After developing the AI-assisted ABC Biography of #6 Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976) of San Diego, California, and ABC Biography of #7 Emily Kemp (Auble) Carringer (1899-1977) of Illinois and California I wondered what life was like for my grandparents and my mother in March 1935 in San Diego, California.
I asked Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.5 to write a story about it based on information in the biographies, which are based on my genealogical research. Here is the story about the Lyle Carringer family life in March 1935:
A Typical Weekday: The Carringer Family in San Diego, 1935
Wednesday, March 20, 1935 - 2130 Fern Street
6:00 AM - Morning Begins
The first light of dawn filters through the curtains at 2130 Fern Street as forty-three-year-old Lyle Carringer rises from bed, careful not to disturb Emily sleeping beside him. Despite the Great Depression gripping the nation, Lyle is one of the fortunate ones—still employed at Marston's Department Store after thirty years of service. His position as an office worker in the dry goods store provides steady income in uncertain times, though his salary has been reduced like so many others.
In the kitchen, he quietly lights the gas stove to heat water for coffee. The house is modest but comfortable, worth about $10,000 according to the last assessment. Through the window, he can see the beginnings of their famous garden, now in its spring glory. The fish pools in the greenhouse are still, waiting for the sun to warm them and bring the goldfish to life.
6:30 AM - Family Awakens
Emily, thirty-five years old and still as lovely as when Lyle married her seventeen years ago, emerges from the bedroom in her housecoat. She moves quietly so as not to wake fifteen-year-old Betty or her mother, sixty-six-year-old Georgia Auble, who has lived with them since the beginning of their marriage.
Emily begins preparing breakfast -- oatmeal, toast, and coffee. Eggs are expensive at 29 cents a dozen, so they save those for weekends. The bread is homemade; with flour at just pennies a pound, it's far more economical than buying from the bakery. Besides, Emily takes pride in her baking, and the smell of yesterday's loaf fills the kitchen with warmth.
"The fish will be hungry this morning," Emily says, glancing out at the garden. It's become their morning ritual to discuss the pools, the plants, the small paradise they've created in their backyard. In these difficult times, the garden represents stability, beauty, and a kind of wealth that can't be measured in dollars.
7:00 AM - Breakfast Together
Betty joins them at the kitchen table, already dressed in her school clothes. As a junior at San Diego High School, she's at that age where she's becoming increasingly aware of the world beyond their Fern Street home. She's seen classmates whose fathers have lost jobs, families moving in with relatives, and the soup kitchens downtown.
Georgia Auble, still vigorous despite her 66 years, is the last to the table. The widow from Canada has become the emotional anchor of the household, offering wisdom and stability. She's lived through hard times before -- immigrating to America in 1889, raising Emily alone after her husband's death -- and her calm presence reassures them all that this, too, shall pass.
The Carringer family's income of approximately $1,475 per year from Lyle's work places them solidly in the middle-income range, as the median family income in 1935-1936 was $1,160. They're not wealthy, but they're far from destitute.
Lyle reads from the San Diego Union as he eats, noting that military payrolls in San Diego have risen from $16,000,000 in 1929 to $20,000,000 in 1934, providing some economic stability to the city. It's a reminder that San Diego, with its Navy presence and moderate climate, is weathering the Depression better than many American cities.
7:45 AM - Departure for Work and School
Lyle puts on his suit coat -- the same one he's worn for three years, carefully maintained and pressed. Appearances matter at Marston's, especially for someone in his position. He picks up his lunch pail, packed by Emily with leftovers from last night's dinner and an apple from their own tree.
Lyle catches the streetcar at 30th and Ivy to go downtown. The fare is still just a nickel, and the ride gives him time to read the newspaper more thoroughly. The trolley is crowded with other workers—some in suits like his, others in work clothes heading to the harbor or construction sites funded by the new WPA programs.
A bit later, Betty gathers her schoolbooks, and kisses her grandmother and mother goodbye. She'll take the streetcar downtown to 12th Avenue, and then walk the four blocks to San Diego High School, meeting her friends along the way. Some days she walks all the way, taking about 30 minutes to save the streetcar fare, and at her age, she doesn't mind, especially if it’s a nice day.
8:30 AM - Morning at Marston's
At Marston's Department Store at 6th and C Street, Lyle settles into his office on the second floor. His work as an auditor and office clerk is meticulous and demanding. Today he'll be reconciling department sales from the previous week, checking inventory reports against purchase orders, and preparing financial summaries for management.
The store is quieter than it was in the 1920s. Customers are more careful with their money, asking more questions, comparing prices, sometimes leaving without buying anything. But Marston's reputation for quality and fair dealing keeps them competitive, and the steady flow of Navy families provides a reliable customer base.
