Hope in Hard Times

Michael Lind saw government-sponsored infrastructure projects as central to U. Most New Deal building projects involved public works structures that aimed to serve a broad public good. The Rural Electrification Administration brought electricity to millions of farmers and their families.

The trails that the Civilian Conservation Corps created and maintained in American forests served all who visited. The roads, bridges, tunnels, and highways that the federal government built benefited all commercial and recreational travelers. This federal program sought to build residential communities for working-class and farming families that strained under the weight of unemployment, hunger, and a range of other deprivations. It combined modest housing with small-scale subsistence farming in an effort to provide physical relief, basic human dignity, and an alternative to the competitive culture that seemed content to allow, or perhaps even force these families to suffer so greatly.

Too many in Congress opposed this aim and so subverted key elements of the program at critical moments, and residents themselves never embraced this new way of approaching their lives—as opposed to the security and stability that the communities offered, which residents did embrace enthusiastically.

Bible Verses About Having Strength During Hard Times

Swann Harding studied the communities a decade after they started and noted that residents resented any sense that they benefited from government largesse, and they abandoned the farming aspects of the communities when war-preparation work provided enough income to buy food at stores. Moreover, some of the homesteads were very successful.

They tend to use Arthurdale as representative of the entire program and reach conclusions about Arthurdale that they project broadly onto the rest of the communities and the program as a whole. Most of them conclude that Arthurdale was a failure because it drained resources far out of proportion to the families that it benefited directly.

They tend to accentuate the problems, exaggerate the costs, and ignore the successes, especially the long-term successes, in Arthurdale, and they generally neglect the other projects. She drew parallels between the New Deal communities and similar projects undertaken in Fascist Italy around the same time. Both shared a high degree of government control and supervision of the settlers, manifested through a careful selection process and disciplined by the threat of eviction.

Community housing efforts in both Italy and the United States avoided land expropriation or intervention in the private housing industry, built far fewer low-cost housing units than were needed, reinforced traditional social patterns with respect to gender and race relations, and overall sought to preserve the position of capitalism. A growing literature presents a more nuanced and, in many cases, favorable assessment of the program. As historians turned their attention to specific homestead communities, they found much to admire.

This community of subsistence farms as envisioned by the Roosevelt administration, is often called the most successful of all those established under the original plan. Jobs were generated, skilled workers emerged, productive farms and pastures were created, families built and had homes during those hard years. Ties of neighborly love and kinship were forged that have lasted to the present time. The homesteaders dealt with a hard life, a shortage of conveniences, and little money with an enthusiasm and willingness because they knew they were building a community where they would live, work, and raise their families.

Blanche Wiesen Cook reached similarly positive conclusions about Arthurdale itself, the homestead community most often identified as representative of the failed program. The school and sense of community endured, the residents flourished, and they continued to believe their own experiences might be, should be, put to future use. Our study of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, has led us to similarly positive conclusions.

They lived far more comfortably than they did before coming to Norvelt. Moreover, they exercised more autonomy and agency in this centrally planned government-supported community than they had in the company-owned coal-patch towns that dotted the region. They exhibited a loyalty to the community that those in nearby Hunker, Mammoth, and Kecksburg never manifested.

We reach these conclusions by tracing their stories and analyzing their lives across eight chapters. Chapter 1 explores the background of many of the original Norvelt homesteaders. It focuses on the mines and coke ovens where many of the men worked and the patch mining and coke communities where they and their families lived before they moved to Westmoreland Homesteads.

Most of the miners and their families were recent Catholic immigrants from eastern and southern Europe, people whom mine and coke owners—and much of U. Forced to work for low pay in difficult conditions and to live in isolated and impoverished patches, they looked to each other, their churches, and the United Mine Workers for support and community. This chapter explores the conditions in which they lived and their efforts, largely unsuccessful in Westmoreland County, to leverage better lives in persistently difficult circumstances.

