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40 Two tin cans, connected by a long string, served as a kind of primitive
walkie-talkie. By speaking into one can, you could communicate with a
distant friend who was holding the open end of the other can against one ear.

41 Boys held racing contests with
homemade “push-mobiles” or “sidewalk

racers.” All that was needed to build one
was a discarded milk box or crate from
the grocery store, a long wooden plank
from a construction site, and a pair of old

clamp-on steel roller skates. (Rollerblades
and skateboards were in the distant
future.) A kid would nail the skates to
either end of the plank as wheels. The

crate was nailed to the top of the plank, Children prepare for a racing contest.
up front. Tin cans might be added as
“headlights” or “taillights,” along with an old license plate or automobile
hood ornament. Standing on the wooden plank with one foot, and holding

on to the sides of the crate, a boy would power his racer with his free foot
and a helping push at the top of a steep hill. These simple Depression-era
racers, built with scavenged materials, developed into the Soapbox Derby
competitions held nationally today.

A child proudly poses with his race entry.

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