Skaret left town after high school and didn't return until his twentieth birthday. He was born in 1913, so his adventure took place around 1932-1933 (American Firsthand 187). Seattle, like the rest of the country, was now in the depths of the Great Depression and the Skaret family would most likely feel the effects like many other Americans, so it was not very uncommon for men to hit the road in search of employment and for decrease the number of mouths their family had to feed (American Firsthand 186-187). Skaret hitting the road after high school isn't all that unpredictable, like his family leaving Norway to come to America, probably in search of a better life, he leaves Seattle to seek a better life for himself. “On the Road During the Great Depression” is set during the height of the Great Depression. The depression began on October 28, 1929, now known as Black Tuesday, when $10 billion vanished from the market in 5 hours (Give me Liberty 799). In 1930, stocks recovered somewhat, but then began to decline until 1933. The market would not return to normal until 1954 (lesson 10). The crash left 15 million Americans jobless, which led to as many as 5 million Americans starving (lesson 10). Travel from city to city just like Skaret