From the Soup Lines to World War II

About the Book

The affluent decade of the Twenties that brought prosperity for the wealthy, as well as the average American Joe, came to a grim halt. The year was 1929. The popular Charleston dance that represented the frolicking and happy-go-lucky times had suddenly lost its flair. No one felt like dancing. The coming miserable decade of the 1930s was called the Great Depression. It would introduce ten years of suffering for most Americans, not only for the wealthy perpetrators of the cause, but also for innocent Americans who fell victim to its aftermath. The doors were closed to panicked Americans who rushed to the banks to withdraw their savings. The wheels of commerce were slowing down throughout the country. Companies were laying off workers. Bankruptcies became commonplace. The slowdown went on for several years, but things got worse. Big and small businesses began closing their doors. The jobless walked the streets looking for work, but there was no work. The normal secure life of the average American had vanished. Some poor souls couldn’t adjust to the tragic dilemma. They ended their agony by putting a gun to their heads or by some other means. World War II would unknowingly be the catalyst for getting the wheels of commerce turning. A surprise attack by the country of Japan put Americans back to work. They suddenly found themselves in the unexpected role of making bombs and war machines to push back the enemy. There was no time to reason why. They rolled up their sleeves and went to work.

About the Author

Donna Evans Knapp was a young child during the Great Depression years. Her parents called home any state and town her father could find employment in the bakery trade. During her formative years, her family returned to the Midwest where her father prospered and purchased a bakery in the busy town of Kearney, Nebraska. She was schooled in the community’s upper grades and graduated from Longfellow High School in 1947. After graduation from high school, Donna met and married Leo Martin, a veteran just home from the war. In 1950, she and her family resettled in Omaha, Nebraska where she attended a school of fashion and design. After graduating from the school, she gained recognition from the Omaha Retailers’ Association of Omaha and became involved in promoting women’s fashions. Donna taught in the modeling profession and was selected by the Omaha Retailers’ Association to coordinate local women’s fashion events, organizing the models and commentary for such occasions. After twelve years as such, her knowledge of design and color led to a new interest. With ten years of art schooling and applying paint to canvas, she had begun to be locally recognized for her achievements in four-dimensional art. Her knowledge of art later introduced her to a well-known interior decorated who wrote a weekly column on interior design for a local newspaper in Kansas City, Missouri where Donna lived at the time. Because of her knowledge of art and design, she was hired as an assistant. Her employer’s business demands gave Donna the opportunity to employ her love for the written word through ghostwriting the weekly newspaper column for the employer. Her interest in writing remains with her. As a Daughter of the American Revolution and the Civil War, she remains loyal to the American democratic cause, having actively served toward that end throughout her lifetime.