The Great Depression, which hit the United States so powerfully as the s came to a close, reached Pennsylvania mining families even earlier. Chapter 3 explores the response to the economic crisis, as first Herbert Hoover and then Franklin Roosevelt sought to devise ways to weather and then reverse the Great Depression. This chapter introduces the ideological foundations for the program and key policy makers and administrators who made it a reality: Wilson, Clarence Pickett, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Chapter 4 tells the story of Norvelt itself. Norvelt began as Westmoreland Homesteads, one of four subsistence homestead communities administered for the federal government by the Quakers. This chapter traces its origins as a federal New Deal program in and explores the economic programs and social organizations the community developed to organize and sustain itself.

Increasing federal concerns about efficiency constrained opportunities, while a local group of residents arose to demand more federal support. But the homestead families persisted throughout. Chapter 6 continues the story of Norvelt. It then explores the establishment of the pants factory and the labor disputes that ensued. Next, it discusses how the garden project evoked both the cooperative ethos and the tendency to individualism. The homes included not only the houses, but also grape arbors, garages, and chicken coops.

This chapter examines the ways that homesteaders shaped their experiences within the constraints that the homes imposed. Chapter 8 examines how Norvelt has evolved in the last seventy years and the political changes that have occurred in it since it began. It explores why Norvelt, a solidly Democratic New Deal community in the s and s, became a Republican stronghold by the second decade of the twenty-first century. To answer this question, it discusses how people in Norvelt understand and use their past to explain their own successes and to distance themselves from the poor of today.

As a result, we were not able to speak with them about their lives before they moved to Westmoreland Homesteads or during the many decades they lived in what became Norvelt. However, we have had the pleasure of meeting and talking with the children of the homesteaders and their grandchildren, many of whom still inhabit Norvelt. They have been among our best and most informative sources into their past and the history of Norvelt.

Norvelters exhibit understandable pride in their community today and grateful recognition of the hard work that their parents and grandparents expended to build it. When asked to talk about the past, the generation of Norvelters who were children in the s and s joyfully shared their memories of what sounds like an idyllic childhood growing up in the New Deal community. A sharp contrast emerges between life in the patch communities, with all the deprivations and indignities that it entailed, and conditions in Westmoreland Homesteads.

This contrast comes out strongly in the stories their parents told them and, in some cases, their own remembrances of their earliest years. Our interviews with Norvelters offered us important insights into what life was like in Norvelt from the s through the present. Given the lack of memoirs, letters, or diaries from the period, our conversations with residents of Norvelt have deepened our understanding of how individual residents experienced and remembered what growing up in Norvelt was like.

Several themes emerged from our conversations with the people of Norvelt. The common element that runs through all the interviews is how much they love Norvelt and are grateful to be associated with it. The people we interviewed were thrilled to talk about their community and its past and present because it embodies what they consider to be a model community, the most successful New Deal community.

They spoke about how tough their lives or those of their families had been prior to moving to Westmoreland Homesteads. They routinely expressed gratitude to the Roosevelt administration, and most particularly to Eleanor Roosevelt, for offering them not just a home, but also the opportunity to leave behind the misery in which they had been living and join a thriving community.

One other value that many interviewees stressed was the work ethic. The community succeeded because everyone in it worked. Men, and some women, had jobs; children had chores; and everyone had and fulfilled their responsibilities to their families and to the community. Most people recall growing up in Norvelt, their family life, their time at school, the various activities they engaged in, the groups they belonged to, and their friendships as harmonious.

By and large, interviewees were either reluctant to share or no longer remembered the conflicts and discord that inevitably plague most, if not all, communities. Many of the people we interviewed discussed events and situations that had occurred more than sixty or seventy years ago. One person is the fourth generation of his family to reside in what is a very small community. Catholic and Protestant parents discouraged their girls and boys from dating each other.

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The people that lived across the street from us were Catholic; they spoke Hungarian in their home. We were back and forth constantly. It was more of a reaction. Racial differences and the discrimination that ensued were more contentious than religion and, in general, denied.

As we will see in chapter 5, the board at Westmoreland Homesteads voted to reject any black families who applied to obtain a home.

Isaiah 26:3

Nevertheless, Helen White, the mother of the White family, which was black, persisted in her effort to obtain admission to Norvelt. She succeeded in winning the intervention of the Roosevelt administration on her behalf, and the White family moved in. In addition to the interviews, one particularly valuable source was the community newspaper, the Homestead Informer , which the administration and the people of Norvelt published from to It offers a window into the activities, interests, and thinking of members of the Norvelt community.

