Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Fall/105/Section068/Buck Sanders

Biography

Overview

Buck Sanders was interviewed for the Federal Writers’ Project during the time period of 1936-1940. He lived in different parts of North Carolina and Florida during his lifetime pursuing his dream of inventing a specific type of automobile motor. Sanders also pondered in the field of inventing, aviation, but was mainly known to be a mechanic.

Early Life

Buck Sanders was born in North Carolina in 1905. He was one of eight children as there were three girls and he contributed to one of the five boys. Sander’s family was not present much during his life; he was on his own which contributed to his lack of education and financial aid. Due to this lack of family support there was no motivation or encouragement to stay in school causing Sanders to drop out of school after spending three years in seventh grade. Although he dropped out of school at a young age, Sanders is nothing short of an intelligent mechanic. He started off his working career as a driver of a delivery wagon for a grocer. He then worked for an automobile business and became fascinated with the nuts and bolts of how cars work, leading him to becoming an automobile mechanic. At the age of eighteen Sanders was offered a job to drive a wealthy husband and wife to Palm Beach, Florida. The couple ended up liking Sanders so much they attempted adopting him striving to assist his financial situation, but Sanders refused. He ended up spending a few months in Florida with them as he secured a job as a helper in a garage but quickly worked his way up to be a mechanic. After working to become a mechanic at his newly found job he left as he was tired of Florida. Once he returned back to North Carolina he pursued a mining enterprise with two other men and then turned to aviation learning to fly when that failed. Three out of the five brothers were aviators and although Sanders learned how to fly, he never pursued a job in that field.

Automobile during the Great Depression

Later Life

As Sanders grew older he was marked by his unusually large head, wiry blonde hair, and feet that pointed outwards deforming every pair of shoes he owned. Although Sanders worked in the automobile industry he did not limit himself on just how cars worked, but everything in general giving rise to him inventing. Sanders had many ideas of inventions like an electric razor, scooter, and toothbrush. However, Sander’s main invention idea was a motor that did not contain valves, used cheap fuel, yet created immense amounts of power. Sanders scored another job as a mechanic and worked for John Bryson who was the best mechanic in town at the time. When Sanders proposed the idea of a simplistic choke John laughed in his face discouraging Sanders from inventing. After this short period of being discouraged Sanders kept trying to create this choke. When he was close to perfecting his own, someone else had invented and patented a choke almost identical to Sander’s. Upset that someone had beaten him to it, Sanders remained proud that he stuck to it and that his idea, if finished, would have worked. Sanders had the idea of an electric toothbrush two months before it was patented. When he proposed his idea to people once again he was laughed at and people took it as a joke. Sanders never attempted pursuing his idea of the electric toothbrush, but when it was patented two months later his ideas were once again proven to be valid despite what those around him thought. Sanders spent most of his life moving, taking whatever jobs he was offered trying to raise funds to make this idea of an efficient yet cheap motor become a reality before someone beat him to it. He ended up settling in the mountains where he opened up his own automobile shop, but fixed just about anything that came his way. He never ended up inventing this motor, however, the United State Army invented something similar. Despite this Sanders lived an eventful and successful life.

Social Issues

How the Great Depression Affected the Automobile Industry

In the 1920s automobiles became increasingly affordable and more people were able to purchase them. This caused a high demand in the automobile industry creating new manufactures and companies all across the country expanding with this rapidly growing market. However, when the stock market crashed in 1929 causing the worst economic depression in history of the United States, almost all industries suffered. The Great Depression was particularly devastating for the newly growing automobile industry. A lot of American citizens faced unemployment or economic hardships and purchasing a car was not a necessity and certainly not something most could not afford at the time. Since this new found industry had just taken off and was receiving little to no business, many of the recently developed independent shops did not stay open during this time. Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler were the only automobile companies that were large enough prior to the economic depression to be able to financially support themselves through the duration of the Great Depression. If small independent companies were to stay in business during the economic depression they would have to make certain changes that would affect all who worked within the industry. Longer hours, cuts in pay checks, and terrible working conditions became prevalent for employees in the automobile industry during this time. Overall the Great Depression greatly affected the automobile industry and those who worked within it.

How the Great Depression Impacted Inventing

When most people think about the Great Depression they think negatively about how hard the economy crashed and how high the unemployment rate was, but there are a few positives that came out of the Great Depression as well. Due to high unemployment, those trying to support their family any way possible, and simply boredom, the field of inventing flourished during this time period. The electric razor, car radio, tampon, and monopoly were just a few of the many inventions that came out of the Great Depression. Many companies failed and faced poverty during this time, but with the right invention you could become a minority who would be financially stable. For those who tried getting jobs and failed they turned to inventing and hoped that they could be the next successful inventor. Although the negative effects of the Great on the economy are undeniable, the realm of invention flourished during this time period.

References

“Folder 319: Carter, Douglas (Interviewer): The Inventor :: Federal Writers Project Papers.”

Andersen, Birgitte. Technological Change and the Evolution of Corporate Innovation: The Structure of Patenting, 1890-1990. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2001.

Fischman, Stuart L. “The History of Oral Hygiene Products: How Far Have We Come in 6000 Years?” Periodontology 2000 15, no. 1 (October 1997): 7–14.HistoryCollection.com.

Gross, Charles Joseph. American Military Aviation: The Indispensable Arm. Texas A&M University Press, 2002.

Hannah Duchardt. “The Great Depression and Effects on the Auto Industry.”

“5 Brilliant Inventions That Came Out of The Great Depression,” March 17, 2017.