yet, Toby arrived just before supper with a young lady. He introduced her to us as Gretel Marburg. Her Daddy was Karl Marburg, who operated the little German pastry shop in Marysville. They were invited to supper, of course, and we all had a lively conversation about the day's events.
Over coffee, Toby casually dropped his bombshell, "I have asked Gretel to marry me and she has said yes. Her Daddy approves and we hope to be married in July."
I looked at John, he just shook his head, it was news to him also!
Ella Marie went into wedding planning mode immediately and she and Gretel headed to the parlor for "girl talk". John just sat in his chair, I guess two new Grandchildren and a new Daughter-in-law were just more than he could handle in one day!
Josiah cornered his brother and demanded some Brother Talk, they went out on the front porch, we could hear laughter every once in a while before they returned, both wearing smiles.
I thought to myself, "When we Blounts decide to do something, whole armies need to fear!"
Ella Marie and Gretel decided that little Joseph John would be the Ring Bearer and May Ellen would be the Flower Girl. Josiah had agreed to be Best Man and Hannah Marburg, Gretel's younger sister would be Maid of Honor. Since their Mother was dead, Gretel asked Ella Marie to act as Mother of The Bride.
John and I sat down with another cup of coffee and just let all the "buzz" move around us.
John was a little bewildered by it all, but he was so proud of his boys, they likely could have stolen the moon and he would not have minded!
The winter wheat was harvested, nearly filling all the available silo space. As soon as buyers heard we had wheat for sale, they mobbed Josiah's little office. He gave Rainbow Mills first choice and less than a month later, the silos were empty!
We still had some oats and the feeder animals were thriving, the buyer from Manteca Beef checked with Josiah weekly and when we put the beeves up for auction, they were high bidder. Fairfield Wholesale Meat won the contract for the swine and there was just enough time for a second crop, so Josiah ordered up another 2,000 feeder swine. It would empty our supply of oats, but we had planted 35,000 acres in oats last spring.
We hardly got the rice harvested when the corn ripened. We had a near catastrophe, the shucker wheel flew apart, tearing the housing into pieces. International Harvester told us it would be at least 30 days before they could deliver a new one. John thought of Oskar Heinz and asked him to take a look at the broken pieces. Oskar hummed and hawed over the mess and finally said, "Dis no goot, bad machine."
He took the broken parts and two days later he brought a whole new assembly back and bolted it onto the drive.
We used the Heinz Shucker for many years, before it finally wore out!
Just before time to start harvesting the red wheat, it was time to get Toby and Gretel married, Saturday dawned bright and clear and all the Blount men were struggling to get in their suits and ties.
Toby was like a son to all the hands, they had helped grow the boy into the man he had become. They were lined up, waiting to see him become a married man. He had a grin from ear to ear as he said, "I DO," and I was sure Caleb was crying over all the rice thrown over the couple as they raced for Blount's Landing.
The packet crew on the William Blount was taking them to San Francisco for their honeymoon. The packet was decorated in blue and white streamers and the crew was decked out in their uniforms. I had made reservations for them in The San Franciscan Hotel; the Grand Suite was theirs for a week.
The next day, we had to start harvesting the red wheat, if we waited any longer, the heads would begin to drop and part of the crop would be lost. We filled all the silo space and then started screwing grain directly into the rail cars, it was going to be a record crop! We already had contracts with Rainbow Mills and Holsum, smaller bidders gobbled up what was left of the crop.
Tobias closed out the books for 1933 with a profit of $9,980,500. It was a welcome relief from the last couple of years.
We voted to leave the emergency funds in the vault and to continue supporting the school lunch program. Blount House needed repairs, but it was still full of unwanted children.
I talked with Ella Marie and we decided to take a walk over to Blount House several times a week for a while.
Chapter - 3 - RECOVERY
We celebrated a fine Christmas, Toby and Gretel were settled in their new house and everything was right in our world. I was in my office and John told me there was a telephone call for me.
I went to answer it, "Mr. Steven Blount?"
I replied, "This is he."
The caller said, "One moment please while I make your connection, sir"
I then heard, " Hello, Hello, Steven?"
I said, "Yes, this is Steven Blount, to whom am I speaking?"
The voice replied, "Steven, it's me, Kelly Blount!"
I thought, "Oh my God, Uncle Kelly is supposed to be in Japan!" Uncle Kelly had been with the State Department since the last war, we had only an occasional letter from him over the last several years.
I said, "Uncle Kelly, where are you?"
He replied, "I am in San Francisco, it is urgent that I talk with you!"
I asked, "Can you come up to Blount Farm?"
He said, "Nobody must know I am there, can you send a Packet Boat for me?"
I replied, "Yes, I will send Toby Fiest to get you, I assume you are at The San Franciscan?"
He said, "Yes, tell him to ask for Mr. James. Is this Toby reliable?"
I said, "I would trust Toby with my life, his Father has already saved me once!"
He hung up and I turned to John, "I need to speak with Toby right away, it is urgent!"
John said, "Steven, I heard your side of the conversation, let me get Toby and you explain this to both of us."
Within minutes, both John and Toby were in my office, I closed the door and started telling them what I knew, "Kelly Blount was my Great Uncle Bill's ward and when Uncle Bill died, Grandpapa Isaac adopted him. He went away to school about the time I was born and has been with the United States Department of State for many years. He is the Deputy Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs and had been in Japan for the last several years."
