THREE YEARS OF WPA OPERATIONS
in
COOK COUNTY
August 1935 - August 1938
The first workers went to work on WPA projects in
Cook county during the latter part of 1935* The purpose was
to take persons and families from the public relief rolls and
provide the security of work and wages to those who had been
dependent on relief.
Something of the gravity of the conditions WPA was
intended to relieve is indicated by the fact that during the
month of May 1934» 481«780 persons received public relief in
Cook oounty. This was 12.1% of the total population of 3»982,l23»
as recorded by the census of 193®*
On August 31, 1938, 119,897 wage earners from as many
families were working on WPA projects scattered over the county.
Thus, WPA is found by fair minded persons to be carrying out its
original purpose of providing work and wages for persons who
would otherwise be on relief.
The best available report on wages paid out to WPA
workers in Cook county is cumulative as of June ^0, 1938. This
report shows that $143»695i753 from Federal and sponsors' funds
were actually paid into the hands of these workers on WPA pro¬
jects in many sections of the county. Evidence of several re¬
views makes it clear that these wages have flowed steadily into
the hands of local business concerns and have aided in sustain¬
ing business levels in all parts of the county.
These WPA projects have also required expenditures
for materials, rentals, and other non-labor costs of operation.
Local sponsors have made their proportionate contributions for
these purposes. .Up to June 30, 1938, $33»724»053 had been expended
from sponsors' and Federal funds combined to keep these projects
in operation. The local sponsors deserve commendation from the
citizens of the county for their intelligent and hearty partici¬
pation in making WPA projects possible.
Thus, during the months of August 1935 through June 30,
1938, a total of $l77,419r806 has been expended on WPA projects
in the county. This is an average of nearly $59«140»000 a year
released in channels of trade throughout Cook county.
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PARTIAL LIST OF ACHIEVEMENTS
ON WPA PROJECTS
THROUGH JUNE SO. 1938
With so many heads of relief families certified to
WPA employment, it has required the hearty cooperation of sponsors
in every section of the county, from Barrington on the north to
Chicago Heights on the south, to head up projects that would keep
the WPA workers in useful employment and at the same time create
and develop useful physical and social improvements in the various
communities. These improvements have been so numerous and the
activities of WPA workmen so extensive, that in a summary of this
type only the outstanding and more measurable activities can be
-described, that rather logically fall in the following headings:
IMPROVEMENTS TO TOWN AND CITY STREETS
With so many organized villages, towns, and cities
in Cook County, from Glencoe on the north to Steger and Richton
Park on the south, local officials have made constructive use of
WPA workmen in carrying out an extended series of improvements on
city streets. Something of the extent and detail of these activities
of WPA workmen are indicated by the following figures: Repairs and
improvements have been carried out on 537,930 linear feet of exist¬
ing curbs, and 606,338 linear feet of new curbs have been installed.
In the course of these improvements, thousands of square corners
have been cut back, making the streets much safer for automobile
traffic. 70,206 linear feet of new paved gutters have been laid,
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and 26,062 linear feet of new covered roadside drainage pipes have
been installed to carry off surface waters. WPA workmen have also
erected 21,383 linear feet of guard rails and guard walls at danger
spots on streets and roads for the protection of autoists. The
official reports recently sent to Washington indicate that up to
June 30» 1938, improvements of the types indicated, and including
a certain amount of grading and surfacing with crushed rock, bricks,
bituminous, or concrete, had been completed on 1,705-3 miles of
streets in Cook County.
NEW IMPROVED SIDEWALKS
Village officials from Barrington and Palatine to
Calumet City and Lansing have used WPA workmen to carry out exten¬
sive improvements on public sidewalks. The records indicate that
in many sections, sidewalks had become uneven and broken, and
presented hazards to pedestrians. To remove these hazards, WPA
workmen .have filled holes, leveled up, and repaired 2,216,300 square
feet of existing paved public sidewalks, and have carried out im¬
provements on 146,965 square feet of unpaved public sidewalks. In
many sections, both in the city of Chicago and the outlying towns
in the county, public sidewalks did not exist, and so pedestrians
were forced out into the dangers of the street traffic in order to
get out of the mud pitfalls along the sides of the streets. WPA
workmen have laid 9,291,641 square feet of new paved public sidewalks,
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and have developed 1,100,944 square feet of public unpaved sidewalks,
thus reducing many hazards for pedestrians and assuring safer walking
conditions to citizens and visitors alike in these various communi¬
ties of Cook County.
DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL ROADS
Many people scarcely realize that in at least one-half
of the townships of Cook County there are still many miles of rural
dirt roads that at certain seasons of the year become impassable
for automobile use, thus cutting off residents of these sections
from ready access to markets, stores, schools, and churches in the
neighboring shopping centers. The county highway officials, with
the cooperation of the local road supervisors, have carried out
improvements on 425*6 miles of these rural roads in Cook county with
the aid of V/PA workmen. Something of the extent and nature of this
activity of IfPA workmen are indicated by the following figures: For
instance, they have widened and deepened 1,268,381 linear feet of
open roadside ditches, and have dug 1,190,160 linear feet of new
roadside ditches in the efforts to get rid of surface waters and
prevent seepage into the road bed and the later formation of mud
holes. In this drainage work, they have repaired 289 existing
culverts and have installed 650 new culverts. In addition, one
bridge has been demolished, ten bridges repaired and improved, and
twenty-two new bridges constructed. These improvements have assured
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many miles of new all-weather roads to these residents of the rural
areas in Cook County.
DRAINAGE OF LOW SWAMP AREAS
Since the days when the first settlers fought the
swamps along the Chicago River in the early days of Chicago historyf
the residents of Cook county have had to contend with the low and
swampy areas. Officials of the drainage districts have made good
use of WPA workmen in carrying out drainage and flood control opera¬
tions. The records indicate that 20,876 acres of swamp land have
been drained in order to effect a better control of mosquitoes.
In the course of these operations, 19,520 linear feet of open drainage
ditches have been widened and deepened, and 174,564 linear feet of
new open drainage ditches dug by WPA workmen. They have also placed
in the ground 322,337 linear feet of covered drainage pipes. Various
improvements have been completed on 2,640 linear feet of stream beds.
12,252 square yards of stone riprap have been completed, and 431466
linear feet of stone retaining walls constructed in the efforts to
control flood waters.
INSTALLATION OF SANITARY & STORM SEWERS
With the population expanding as rapidly as has the
population of Cook County, many communities, including sections of
the city of Chicago, were without adequate sanitary storm sewers.
The officials of the various communities and sanitary districts have
used WPA workmen to carry out repairs and improvements on 384,188
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linear feet of trunk line sewers. They have repaired 4f212
service connections and 9*515 man holes. Many sections of the
various communities have been benefitted by the construction
of new sewer systems by WPA workmen. The records show they have
installed 542»750 linear feet of new trunk line sewers and 580,939
linear feet of new laterals. 8,584 new service connections have
been completed, and 9,234 new manholes constructed. One new sewage
treatment plant has been completed with a daily capacity of 7500
gallons* Sixteen new garbage incinerators have been constructed
serving a total population of 10,000 persons.
IMPROVEMENTS TO WATER SYSTEMS.
In an area as densely settled as Cook County, the
provision of an adequate sanitary supply of water becomes a primary
concern of local officials. Communities throughout Cook County have
made good use of WPA workmen in carrying out improvements on exist¬
ing water supply systems and in developing new water supply systems.
The records show that WPA workmen have carried out improvements on
5:»3°7»790 linear feet of existing water mains and repaired 21,071
consumer connections, and five storage tanks with a total capacity
of 3,005,000 gallons. WPA workmen have also placed in the ground
576,657 linear feet of new water mains and have completed 4,018
new consumer connections, and have erected four storage tanks
with a total of 504,000 gallon capacity.
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INCREASED AND IMPROVED
RECREATIONAL FACILITIES
With heavy unemployment and shorter working hours,
nearly all residents of Cook County have been faced with increased
leisure time. In consequence, recreational facilities in some
communities have proved inadequate and have required enlargement
and expansion. Park officials and recreation commission officials
have used WPA workmen to carry out extensive improvements on re¬
creational facilities. Local communities have used 'WPA workmen to
develop twenty-one new parks with a total of 552 acres, to build
two additions to existing parks with a total of 109 acres, and to
carry out certain improvements, such as grading, landscaping, and
the provision of playing fields on 20? other parks with a total
acreage of 6 ,24.66• WPA workmen have completed improvements on 34-2
playgrounds, and have built 39 new playgrounds. Improvements have
been completed on five existing athletic fields and forty-six new
athletic fields have been completed, involving grading, landscaping,
and laying out of play fields. Improvements have been made on five
existing golf courses, one handball court, and five horseshoe courts.
In addition, 'WPA workmen have constructed thirty-five new handball
courts and nine new horseshoe courts, and eighty-nine new tennis courts.
WPA workmen have also put in improvements and repairs on nine existing
swimming pools, and have constructed nine new swimming pools. Through¬
out these various parks and the Forest Preserves in Cook County, WPA
workmen have torn down eight out-moded recreational buildings, have
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carried out improvements on 99 existing recreational buildings,
and have built 29 new recreational buildings and added additions
to four others. These WPA workmen have also carried out improvements
on two stadia and have constructed four new stadia. These various
improvements to recreational facilities have thus come at a time
when they have met a real and developing need among the children
and youth of Cook County communities.
