Roosevelt Days in Sandusky

On March 4, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his first inaugural address to the nation. The U.S. was in the midst of the Great Depression, and referring to the country’s condition at that time he famously stated, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” The merchants of Sandusky, Ohio celebrated the inauguration of FDR by sponsoring “Roosevelt Days” on March 3 and 4, 1933. An article in the February 27, 1933 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that “the greatest merchandise value-giving event in the city’s history will be afforded.” Every merchant was to offer one super special item at a reduced cost. All the streets in the downtown district were decorated in the national colors of red, white and blue. A full page in the March 2, 1933 issue of the Sandusky Register was devoted to the “red hot bargains” to be offered during Roosevelt Days.

During Roosevelt Days, the Perry and Bretz men’s store were selling Gold Medal hats for $3.50 and Fifth Avenue hats for $5.00.

The J.H. Herman store’s ad stated that they were offering a “March of Miracle Values at their furniture store.

Many of our ancestors lived through the Great Depression, and Sandusky merchants were making an effort to offer affordable products for Sandusky area residents in 1933, to ease the financial woes so many were facing at that time.