I continued, "I don't know what has upset him so, but I think it is very important to us Blounts. Your name may be Fiest, but you are Blounts, also. Toby, I want you to leave right away on the Isaac Blount, have the Captain make all possible speed to the Ferry Building, you are to go to the desk at The San Franciscan and ask for Mr. James. I hate to take you away from Gretel so soon, but something has frightened Uncle Kelly and that means trouble for us!"
Toby ran over to the ready room and rousted out the crew of the Isaac. He explained that he had to get to San Francisco as fast as the Isaac could get him there, it is an EMERGENCY!
Packet Captain Jerry Folsom started the engine and began warming up the Isaac, as soon as the gauges began to rise, he ordered the lines slipped and he maneuvered the packet out of the landing and headed downriver at maximum throttle. As soon as the river widened out, he moved the throttle to "emergency" and started blowing the boat's whistle to warn other vessels that an emergency was underway.
The packet flew downriver with its whistle screaming, a few hours later they hit the bay, small boats scattering at the screaming whistle. As they entered the boat basin at the Ferry Building, Captain Folsom jammed the throttle into reverse and brought the Isaac to a dead stop just inside the Harbor Master Boat Pool.
Toby jumped onto the pier, shouting for Captain Folsom to explain to the Harbor Master while he hailed a cab to the hotel.
The Blount Family reputation was such, the Harbor Master accepted Captain Folsom's explanation and hoped he would get all the details as soon as the emergency was relieved.
Toby collected "Mr. James" from the hotel lobby and they took the same cab back to the Boat Pool.
Jerry Folsom saw the cab headed towards the pool and he started the packet's engine, as his two passengers were boarded, he backed out and headed to the fueling pier before returning upriver.
Kelly hugged Toby and said, "Young man, I don't know who you are, but if Steven sent you, you are trustworthy. We need to get to Blount Farm as fast as possible and nobody must see me!"
Kelly went inside the passenger cabin and laid down on the bench. Toby brought the man a blanket and covered him up. Captain Folsom cranked the throttle up as far as it would go, the engine howling in protest.
It was getting dark and he had one of the sailors light the searchlight and sweep the channel as they sped up the river. Twelve hours after they had left Blount Landing, Jerry Folsom backed the throttle down and docked.
I, John and Uncle Tim were all waiting on the ramp, Toby brought a blanket that shrouded Kelly Blount up the ramp and they all ran for the house.
When they were seated in the kitchen, Ella Marie brought them coffee and started to put together a quick supper.
I said, "Now, Uncle Kelly, what is this all about?"
Kelly looked around at each of them and asked, "Steven, are they all reliable, do you trust them?"
I laughed, "Uncle Kelly, John here saved my life, yes, I would trust him and his son Toby. You know Uncle Tim and Ella Marie is my wife and mother of my children."
Kelly said, "Alright, here it is. Germany has sent a high-level diplomatic team to the Japanese Government and they have concluded an agreement for both of them to attack the United States!"
Josiah said, "But, Japan just signed a treaty with us, it was in all the papers!"
Kelly replied, "It is just paper, when they decide the time is right, they both will attack the United States and try to destroy us. The Japanese want the Philippine Islands, Hawaii, Guam and Alaska. Hitler is going to try to take England first and then it will be our turn."
I asked, "How long do you think we have?"
Kelly replied, "Maybe 5 years!"
Toby sat there with his head in his hands, "We are just now coming out of an awful depression, how much more can our people take?"
Kelly said, "I don't know, I was followed to San Francisco, I don't think they saw me leave the hotel and there is no way they can know of Blount Farm, I used my original name from when I was a boy all the time I was in Japan. Is there a way I can get to the railroad and head to Washington from here?"
John said, "Yes, we can have the other packet, The William Blount, take you to Sacramento, you can catch the Chicago Limited there and transfer to New York City and Washington in Chicago.
Kelly said, "That sounds good, can someone send a wire to Sacramento, getting me tickets under the name of Kelly Blount?
Toby said, "Sure, I will go do that first thing in the morning, there is a Western Union in Marysville."
Kelly began to sag, "I haven't slept since the ship left Honolulu, can you put me up for a day or so?"
Ella Marie placed a plate of roast beef, mashed potatoes and green peas in front of Kelly and Toby, they both wolfed the food down. She then showed him the guest bedroom upstairs and where he could wash up, she was hardly back downstairs when the man collapsed on the bed and was out like a light.
The next morning, Toby went to the Western Union office and sent a telegram to the railroad office in Sacramento; his request came back almost immediately with a ticket number and departure time.
When he returned to Blount Farm, he spotted several hands riding picket, looking like they were herding cows, but they had rifles across their laps and the cows never went any further than the rose garden or the feedlot.
He stepped into the house and spotted his father, "You got guards out already?"
John replied, yeah, how many of them did you see?"
Toby said, "I saw four over by the feedlot, one at the rose garden and one sitting just inside the equipment barn."
John laughed, "Damn, Boy, you missed two!"
TBC
The story will continue in PREPARATIONS, The Family Blount takes the safety of its folk and townspeople seriously. They will dig their way clear of the ravages of the Great Depression and draw strength from each other as they realize another war is coming.