The Dust Bowl & Mom!!
I am currently reading a book about the Dust Bowl of the early 1930's in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.It's a sad sad story about the "Anglo-Saxon" immigrants who in the late 1880's from Germany, Britain and other places came into the area mentioned above. The U. S. Government under Herbert Hoover removed all the American Indians and the Mexicans that had lived in those areas for centuries and placed them into terrible conditions and localities.
Within 50 years they had overplanted and raped the land with tractors and horse drawn plows so badly that when the drought cycle hit around 1930 it was so devastating that it completely ruined the agriculture in that area. The rainless seasons and high winds built clouds of dust laden with so much top soil from the parched land that some storms contained tons of dust that were the ranchers worst nightmares! And there were many of these dust storms.
The story is extremely sad how the Mexicans and the Indians were mistreated and any Black people wandering through. But when the unexpected drought hit the farmers they were completely at a loss and they suffered completely. They died from dust pneumonia and other dust borne ailments and were practically wiped out by the middle 30's.
One of the characters whose story just about covers the whole book and the family problems tell about how one of the son finishes high school and is the class salutatorian. After he received his diploma he gave it to his Mom and when she asked her son why he replies; "...you are smarter then me"! Or close to that.
Tim Egan is the author and the name of the book is "The Worst Hard Time"! That line really swelled the tears and made my throat sore. I recommend it to all.
Comments (4)
I have seen a lot of books with harsh images of this time and place in History. and most are very telling of the conditions that people faced.
Very sad times and I will be sure to read this book you recommend
Here are some pics of what the farmers and families faced if they escaped the dusty death you spoke of.. (I Think)
Peace Bro .
Thanks, the book parts of Canada but not that much. An Easterly wind took the dust from your area (if I remember rightly) and the Dakotas and Nebraska to New York City a couple of times. The dust landed way our on the Atlantic, 200 miles if I'm correct, and covered many ships.
NON!!!!
Dooooood!! Thanks for the tip. I saw some other stuff that should be real interesting too. For one, child labor in the U. S. !!
I think this stuff is world wide!!
BTW, some of the immigrants that came to America in this particular area were German Russians escaping the war. (I don't know which one but around the 1880's or thereabouts). They brought 2 plants with them to plant in America. Red wheat and the "Russian thistle". In America they were re-named "tumbleweeds".
Tumbleweeds grow in a round shape, when they mature they die and snap off at the root base and the wind blows them around tumbling everywhere, hence, tumble weed. This is how they distribute their seed!!
Good to hear from you.