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The Great Depression hit the Rossmore
District hard, and scores of parishioners lost their jobs. But
if the people were out of work, it meant only more work for Father
Corcoran and his assistants (Fathers McDonagh, Purcell, Duggan
and O'Sullivan, during those years). Besides the occasional meals
that Father Corcoran provided to unfortunate people who came
to his door, he also developed a thorough plan to feed the families
of the parish. Many remember that they were to bring in sacks
of groceries that their own families could spare, and then the
priests would personally take these to the families that were
in distress. It was Father Corcoran's hope to spare any feeling
of humiliation on the part of those who needed their brethren's
charity. It was a great success both as a method of self-help
and as an exercise in the virtue of charity.
Had the Depression not hit the parish so hard
a school would have been built, or at least plans would have
been concretized. As early as January of 1930, Bishop Cantwell
had written a letter to Father Corcoran urging him to "Enthuse
your people to conform to the mind of the Church and establish
a school, even if you have only sixty children." However,
the financial situation prevented it for the moment. Instead,
Father Corcoran turned to the other suggestions that the Bishop
put forth in his letter - to insure that his children could attend
one of the already-established neighboring schools, even though
it meant providing transportation for them. He devised and carried
out a plan until 1940 by which the children were taken to the
neighboring schools on Yellow Cabs entirely, free.
Other parish associations that were started
during this early period were the Altar and Rosary Society, the
Holy Name Society, and the beginnings of what would later become
a very promising Young People's Club.
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