Searching for some warmth and comfort in the depths of winter? Looking for protein when the cost of meat is on the rise?  Thick and hearty navy bean soup may be the answer! Navy (or white) beans got their popular name from their use as a staple food item by the U.S. Navy in the early 20th century.  Navy beans are an inexpensive and fat-free source of protein -- plus B vitamins, minerals, and iron. Their high fiber content lowers cholesterol and improves digestion.   Navy beans are perfect for long-simmering (or often reheated) soups, as they hold their shape and consistency over time.  

Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) package dried navy beans, washed and picked over
7 cups water
1/4 cups minced onion
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1/2 cups sliced carrots
1/2 cups sliced celery
if available or desired:
1 ham bone
2 cups diced ham

Directions
1) Place rinsed beans into a large stock pot. Add water and bring to a boil. Boil gently for 2 minutes; remove from heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour.

2) Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and bay leaves (and ham/ham bone, if desired). Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until beans are soft. Occasionally skim service of soup while it is cooking.

3) Add carrots and celery, cook until tender.  Remove ham bone, scrape any meat from bone and place back into soup.  You're ready to serve up warmth, comfort, and nutrition -- what thrifty cook could ask for anything more?

On January 24, 1935, the Gottfried Krueger Brewery in Richmond, Virginia marketed the first canned beer.  Krueger had been brewing beer since the mid-1800s, but between Prohibition and worker strikes, the company was in financial distress.  Then the American Can Company came to Krueger with a novel idea: canned beer.

As early as 1909, the American Can Company had experimented with beverage cans, but none of the prototypes could withstand pressure from carbonation. In 1933, with Prohibition at an end, the company developed "keg-lining," a technique to coat the inside of beer cans in the same way that a keg was lined.  Constructed from heavy gauge steel, these first beer cans required a special tool to punch a hole in their solid, flat tops.  In the beginning, Krueger executives weren't very excited by the canned beer concept, but that view changed when American Can offered to install all the canning equipment gratis, freeing Krueger from any obligation if the product was not a success.

Canned beer was a hit right from the start, with a 91 percent approval rating.  In the first week of production, 2,000 cans of Krueger's Finest Beer and Krueger's Cream Ale were delivered to fans of the brewery in Richmond.  Soon other breweries copied the idea; cans were lighter and cheaper to manufacture than bottles. By the end of the year, 37 breweries were selling canned beer nationwide. 

During World War II, canning of beverages declined, curtailed by conservation of metals for the war effort.  Aluminum cans with pull tabs were introduced in 1958; they were lighter and even cheaper to produce. Today, canned beer accounts for about half of the $20 billion total yearly U.S. beer sales.

This week's posts told the story of the Bonus Army, a collective of WWI veterans who "occupied" Washington, D.C. during the Great Depression to lobby for early payment of a promised bonus.  One of the characters in Spare A Dime is a Bonus Army vet who later joins the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). 

Modeled after a Depression-era state work/conservation program that FDR developed while he was governor of New York, the CCC provided much-needed employment to jobless young men while preserving the country's natural resources.  At the program's peak, over 2,000 camps in all 48 states employed over 3 million men working at environmental jobs.  At first, only men ages 17 to 23 could enroll; later, the age limit was raised to 28.  After the Bonus Army campaign of 1933, separate CCC camps were created for veterans -- with special duties assigned for these 40-something "elders" based on their physical condition. 

All CCC camps provided housing, food, clothing, medical care, and education (including reading classes for the illiterate) to participants in the program.  CCC enrollees were paid $30 per month, $25 of which had to be sent back to their families.  Of the $5 the men could keep for themselves, $1 went into a fund for coupons with which they could buy supplies at the camp canteen.

CCC members were nicknamed “Roosevelt’s Tree Army,” “Tree Troopers,” “Soil Soldiers,” and the “3-Cs Boys.”  CCC projects were planned and supervised by the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture and included over a hundred different kinds of work.   Nationally, the 3-Cs Boys planted over 3 billion trees, created more that 800 parks, developed over 28,000 miles of hiking trails, and built over 47,000 beautiful stone bridges and innumerable stone walls still evident throughout the country.  The CCC also preserved forty million acres from erosion, including reforesting land destroyed by the Dust Bowl (see the image above). 

In 1942, with most of the 3-Cs Boys about to serve in WWII, the program was dissolved.  The CCC created a landscape that we continue to enjoy today and is considered one of FDR's most successful initiatives.

Even after President Hoover used brute force to evict the Bonus Army from their camp (see Parts 1 and 2 posted earlier this week), the WWI veterans remained vigilant in their demands.  At the end of 1932, after Franklin Roosevelt was elected President, a second, smaller Bonus Army expedition was organized for the spring (see flyer at left) to once again occupy Washington and lobby Congress for their promised pay. 

The second Bonus Army arrived in D.C. in May of 1933.  This time around, their experience was quite different.  FDR gave them tents, latrines, showers and had mess halls prepare food for them at an old Army post in Fort Hunt, Virginia.  The Bonus veterans received medical and dental care, as well.   Eleanor Roosevelt, FDR's wife, spent time in the camp unaccompanied by Secret Service (see image below).  The veterans loved her.  A much repeated saying at the time was "Hoover sent the Army.  Roosevelt sent his wife."

