Resource

Guide
Table of Contents
Page 2
About Golden Isles Arts &
Humanities and the Historic
Ritz Theatre

A Christmas Story

Page 3
Radio Theatre Print
Page/Student Handout
Page 4
Will your tongue really
stick to a frozen flagpole?
Page 5-6
Classroom Activities
Page 7
Classroom Discussion
Page 8
About Jean Shepherd
Page 9-12
Life in Ralphies World
Page 13-15
The Great Depression
Page 16
1940s Trivia
Page 17-18
Bullying
Page 19-20
BB Gun Safety
Page 21-23
Other Class Activities

About the Golden Isles Arts & Humanities

production
Audiences delighted in our very first Ritz Radio Theatre
production, The Maltese Falcon, presented as part of The Big
Read in 2012. Be prepared for more of the same old-time fun as
our radio troupe brings this wonderful holiday gift to the
Golden Isles, just as it would have been done on the air (and
before a live audience) in the 1940s, with period costume,
sound effects, even vinatge-style ads by our sponsor, Ned Cash
Jewelers.
Thirty-two years ago, A Christmas Story opened in movie
theatres across the country to mixed reviews. MGM never
wanted to release the film in the first place. So although it was
number one by its second weekend, MGM pulled it out of
theatres in its third week. What MGM didnt bargain on was that
over the next couple years the movie would become a cult hit.
Television station TNT even runs the film for 24 hours straight
beginning Christmas Eve. If youre like the almost 40 million
viewers this annual event draws, then the TV is turned on to the
appropriate channel and left there while you pursue your own
holiday rituals, allowing you to always catch your favorite parts.

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A Christmas Story

A Little About Golden Isles Arts & Humanities

In the late 1980s, a group of Glynn County residents formed what would be known as Golden
Isles Arts & Humanities. Since its inception, this organization has worked to promote and
strengthen the arts and humanities in the area. Over twenty five years later, Golden Isles Arts &
Humanities, the coordinating arts council for Glynn County and the City of Brunswick, works to
bring in the highest quality arts and entertainment programs.

Mission Statement

The mission of Golden Isles Arts &
Humanities is to provide distinctive cultural
events and education that engages,
inspires and celebrates our community.

Arts in Education Overview

In-School Arts Programming:

requested by teachers
Field Trip Performances
The Bid Read/The Little Big Read
Eugenia Price/Joyce Blackburn
Foundation Young Poets Award
(high school)
Eugenia Price/Joyce Blackburn
Foundation Young Playwrights
Award (middle school)
Student and Teacher Art Exhibits
Excellence in the Arts Awards
Young Actors Company
Summer Theatre and Film Camps and
Classes

More information about these programs,

and others presented by Golden Isles Arts &
Humanities, please visit our website at
www.goldenislesarts.org, give us a call at
912.262.6934, or email
artsed@goldenislesarts.org or
info@goldenislesarts.org.

Brief history of the

Historic Ritz Theatre
o 1899: The Grand Opera House is built.
Used for vaudeville.
o 1909: Silent films are being shown in
the Ritz Theatre
o 1920s: Building converted to a movie
palace and become the Ritz Theatre.
o 1956: Housed the world premiere of A
View From Pompeys Head, filmed
primarily at the Oglethorpe Hotel.
o 1981: City of Brunswick purchases the
Ritz Theatre and the theater was
modernized and altered (partially due
to the roof collapsing)
o 1990: Golden Isles Arts & Humanities
begins managing the Ritz Theatre for
the City of Brunswick.
o 2008: the Ritz becomes part of the Fox
Theatre Institute
o 2010: Golden Isles Arts & Humanities
receives a restoration assistant grant,
matched by the City of Brunswick, to
restore the buildings 58 original
windows.
o 2011: The original Ritz sign was
restored with the help of the Fox
Theatre Institute, Fendig Signs, and the
City of Brunswick. The grand relighting
took place on November 4.

Print Page for Students

A Christmas Story

Radio Theatre

Radio Theatre began as early as 1880 and, in some way or form, has continued ever since.

Between the 1920s and 1930s radio drama became widely popular in America. How big was it?
People who grew up with television have no idea how much their parents and grandparents
were affected by what they heard. Radio took the country by storm. Careers were made
overnight, and a few were lost the same way. The shows that came out of the three national
radio centers New York, Chicago, and Hollywood informed, entertained, and shaped the
opinions of three generations[1}.

