The official dates of the Great Depression were from 1929 to 1939 and left over 15,000,000 workers unemployed and almost one-half of America's financial institutions bankrupt. It was during this period that families and individual workers traveled to places where they thought jobs might be available. Naturally, Florida's winter climate was inviting especially for those without homes or shelters. And the summer months offered harvester jobs for the unemployed. However, the extra migrants placed a heavy burden on the county and city governments who were doing their best to make do with what they had. In the middle of the crisis, David Sholtz was elected on the Democratic ticket as the governor of Florida in 1933 and served one term until 1937. During his tenure he passed a worker's compensation law and passed legislation for free textbooks in the state's public school. He also funded salaries for public school teachers. He also took measures to prevent transients with no means of support from entering the state, especially during the winter months where the burden was greater. The highway patrol was employed to enforce the mandate as well as railroad detectives to keep train jumpers from using the trains. Pensacola, located on the western end of the state, was told to keep a vigilant eye out for those "undesirables" coming in from Alabama and Mississippi areas.
David Scholtz (1891-1953)
Governor David Scholtz and family in Key West