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Broken Dreams
Fanned by the winds of the Great Depression poverty raged through the United
States, condemning many people to a life of brutal existence when jobs
disappeared especially in the coal mining industry.
FDR’s resolve towards job creation resulted in government-sponsored “New Deal”
programs, but it was the First Lady who came face to face with a population in
dire straits.
Motivated by horrific stories about Scotts Run, a coalmining dream gone bust,
Mrs. Roosevelt got into her little roadster (August 1933) and drove to
Morgantown unannounced.
It wasn’t a pretty picture: starving families, forced to sleep on bug-infested
rags on the floor were living in shacks with newspapers on the walls to keep out
the cold, lacking potable water supply or indoor plumbing. Desperate mothers
were fBut it was the poignant story of a little boy, his pet rabbit and his
sister’s mischievous taunt that got a sympathetic ear in the First Lady’s
newspaper column with the famous quote, “He thinks that we are not going to eat
it, but we are.”
The Turning Point
 Mrs. Roosevelt championed the cause so well, the very first “subsistence
homestead” was planned for West Virginia on 1102 acres of farmland purchased
from Richard Arthur, the namesake of Arthurdale. Once he was the wealthy owner
of the first electric company in Pennsylvania, but he could no longer upkeep his
22-room mansion or afford the taxes on the property that fetched him $45,000.
Between 1933 and 1937, the 165 families from Scotts Run settled into their new
homes, each with up to four acres of farmland. The first group occupied 50
pre-fabricated Hodgson Houses with full basements, followed by 75 two-story,
cinder block and frame Wagner Houses with root cellars and out buildings, and
finally Stone Houses with stone fireplaces and stone veneer exteriors. All of
the homes had indoor plumbing and electricity, a comfort they once only dared to
dream about.
The homes were featured brick fireplaces, wooden paneling and floors, built-in
bookcases, colonial style furniture, refrigerators, and the government provided
curtains and bed linens.
They were the fortunate ones who survived a 25-page questionnaire that asked,
among other things, “Which side of the cow do you milk? Are you a Democrat or a
Republican” If you borrow tools, do you give them back? Do you get along with
your family?” They even traced their hands and feet, checking for abnormalities.
The mentally ill, alcoholics were undesirable, and only African-Americans and
immigrants were given aptitude tests. Happily married couples caring for their
children fit the profile of Arthurdale homesteaders, but only if they were
American-born whites.
Mrs. Roosevelt was most disappointed in the screening process, but the
Department of Interior was in charge and they said there were no funds allocated
for a school for non-white students. The First Lady hoped eventually the
population would be integrated and continued with her efforts to make Arthurdale
a success.
Making It Work
Arthurdale’s overnight transformation was viewed somewhat skeptically by some
reporters who felt such close government involvement bordered on communism. Mrs.
Roosevelt’s syndicated newspaper column, My Day, revealed the remarkable
progress she saw during her regular visits to Arthurdale. The children no longer
went to bed hungry, instead they were well fed, healthy and happy. The residents
worked hard, planting fruits and vegetables and rearing cows and pigs. There was
enough food to feed the families and provide school lunches.
Even while some Congress members ridiculed Arthurdale as the First Lady’s “pet
project” Mrs. Roosevelt’s determination never wavered. She was never shy about
taking her wealthy friends along on frequent visits to the homesteaders or
asking for donations. Financier Bernard Baruch and his industrialist friends,
the Guggenheim family made contributions, as did Dorothy Elmhurst and Doris
Duke, the richest woman in the world at that time.
She also became a benefactor providing Instruments for the community band, toys
for the children at Christmas, snowsuits for the nursery school toddlers and
paying teachers’s salaries. She attended all the graduation ceremonies, signing
the diplomas, and in 1938 brought FDR as the guest speaker, his only
commencement address as president.
They all remembered how much she enjoyed square dancing to the refrain “Sixteen
hands and circle to the left/Halfway ‘round, chase ‘em back/Lady in front and
gent to her back/Pat your honey on the head/If she don’t like biscuits give her
cornbread.”
Factories to manufacture shirts, vacuum cleaners and tractors closed within two
years of opening. Handcrafted items and a furniture-making project turned out
Godlove chairs, pewter, copper and iron works, pottery, hand-knitted and woven
items, but again, most people could not afford higher-priced craftsmanship in
the depression years.
By 1941, FDR’s political responsibilities had shifted to Word War II and
Arthurdale became a $2M liability and the homes and surrounding buildings were
sold, and once again Eleanor Roosevelt became their dedicated supporter.
She would never forget the families and they felt a lot of affection for her.
Times got tougher during the war years, but she never stayed away.
The Legacy Lives On
Arthurdale is often referred to as an experiment, but the community spirit that
exists to this very day has outshone the impersonal image of the thirties.
Through the dedication of the 24-member non-profit corporation and staff (some
of whom are descendants of the homesteaders), visitors are welcome to explore
the restored area that includes the homestead museum, a Wagner House, a forge, a
service station and the historic Center Hall with a craft shop.
When you visit you may be fortunate to meet Jennifer Marie Bonnette, a
homesteader’s granddaughter, who is also the executive direction of the
corporation (making her a double authority on facts.)
Jennifer says the museum was created through the early efforts of Arthurdale’s
3,000 residents who held fund-raising dinners. “All the items we have in our
museum are donated,” she says. “Our forge alone has 1,500 pieces and they were
original pieces that were used here by the blacksmiths. Many of the families
cherish these items and they were just waiting for a place to proudly display
them.”
Jennifer’s homesteader grandparents were the last couple in their home up to two
years ago. Married for 70 years and still living in her original home, Hazel
Bonnette, 90, survives her husband, Claude, who was 92. They were newly married
when Mr. Bonnette signed up for the project because he could not find a job.
Hazel’s Dutch family had a large dairy farm in Morgantown, while Claude’s mother
was Shawnee Indian and his father was French with 11 family members. The name
was originally Bonnett, but Jennifer says her grandfather got upset at the
French one day and added the “e” to his name. “When I grew up in Arthurdale none
of this was discussed, not even with my grandparents,” says Jennifer. “You saw
highway markers and you saw all this in ruins.”
It was during her last years at the University of West Virginia that Jennifer
returned to Arthurdale to rate the museum for an assignment. “I got addicted to
it and I started to work in Arthurdale,” she says. “After that my grandfather
was just really proud of me and we talked more and these wonderful stories about
his life came pouring out.”
Just like many of the other homesteaders, the Bonnetts were ecstatic about their
move to Arthurdale and they marveled at the green grass, blue skies and their
nice. little white house. It was a place where they knew children could go to
school and enjoy the outdoors, far away from the coal dust that plagued them in
Scotts Run.
Claude Bonnette met Mrs. Roosevelt on several occasions. He knew that everyone
was awestruck and nervous because she was the First Lady, but she won them over
by being really down to earth.
 Jennifer, like many of the descendants, contributes many personal stories about
some of the displays. Her favorite is about a little checker-board in the
museum. “My great uncle carried it aboard the Destroyer. His job was to watch
for the Japanese who would be dive-bombing so he would be up in the crow’s nest
and he didn’t have anything with him other than that game to play, so it
survived all the way through World War II and he brought it back,” she says.
But the story doesn’t end there because Jennifer has a confession to make. “Like
children do, we got a hold of it and lost half of the pieces, and now I’ve got
it and I wish that I would have taken better care of it and not lost all those
pieces.”
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