Because there are no visual elements to construct or lines to memorize, radio plays could

be produced rapidly. The music, sound effects and actors voices created every detail needed to
allow the listeners imagination take over in creating the visuals for the characters and settings.
Everything on radio was done live, often with so little

Radio both influenced and

was influenced by popular
culture. How many of these
Radio Theatre titles do you
recognize?
The Thin Man
Wuthering Heights
Casablanca
Miracle on 34th Street
Little Woman
The Wizard of Oz
The African Queen
Dick Tracy
Green Hornet
Little Orphan Annie
The Lone Ranger
Popeye
Sherlock Holmes
Superman

preparation that it defies belief today. It is now

estimated that the number of shows saved on
transcriptions might run into hundred of
thousands[1]. Despite solely relying on sound, Luxs
extravagant productions were a huge success.
Renowned director Cecil B. DeMillewhose films
were synonymous with spectaclewas brought in to
host the show. Stars were routinely paid up to $5,000
to appear and over 50 actors, musicians and
technicians were on hand every week for
productions"[2]. By todays standards, $5,000 may not
sound like a huge sum of money but in 1943 the
Average Annual Salary was $2,500.

As television became more accessible in the

1960s, radio theatre rapidly declined in popularity. In

recent years, radio theatre has gained momentum in
the form of podcasts. Despite ever-changing
technology, this form of entertainment has proven to
be resilient with a place in our culture.

[1]

Dunning, John. On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-time Radio. New York: Oxford UP, 1998.

[2]

"Lux Radio Theatre." Radio Hall of Fame. National Radio Hall of Fame, n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2012.

Resource Guide

A Christmas Story

Will Your Tongue Really Stick to a Frozen Flagpole?

by George Frederick
The next time someone triple-dog dares you to stick our tongue to a frozen metal poledont.
Your tongue will be joined to the pole, and youll have plenty of time to ponder the thermal
conductivity of metal while you await the rescue squad.
Your tongue is covered with moisture, which begins to freeze if its temperature drops below 32
degrees F. Your body then counteracts the freezing by pumping warm blood to your tongue.
Heat from your blood warms the moisture through a process called conduction. Heat energy
from the blood excites atoms in your tongue. The atoms absorb the energy and vibrate. The
more they vibrate, the more their temperatures increase. This incites vibrations in neighboring
atoms, which take the energy and pass it up the line like a hot potato and eventually warms the
surface moisture.
So why is the Fire Department on its way?
Its because of the high thermal conductivity of the pole, explains Frank J. DiSalvo, director of
the Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future and co-director of the Cornell Full Cell Institute. The
metal is a much better conductor than your tongue (up to 400 times more powerful). The metal
takes heat faster than your body can replenish it.
The atoms in solid metal are packed tightly and transfer thermal energy more readily. They also
have free electrons that boost conductivity. Free electrons are free to move from atom to atom.
The electrons absorb heat and energy and more through the flagpole, stirring up other atoms.
As your tongue touches the flagpole, the moisture in your tongue is robbed of heat. The
temperature of the moisture drops. Water freezes inside tiny pores and surface irregularities on
your tongue and the pole. Youre stuck.
So now your thinking, Maybe if I just pull hard it will come off. Yes, it will a piece of your
tongue, that is.
Kent Sperry is a 911 dispatcher at a place where people know about cold and snowBoulder,
Colorado. He offers a less painful alternative, assuming you happen to have the necessary
remedy at hand: Pour warm water on the area where the tongue meets the pole, and the
tongue should come free.

Science Discussion:
Flick licked the frozen pole, and his tongue stuck. Is that scientifically possible? How cold
would it have to be, and how long would it have to be that temperature, for someones
tongue to get stuck to a metal pole? Would it have happened if the pole had been made of
wood? Plastic? Why or why not?

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A Christmas Story
Classroom Activities

Use and adapt these activities in your classroom to help students make more connections to the
play, while supporting other core content areas.

Social Studies
Ralphie Parker was growing up in the
mid-1930s and mid-1940s. What was
going on at that time in the United
States? In Europe? What about Asia? Try
making a timeline of major historical
events from 1935 until 1945. Dont
forget about other countries all around
the globe. This was an interesting time
for everyone, not just Americans.
A Christmas Story takes place in the
fictional Hohman, Indiana. How would
the weather be different in the play if
the author chose to have it take place in
Haiti? Ireland? Australia? Look up these
different locations and decide where
the best weather would be and why.

Math
Figure out your budget of what you
would
want to spend on your family and

friends Christmas presents. Then make
a list of 2-4 different ideas of gifts for
each of them. Research prices and sales
on each of the gifts and decide which
gifts you want to buy. Add them all up
and see if they are in your budget. If
not, how can you alter your gift
decisions to work with your budget?

