NW Okie's Journey
Ever heard your ancestors speak of the "dust bowl" or "dirty thirties?" About the dust storms that hit the western states in the 1930's when the sun was blocked during mid-day with black clouds of dust that reached 10,000 feet? Walking With Sweet Silly Sadie
Seventy-seven years ago this month, in April 1939, John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath was first published. The novel tells the story of the Joads, a struggling family that makes their way to California after being forced to leave their Oklahoma farm by financial hardship and the Dust Bowl. 1934, Barrow Back in North Central Texas Haunts
It was 14 may 1934, Monday, on the front page of The Waco News-Tribune, we found the following headlines: "Barrow Back in North Central Texas Haunts" and "Dust Storm Obscures Chicago Skyscrapers." 1935, Where Storm Put Out Sun
On page 7 of the Oakland Tribune, Oakland, California, dated 17 March 1935, Sunday, we found this photo image of the dust storm that put out the sun. April, 1935, Oklahoma Families Flee Dust
Grimy wagons and motorcars carried scores of families out of Northwestern Oklahoma April 16, 1935 in full flight from an eight state dust storm, among the most severe of a devastating series. July 1936, What Dust storms and Floods Mean to America
In the summer of 1936 dust storms and floods were considered enemies of the earth to America. The photographer taken this photo in July, 1936 was flying at an altitude of 12,000 feet when he caught this view of a dust storm 30miles south of Denver, Colorado. The dust, "pay dirt" to the farmers who lost it, blew 8000 feet in the air. 1935, A Vivid Story of Dust Storm Area
It was in The Franklin Evening Star, Franklin, Indiana, dated 16 April 1935, Tuesday, page 6, this headline of the greatest dust storm was reported: "United Press Writer Tells A Vivid Story Of Dust Storm Area." Farmers were discouraged and ready to quit is what Frank McNaughton learned. Some caught refuge from the fury of the blast to seek shelter in a barn - livestock were frightened. 1938, Fugitives From Dust Bowls Find Meager Living On Coast
On 7 June 1938, Tuesday, on page 5, the Pampa Daily News, out of Pampa, Texas, was reporting: "Fugitives From Dust Bowls Find Meager Living On Coast."
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