Depression Era Letters Found in Attic of Richbell Road Home

While renovating a home on Richbell Road in the Spring of 2009, the residents discovered a trove of old letters under the attic floorboards. Further searches brought stacks of documents to the surface: immigration visas, Christmas cards, friendly correspondences, war bonds. Dated from 1929 to 1945, these documents pieced together the story of the Rabe family.

The Tretter family is the current owner of the house and daughter Alison, a junior at SHS, has researched the Rabe family history, written an introduction and developed an exhibit of the found materials in the library of Scarsdale High School. The letters are now on view and members of the community are invited to take a look.

The Rabe family consisted of Harry, his wife Dora, and their son Raymond. Throughout the thirties and forties, Harry worked as a florist for both public greenhouses and private resorts. His wife, Dora, was an immigrant from London, England who worked as a housewife and occasionally as a maid.

Although the letters were never written to the Heathcote home where they were discovered, they were addressed to many other areas near or in Westchester. Ali’s research concluded that The Rabes services as domestic servants were probably popular in the Westchester area because of the influx of wealth in the community after World War One. A middle class family pre-war was able to hire a houseful of servants in the twenties due to the success of the war economy. In addition, elaborate gardens were common on the elite of Westchester’s estates. These upper-class gardens required large staffs of gardeners and the most modern machinery in order to outshine those of their neighbors. However, as the Depression hit Westchester, the upkeep of such gardens was an unnecessary luxury for most. The letters from friends and family reflect the Rabes’ struggle during this time. But, when the economy improved with the start of World War Two, the Rabes found their services were needed once again. Working in a greenhouse, Harry probably participated in the Victory Garden craze that swept Westchester.

Through the addresses and postmarks on the letters, Ali was able to trace the Rabe family from Mamaroneck in the early thirties, to Tuxedo Park in Orange County during the mid thirties, to Mamaroneck again in the late thirties, and to New Jersey in the forties. Most likely, the family lived in the carriage house on the Scarsdale property in the fifties or sixties; Harry as a gardener for the estate and Dora as a maid. Ali deduced that, over all, the Rabes has almost the same experience as the average, native-born, domestic servants: their welfare during the Depression depended greatly on the fiscal stability of the upper-class and they heartily participated in the war effort. However, their services were more prized than the average domestic due to the family’s location in affluent Westchester.

Among the papers is the program of events on the Cunard Samaria ocean lines for a crossing from England to New York on August 29, 1931. The program includes a schedule for Tea Dances and a Deck Tournament and Mrs. H.Rabe is listed as a participant (quite possibly working for her passage as a “hostess” aboard the ocean liner). Perhaps she was taking a trip home to visit her family as another letter expresses concern about the welfare of Mrs. Rabe’s mother who stayed behind in England. Other documents and letters housed in the exhibit include a letter from Dora’s brother in the UK bemoaning the lack of work both in England and the USA during the Great Depression and a chatty and humorous letter from a friend, Sandy, who was stationed in the Aleutian Islands during WWII. The letters reveal that Dora’s father lost his flat during the bombing raids of London. There is correspondence from Dora’s brother in England discussing the food shortages and other post war inconveniences. The exhibit also includes Christmas cards and Birthday greetings found in the attic.

Ali’s research located the Rabe’s on the 1930 US Census records and through the internet and obituaries, Ali has been able to locate the descendants of the family living in New Jersey!

Drop by the Scarsdale High School Library to view the exhibit before school closes for the year.