Student Activism in the 1930s
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SLID Essays (Summer, 1935)

Autobiography of Ralph Meinking


Central Y.M.C.A. College, Illinois

1. I was born in Chicago April 18, 1913, lived there until I was seven. At the age of seven we moved to McPherson, Kansas. When 17 we moved back to Chicago and have been there ever since.

2. I am an 'only child'. My father is a mechanic by trade and has relatively little interest in anything else. My mother has never had any interests in common with my father and more or less settled her interests in me. She was always the manager of the household, strong willed but weak in health. She has always been ambitious in me and my advancement. Dad is German, mother is Swedish.

3. I was always alone as a boy, a bookworm and a dreamer. I became rather unpopular. Eventually I was the 'sissy'. When I did want to get into the crowd I couldn't. I read more and more. I became intensely interested in history. In school I was one of the 'bright little lads'. In history I took to arguing with the teachers, particularly on Roman history. It was so easy to see that the dole was a result and not a cause of the gradual breakdown of Roman society to me, that the instructor seemed to me queer. One of them called me a radical. I commenced to correlate the modern society with the old at that time. Also of course I identified myself with the under dogs because in my town I was one-socially. When the depression came along and I was living in Chi my father's financial status became worse and worse. Once he was a foreman with about 17 men under him. Then the others were discharged and his hours were lengthened to 13 hours a night, wage cut in half. Watching him become dehumanized, my mother becoming more ill, intensified my feelings and I felt the necessity for becoming active. It was difficult—I have always been afraid of people my own age—never felt at home with them—I did my best to get out among them. In Chicago I joined a church fellowship—eventually become president of it—under this impetus organized a council of various church groups—it broke down but I am going to try again. I want to organize a protestant youth Organization similar to the Catholic with a goal of arousing interested in our common problems. I joined a Jewish organization because I believed I had to do my part to get the varying people with common interests together. Gave parties with half made up of my Jewish associates—half of my church friends. This year Al Hamilton, whom I had heard at the National Council of Methodist Youth, came to the college, which I am attending. He was a great inspiration to me and I became one of the charter members of our L.I.D. chapter at Central Y. College where I am studying pre-legal course. Recently I initiated the idea of a paper for our young peoples fellowship—Epworth League—We have one now and I and another are the writers of the editorials. I am conscious of the fact that some of my activities have been a form of escape for me and also for the purpose of advancement. I and also conscious of the fact that the ideas of organizing and the paper, etc. are not original ideas with me—but when I read of something I want to put it in effect—see it live. I do believe that I have a sincere interest in a better world, even if it is but enlightened self-interest. Some of it is sentimentalism too. A weakness of mine is my ability to talk myself out, another that while I can be intensely interested—the dirty work occasionally piles on me. In other words I'm lazy. Likewise a braggart.

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