It s October 1931 in Seattle Washington, and you ve had a tough couple of years. The Stock Market crash of 29 brought on hard times. You lost your job last year when the lumber mill shut down. Nobody s hiring. The local bank where you kept your money saved made loans to those businesses that were shutting down. Depositors panicked and there was a run. The bank went into receivership, and your savings were wiped out. With no job and no savings you couldn t make your house payment, and your mortgage was foreclosed on. Like millions of Americans you find yourself jobless, penniless, homeless. Down by the Port, on the site of the old shipyard, some men are gathering supplies for winter: cardboard boxes, tar paper, firewood. You have decided to join their shantytown and to try to start again. Who will eat the most food? Who will wear the least tattered clothes? Who will live in the finest hovel? Who will become The Mayor of Hooverville?

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