Donald G Enz

Cissna Park, Illinois In Review - 1931 Donald G Enz

Cissna Park is a small community in central Illinois in the center of farm country. It still has the character of the old days when neighbors helped each other out of hard times, or would just have them over for dinner. During 1931 the depression is just beginning to affect Cissna Park. Being a farm town, most of the businesses were still able to operate at a profit and serve the surrounding population. Things were not totally secure, though, there was an increase in burglaries and theft. Several area banks were forced to close because of low cash flow. People were still raising gardens and canning the harvest. Farmers had mixed results with crops; some did well, others not because of the extreme heat of summer. Also, the farmers were organizing in co-ops in order to get higher prices for their crops. As in most depression periods, some did well, while others struggled to feed and clothe their families. The Cissna Park community did organize to help those in need. That was just the right thing to do.