Lyle works through the morning, his pen scratching numbers into ledgers, his adding machine clicking as he verifies totals. The work requires complete concentration -- a single misplaced number or decimal point could throw everything off.
9:00 AM - Morning at Home
Back at 2130 Fern Street, Emily and Georgia begin their daily routine. Emily works part-time at Marston's as a clerical worker and saleslady, but today is her day off. She and her mother tackle the household chores together -- washing dishes, making beds, sweeping floors.
The laundry waits in the basket. On Mondays, Emily does the heavy washing using the hand-cranked wringer washing machine in the garage. Today she'll just rinse out a few items and hang them in the California sunshine to dry. The weather is perfect -- mid-60s and clear, the kind of day that makes San Diego feel blessed even in hard times.
Georgia tends to the garden and the lath house while Emily hangs laundry. At sixty-six, Georgia moves more slowly than she once did, but she finds peace among the plants. She feeds the goldfish in the pools, watching them rise to the surface with their mouths opening expectantly. The tropical fish in the heated glass house are doing well—their aquariums require daily attention, checking temperatures and water levels.
12:00 PM - Midday
Lyle takes his lunch break in the employee lounge at Marston's, eating the sandwich Emily packed and chatting with coworkers. The conversation inevitably turns to the Depression, to Roosevelt's New Deal programs, to who's still working and who's lost their job. Lyle listens more than he talks, grateful for his employment but aware that any day could bring changes.
At home, Emily and Georgia prepare a simple lunch -- soup made from yesterday's chicken carcass, bread, and tea. They eat at the kitchen table, discussing the afternoon's plans. Emily needs to do some mending and go shopping for food for dinner, and Georgia wants to transplant some seedlings in the garden.
Betty eats lunch at school with her friends. She thinks about her morning classes – English Literature, U.S. History and Art Design. She's brought a sandwich from home -- most of her classmates do the same. The cafeteria is there, but at 15 cents for a hot lunch, it's an extravagance most families can't afford every day. Betty checks her homework for French and looks forward to gym in the afternoon learning to play tennis.
2:00 PM - Afternoon Activities
The afternoon sun warms the Fern Street garden as Emily sits on the back porch with her mending basket. She's letting down the hem on one of Betty's skirts -- the girl is growing so fast, and with new clothes out of the question, they make do by altering what they have.
Georgia works in the lath house, the shaded structure that's become the centerpiece of their entertaining space. She's deadheading flowers and checking the pools that are located there. Later this week, they're expecting friends for dinner, and she wants everything to look perfect.
The garden has become something of a neighborhood attraction. Just last week, a reporter from the San Diego Union came to photograph their fish pools and write about their "outdoor living room." The article will appear soon, bringing them a small measure of local fame. In these difficult times, beauty and creativity matter more than ever.
4:00 PM - Betty Returns Home
Betty arrives home from school on the streetcar, dropping her books on the dining room table with a thud. She has homework -- French, English and U.S. History -- but first she changes into older clothes and goes out to help her grandmother in the garden. This is their special time together, when Georgia tells stories about the old days in Canada, about immigrating to America, about building a life from nothing.
"Times like these teach you what really matters," Georgia says, her hands in the rich soil. "Family. Home. The simple things that money can't buy."
Betty listens, understanding more than her grandmother might think. She sees the worry lines on her father's face some evenings, the way her mother carefully portions their meals, the worn spots on her school clothes. But she also sees the love that fills their home, the beauty they've created in their garden, the stability of their life together.
5:30 PM - Lyle Returns Home
The streetcar brings Lyle back up 30th Street as the late afternoon sun begins to slant westward. He gets off at the corner and walks around the block home, loosening his tie and breathing in the spring air. San Diego's agricultural economy remained relatively stable during the Depression, with farmers kept busy despite some decrease in crop values, and he can smell orange blossoms from nearby groves mixing with the salt air from the ocean.
At 2130 Fern Street, Emily has dinner nearly ready -- chicken and dumplings, green beans from their garden, and biscuits. It's a good meal, hearty and filling, made possible by careful shopping and the vegetables they grow themselves. The chicken cost 25 cents at the market, but it will provide at least three meals -- tonight's dinner, tomorrow's sandwiches, and soup later in the week.
6:00 PM - Family Dinner
The four of them gather around the dining table -- Lyle at the head, Emily to his right, Betty across from her mother, and Georgia at the far end. They bow their heads as Lyle says grace, giving thanks for their food, their home, and their togetherness.
The conversation flows easily. Betty talks about her day at school, mentioning that one of her classmates' fathers just found work with the WPA, building trails in Balboa Park. Georgia describes her afternoon in the garden, and Emily mentions that she'll be working at Marston's tomorrow and Friday.
