The Wall Street Crash of 1929 was one of the main causes of the Great Depression that affected people across the country in many ways. Many people lost their homes and went on the road in search of work. Oklahoma and the mid-west was doubly affected due to the Dust Bowl that destroyed their farms. […]
The Great Depression and Dust Bowl were difficult years in United States History. Many people left their farms and became migrant workers due to the Dust Bowl and traveled to California to pick vegetables and fruit. This song Why don’t you write a letter home? was performed by Sam Bell in Tuolumne County, California on […]
Cotton was a major commodity for the Lake Dick Project Community, Arkansas in 1938. (New Deal Project) The fields were so extensive that day laborers had to be employed to pick the cotton. The bags of cotton picked by each laborer was weighed and recorded in the fields as seen by the photographs below taken […]
After a grueling day picking cotton, at the New Deal, Lake Dick Project in Arkansas, day laborers were rewarded with their pay each evening for their work. The counting and recording took time so the laborers had to wait time to receive payment. Many rested, while others stood and watched the monetary transactions as these photographs taken by Russell […]
Little remains of the Lake Dick Project from Roosevelt’s New Deal. All that is left are a few houses. The area is currently on the National Register of Historic Places. When it was active, there was considerable work for everyone as seen by the photographs taken in 1938 by Russell Lee and Dorothea Lange. Dairy […]
The Dust Bowl, also known as the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the US and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The migrants moved from terrible living conditions back home to not much better living conditions in California. The photographs below were taken by […]
Many people traveled to California from all over the country in the 1930’s seeking work due to the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. They traveled in many vehicles, by trains, trucks, cars and many were homemade trailers. Some even walked. Dorothea Lange, photograher captured many of these various modes of transportation. The song, A Traveler’s […]
Sheridan County, named for General Philip Sheridan, was organized by William Stevens; W. M. Rogers; W. C. Hausafus; and K. A. Ellithorpe, on June 2, 1880. Sheridan County contains the towns of Hoxie and Selden. Local legends in Sheridan County states that Sam Morgan was believed to be the earliest settler in the county, and […]
Delightful vintage government film from 1937 midwest – reveals how the drought affected the midwest during the dust bowl The Water Carrier Scenes from 1937 midwest show the importance of water for drinking purposes illustrated by views of one well that serves an entire community. Water is doled out and counted by the bucketful. The commentator describes the […]
The Dust Bowl, also known as the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the US and Canadian prairies during the 1930s; severe drought and a failure to apply dry land farming methods to prevent wind erosion. Farmer and sons walking in the face of […]
