1939 Essay, Research Paper

The time was 11:59 PM, New Years Eve of 1939, and I was sitting on my living room floor waiting to be swept away to the next year and decade. While I was looking at the black and white television set, admiring the crowd that is gathered in New York City, I started thinking about some events that flew by this year. The Yanks won the Series, some sort of war started over in Europe, and I saw some very good motion pictures. Overall, 1939 was a very exciting year. Just a few months before, on September 1st, Adolph Hitler, the ruler of Germany, signed a non-aggressive pact with the Soviet Union that gave him a free hand to invade Poland. Many countries became upset with Germany for the invasion though. Two days later, World War II had begun. Great Britain, France, India, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand all declared war on powerful Germany. The fighting in Poland was brief. The German blitzkrieg, or lightning war, with its use of new techniques of mechanized and air warfare, crushed the Polish defenses in no time. On September 17th, Germany and the USSR signed a treaty to equally divide up Poland. Just days later, Warsaw, Poland s capitol, surrendered to German troops. President Roosevelt declared that the United States would remain neutral in the European war. There were many things that I had on my mind that came before a war that was taking place thousands of miles away. I was still in shock over my favorite baseball player retiring. I loved baseball more than anything, and the New York Yankees were my favorites. And who other than the Iron Horse himself, Lou Gehrig, would be my favorite player? Gehrig s career was amazing, but was cut short by a rare disease called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, now known as the Lou Gehrig s Disease. He retired from baseball on June 22nd of 1939, on doctor s recommendation s to refrain from the game to save his energy. He walked away from baseball leaving a lifetime batting average of .340, 493 home runs, and a .361 average in seven World Series, not to mention the 2,130 consecutive games played streak he chalked up. My Yankee s pushed on that season and ended up sweeping the Cincinnati Reds in four games to win the World Series, becoming the first team to win four straight World Series Championships. After Gehrig s absence, Joltin Joe DiMaggio stepped it up to finish 3rd in home runs with 30, behind Boston s Jimmy Foxx with 35 and Detroit s Hank Greenberg with 33. Baseball was at the top of my list, but I also followed many other sports. Football was a fun sport to watch, but I did not like the idea of knocking heads with other guys all day long. I did not follow professional football as much as I did college, but I do remember the Green Bay Packers winning the professional football title 27-0 over the New York Giants. I favored Notre Dame in the college ranks, but they ended up finishing 13th on the Associated Press top 20 list. Texas A&M was the number one ranked team at the collegiate level in 1939, with an 11-0 record after winning the Sugar Bowl over number five ranked Tulane, 14-13.

I did love sports, but would never turn down the chance to see a new motion picture. Two films directed by Victor Fleming pop up in my mind when the year 1939 is mentioned. A Civil War soap opera called Gone With The Wind, which starred Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, and Olivia de Havilland, is now considered one of the greatest pictures of all time. It won eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Director in 1939. In my eyes, Fleming s other release of that year, The Wizard Of OZ, was a much better film. I think the scene when Judy Garland watches all of the munchkins singing, dancing, and eating lollipops puts it above the rest. Life was lived very simple in 1939 compared to how it is lived now in this generation. Back then, people in communities were like one big happy family. Everyone helped each other out. We were always proud of our family, friends, and community. In today s society, people can get killed for trying to help their fellow man. Children gathered in allies and ball fields and played games like kick the can, jump rope, hide and seek, hop scotch, run sheepy run, and mumbly peg. Families and neighbors gathered together and spent evenings listening to the radio or watching television if they were lucky enough to own one. There was no central heating, let alone air conditioning. There was no indoor water supply and no hot water, just a pump in the yard for drinking water. Houses were kept so clean that a meal could eaten off of the floor. Some people did not have electricity and were forced to use gas lamps. The only heat was a stove, usually located in the dining room where there was a large table where homework was done and/or games were played. These heating stoves were called heat-trolas. Every room usually had an open fireplace or an open register above the heat-trola to warm the room. School was very different in those days also. There were around three grades in each schoolroom. One teacher would teach all three classes. The principal would usually teach two grades. Children either traveled to school by foot, streetcar, or automobile. Most families did not have automobiles because on average, they cost around $750 plus 15 cents for each gallon of gas, and the average family s income in 1939 was only a little over $1200. The time is now 11:59 PM, New Years Eve of 1999, and boy how the time flies. It seems like just a few hours ago I was looking back at 1939 on New Years Eve, reminiscing on the year that passed, and now in my old age I will get to see the change to a whole new century. As I sit in front of my 48 television set, admiring the crowd that is gathered in New York City, I certainly am glad that I have experienced it all.