December 12, 1926

The suicide of Ad Bertig, a Paragould (Greene County) man who was involved in several businesses in the area and who had suffered heavy operational losses, disturbed the serenity of local people and threatened to start a run on local banks. Although none of the local banks failed, the local economy was devastated for over a decade after the depression of the late 1920s and following drought, dust storms, floods in 1935 and 1937, and a second depression in 1937. The city made a great financial recovery after World War II when the Chamber of Commerce was successful in attracting a number of large industries.