THE DEVELOPMENT OP RECREATIONAL
ACTIVITIES
With many thousands of children and youth and adults
crowding into these various recreational parks and areas, the pro¬
blem of the direction of recreational activities was placed upon
park officials and recreation commissions for solution. In this
area too, they called upon WPA workers to carry out increased activi¬
ties. The State WPA recreational training camps have trained 1,493
young men and women from the various communities of Cook County to
be the recreational leaders. These leaders have assisted in operating
1,428 community centers with a daily average attendance of 450»765
persons. They have opened up and operated 133 new community centers
with a daily average attendance of 20,208 persons in communities
that previously had no organized community centers. Hundreds of
thousands of children and youth have been interested in arts and
handicraft classes and in athletic games and contests. Additional
thousands have been attracted by recreational drama and recreational
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music programs, thus giving them constructive activities with which
to occupy their additional leisure time.
ASSISTANCE TO EDUCATIONAL AUTHORITIES.
In a period when so many thousands of adults were
unemployed, the demand for adult education was very pressing. Local
school authorities in communities throughout Cook County have been
glad to avail themselves of the aid of TfllPA educational workers.
Under this program, 3,789 classes of adults have been organized
with a total enrollment of 55i6>72 persons. In fourteen communities,
nursery schools have been organized with a total enrollment of 329
children under the regular school age. In the field of art edu¬
cation, 7j698 classes have been organized, with 99»4°7 persons
enrolled. In the field of music, 76,935 classes were organized
and 525»2l8 persons enrolled in this musical education program.
SERVICES TO LIBRARIES & THE READING
PUBLIC
Many women workers have found opportunity to serve
the public libraries and the reading public through WP-A projects.
The records show that these workers have catalogued 225i557 volumes,
and they have organized sixteen new travelling libraries, and thus
made available 62,328 volumes to the reading public, largely in the
rural sections of Cook County. Other workers on the book renovation
projects have cleaned, repaired, and rebound 650,300 school books
and 809,648 library books, thus making them available for further
use by the reading public.
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assistance through public dental,
medical and nursing services
The records show that WPA assistants have aided in
forty-nine dental clinics in the treatment of 277 1O69 persons,
mostly children recommended for immediate treatment. wpa nurses,
assisting in the medical clinics and schools, have aided in the
examination of 509»766 children, and have made 95 ,190 home visits
and inspected 133»809 persons in the course of these visits.
OPERATION OF HOT SCHOOL LUNCHES
With so many families in social distress throughout
the county, many children came to sohool without lunches and so
often times were unable to carry through the day's school work.
Here the WpA workers have organized a constructive program through
the provision of hot school lunches. In order to provide the
materials, such as canned goods for these lunches, gardens have
been operated and 50,896 pounds of fruits and vegetables have been
made available for the use of childrens' school lunches. The re¬
cords show that in a large number of schools in different communi¬
ties a total of 1,835 children were served per day and that a total
of 286,569 hot lunches were served to these children. Doctors and
nurses are unanimous in their praise of this activity and the school
authorities notice the difference in the children for they gain in
vigor in their attack upon their school work and in their weight
and physical conditions.
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SERVICES TO RELIEF FAMILIES
Much has been done by V/PA women workers to ease the
distressed conditions in families who have been depressed by several
years of unemployment and dependence on public relief grants. The
housekeeping aide program has proven very effective in helping
many relief families in their social difficulties. These aides are
competent women from relief families who would otherwise be depend¬
ent on local relief funds, who are employed and trained to visit
relief families and assist them in meeting their emergent social
difficulties. Up to June 30» 1938» these housekeeping aides had
made a total of 245>208 visits to 23»434 different relief families
in Cook County. Doctors are unanimous in their praise of the results
of these visits of the housekeeping aides. They see and approve the
lasting benefits derived by families aided through the instruction
of the trained housekeeping aides. Families who have lived in de¬
pressed conditions as regards sanitation and cleanliness have been
assisted greatly through the timely intervention and training given
by the WPA housekeeping aides. Their training in preparing low cost
meals, in the proper care of children and sick and old people, and
in household and personal cleanliness and sanitation is proving
valuable to the families served, not only at the present time, but
to the future generations, and the communities in which these families
live.
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A very interesting form of assistance to relief fami¬
lies has been developed through the WPA sewing rooms. In these sew¬
ing rooms, women wage earners from relief families, who otherwise
would be dependent on public relief funds, have been employed and
trained to produce clothing for distribution among relief families.
Many relief families, after several years of unemployment and living
on short relief funds, have been facing a real shortage of decent
clothing. This has been especially hard on children and youth going
to high school. The women in the WPA sewing rooms have produced
garments from surplus goods purchased from distressed manufacturers..
They are well made, stylish, and very useful in relief families. Up
to June 3Q» 1938» the women in sewing rooms in Cook County have produced
3»131»42-6 garments and small household articles:,, such as sheets and
pillow cases. These goods were turned over to the local relief authori¬
ties for distribution to relief families and persons known to be in
need of clothing and without funds to buy from local merchants.
Careful review of these achievements of WPA workers in
Cook County indicates that these YiTPA activities are not only realizing
their original purpose of providing work and wages for families who
otherwise would be dependent on local relief funds, but are leaving
tangible and useful improvements in every community whose local officials
have been far-seeing enough to sponsor useful and needed projects.
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