The Storekeeper's Wife

By Ron Dawes

Emma, a young bride of a grocery store owner is swept up the Great Depression, as are all people in the 1930s. Most people know nothing of the stock market, and can't imagine how the crash could ever affect them. As more and more people become unemployed, the grocery store begins to fail. She isn't worried about herself; though still a teen, she knows she can take care of herself. Her biggest fear is having to clean people's houses, or care for their children to support her husband thoughout their lives. She knows he lacks the intelligence, imagination or skill to reinvent himself, and is determined to save their store. It requires taking out a loan, and banks aren't lending. Only a loan shark can provide the needed cash, and his terms are difficult to meet. Emma is forced to make a decision that no woman should ever have to make, if she wants to save her future.

This heart warming story features the clever dialogue that Ron Dawes is known for. The ending will surprise you, and leave you wishing for more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ron Dawes
• Release date: Feb 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370968114

Ron Dawes

Writing these stories provides me an outlet to express my innermost fantasies. I love hearing from readers who have been moved by my stories. Feel free to drop me a note anytime. Many of my stories are based on my fantasies. Some of the stories are based on the fantasies of others that have contacted me. But all of them are fantasies. We have no control over our fantasies, and many of them will always be just that; fantasies, not real. I don't necessarily condone the behavior of my characters; some of them are a bit lecherous, I'm afraid. Some are rowdy. And some might just be a little nasty. But it takes all kinds. I believe that men, deep down, have a strong need to worship and adore their lover. I believe that women, deep down, have a strong need to be worshiped and adored by their lover. Most of my stories reflect those beliefs.

Book preview

The Storekeeper’s Wife

By Ron Dawes

[e-mail]

Text Copyright 2017 Ron Dawes

It was being called Black Thursday. October 24, 1929. Over twelve million shares of stock were dumped, the biggest trading day ever. Five days later, on October 29, 1929 another wave of panic hit Wall Street, and the market went into a tailspin. Some sixteen million shares were dumped that day. Millions of shares became worthless, and those investors that had bought on margin were wiped out entirely.

Emma read voraciously, much to her husband Forest’s amusement. He couldn’t understand why a woman would read the paper. He could understand if it were the funnies, or the social section. But the front page?

Neither of them knew anybody in Cleveland that invested in the stock market. While the newspapers and radio told of men jumping out of their office windows, they didn’t understand a bit of it.

Sounds to me like anybody that lost money that way was bound to lose it anyway, one way or another, Forest said. Paying cash money for a piece of paper that can become worthless for no reason? Only a fool would do that.

Rockefeller buys paper that way, and he’s the richest person in the world Emma said. He says it’s just a matter of time before things go back to normal.

I’m sure of it, Forest said. Just a matter of time. Anyway, we got nothing to worry about. After all, everybody’s got to eat. He laughed at his own joke. He used that joke almost every day, in almost any situation. His daddy had started that grocery market, and Forest took it over when he was only twenty three. Now, at thirty three, he had probably used that joke a million times.

Within months, the unemployment rate in the U.S. almost tripled, and Cleveland, like most large cities that depended on heavy industry was hit hard. Since the United States was the only industrialized country in the world not to have some sort of unemployment insurance, homelessness followed joblessness, in many cases.

Most homeless people moved in with relatives or took to the streets, living under bridges or anywhere they could find shelter. Since so many factories were idled, many took to squatting in vacant factories and office buildings. In the large cities, shack towns were organized, where hundreds or even thousands of people lived in a public space, supported in many cases by left wing groups and even city officials. These shantytowns, known as Hoovervilles, ran almost like an autonomous city, with their own unofficial mayor and regulations. They were built using anything that people could find that would keep out the elements; parts of car bodies, appliance skins, cardboard, even billboards and street signs..

By the fall of 1930, rumors circulated that banks didn’t have enough reserves to pay off depositors, and people began demanding their deposits in cash. The largest financial holding company in the south, Caldwell and Company, ceased operations in November of 1930, triggering a panic that saw over hundreds of banks close over the next few weeks. Still, Forest insisted that ‘everybody’s got to eat’.

Then in December, the Bank of the United States, the fourth largest bank in New York City ceased operations, triggering another run on banks. These disruptions to capital markets squeezed credit, making it difficult for even profitable companies to keep operations going. People began hoarding cash, taking it out of circulation and causing deflation. That further reduced consumption and increased unemployment. Even so, Forest still insisted that ‘everybody’s go to eat.’

Great Britain announced it was going off the gold standard, and would no longer guarantee its currency with gold, rumors began that the United States would do the same, and people began hoarding gold as a hedge against the fear of worthless currency. That led to deflation, further exacerbating unemployment and tight credit. Almost half of the banks in the country ceased operations. Still, Forest insisted that ‘everybody’s got to eat.’

Forest, everybody’s got to eat, but it looks like they’re able to do so without buying here. We’re going broke. I don’t see how we’re going to pay our bills this month.

Soon after their marriage, Emma had taken over the administration of the store, paying their bills. It was unconventional, but Forest didn’t argue. He had enough to do, running the market. If she wanted to handle the paperwork, that was fine. Now, however, it appeared she was incapable of doing so.

What do you mean, how are we going to pay our bills? You insisted on taking over the paperwork. Now you tell me we’re short?

"I’ve been telling you