Writing
Ralphie is assigned in class to write a
paper and decides to write about why
he wants the Red Ryder Rifle for
Christmas. He doesnt do a very good
job and gets a C+. Write a persuasive
paper on a present you want and give
three arguments on why you should
receive this gift. Will it help you, do you
deserve it? Also address a reason
someone would think you shouldnt
have it. Why are they wrong? Finish
with a strong conclusion.
A Christmas Story is told in Ralphies
first person perspective. Think about
how much the play would change if
told from the sole perspective of a
different character. Pick one of
Ralphies family members (the Old
Man, Mother, or Randy) and re-write
your favorite part of the play in their
perspective. When writing from their
perspective try to capture their inner
thoughts as well as dialogue to other
characters. After writing evaluate if you
believe your characters perspective
works better than Ralphies. Why or
why not?

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A Christmas Story

Theatre
Ralphie is constantly told Youll shoot
your eye out! by his parents, teachers
and even Santa Claus. What happens
when he finally gets his treasured Red
Ryder 200-Shot Carbine Action Range
Model Air Rifle? He shoots his eye out.
Well, actually the BB hit his glasses
breaking them. Instead of confessing
that his parents were right all along.
Ralphie creates a big lie that an icicle fell
and busted his glasses. Create a scene
where the lie doesnt work out. What
would Ralphie do next? Would he
confess? Would he create another lie to
cover up the previous fib? Write a
dialogue between Ralphie and his
mother using at least ten lines.
Icy wasteland. Howling wind. These
are a few descriptions of the vicious
winter Ralphie was up against in Indiana.
Congratulations! You got the job as
director for A Christmas Story and must
decide how you will use the technical
elements of the theatre to help the
audience feel like they are watching the
characters in the dead of winter. What
sound effects will you use? What lighting
will help set the mood of the harsh cold?
Will you use any props or scenery? Then
pretend a critic reviewed the show and
hated your choices. Write a newspaper
editorial defending the choices you
made and explaining why they worked.

Creative Writing
In A Christmas Story the Old Man got
into several fights with the Circuit
Breaker. Imagine as your parents put the
finishing touches on your massive yard
display of Christmas lights, a circuit
shorts and knocks out all of the power
on your block for Christmas eve. Write a
story about what happens next.

Cross Culture
Most of us have heard the song Feliz
Navidad, which means Merry
Christmas in Spanish. Research how
to say Merry Christmas in French,
German, Italian, Porteguese, Russian,
and Swedish. Next, look up how to say
Happy Hanukkah and Happy
Holidays.
Many of Ralphies memories are
centered around Christmas, but there
are lots of other holidays that people
observe besides Christmas. If Ralphie
had been Jewish, what might his family
have done for Hanukkah? Do people
exchange gifts for Kwanzaa? When is
Ramadan celebrated?

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A Christmas Story

Preshow Conversation:

- Have a discussion about who has seen the movie A Christmas Story. [Emphasize to the
students that the play is based on the movie and there will be similarities as well as differences.]
-Ask if students been to the theatre to see a live production before? Discuss the how the
experience is different to watching a movie. [Discuss why it is important to be respectful of the
live actors on stage and those seated around you.]
- Talk about the Radio Shows of the 1940s and discuss how seeing one performed like this is
different than seeing a regular play.

Postshow Conversation:
- What did you notice when you first entered the theatre? Describe the stage.
- What did the characters learn about themselves or the world in the play? Was there a moral
lesson?
- Describe the story by identifying the beginning, middle, and end. What was the climax of the
story? Why?
- If you had to summarize the story in one sentence what would it be?

Georgia Theatre Performance Standards Supported:

3rd Grade: TAES3.1, TAES3.6, TAES3.8, TAES3.10-11
4th Grade: TAES4.1, TAES4.6, TAES4.8, TAES4.10-11
5th Grade: TAES5.1, TAES5.6, TAES5.8, TAES5.10-11
6th Grade: TAES6.1, TAES6.6, TAES6.8, TAES6.10-11
7th Grade: TAES7.1, TAES7.6, TAES7.8, TAES7.10-11
8th Grade: TAES8.1, TAES8.6, TAES8.8, TAES8.10-11
9th Grade: TAES9.1, TAES9.6, TAES9.8, TAES9.10-11
10th Grade: TAES10.1, TAES10.6, TAES10.8, TAES10.10-11
11th Grade: TAES11.1, TAES11.6, TAES11.8, TAES11.10-11
12th Grade: TAES12.1, TAES12.6, TAES12.8, TAES12.10-11

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A Christmas Story

About the creator of A Christmas Story

Jean Shepherd (19211999) is a familiar name

to millions of people who enjoy the annual
television marathon showing of the 1983
holiday film, A Christmas Story . Shepherd
based the film, which he co-authored, on his
1966 collection of short stories about growing
up in small town Indiana, In God We Trust, All
Others Pay Cash . Over the decades, the film,
in which Shepherds voice is heard as the
narrator, has developed a cult-like following .
A simple Google search for A Christmas
Story, movie turns up more than 59,000,000
results .

