What was Steinbeck interested in growing up?
For the most part, Steinbeck — who grew up with three sisters — had a happy childhood. He was shy but smart. He formed an early appreciation for the land and in particular California’s Salinas Valley, which would greatly inform his later writing.
What was Salinas Valley like during John Steinbeck’s era?
Salinas and the National Steinbeck Center Only fifteen miles from the Pacific, the 50-mile long Salinas Valley was cool and often foggy, temperatures moderate, and the soil rich beyond measure. Ranchers and farmers thrived.
What was Salinas like during the Great Depression?
Salinas valley has always been a large farming region and during the Great Depression, many people worked there. When people lost their jobs they would work any job they could so a lot of people moved out west to the farms for work.
What makes the Salinas River so special?
Salinas River – The “Upside Down River” Because it flows north instead of west or south and has one of the largest subsurface flows in the nation, the Salinas River is called the “Upside Down River.”
Is Castroville in the Salinas Valley?
The Salinas Valley runs approximately 90 miles (145 km) southeast from the Salinas River mouth near Castroville and Salinas towards King City and San Ardo.
What kind of jobs are available in the Salinas Valley during the Great Depression?
In the Salinas valley of California, the work would be overwhelmingly agricultural jobs, working seasonal harvests (notice Lennie and George are migrant farm workers), orchards, strawberries, barley, etc.
What kind of jobs are available in the Salinas Valley?
Some of the jobs more prevalent in Salinas than most other cities include farm, ranch and other agricultural managers; farm workers and laborers, crops, nursery and greenhouse; graders and sorters of agricultural products; first-line supervisors/managers of farming, fishing and forestry workers; agricultural equipment …
Why was the Salinas Valley a good place for farmers to migrate to in the 1930s?
the valley, including the development of the valley’s infrastructure. The farming economy in Salinas valley saw far less disruptions in terms of productions and markets than other locations in America. Many displaced workers came to the Salinas Valley, which led to a vast increase in productivity.
How much did migrant workers get paid in the 1930?
As a result, wages throughout the nation fell during the Depression. Migrant workers in California who had been making 35 cents per hour in 1928 made only 14 cents per hour in 1933….How much did a teacher make in the 1930s?
| 1926 | 1930 | |
|---|---|---|
| Second class teachers | 1,118 | 1,138 |
What did Salinas California look like during the 1930’s?
The Salinas Valley was a very productive land with crops in the early 1930s. The population at the time reached 10,236. The Salinas Valley was appreciable until workers demanded better conditions. Also the Salinas Valley is the setting of the story Of Mice and Men.
What happened socially in Salinas California in the 1930s?
Organized Labor and Strikes Agricultural workers began to unionize in the 1930s. In particular, Filipino workers in Salinas, California formed the Filipino Labor Union in 1933. Their strike was brutally put down by a vigilante force organized by the local sheriff.
What was happening socially in the 1930s?
Despite the Great Depression, popular culture flourished in the United States in the 1930s. Next to jazz, blues, gospel, and folk music, swing jazz became immensely popular in the 1930s. Radio, increasingly easily accessibly to most Americans, was the main source of entertainment, information, and political propaganda.
What happened socially in the 1930s?
The Great Depression was partly caused by the great inequality between the rich who accounted for a third of all wealth and the poor who had no savings at all. As the economy worsened many lost their fortunes, and some members of high society were forced to curb their extravagant lifestyles.
What was California like in the 1930s?
California was hit hard by the economic collapse of the 1930s. Businesses failed, workers lost their jobs, and families fell into poverty. While the political response to the depression often was confused and ineffective, social messiahs offered alluring panaceas promising relief and recovery.
Why did people go to California during the Depression?
Migration Out of the Plains during the Depression. During the Dust Bowl years, the weather destroyed nearly all the crops farmers tried to grow on the Great Plains. Many once-proud farmers packed up their families and moved to California hoping to find work as day laborers on huge farms.