THE WAY IT WAS IN DECEMBER 1932
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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | DEC. 31, 2021 - JAN. 6, 2022 13
QUEENSLINE
In conjunction
with the Greater
Astoria Historcal Society,
TimesLedger Newspapers
presents noteworthy
events in the borough’s
history.
Welcome to December 1932!
As the month of December
opened, the Great Depression
had been lowering spirits in
Queens for three long years.
By 1932, one in four Americans
were unemployed. Governor
Franklin D. Roosevelt of New
York had been elected president
in November with the promise
of a “New Deal for the forgotten
man,” but his administration
had not yet begun. “Hunger
marchers” protested in Washington,
and the newly homeless
threw up shantytowns ironically
called “Hoovervilles,’ after
outgoing President Herbert
Hoover, who was widely blamed
for not having done enough to
arrest a economy in freefall.
Completion of the new
Queens General Hospital was
delayed because the city had
run out of money. And this was
at a time when diphtheria was
still a serious problem and there
were far more cases of tuberculosis
diagnosed than could be
accommodated in the borough’s
LAST WEEK’S TOP STORY:
NYC Parks completes $1.8 million makeover of
Doughboy Park in Woodside
SUMMARY: Elected and NYC Parks officials recently cut the ribbon
on the newly reconstructed $1.8 million plaza and seating area
at Doughboy Park in the heart of Woodside.
existing hospitals. Concerned
about conditions in Queens, the
Star-Journal launched its campaign
“Keep the Home Fires
Burning,” a coal fund drive for
families unable to heat their
homes.
Civic organizations did
their bit. The Star Journal reported
that 30,000 baskets of
Christmas food were donated
by charitable organizations and
political clubs to needy families
in Queens. If you’re wondering
what that would set them back,
the Star-Journal estimated that
a Christmas dinner for eight
could be purchased for $6.44,
“the cost based on the current
prices of the Great Atlantic
and Tea Company whose stores
throughout the nation will fill
5,000,000 Christmas dinner
market baskets this year.”
The menu started with Tomato
Juice Cocktail, celery,
and olives, and was followed by
roast turkey with oyster Sauce,
cranberry jelly, mashed potatoes,
baked Hubbard squash,
buttered onions, hearts of lettuce
with French dressing, and
bread and butter. For dessert,
plum pudding with hard sauce,
fruit and nuts, washed down
with coffee and cider.
Due to deflation, the price of
food was actually going down
during the Depression. “This
$6.44 compares with a cost of
$8.55 for the same dinner in 1931
and compares with $9.92 for the
Christmas Day dinner of three
years ago in 1929. The present
cost of $6.44 includes all accessories
such as cream, sugar,
seasoning, etc.” Despite lower
prices, however, sales of Christmas
trees were low as people
concentrated on the essentials.
Fans of the machine age
were no doubt excited on Dec. 21
to read about the test of a “baby
submarine” in the East River off
the Queens shore. Dr. William
Beebe, the famous underwater
explorer and a former resident
of Flushing was enthusiastic
“about the latest development in
submarine construction, a tiny
submersible ship for undersea
salvage work and exploration,
invented by Simon Lake. Mr.
Lake was host to Dr. Beebe and a
group of army and navy officers
on a test trip on the midget undersea
craft Explorer yesterday
afternoon on a cruise on the bottom
of the East River and Long
Island Sound between Pelham
Bay and Queens.
The Star-Journal warned
the public that “Crime is
increasing alarmingly in
Queens. It behooves all citizens
to be on guard.” Perhaps
because of the crippling rates
of unemployment, there were
many crime stories to report
in December 1932. Almost
every day brought fresh tales
of daylight robbery.
That’s the way it was
December 1932!
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