The movie became an instant classic due to Shepherds uproariously funny, ironic
and honest portrayal of the euphoria and manic anticipation families experience
around Christmas time. Shepherds irreverent personality made him the natural
choice to narrate the film. He even makes a cameo appearance in the film as one of
the disgruntled customers waiting in line for Santa Claus.
During the 1950s, 60s and 70s, he was the sardonic host of a nightly radio program
on WOR in New York where his scorching comedy and witty observations on the
human condition made him one of radios most popular personalities. Although he
claimed that his shows took days of preparation, people who worked with him say
he improvised most of his talk. For the length of the program, Shepherd would wax
philosophical about life, his childhood, his army days and the general human
condition. He addressed his listeners as, You fatheads, and used his favorite
word, excelsior, repeatedly with varying definitions.
After Shepherd finished his career with WOR, he wrote a column for The Village
Voice, published short stories, and contributed articles to Readers Digest, Town &
Country, and a variety of other publications. He also became a noted screenwriter,
and starred in his own television programs over the years.

During his final years, Shepherd and his fourth wife, Leigh Brown moved to Sanibel
Island, Florida, where he died of natural causes on October 16, 1999. A year after
his death, Shepherd was inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

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A Christmas Story

Life in Ralphies World

Although the year in which the play takes place is not specifically stated, the year is
probably 1940. This was just as the Great Depression was coming to an end and just
before the United States entered World War II.
The world of Ralphie Parker in A Christmas Story is very different from life today.
Televisions were very rare. Instead, radios and newspapers provided an information
lifeline for Americans. Whole families gathered around the radio to listen to news
broadcasts and popular programs like Little Orphan Annie, quiz shows, mysteries,
dramas, music and sports.
Here are just a few toys, popular items of the day, and historic events in Ralphies world...

Boy, Its A Daisy!

Red Ryder BB Guns were the preference of Red Ryder,

a fictional comic book cowboy in the 1940s, but the Red Ryder
air gun, with its lever action, spring piston, smooth bore
barrel, adjustable iron sights, and a gravity feed magazine with
a 650 BB capacity was a real product and highly desired by
many American boys . The Red Ryder Range Model Carbine-
Action BB Gun in the movie was a fictional model from Jean
Shepherds imagination . It included a compass and this thing
that tells time which were never a part of the Red Ryder BB
Gun . The Buck Jones Daisy Air Rifle did have a compass and
sundial in the stock and could have served as an inspiration.

The Daisy Air Rifle Company actually had its beginnings back in 1882 as the Plymouth Iron
Windmill Company, a manufacturer of windmills in Plymouth, Michigan. However, by the
late 1880s, the windmill business was changing and the struggling company began
looking for new ways to attract customers.
In 1886, Plymouth inventor Clarence Hamilton introduced a new idea to the windmill
company. It was a combination of metal and wire, vaguely resembling a gun that could
fire a lead ball using compressed air. Lewis Cass Hough, then president of the firm, gave it
a try and, after his first shot, enthusiastically exclaimed, Boy, thats a daisy! The name
stuck and the BB gun went into production as a premium item given to farmers when
they purchased a windmill. The gun was such a huge success that Plymouth Iron Windmill
soon began manufacturing the Daisy BB gun in place of windmills! On January 26,
1895 the companys board of directors officially voted to change the name to Daisy
Manufacturing Company, Inc.
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The sturdy little Daisy BB gun quickly became a staple with American youth. Youngsters
all across the land cut their shooting teeth on a Daisy. Competition was keen at the time,
with guns such as Bulls Eye, Dewey, Hero, Dandy, Atlas and others appearing almost
overnight and disappearing just as quickly. Over the years, Daisy has continued to
improve and expand their line of airguns, putting model after model within the reach of
every young shooters pocketbook and skill level.
In 1958, Daisy moved their offices and manufacturing facilities from Plymouth to Rogers,
Arkansas where the company continued to prosper and grow. One gun, more than any
other, played a major role in making Daisy the household name it is today. Introduced in
1939, the Daisy Red Ryder sold over 9 million units, easily making it the most famous BB
gun ever built! Today, Daisy has become a household word, selling guns in almost every
country and on five continents.

Ovaltine is a brand of milk flavoring created in 1904 in Switzerland and is still available
today. The powdery mix, made of sugar, malt extract, cocoa and whey, is often mixed
with warm or hot milk. As a sponsor for The Little Orphan Annie Show, Ovaltine
offered Secret Decoder Rings in exchange for proofs of purchase.

