November 30, 1933

I straightened up the house today. Helen, Kate and Laten came over for Thanksgiving dinner. Had our goose Ruby sent, gravy, Irish potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, string beans, cake Jell-O, etc. Exchanged magazines with Helen. I stayed with Mrs. Raifert.

Charlie Chaplin
April 16, 1889 - December 25, 1977
Born as: Charles Spencer Chaplin

Charlie was born in London, the son of poverty-stricken music-hall entertainers.
At five he took his first turn on the stage; at age 17 he joined a music hall troupe
with whom he honed his pantomimic skills.

On tour in New York (1913), he caught the eye of Mack Sennett, who signed him
 to a film contract. His first movie, Making a Living (1914), premiered in February. He
made 35 films that year meanwhile developing his character of The Little Tramp,
baggy pants, derby hat, oversized shoes, and cane. The final touches were applied in
 The Tramp (1915) which made him an instant star.

In 1919 Chaplin teamed up with Douglas Fairbanks , Mary Pickford and D.W.
 Griffith to form United Artists, for production of their own films. In the following years
Charles produced, directed, and starred in such classics as The Gold Rush (1925),
City Lights (1931), Modern Times (1936) and The Great Dictator (1940).

Over the years he was criticized for his many romantic affairs and for his political leftist
views. When Charles went to London in 1952 with his fourth wife Oona, he was
informed that he wasn't allowed to return to America. They moved to Switzerland.

During his absence from the States he made two more films, A King in New York (1957),
and his final film A Countess from Hong Kong (1967), which starred Marlon Brando
and Sophia Loren Chaplin did not return to the USA until 1972, when he accepted
a Special Academy Award.

Wednesday, November 29, 1933

Daddy took us to school. I went swimming. Had assembly. History test. Stayed at Mrs. Raifert's.

Sinti & Roma
Victims of the Nazi Era, 1933-1945

A Bavarian law of July 16, 1926, outlined measures for "Combatting Gypsies,
Vagabonds, and the Work Shy" and required the systematic registration of all
Sinti and Roma. The law prohibited Gypsies from "roam[ing] in bands," and
those "[Gypsies] unable to prove regular employment" risked being sent to forced
labor for up to two years. This law became the national norm in 1929.

Between 1933 and 1945 Sinti and Roma ("Gypsies") suffered greatly
as victims of Nazi persecution and genocide. Building on long-hel
prejudices, the Nazi regime viewed Gypsies both as "asocials" (outside
"normal" society) and as racial "inferiors" - believed to threaten the
biological purity and strength of the "superior Aryan" race. During
World War II, the Nazis and their collaborators killed tens of thousands
of Sinti and Roma men, women, and children across German-occupied Europe.

 

Tuesday, November 28, 1933

Daddy took us to school. I waited for Nadine tonight but she had to stay after school. Hattie stayed all night at Mrs. Raifert's.

Hilda E. Gass - First female deputy in St. Clair County, Illinois

From the Belleville, IL, Daily Advocate:

On November 28, 1933, Miss Hilda E. Gass was named a special deputy sheriff for
 economical as well as practical reasons. When women prisoners are taken to the
penitentiary the law provides that a matron must accompany the guards. Heretofore
 special matrons were named for each trip to the penitentiary, but in the future
Miss Gass will be the matron as well as a guard.

In addition Miss Gass will be able to relieve the male deputies in the sheriff’s office by
 serving official papers when they are engaged in the solution of a baffling case. She
will also be of aid as a detective in cases in which women can gain greater confidence than men.

Monday, November 27, 1933

Daddy took me and the girls to school. Tomorrow we are to have a History test on Rome. I stayed all night at Mrs. Raifert's.

 Billie Holiday (AKA "Lady Day)
April 7, 1915 - July 17, 1959
Born: Eleanora Fagan Gough

On November 27, 1933, 18-year-old Billie Holiday recorded her first session,
 singing "Your Mother's Son in Law" with Benny Goodman. She got paid $35;
no royalties. The record flopped, but her singing career was on its way.



 .

Sunday, November 26, 1933

Went to Sunday school this morning. Saw "Footlight Parade" with Pauline. Daddy got me a white rat. Mrs. Raifert was over. I stayed all night.

Footlight Parade is a 1933 American musical film starring James Cagney,
Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell, and featuring Frank McHugh, Guy
Kibbee, Hugh Herbert and Ruth Donnelly. The movie was written by Manuel Seff
and James Seymour from a story by Robert Lord and Peter Milne, and was directed
by Lloyd Bacon.

The spectacular Busby Berkeley musical numbers, written by Harry Warren (music)
and Al Dubin (lyrics) and Sammy Fain (music) and Irving Kahal (lyrics), include
 "By a Waterfall", "Honeymoon Hotel", and "Shanghai Lil".

In 1992, Footlight Parade was selected for preservation in the United States National
Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".





Saturday, November 25, 1933

Ate breakfast at Mrs. Raifert's. Walked over to Carlins' with her. Ollie was over. Had chicken for dinner.

Joyce Clyde Hall (August 29, 1891 – October 29, 1982)
Founder of Hallmark Cards

In 1910, Hall moved from Nebraska to Kansas City, Missouri, with little more than two
shoe boxes of postcards. By 1913, he and his brothers were operating a store (which
would eventually evolve into Kansas City's Hall's department store) selling not only
postcards but also greeting cards. The store burned in 1915, and a year later, Hall bought
an engraving business and began printing his own cards, which he marketed under the
 Hallmark brand name. Hallmark's corporate headquarters remain in Kansas City.

Friday, November 24, 1933

Daddy took us girls to school. I went swimming today. Went to dentist in the evening, then played pinochle. I stayed all night with Mrs. Raifert.

Where are the jobs?

By November 1933, unemployment in America had skyrocketed to over 23%
and the Dow plummeted to 90, a loss of nearly 75 percent of its previous value.

In this photo, unemployed men queued outside a Depression-era soup kitchen
opened in Chicago by Al Capone in an effort to clean up his public image. The
storefront sign reads: "Free Soup, Coffee and Doughnuts for the Unemployed."