Uncle Allen moved the family from Newark to Belleville. They rented out one floor of a house, and the landlady, whom Aunt Pat despised, lived upstairs. Aunt Pat was especially disgusted when the landlady put up a picture of President Herbert Hoover, whom Aunt Pat believed was responsible for the Depression. Uncle Allen had the idea of putting a Roosevelt poster on their own door to counter the Hoover position, and Aunt Pat walked out with Russell to find one. Baker reflects on his own childhood ignorance of the economic situation and the effect it was having on his family.

After Oluf’s last letter, Elizabeth turned her attention to Russell, determined to make something of him as “the man of the family.” This was when she decided to start him on selling newspapers. She also began whipping him with a belt when she felt he needed punishment.

Elizabeth finally found work in a laundromat, repairing clothes with a sewing machine. After first being paid, she excitedly poured the money on the table. It was over ten dollars, an amazing amount to her children. She paid part of her new earnings to Uncle Allen as a contribution to the household, but she also began to save for a home of her own. Aunt Pat also seemed to want Elizabeth and her family to move out, especially after she had a second child of her own. The house grew crowded, and there was still not enough money to go around.