The President, however, did not favor early payment of the WWI bonus, and, indeed, Congress denied the bill a second time.  FDR  did propose an alternative (through Eleanor), however; he offered all veterans jobs with the newly created Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).  Typically only men 17 to 23 years old were able to enroll; most of the Bonus Army vets were in their 40's.  Thousands of the Bonus marchers took FDR up on the offer.  Those who decided not to work with the CCC were given transportation home. 

By 1936, with the country's hopes on the rise and the New Deal a way of life, Congress finally passed a bill authorizing payment of the deferred WWI bonuses.  Years later, the G.I. Bill of Rights was inspired by the determination of the Bonus Army. 

As for our Spare A Dime veteran, he joined the CCC!  We'll explore his experience tomorrow!

In 1932, the Senate denied WWI veterans early payment of the overseas bonus they had been promised (see Part 1, yesterday's post).  The Hoover administration the assumed these "Bonus Army" soldiers would take down their "Hooverville" shanty-town and go away. 

But the Bonus marchers were far more determined than that.  Although some veterans did leave, many others stayed with the intention to lobby again for their money in the next session of Congress.  Hooverville had become their home, and many of the marchers were better able to provide for their families in the camp than they had in their hometowns.  Over a month after being refused their pay, the Bonus Army marchers still occupied Washington.

In late July, a month after the Senate's decision, President Hoover asked the D.C. police to evict the veterans.  The marchers resisted, and police fired into the crowd.  Two veterans were wounded and later died.  Hoover called in the Army, led, ironically, by two generals who we think of as WWII heros:  MacArthur and Patton.  The generals bore down on the camp with infantry, calvalry, and six tanks.

At first the veterans thought these current soldiers were holding a parade in support of the Bonus Army cause.  Then the calvary drew their sabres; the infantry pointed their bayonets and shot tear gas at the veterans, their wives and childen, alike.  MacArthur's troops burned all the shanties to the ground (see the image above with the Washington Monument in the background), chasing the jobless -- and now homeless and possessionless -- families across the Anacostia River, even after Hoover had asked the general to pull back.

Images of the tanks, the guns, the sabres, the tear gas, and the enormous fire spread across the country.  People could not believe that Hoover and  MacArthur used force against the once-lauded troops who had won "the war to end all wars" for America.

Check back tomorrow to see what ultimately happened to the Bonus Army (and our Spare A Dime veteran)!

One of the characters in Spare A Dime is a veteran of World War I who participated in the Bonus Army march.  Here's the back story:

In 1918, American veterans returning home from WWI were promised a cash bonus for their service abroad.  There was just one catch:  the bonus would not be payable for 27 years, until 1945.

Just over a decade later, as Great Depression unemployment was at its peak, thousands of these veterans were among the jobless and desperately needed help. In Oregon, a group of veterans had the idea to go to Washington, D.C. and ask Congress to pay their bonus early.  It was 1932, a year before FDR would be elected; Herbert Hoover was still President.  Armed with an American flag and a bugle, they pronounced themselves the Bonus Army, and hopped onto freight trains heading east.  As they traveled, they were joined by other veterans, and soon the press picked up the story.  News of the Bonus Army's "march" quickly spread, and veterans from every corner of the nation began to converge on the capital with their families in tow.  Soon over 20,000 of these former soldiers had arrived to lobby Congress to pay the bonus.

The Bonus Army set up tent cities in vacant lots, and built a shanty-town (or "Hooverville" as they were mockingly called) along the Anacostia River out of any materials they could find: wood, cardboard, tin, car parts, and chicken coops.  It was the biggest Hooverville in the country.  The veterans organized the encampment as a city within a city;  it had a library, post office, barbershop, and newspaper, and streets named after the 48 states.  The encampment had strict rules, as well (no alcohol, fighting, or panhandling), and no avowed communists were allowed.  The marchers wanted to affirm the same military rules and American values they had as active soldiers.

Public support of and fascination with the Bonus Army brought ample food and other necessary supplies to the camp.  Local city residents would talk with the soldiers and be entertained by the impromptu musical groups that formed in the camp.  A retired Marine Corps general visiting the marchers exclaimed "Take it from me, this is the greatest demonstration of Americanism we have ever had. Pure Americanism. Don't make any mistake about it: You've got the sympathy of the American people."

On June 15, 1932, less than a month after the Bonus Army occupied Washington, the House passed a bill to pay the bonus. The encampment was ecstatic, but not for long -- the Senate denied the bill and ended their session for the summer.  What would the Bonus Army marchers do?  Find out tomorrow in Part 2!

Offering the American people a "New Deal" in 1932, FDR was elected President by a landslide. The experience he obtained as governor,  the determination he summoned in overcoming paralytic illness, and his skill as a forthright, optimistic politician inspired the nation and gave hope to the hopeless.  As one person interviewed about the times said, " If FDR told us we could build a city on the moon, we would follow him there."