Lyle shares news from the store -- sales are holding steady, which is good news. He doesn't mention the worry he saw in the manager's eyes during their morning meeting, or the rumors of further salary cuts. No need to burden the family with uncertainties.
7:00 PM - Evening Routine
After dinner, Betty and Emily clear the table and wash dishes while Lyle reads the evening paper and Georgia settles into her chair with her knitting. The radio plays softly -- they have one of the older Zenith models, purchased back in the prosperous 1920s. Tonight there's music, then a comedy program that makes them all laugh.
Betty spreads her homework across the dining table, working on a history paper due on Friday while her father helps occasionally. Georgia's knitting needles click rhythmically. Emily sits beside Lyle on the sofa, working on her own mending while half-listening to the radio.
This is the quiet wealth of their lives -- not in money or possessions, but in these peaceful evening hours together. The house is warm, the family is healthy, and there's food in the cupboard. In 1935, that's more than many Americans can say.
8:30 PM - Darkness in the Garden
Even though the sun is down, the moon, planets and stars are in the clear sky. Lyle walks out to the lath house to check the fish pools one last time. The goldfish are settling for the night, and he adjusts the temperature controls on the tropical aquariums in the glass house. This garden, this beautiful creation that he and Emily have built together, represents everything he values -- patience, care, beauty grown from humble beginnings.
He stands in the lath house, looking back at the warm glow of lights from the house windows. Through the kitchen window, he can see Emily moving about, and in the dining room, Betty bent over her books. Georgia's silhouette is visible in the living room, still knitting.
The Depression has touched their lives -- reduced income, uncertainty about the future, friends and neighbors struggling. But standing here in the garden on this March evening, Lyle feels rich. He has work, he has a home, and most importantly, he has his family. They're weathering this storm together, and that makes all the difference.
9:30 PM - Preparing for Bed
Betty is the first to bed, tired from her long day at school. She kisses her parents and grandmother goodnight, and goes down the hall to her room. Georgia follows soon after, moving slowly but steadily.
Lyle and Emily take a few more minutes together, sitting on the sofa in comfortable silence. Emily leans her head on his shoulder.
"We're going to be all right, aren't we?" she asks quietly.
"We are," Lyle assures her. "We have each other, and we have this home. We'll get through this, just like we've gotten through everything else."
They turn off the lights one by one, check the doors, and make their way to bed. Outside, the fish pools reflect the moonlight, and the garden sleeps under the stars.
Tomorrow will bring another day of work, another day of making do, another day of the Depression's challenges. But the Carringer family at 2130 Fern Street will face it together, with love, resourcefulness, and quiet determination.
In a year when San Diego, despite its sunshine, had become the suicide capital of the country, the Carringer family represents those who held on, who found joy in simple things, who built beauty even in hard times, and who understood that true wealth isn't measured in dollars but in the strength of family bonds and the peace of a well-tended home.
Epilogue: Reflections on 1935
Looking back on this year from the vantage point of the future, this typical Wednesday in March 1935 represents the Carringer family at a pivotal moment. They're solidly in the middle class despite the Depression, weathering economic uncertainty with the same care and attention they give to their famous gardens.
Lyle's steady employment at Marston's, Emily's part-time work, Betty’s schoolwork and friends, the garden's bounty, and Georgia's presence as emotional anchor combine to create stability in unstable times. Their household income of around $1,475 per year, combined with their careful management and the vegetables and fruit from their garden, allows them not just to survive but to maintain dignity and even create beauty.
The garden that will be featured in the newspaper later this year isn't just a hobby -- it's a statement of hope, a refusal to let hard times crush their spirits. It's a reminder that even in the depths of the Great Depression, life could still offer moments of peace, beauty, and joy.
Betty, at fifteen, is receiving an education in resilience that will serve her well throughout her life. She's learning that hard times don't have to mean hard hearts, that creativity and care can substitute for money, and that family love is the greatest wealth of all.
This ordinary Wednesday -- with its routines of work and school, its simple meals and garden chores, its quiet evening of homework and radio—represents the best of what America could be even in its darkest economic hour: families holding together, finding joy in simple pleasures, and building beauty one day at a time.
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The Google NotebookLM Video Overview of this story is:
The Google NotebookLM Slide Deck of this story was included in a Google Slides presentation and narrated by Google Vids to produce this video presentation:
After I read these types of social history summaries, I wish that I could be a time traveler for one day to visit the Carringer family in San Diego in 1935 and witness their daily lives. I'm glad that the general lifestyles and occupations are known from historical records and eyewitness accounts.
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