Chester County During The Great Depression (Virtual)

How has Chester County changed in the past century? And what impact did the Great Depression have upon its residents? This talk will peer back into the Chester County politics and race relations during the Great Depression, and the impact of the New Deal work relief programs that got farmers “out of the mud”; constructed parks and water treatment plants and sewer lines; planted trees and preserved historical sites; and financed education and wholesome recreations for thousands. It will also examine the battle between “city slicker and country rube” over Prohibition, Sunday sports, and Sunday movies.

About the Speaker: Charles Hardy is a professor emeritus of history at West Chester University, where he supervised oral history projects on the Chester County Homefront during World War II and the history of suburban sprawl in the county. The producer of award-winning radio and video documentaries and web-sites, he is the Supervising Historian for ExplorePAHistory.com, an online encyclopedia of Pennsylvania history built around the state historical marker program, and served on the Advisory Board of the Pennsylvania Bureau for Historic Preservation from 2004-2010.
Admission is Pay as You Wish! Your donation is greatly appreciated. All proceeds benefit the development of future programming and the preservation of the History Center and its collections. The History Center is home to over 750,000 manuscripts, 100,000 photographs, and 70,000 artifacts. Your donation helps us to preserve and share those resources.

Presentation is via Zoom, and will be recorded and available for 7 days for all registered participants. We will email out a Zoom link the day of the presentation, and email a link to the recording within 48 hours. Note: the Zoom link emailed out the day of the presentation only takes you to the live presentation; the link emailed out the day after will contain the recorded version.      Register Here!

Generously sponsored by the Haverford Trust Company.