With this overwhelming mandate, FDR quickly implemented new programs to try to address the problems of the Depression.  During the first hundred days of his administration, Congress passed a series of landmark bills that created a new role for the federal government: to take an active interest in the economy and in people's lives. These early bills stabilized the banking system, created emergency relief funds, supported hard-hit farmers, conserved the American landscape, and built the nation's infrastructure.  Under FDR, Congress passed the Social  Security Act, the most enduring of the New Deal programs, providing a previously unheard-of social safety net for the elderly, for widows and children, and for individuals with disabilities.  And, as Spare A Dime will explore, FDR established the Civil Works Administration (replaced in 1935 by the Works Progress Administration), advocating work over welfare.  In the next few days we'll take a closer look at some of the major events of the Great Depression and the WPA projects that impact our Spare A Dime characters.

During the Depression era, many families were limited to eating what was readily available to them, and often times it wasn’t much. Harvesting dandelions is a great example of the resourcefulness individuals demonstrated during this time.

Served as a salad or even cooked, these leafy greens are surprisingly tasty and incredibly good for you. In fact, every part of the dandelion is edible, from the flower down to the roots. Of course you can find these in your yard or other grassy locale, but be very careful not to eat anything from an area that may have been treated with pesticides.  It’s always a good policy to wash the leaves very thoroughly! If you’re wary about using naturally growing greens, check out the produce section of most food shops.

Note: The older a dandelion plant gets, the more bitter it’s going to taste. Young, tender dandelion greens can be eaten raw and in salads. Older, larger greens need to be blanched or steamed to remove any bitterness.

Dandelion Greens Salad
Ingredients
½ lb. young raw dandelion leaves, washed and dried
½ red onion, chopped
5 grape tomatoes, halved
Add what you have: apple or pear slices, raisins or dried cranberries, nuts or cheese of all kinds, etc.

Directions
Combine ingredients and toss in a vinegar and oil dressing with a bit of salt and pepper to best appreciate the taste of the greens.

Fried Dandelion Flowers
Ingredients
12 dandelion blossoms with green base and stems removed (leave enough of the base on to hold the flower together)
1 cup milk
salt
1 egg
1 cup flour
vegetable oil

Directions
1. Soak the dandelion flowers in a bowl of cool salt water to remove any bugs or debris. After they’ve soaked for around 1/2 hour, take them out of the water and gently blot the excess moisture away.
2. Heat enough oil to fry the dandelions you have.
3. While the oil is heating, make a batter using the milk, salt, egg and flour. Dip each flower into the batter, and toss it into the oil once it’s popping hot. Fry until they’re lightly browned.
4. Use a paper towel to gently blot away excess grease, and serve immediately. Yum!

Dandelion Root Coffee
People have been roasting dandelion root as a coffee substitute for centuries. Though dandelion root is a bit more bitter (tasting much like New Orleans’ style chicory coffee), it's also caffeine free and contains more antioxidants and nutrients than regular coffee. Roots are best dug up in the spring when they have the most nutrients.

Directions
1. Once you’ve dug up a fair-sized pile of dandelion roots, wash them in the sink or in a bucket of water. They’ll be full of dirt, so you’ll likely have to scrub them a few times to get all the dirt off.

2. While you’re washing, preheat your oven to 250 degrees.

3. Once the roots are clean, chop them into small chunks. Then put them in a bowl of water and scrub them one more time.

4. Place the roots on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven to dry. Leave the oven door open slightly to let moisture escape. You’ll want to stir them frequently to make sure they’re drying evenly and they don’t burn. The drying process will take at least two hours. As the roots dry they’ll shrink and turn to a pretty brown color. Make sure they don’t burn!

5. Once the roots are roasted, let them cool completely. Then, store them in a sealed glass mason jar. To make the coffee, use 1 teaspoon of roots for every cup of water. You can put them in the coffee pot, or put them in a tea infuser and add boiling water. In my opinion, adding hot milk takes away the slight bitterness and makes for a truly wonderful cup of dandelion coffee!

Courtesy of Heather Levin

Earhart’s flight from Hawaii raised the profile of the island, and the pilot herself attained an almost mythological status.  Earhart previously had been the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and she had set a record for crossing in the shortest time.  In 1937, while attempting to complete a flight around the world, her plane was lost in the Pacific, and Earhart became perhaps the most famous missing person of all time.

The population was 123,188,000 people in 48 states.
The average male life expectancy was 58.1 years.
The average female life expectancy was 61.6 years.

The average salary was $1,600 per year.
The average cost to purchase a new house was $3,450.
The average cost to rent a house was $22 per month.

40% percent of families lived in one-family detached homes; 25% lived in apartments. The remaining 45% lived in row homes or multiple family homes. 78% of people lived in homes with electric lighting, gas or electricity for cooking and an inside bathroom with a flushing toilet and running hot water.

Of note, yearly family spending on reading and education averaged only $7 in 1935, while yearly spending on entertainment averaged $82, much of which was spent on the movies.  Then (as now) it's only human to seek an escape from the harsh realities of everyday life.