Raw Deal

Sarah Locke was married to Eli, George Locke's brother.  She wrote this letter to the editor expressing her displeasure with the Hoover administration.  She remarks, "I lost my farm." 

I'd like to find the records for this and whether she was denied help in farm foreclosure.

My mother's comments:

The Sarah Locke who wrote the "Raw Deal" letter was Sarah Melissah Yager Locke, my Grandpa George's brother Eli's wife. We always called her Aunt Sally. Their children were Tom Locke, my father's best Rich Valley school friend, and Kate, my mother's best cousin. Uncle Eli died rather young, and Aunt Sally made her home with her daughter Kate and husband Albert Hostetler. We saw them often since they lived in the Touby-Smith-Yager community and we all attended the Rich Valley church.

The following is information about Hoover's administration (1929-1933) excerpted from www.whitehouse.gov:

Within months [of Hoover's election] the stock market crashed, and the Nation spiraled downward into depression. 

After the crash Hoover announced that while he would keep the Federal budget balanced, he would cut taxes and expand public works spending.

In 1931 repercussions from Europe deepened the crisis, even though the President presented to Congress a program asking for creation of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to aid business, additional help for farmers facing mortgage foreclosures, banking reform, a loan to states for feeding the unemployed, expansion of public works, and drastic governmental economy.