The Little Orphan Annie Show

was one of the first 15-minute daily radio
serials made for children. The show was
sponsored by Ovaltine and ran from 1930 to
the early 1940s. It was inspired by the daily
American comic strip by Harold Gray about a
young orphan girl, her dog Sandy, and her
guardian, Daddy Warbucks. They encounter
many adventures including gangsters, spies,
and kidnappers. The show was also known for
its opening theme song sung by Pierre Andre.

Lionel Trains were electric toy trains and model railroads that were embellished
with hand-painted details and authentic elements. Elaborate train displays were often
featured as part of department store Christmas displays and a Lionel Train Set was
routinely found under the tree on Christmas morning.

Shirley Temple Dolls were manufactured by Ideal Toys and Novelty Company and

were fashioned after Shirley Temple, the child star known for films such as Bright Eyes,
Heidi, and The Little Princess.

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Open Road for Boys was a popular boys outdoor adventure fiction magazine from
1919 to 1950 that featured advertisements for model airplanes and Red Ryder products.

Jujubes are a candy drop created in 1920 and are still available today. Originally, it was
a hard candy that you had to suck on and the original flavors were lilac, violet, rose,
spearmint and lemon.

Decoder Rings/Pins were all the rage during the golden

age of radio, lending an air of participation to popular radio

shows like Little Orphan Annie .

The Movies! Ralphie may have read books like Daniel Boone and Make Way for
Ducklings, but one of the most popular forms of entertainment was at the local movie
house where he might have seen National Velvet, Lassie Come Home, Flash Gordon, Roy
Rogers, and Superman. Ralphie could go to see a double feature, with newsreels and a
cartoonplus a candy barfor only a dime!

No Computers! Because personal computers were decades away from being

conceived, there were no cell phones or email, internet or Xbox. One of the earliest
computers, the ENIAC, was completed in 1945. It weighed 30 tons and was two stories
high!

Radio Flyer is a brand of toy wagons and sleds that are still popular today. The Radio
Flyer Company was founded in 1920 by Antonio Pasin, when he began his business by
making wagons at night in his little woodworking shop and selling them by day. During
the 20s, using the auto industry as inspiration, Pasin began using metal-stamping
technology to produce steel wagons, and applied mass production techniques to wagon
making. These innovations earned Pasin the nickname, Little Ford. To date, Radio Flyer
is the #1 wagon maker in the world.
From 1942-1945, Radio Flyer was asked to stop wagon production and focus all its
manufacturing effort on making 5 gallon steel blitz cans, used to transport fuel and
water during the war. On July 14, 1945, Radio Flyer was awarded the Army-Navy E
Award, for high achievement in producing materials needed for the war.
In 2003, Antonio Pesin was honored by becoming the 44th toy innovator inducted into
the Toy Industry Hall of Fame.

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Red Ryder was a popular long-run Western comic strip created by Stephen Slesinger
and artist Fred Harman. In 1938, Red Ryder was syndicated by Newspaper Enterprise
Association, expanding over the following decade to 750 newspapers, translations into ten
languages and a readership in the United States of 14 million. The 26-year run of the comic
strip came to an end in 1964.
Riding his mighty steed, Thunder, Red was a
tough cowboy who lived in Painted Valley Ranch

in the Blanco Basin of the San Juan Mountain

Range with his aunt, the Duchess, and his juvenile
sidekick, Little Beaver. Little Beaver spoke in the

sort of Pidgin English that is now considered to be
an offensive caricature (e.g. Spinach heap good.

Me likem!). Other notable characters in the
comic were ranch-hand Buckskin Blodgett, Reds

gal-pal, Beth, and bad-guy Ace Hanlon.

The Red Ryder radio series began in February

1942 and was broadcasted three times a week on
the Blue Network. The series continued on the

West Coast Don Lee Network through the 1940s.
The continuing characters of the comic strip were

also found in the radio series.

Although billed as Americans famous fighting cowboy, Red Ryder was notable because
he did not usually kill his enemies, but instead, aimed for the hand to disarm them.

The Leg Lamp from A Christmas Story is one of the most iconic and recognizable
movie props of all time. Replicas of the leg lamp have become prized Major Awards for
fans everywhere. A Christmas Story author, Jean Shepherd, was inspired to create the leg
lamp after seeing an illuminated Nehi Soda advertisement. The design of the leg lamp for A
Christmas Story is the work of production designer Reuben Freed. Unsure of exactly what a
leg lamp was or what it should like, Freed presented a couple of sketches to Shepherd who
said, Yep, thats it! Freed then produced three leg lamps for the movie and went through
several shade styles before settling on the large golden bell shape with black fringe seen in
the movie. None of the three original leg lamps survived the production of the movie: all
three props were broken on set during the filming. Although the original lamps are now
long gone, the leg lamp will forever be remembered as the soft glow of electric sex.