It also shows a community that increased in self-confidence as members of Norvelt, especially women, took over the reporting and writing of the publication. Until most of the censuses did not list Norvelt as an independent entity. Instead, they combined it with Calumet, the small former mining community that borders Norvelt.

As a result, we could not establish the precise population of Norvelt. However, since both communities were practically percent white from the s to , we could determine the racial composition of Norvelt. A specific problem emerged with the census. In , the Census Bureau released copies of the original population schedules that provide detailed information about the populations of cities, towns, and local communities broken down into enumeration districts EDs. The population schedules list the names, origins, occupations, genders, and ages, along with other information, of all the inhabitants of each ED.

The wealth of information contained in the EDs helped us to develop a clearer profile of Norvelt in However, for reasons that remain unclear, the White family, the only black family in Norvelt, is listed as racially white. According to Rebecca Kraus, a historian who works at the U. Once members of the family moved away or died, Norvelt became and remains a white community. We invite you to read and learn about the unique and heretofore largely unknown community of Norvelt.

The story of Norvelt has implications for today. It offers proof that government intervention can effectively address poverty, empower a desperate group of people, and re integrate marginalized and overlooked people into the body politic. Subscribe to our mailing list and be notified about new titles, journals and catalogs. Hoping to transform their desperate situation, the families of this western Pennsylvania town worked with the federal government to envision a new kind of community that would raise standards of living through a cooperative lifestyle and enhanced civic engagement.

Timothy Kelly is Professor of History at St. Domestic Architecture 8 Norvelt Today: List of Interviewees Notes Bibliography Index. Introduction By the spring of , Anthony Wolk had been out of work for four straight years. He will be our ever present help when we're in need, and he can give us a peace that passes all understanding. For me that's extremely encouraging. Do you have any favorite bible verses about strength , and where you can find it? Did one of the verses above stick out more than the others for you?

Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

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Want to find more verses on Strength in the Bible and don't have your own? Get a free Bible. We all need hope in turbulent times. This post looks at Bible verses about hope, and examines why we as Christians should have hope in…. This post gives 15 bible verses of thanksgiving and appreciation to God.

Giving thanks even in the midst of hard times helps us to truly…. We all have times in our lives when we need encouragement. The Bible has a lot of encouraging verses to help us find strength, comfort…. Peter Anderson is a Christian, husband to his beautiful wife Maria, and father to his 2 children. He loves reading and writing about personal finance, and also enjoys a good board game every now and again. You can find out more about him on the about page.

Don't forget to say hi on Pinterest , Twitter or Facebook! Thanks for compiling this list. Sometimes a quick word of encouragement is all it takes to set your day right again: Thank you so much for this. My husband is facing his second surgery and third hospital stay of the year with no sick time left at his work. So, these verses really speak to me right now. Saying a prayer for you..

Today,I gave my life to Christ after reading this. I lost my dad ,and I lost my business. I was in huge debt since then. I live all sorts of immoral life. This words helped and make me look into my life. I want to melt in Gods words. I found peace in them. I will like to hear them everyday of my life. Since you have a healer, his name Jesus, Isaiah Like wise me who lost mine two months ago, but he console my heart.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all live battling sin. Now, with Christ you will have His strength and victory over your struggles because He is with you. I pray you can remember that salvation has brought you into His Holy presence where we can turn to receive His mercy for all of our shortcomings and the gift of grace to stand.

As we continually acknowledge His presence to enjoy Him, meditate on His Word that reveals Him we have everything we need. I am rejoicing with you! Good words Peter, I always love reading your blog. I am 51 years old.

Hope in Difficult Times

I am in the age range where I spend significant time thinking and reading about and planning for retirement. I would like to write a blog about retirement and even that is a very broad subject when you stop to think that it affects every area of life. But, sometimes I think that there are already too many blogs already. What do you think?

Thank you so much sharing your wisdom of the scriptures, this is one I live by: I hope you will consider adding it to you list. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus Philippians 4: Many a times we may think we are left alone to live on our own but the fact is that the more we feel the pain and agony in our lives.. This is a great list.

