In researching the premiere of “Nagana” and brief career of Tala Birell, I stumbled across a series of stories from 1933 that was worth a closer look. Are things tough today? To be sure. But here’s what our grandparents (or great-grandparents) had to deal with:
On March 1, 1933, California Gov. James Rolph declared a bank holiday that was supposed to last three days but didn’t end until newly inaugurated President Roosevelt reopened the nation’s banks on March 11. Just in time for the Long Beach earthquake.
The Times published series of cartoons by Edmund Waller “Ted” Gale and a long editorial urging readers to remain calm and that all would be well. The bank holiday was, at worst, a temporary inconvenience, The Times said.
ladailymirror.com 
The bank holiday that ended on March 11, 1933, may have saved lives during the Long Beach Earthquake. Survivors I interviewed for the Press-Telegram a few years back recalled that the downtown Long Beach area, filled with banks, retailers, theaters and brick buildings, was quieter than usual when the 6.3 earthquake struck late on the afternoon of Friday, March 10, 1933. The reason: the banks were closed and those lucky enough to have paychecks or bank accounts were not able to access their cash for a Friday night on the town.
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