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The Great Depression

The Great Depression began with the Wall Street stock market crash in October of
1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. The crash marked the beginning of a decade of
high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and
lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement. Although its
causes are still uncertain and controversial, the effect was a sudden and general
loss of confidence in the economic future, creating a downward economic spiral of
reduced spending, falling confidence, and lowered production.
Banks began to fail in October 1930one year after the crashwhen farmers
defaulted on loans. There was no Federal Deposit Insurance during that time as
bank failures were considered quite common. This worried depositors that they
might have a chance of losing all their savings, therefore, people started to
withdraw money and changed it into currency. As deposits taken out from the
bank increased, the money multiplier decreased, which means money circulation is
slowed down. This led to a decrease in the money supply, an increase in interest
rates and a significant decrease in investment.
Economists dispute how much weight to give the stock market crash of October
1929, but it undoubtedly played a role in the initial depression. It clearly changed
sentiment about and expectations of the future, shifting the outlook from very
positive to negative, with a dampening effect on investment and
entrepreneurship. Double-digit unemployment figures characterized the
depression years.
Industries that suffered the most were construction, agriculture (as dust-bowl
conditions persisted in the agricultural heartland), shipping, mining, and logging,
as well as the manufacture of durable goods like automobiles and appliances that
could be postponed. The economy reached bottom in the winter of 1932 33. Then
came four years of very rapid growth until 1937, when the recession of 1937
brought back 1934 levels of unemployment. The depression caused major political
changes in America. Three years into the depression, Herbert Hoover lost the 1932
presidential election to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a sweeping landslide.
Roosevelts economic recovery plan, the New Deal, instituted unprecedented
programs for relief, recovery and reform, and brought about a major change in the
role government played in Americans lives.

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In the First New Deal of 193334, programs, sought to provide work and relief
through increased government spending. In 193436, through the Second New
Deal, Roosevelt and his party and added Social Security, a national relief agency
called the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and, through the National Labor
Relations Board, a strong stimulus to the growth of labor unions. Unemployment
fell by two-thirds in Roosevelts first term (from 25% to 9%, 19331937), but then
remained high until 1942.
Following the recession of 1937, southern Democrats joined with Republicans in a
conservative coalition to stop further expansion of the New Deal and further
spending by the government. By 1943, they had abolished all of the relief programs
with the exception of Social Security and labor laws were revised by conservatives
in the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947.
The Great Depression and the New Deal remain a benchmark amongst economists
for evaluating severe financial downturns, such as the economic crisis of 2008, and
the United States present economic situation.
The biggest shift towards recovery from the Depression came with the decision of
Germany to invade France at the beginning of World War II. Frances defeat meant
that Britain and other allies would look to the U.S. for large supplies of materials
for the war. The need for these materials created a huge spurt in production, thus
leading to promising amount of employment in America. Moreover, Britain chose
to pay for their materials in gold. This stimulated the gold inflow and raised the
monetary base, which in turn, stimulated the American economy to its highest
point since the summer of 1929 when the depression began.
Once World War II began, corporate energies were directed to winning the war. By
1939, the effects of the 1937 recession had disappeared. Employment in private
sector factories recovered and employment leaped from 11 million in 1940 to 18
million in 1943. By the end of 1941, WWII defense spending and military
mobilization began one of the greatest booms in American history, thus ending the
last traces of unemployment and the Great Depression.

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Depression Era Facts and Figures:

