In the 1930 Federal Census, the family unit lived in Olive Branch, Mississippi, which at the time had under 400 inhabitants. Contrary to what was common in the area at the time, they did not live on a farm, and moreover they rented their home. This was odd mainly because of the highly rural area they lived in, but it could simply be due to the economic changes brought about by the Great Depression. Roger’s uncle Charlie worked as a manager at a filling station, which explains how the family was able to afford to rent their house. Furthermore, in a small town such as Olive Branch, it is likely that there were very few (probably only one) gas stations in the town. This also probably allowed the family to live through the Great Depression, since filling stations were absolutely required, and people would not be able to function without them. Roger worked at this filling station for 7 months, performing duties such as selling gas and oil, repairing tires, and greasing cars. At this job, he was paid on average about $13/week. On Roger's registration card for World War II, his employer is listed as W. T. Woods; there was a pharmacy called the W. T. Woods Pharmacy in Olive Branch in that general time period, which is likely where Roger was working. However, in another source, Roger writes that W. T. Woods was his employer at a service station, where he was an automobile serviceman. It is unclear whether this service station was in conjunction with the pharmacy or an entirely separate business, potentially referring to a different W. T. Woods than the one who owned the pharmacy.