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Nicholas Willard Bos Part 4

1930 Census Swantown, Island WA
1933 End of Prohibition
         First New Deal
1934 birth daughter Eileen
         Bonneville Dam
1938 Broadcast War of the Worlds

1930 age 38

Nicholas and Grace Bos 1930 Census
Swantown Road, Swantown, Island County WA

The family is circled in red with yellow arrow pointing at Nicholas, starting at line 42.  There is no house number, but the enumerator listed it as Swantown Road.  We'll look at that in a moment.  Notice, right under the arrow (yes, I've hidden it, but you can always view the original), the enumerator put the dividing line for those living on Beach Drive, and those on Swantown Road right after Nicholas Bos.  Now, I think it is a mistake, as there is no way for the head of the family to live on one road, and the rest of the family -- in the same dwelling -- to live on another.  I suspect the entire family lives on Swantown road (although I could still be mistaken and they actually live on Beach Drive).
He lives with his wife and two sons, Gordon and Glen, on their own farm.  They, and all their neighbors, have a radio set in the house.  He is 36 years old and first married at age 23, she is 29 and first married at age 19.  You can see places of birth for each member and their parents.  Nicholas is a farmer on a General Farm, and it says he was a Veteran.


Residence Swantown Road, Swantown, Washington


1930 Residence, Swantown Road, Swantown WA
from Google Maps 2018
This road travels from the northwest of the island near Hakuna Matata Beach, down and around to the southeast ending at Highway 20.

1930 Residence, Swantown Road, Swantown WA
from Google Maps Satellite 2018
This view (Swantown Road is in tiny red), you can see that even today, the north end of Swantown road is farmland.  The southeast is quite residential today, perhaps it was the same in 1930?  BTW, you can also see Beach Drive, which hugs the water on the west -- one would expect it to hug the water, right?

Historical Insight -- The Great Depression


Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
from Ancestry.com Historical Insight

Hundreds of thousands of Americans relied on soup kitchens and charity for meals during the Great Depression. February 1931, Chicago, Illinois. -- Ancestry.com Historical Insight 
While Nicholas and Grace may not have suffered as much first hand with the depression, it must have affected them emotionally.  They had their farm and their strong Dutch heritage to keep them going, but did it reduce the price of milk they sold?  Did it cause problems when the went to sell their crops, or did homeless out-of-work people come to steal from their farm?

1933 age 41

Historical Insight -- The End of Prohibition

Credit: American Stock Archive/Archive Photos/Getty Images
from Ancestry.com Historical Insight
Federal alcohol prohibition was repealed in December 1933, but many Americans had been ignoring the law for years.  -- Ancestry.com Historical Insight  "The End of Prohibition"
Again, did this bit of history affect the Bos family down on the farm?

Historical Insight -- The Social Impact of the First "New Deal"


Credit: National Archives and Records Administration
from Ancestry.com Historical Insight
The Civilian Conservation Corp provided young men with jobs in natural resource development projects. About 1933, United States. -- Ancestry.com Historical Insight  The Social Impact of the First "New Deal"
Did any of Nicholas Bos' family take advantage of the Civilian Conservation Corps?

1934 age 41

Birth of daughter Eileen K in Oak Harbour Washington.  I am pretty sure she may have been born in the hospital in Oak Harbour, since the next year the census shows their residence still at Swantown.

Historical Insight -- Bonneville Dam


Credit: Pictorial Parade/Archive Photos/Getty Images
from Ancestry.com Historical Insight

The severe unemployment of the Great Depression was alleviated in parts of Oregon and Washington when jobs opened up to build the Bonneville Dam along the Columbia River.  The construction of the Bonneville Dam meant that Nicholas Willard Bos had nothing to fear but fear itself during the Great Depression. -- Ancestry.com Historical Insight Bonneville Dam



1938 age 46

Historical Insight -- Broadcast of The War of the Worlds


Credit: Acme News Photos/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
from Ancestry.com Historical Insight
Listeners who heard the The War of the Worlds radio broadcast were split over whether it was genuine or a hoax.  Some radio listeners, perhaps even Nicholas Willard Bos, listened to The War of the Worlds radio drama about Martians invading the Earth when it was first broadcast on October 30, 1938. 
Americans were swept into a national drama when they switched their radio dials from NBC to CBS on October 30, 1938. That’s the day that radio producer Orson Welles followed up on his previous successful radio dramatizations with a broadcast of the H.G. Wells science fiction story, The War of the Worlds. Despite disclaimers explaining that it was a dramatization, listeners who tuned in mid-broadcast were often unsure whether they were listening to a fictional program or an actual news broadcast of a Martian invasion. Many listeners heard the painstakingly crafted sound effects and voices as authentic news items, and that sparked panic. Reports of people hiding in their basements, trying to flee on the nation’s roads, or arming themselves came from around the nation, but newspaper reports of the panic were greatly exaggerated. Welles himself issued a baffled apology, and soon left radio to make controversial films in Hollywood.-- from Ancestry.com Historical Insight "Broadcast of the War of the Worlds"
Did any of the Bos family listen to this broadcast?  Were they swept up in the confusion or did they know this was, indeed, just a radio drama?




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Location: Swantown, WA 98277, USA

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