In 1929before the Depression beganthe unemployment rate averaged 3%.
In the 1920s, the banking system in the U.S. was responsible for about $50 billion,
which was about 50% of GDP.
Between 1929 and 1932, industrial production fell by nearly 45% and homebuilding
dropped by 80%.
From 1929 to 1932, about 5,000 banks went out of business.
By 1933, 11,000 of the 25,000 U.S. banks had failed.
Between 1929 and 1933, U.S. GDP fell around 30% and the stock market lost almost
90% of its value.
Corporate profits had dropped from $10 billion in 1929 to $1 billion in 1932.
13 million people became unemployed. In 1932, 34 million people belonged to families
with no regular full-time wage earner.
In 1933, 25% of all workers and 37% of all nonfarm workers were unemployed.
In Cleveland, the unemployment rate was 50%; in Toledo, Ohio, 80%.
One Soviet trading corporation in New York averaged 350 applications a day from
Americans seeking jobs in the Soviet Union.
Over one million families lost their farms between 1930 and 1934.
Between 1929 and 1932, the income of the average American family was reduced by
40%.
Nine million savings accounts were wiped out between 1930 and 1933.
273,000 families had been evicted from their homes by 1932. There were two million
homeless people migrating around the country.
Over 60% of Americans were categorized as poor by the federal government in 1933.
In the last prosperous year (1929), there were 279,678 immigrants recorded, but in
1933 only 23,068 came to the U.S.
In the early 1930s, more people emigrated from the United States than immigrated to
it.
With little economic activity, there was scant demand for new coinage. No nickels or
dimes were minted in 193233, no quarter dollars in 1931 or 1933, no half dollars from
193032, and no silver dollars in the years 192933.
The U.S. government sponsored a Mexican Repatriation program which was intended
to encourage people to voluntarily move to Mexico, but thousands, including some
U.S. citizens, were deported against their will. Altogether about 400,000 Mexicans
were repatriated.
New York social workers reported that 25% of all schoolchildren were malnourished. In
the mining counties of West Virginia, Illinois, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania, the
proportion of malnourished children was perhaps as high as 90%.
Many people became ill with diseases such as tuberculosis (TB).

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1940s Trivia:
U.S. President:

Franklin D. Roosevelt

World Series Winners:

Cincinnati Reds

NFL Champions:

Chicago Bears

Stanley Cup Winners:

New York Rangers

Golf, US Open Winner:

Lawson Little

Tennis, US Open Winners:

Donald McNeil/Alice Marble

NCAA Football Champions:

Minnessota

NCAA Basketball Champions:

Indiana

Kentucky Derby Winner:

Gallahadia

Hottest Fashion Icons:

Hedy Lamarr, Rita Hayworth, Lana Turner, Betty Grable

Time Magazine Man of the Year:

Winston Churchill

Miss America:

Francis Burke, Philadelphia, PA

#1 Pop Standard Song:

When You Wish Upon A Star by Glenn Miller

Academy Award for Best Picture:

The Grapes of Wrath

#1 Best-Selling Book:

How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn

Newbery Award, Childrens Book: Daniel Boone by James Dougherty

Caldecott Award, Childrens Book: Abraham Lincoln by Ingrid & Edgar Parin dAulaire
Most popular toy/Christmas gift:

Red Ryder BB Gun

Bugs Bunny was born in Brooklyn, NY

M&Ms were invented by Frank Mars and Bruce Murrie
Bing Crosby recorded the iconic version of White Christmas in 1942
Disney released Pinnochio in 1940
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Bullying
In A Christmas Story, the character of Scut Farkus is a bully. Though the play is set sometime
around 1940, little has changed with regard to the facts about bullying. However, the treatment
and attitude toward bullies and bullying has changed considerably.
The act of bullying occurs when one child manipulates another child through threats, violence,
verbal abuse, or uses other intimidation tactics to force the child to do something or exclude the
child from a group. Also, in most cases involving school bullies, the bully is more physically
imposing than his victim. Bullies almost always have low self-esteem. If there is something about
themselves they dont like, by putting someone else down, they are distracting from their own
problems. Bullies may behave this way to be perceived as popular or tough or to get attention.
They may bully out of jealousy or be acting out because they themselves are bullied. Bullies are
also angry. Most likely they were also bullied at some point. We call this the Bully Cycle.
How did Scut Farkus bully the other children?
Bullying consists of three basic types of abuseemotional, verbal, and physical. It typically
involves subtle methods of coercion such as intimidation. Bullying can be defined in many
different ways. Some U.S. States have laws against it. Bullying behavior may include name
calling, verbal or written abuse, exclusion from activities, exclusion from social situations,
physical abuse, or coercion.
What type of bullying is in A Christmas Story?
Bullying can occur in any place human beings interact with each other. This includes school,
church, family, the workplace, home and neighborhoods. Bullying can exist between social
groups, social classes and even between countries.
Why do you think Scut Farkus bullied the other children?
Bullying can be classified into two categories: direct bullying, and indirect bullying. Direct
bullying involves a great deal of physical aggression, such as shoving and poking, throwing
things, slapping, choking, punching and kicking, beating, stabbing, pulling hair, scratching, biting,
scraping, and pinching. Indirect bullying is characterized by threatening the victim into social
isolation through techniques such as spreading gossip, refusing to socialize with the victim,
bullying other people who wish to socialize with the victim, and criticizing the victims manner of
dress and other socially significant markers (including the victims race, religion, disability, sex, or
sexual preference, etc.). Other forms of indirect bullying are more subtle and more likely to be
verbal, such as name calling, the silent treatment, arguing others into submission,
manipulation, gossip, lies, false rumors, staring, giggling, laughing at the victim, saying certain
words that trigger a reaction from a past event, and mocking.
Did Scut Farkus display direct or indirect bullying, or both?

