Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Fall/105/Section068/Don Washburn

Biography

Don Washburn was born on June 23, 1893, in a mountain town in western North Carolina. He was the oldest of four children, and the only boy. His family had settled its roots in the United States about a century earlier. Following the work of his previous generations, Don was born a farmer and it was not until he dropped out of junior college that he packed up and seeked his fortune in Colorado.

After a few years working mines, ranches, and stores, Don found himself headed towards France during the backend of the First World War. Before heading overseas, his first work was at an Alabama military hospital tending to the overflowing number of sick due to the Flu Pandemic. Though he said his team managed to avoid getting sick, despite the day-in and day-out work hours, “the men died like flies.” After three months, Don was finally in France, and his unit was moving from one spot to the next without any mission. As he puts it, “the blasted war was over, and had been for two weeks.” Eventually, his unit was stationed at a military hospital, and after a half year of work, they were on the way home again. Though relieved to be home again, Don was not finding good wages in the Appalachians, and once again headed West to first work farms in Kansas, and then to work rubber plants in Ohio. Finding a friend, Myers, at the rubber plants, they two set off to start a tire-repair shop, eventually settling back home in North Carolina. Though Myers pulled out soon, Don had been successfully running and growing his business for 17 years at the time of the interview. In addition, he was married and with three kids and a puppy in his mountain home.

Flu Pandemic

This image exemplifies the massive overload of sick during the Flu Pandemic of 1918. Hospitals were simply unable to provide enough beds for the overwhelming number of patients, so emergency medical centers like Camp Funston emerged.

Washburn explains his own experience dealing with the 1918 Flu Pandemic in a military medical unit, where he had to serve “more than 4,000 patients, on an average,” in a 1,200 bed hospital. His unit avoided getting sick, which he says was possible because “they sprayed us two or three times a day with something.”

Washburn, like many Americans at the time, was directly affected by the Flu Pandemic of 1918. Throughout the duration of the pandemic, an estimated 50-100 million people died around the world, an alarming ≈3-6% of the world’s population, including 675,000 deaths in the United States. At the time, there was a lot of uncertainty around the virus and what was causing it. While similarities to previous influenza pandemics existed, many were not sure that such a volatile pandemic could be caused by the flu. It was not until the 1930s that the pandemic began to be understood.

World War I

Washburn was not alone when he expressed his qualms about being drafted into the first World War, as well as his overall experience being sent to France. The first World War, which struck the entire world with total warfare in 1914, was unanimously celebrated. In Washburn’s own words, “some of the boys talked recklessly about deserting, but nobody tried it.” Support for the war was not shared among all Americans, especially because it was a foreign affair and it was proving to wage on for too long and with too many deaths.

Having years to reflect on the First World War, and then looking at the impending Second World War, Washburn remarks that "there ought not to be any [wars]. Well, unless somebody invades your country. Then you've got to fight." His sentiment is consistent with what many other Americans were expressing. The years after the first World War were met with the view that the United States entered the war not only by mistake but also as a part of an economic conspiracy, known as the “merchants of death”.

1920s

Washburns explains that “since I was a boy I had always wanted a business of my own.” Unable to create a successful business, he followed the highest paying low-skill jobs around the country, as many did, to save enough money to start his business. After several years, he did manage to accomplish his dream, springing up a store of his own.

Washburn demonstrates the reality for poorer Americans at the time: chasing wages around the country to start something of your own. It was around his time that the ‘American Dream’ was cementing itself in American culture, and the entrepreneur was being revered. Furthermore, the Revenue Act of 1921 significantly reduced taxes on corporations and individuals, favoring the business oriented. Though not many did achieve significant upward mobility, the prospect of entrepreneurial wealth lingered in the minds of many Americans and encouraged innovative growth.

In North Carolina

In the 1920s, North Carolina underwent significant urbanization in alignment with an increasingly consumerist economy. This transition left some better off than others. A previously rural state saw a replacement of farms with more lucrative industries in the cities. This included the growth of textile mills, tobacco manufacturing, and furniture industries. New industries continued to grow and produce jobs, but this came at the cost for the industries of the previous generations. Not only did money become increasingly difficult to make for farmers, but also those moving to the cities were often met with unemployment.