Shirley Temple was born in 1928, just prior to

the onset of the Great Depression, being the

deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world,   spanning 1929-1939.   By 1933, the Great Depression had reached its lowest point with approximately 15 million Americans unemployed, and nearly half of the country’s banks had failed.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt was governor from 1929-1932 and then took the office of the President from 1933-1945.  He had quite a difficult task on his hands, and recognizing Shirley’s ability to raise the public’s morale, he referred to her as “Little Miss Miracle,” and proclaimed that “as long as our country has Shirley  Temple, we will be all right.”  “It’s a splendid thing that for just fifteen cents an American can go to a movie and look at the smiling face of a baby and forget his troubles.”  She was a joyous tonic for a nation greatly troubled by the Depression, and easily the most popular and famous child star of all time.   It seems that Shirley understood that and took it in stride when she said, “I class myself with Rin Tin Tin.  People in the Depression wanted something to cheer them up, and they fell in love with a dog and a little girl.”  She had a great  camera presence and worked well with adults.  

Read the article in its entirety in the 6-page

February 2015 Bevil newsletter, which accompanies the cover.