Since the current recession began in 2007, Bradley folks, like other people almost everywhere else, have endured less than rosy financial conditions. Of course, to some extent, Bradley and the rest of Lafayette County are almost always in a state of recession, or even worse at times.
At end of each year between 1920 and 1949, Della McKnight Cochran would make a summary-type entry in her daily diary. At the end of 1930, this poignant entry appears: “People hungry. So few Christmas gifts this year. Not nearly so many cards sent.” This would have been a little over a year after the stock market crash in October of 1929. By this time, the Great Depression was well under way.
On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1931, almost a year later, this entry appears: “Not much doing at store. No cotton picking for over a month because of rains. No money [around Bradley].”
Hard times and Bradley have never been strangers to each other.
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Finally, a personal note.
I could not let the last day of 2009 pass without saying “Thank you” to the readers of bradleyark.com, both for reading and for generously sharing your comments, photos, and other historical material with me. The response to this site has, over the roughly 28 months of its existence, been overwhelming. Again, thank you.
Eddy
bradleyark.com 