Thanks for sharing it. Personally this is my favorite verse when I need to find strength. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Thanks so much for the list! So much to be thankful for but sometimes life gets us down. Hopefully this will give hope to those of us to need a lift! Psalms 91 helps me through also. Thank you for the following scriptures that helps to strength my Faith. Jesus I trust in you. This says a strong profession in faith. I find it hard to memorize scripture when in trouble. I have been through series of turbulent times and what keeps me going are wholesome stories in the bible demonstrating God at work.

Christians need to visualize the personality of God in situations. Although I love the verses and I feel like printing them off for display at the dressing mirror.



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I will be bookmarking as well, i currently going through a tough time the past three month from accident, transmission went out, another accident, and IRS. I am trying not to have a break down but keeping myself being positive without thinking negative on why i am going through this storm. This is helping me out alot thank you. I feel your pain Annette. Having a savior that we can rely on really helps to weather the storm — or storms — as the case may be. Thank you for your words of encouragement and the verses that strengthen me through my life, I was so darken by tragedy and disappointments, the spirit certainly lead me to this page, please pray for me that I will continue to be strengthen in Jesus Christ my Lord.

I so love this…So encouraging…indeed, there is power in the Word of God!!! Thank you for this post. The verses that stood out for me the most are the ones about praising God. The bank is auctioning our home on November 3rd unless we can come up with what we owe. Prayers for us please. Thank you, God Bless you.

Thanks for sharing this list. Thank you very much! Thank you so much for this list of wonderful scriptures! Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. I have just completed hi School but it looks like my dad has given up on me and am now struggling with life.. I have tried to seek for God for my refuge but I think am not patient… please I need your prayers so that life can move on well to me…. The lord is my refuge and fortress and in my god I will trust. I am out of work he is all I have and I thank him and wait.

Thank you do much for these awesome verses you selected. I meditated on them with tears in my eyes. The verse that really hit me is 1 Peter 5: Lies have been told and I am facing forced retirement. As one who has allowed my career to identify who I am, I am so very lost. I am so very afraid. I am having panic attacks. I know where I have fallen in my faith, in my church duties, in putting Him first. I have been ignoring his promptings to pursue my own desires, thinking there would always be time.

Retirement would be a blessing, but then who am I? As all retirees, we will cut back on some things. But financially, we will be fine according to our investment guys. But then the doubts…will we really? Are they being honest?



I know this is a trial I need to endure in order to get myself straight with our Heavenly Father. I am past retirement age so who knows how long I have? And I knew retirement was inevitable. But how to stop the pain and fear….. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Thanks Peter… I have been feeling so down and depressed… decided to Google for some passages about strength in times if troubles and stumbled upon your page… Thanks a lot.

I came here tonight to find strength thru a financially hard several months. This evening, I felt my heart sink when my husband looked at me and asked me questions about my inability to contribute to our household in the way that I always been able to, due to being unemployed. I could so use a little uplifting right now. I know resolution will come but days like this make it difficult to reflect on the bright side of things.

I pray for continued strength for you and your family! I retired recently and know what you mean about that look. God has been showing me to seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all other things shall be added unto me!! I pray this for you and your family.

The evil one is getting us so focused on temporal things which are important , that we lose focus on who God is! God is our provider! Our ever present help in times of trouble! Our Rock and our strong tower! His seed does not beg for bread! This has really encourage me. After i have faced one of the most embarrassing day, God has led me here. This is a huge help for me and your readers as we walk through this life. No matter what our situations are.

We should always cling to His words. I really appreciate your post. Thank you for posting this.

Hope in Hard Times – Highline Heritage Museum

It is a really good help to me. And when you are in a hard times, just read this and this can give you hope. Thanks for this post! I would like to say Thank You so much for your video! Im going through some tough times right now I just lost my husband back in April 14, and three weeks before I lost my dad! This has been overwhelming for me cuz Im in the house alone and I have been trying my best! I had to quit my job to take care of my husband that passed away with cancer! His cancer went so fast and now Im looking for a job so I can start paying the bills by myself and it has been so overwhelming!

I pray each day and give the LORD thanks! I loved your video it gave me hope not to give up no matter how hard things should get!