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Mom and the Depression


My Mother and the Stock Market

The bull market on Wall Street began in 1923 . On September 3 the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached its peak, closing at 381.7

On October 24 1929. 13 billion shares were traded and losses were estimated to be over five billion. President Herbert Hoover reassured Americans that business was sound.


On Monday,October 28, brokers believed the worst was over. But when the markets opened, they went straight down.


By Tuesday, the losses continued as investors tried to sell all their stocks at once. The market recorded $14 billion of invisible money lost. The selling was so vast that tickers could not keep up. By the end of the day the market was down more than 12%.

On Thursday, my mother was born.


The market hit new lows in November, but it was not until July 1932 that it reached the lowest point of the Great Depression, down 89% from its peak.


In a couple of weeks, my Mom will have another birthday; she's a Scorpio.

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