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Effects of bullying on those who are targeted

Since bullying is mostly ignored, it may provide an important clue in crowd behavior and passer-
by behavior. Numerous psychologists have been puzzled by the inactivity of crowds in urban
areas when crimes occur in crowded places. Many have suggested bullying as one of the reasons
of this decline in emotional sensitivity and acceptance of violence as normal. When someone is
bullied, it is not only the bully and victim who are becoming less sensitive to violence. In most
cases, the friends and classmates of the bully and the victim accept the violence as normal.
How did Scut Farkus react when Ralphie stood up to him and fought back?
Bullying often takes place in the presence of a large group of relatively uninvolved bystanders. In
many cases, the bully creates the illusion that he or she has the support of the bystanders. That
instills the fear of speaking out in the victim as well as the majority of the bystanders.
It is seldom that a bystander will intervene on behalf of the victim. In fact, bystanders usually
tend to lean toward the bullys side. In 85% of bullying incidents, bystanders are involved in
teasing the victim or encouraging the bully, or doing nothing at all.
How can you help if you see someone being bullied? What can you do to help even if you are afraid
of being bullied yourself?
It is estimated that about 60-80% of children are bullied at school.
There is a growing body of research which indicates that individuals, whether child or adult, who
are persistently subjected to abusive behavior are at risk of stress related illness which can
sometimes lead to suicide. Those who have been the targets of bullying can suffer from long-
term emotional and behavioral problems. Bullying can cause loneliness, depression, anxiety, and
lead to low self-esteem and increased susceptibility to illness. In the long term, it can lead to Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder.
What can you do if you know of someone that has been bullied over a long period of time?
Cyber-bullying is any bullying done through the use of technology. This form of bullying can
easily go undetected because of lack of parental/authoritative supervision. Because bullies can
pose as someone else, it is the most anonymous form of bullying. Cyber bullying includes, but is
not limited to, abuse using email, instant messaging, text messaging, websites, and social
networking sites.
What can you do to help stop Cyber-bullying?

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BB Gun Safety
BB Gun Safety is extremely important. BB guns are not toys and are dangerous. Think about
the scene in A Christmas Story when Ralphie shoots his BB gun for the first time. He does, in
fact, practically shoot his eye out with his air rifle. If he had followed basic BB gun safety
rules, he would have been fine.
Many people do not realize how easy it is to injure yourself, someone else (or even
potentially kill someone) with a BB gun. Even if you dont have a BB gun, its good to know
the rules that must be followed when using BB guns or other types of guns in case you
unexpectedly come into contact with one.

Safety Rules for Kids from the National Rifle Association (NRA):

If you find or come into contact with a gun:

1. Stop.
2. Dont touch.
3. Remove yourself from the area.
4.Tell an adult.
Its particularly important that children leave the area where the gun is located to avoid
being harmed by someone who may not know how to touch it. A child as young as 3 has the
finger strength to pull a trigger. Its also important for kids to tell an adult about a gun thats
been found.

Important Safety Tips from BB-Guns.org:

Check out both local and federal laws and regulations. Different states have different
BB gun safety laws and rules. Certain guns are not allowed in certain places!
Start out shooting at a shooting range. It is the safest place to learn how to shoot.
Do not allow minors (persons under 18 years of age) to shoot any type of gun (not
even a BB gun) without active adult supervision.
Do not carry your BB gun in a public place. Doing so may actually be illegal in your
state.
Do not alter the color of your BB gun. If it has a fluorescent orange tip, that is for a
reason! Policeman have been known to shoot and fire upon children who have
removed the safety orange color form their guns, because the policemen could no
longer recognize the guns as anything but real guns. You could be putting yourself
and others in danger.
It is not recommended that children under the age of 16 are allowed to operate a high
velocity BB gun. Take a look at the velocity type of your BB gun or air rifle before
using. The warning will likely say, May be dangerous up to 350 yards, as well as
other warnings. Be sure to follow all warnings.
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BB Gun Safety Quiz

Discussion topic:

Think about the scene in the show when Ralphie shot his BB
gun for the first time. What safety ruled did he neglect to
follow?
True or false...
If you find a gun, stop, dont touch, leave the area and tell an adult.
Treat every gun as if it were loaded.
When shooting a BB gun, always wear protective eyewear.
Guns not in use should be loaded.
Some states have laws prohibiting BB guns from certain places.
The safest place to learn how to shoot is in your back yard.
You should never carry a BB gun in a public place.
If you find a gun, bring it to an adult.
It is acceptable to change the color of a BB gun.
Ralphie really did almost shoot his eye out!

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