Brother Can You Spare A Dime
Once I built a railroad, made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad, now it’s done.
Brother can you spare a dime.
Once I built a tower up to the sun, brick, and rivet, and lime.
Once I built a tower, now it’s done.
Brother can you spare a dime.
— Lyrics by Yip Harburg
When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office in 1932, many banks had closed, assets had been frozen and hundreds of thousands were unemployed. Bread lines had formed to feed the hungry as Americans reeled from the worst economic disaster in history.
To help stimulate the economy and employ the jobless, the Works Progress Administration was created by Roosevelt and funded by the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935. The WPA later changed it’s name to the Work Projects Administration and became the largest of the New Deal agencies. The program would employ millions and touch almost every community in the United States.
Between 1935 and the end of the program in 1943, the WPA provided jobs for nearly 8 million people. Almost anyone needing a job could get one.
The program provided jobs and training for building roads as well as public building projects including parks, bridges and schools. Artists were also employed to create public works of art.
In Emporia, there were several WPA projects, according to records at the Lyon County Historical Archives. There were projects at Peter Pan Park, Hammond Park and Emporia State University’s Welch Stadium.