The records show that the story could well be true. The amount of dole was right there on a page. There was also a list of things people could get on their dole order. There were hundreds of pages of other information. They told of a time when things were very hard. The government thought it was spending too much money on the dole. It wanted the dole inspectors to make sure that nobody got help they did not need.

In one file, there was a dole inspector's report. The man had searched houses. He reported finding barrels of potatoes, when people said they had nothing to eat.

Other files had letters and reports from many people. Some told their own stories of need. Others told what was happening to people in their area. Some wrote to demand changes to the dole and the way poor people were treated.

The newspapers added more life to the story. Letters and articles showed what happened day to day. They told stories of the time from different points of view. Ads showed the price of things.

Out of all this information came an essay, and many more notes than the essay could use.

Here is another story.

Hard Boots and a Hoe

One year in the late 1930s, a woman worked all summer making fish on the flakes. It was back-breaking work. There was a lot of fish that summer. The woman was tired all the time, because she had to do her housework and look after animals and gardens too. She kept herself going by thinking about what she would get for all the fish she was making. Maybe she could get something nice-for herself or the house, or for her children.

At the end of the fishing season, she went to the merchant to find out what she would get for her work. The merchant told her the price of fish was very low. When she paid her bills and bought her food, she had only enough credit left for a pair of hard boots and a hoe.