Original subtitles

Narrator: HISTORY, AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF KEN BURNS,

IS JUST COLLECTION OF STORIES

ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENED IN THE .

TO REFLECT ON HOW TO BUILD A STRONGER TOMORROW.

WE SHARE IN HIS VISION,

WE'RE PROUD TO SUPPORT HIS EFFORTS.

FUNDING FOR THIS IS PROVIDED BY:

MEMBERS OF THE ANGELS SOCIETY,

DEDICATED TO HELPING KEN BURNS TELL AMERICA'S STORIES,

INCLUDING THE HAMEL FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST,

ROBERT BEVERLY GRAPPONE;

THE ARTHUR VINING DAVIS FOUNDATIONS,

DEDICATED TO STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S FUTURE

THROUGH EDUCATION;

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES,

EXPLORING THE HUMAN ENDEAVOR;

THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION;

THE WALLACE GENETIC FOUNDATION;

THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING

AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS

FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

[WIND BLOWING]

Woody Guthrie: ON THE 14th DAY OF APRIL

§ OF 1935 §

THERE STRUCK THE WORST OF DUST STORMS

THAT EVER FILLED THE SKY

YOU COULD SEE THAT DUST STORM COMING

THE CLOUD LOOKED DEATH-LIKE BLACK

THROUGH OUR MIGHTY NATION

IT LEFT A DREADFUL TRACK

Donald Worster: WE HAVE MANY WORDS FOR WHAT'S UNDER OUR FEET.

THE GOOD EARTH--WE LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE GOOD EARTH

PICK IT UP SMELL IT AND TASTE IT.

THIS IS THE SOIL OF OUR PRODUCTIVITY, OUR PROSPERITY.

BUT WHEN IT'S LOOSE BLOWING

AND IT'S GETTING INTO YOUR ATTIC

IT'S COVERING YOUR LAUNDRY ON THE CLOTHES LINE, IT'S DIRT,

WHEN YOU'RE BREATHING IT, IT'S DUST.

I THINK WE ALL REALIZE THAT WHERE DIRT BELONGS

NOT UP IN THE AIR.

Wayne Lewis: WE MADE

IN THE LATE TWENTIES

THAT WE BROKE EVERYTHING OUT TO RAISE WHEAT.

THEN THE CLIMATE CHANGED THE DEPRESSION CAME ALONG,

THE WHEAT WASN'T MUCH.

BUT WE STILL THE BROKEN OUT.

GET RICH QUICK OFF OF THE WHEAT,

AND IT DIDN'T WORK OUT.

Riney-Kehrberg: THIS IS ONE OF THE WORST

SUSTAINED ENVIRONMENTAL

IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS IN JUST ONE YEAR.

IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT JUST LASTS FOR 3 OR 4 YEARS.

BECAUSE OF THE COMBINATION OF EXTREME DROUGHT

AND EXTREME HIGH TEMPERATURES,

THIS IS THE WORST 10-YEAR PERIOD

IN RECORDED HISTORY ON THE PLAINS.

Guthrie: § WE SAW OUTSIDE OUR WINDOW

WHERE WHEAT FIELDS THEY GROWN

WAS NOW A RIPPLING

OF DUST THE WIND HAD BLOWN

Narrator: IN THE SUMMER OF 1935,

AT HER HOMESTEAD IN THE PANHANDLE,

CAROLINE HENDERSON, A FARM WIFE AND WRITER,

SAT DOWN AND COMPOSED A LETTER

TO THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE, HENRY WALLACE,

TO LET HIM KNOW WHAT SHE, HER HUSBAND,

OF HER NEIGHBORS WERE GOING THROUGH.

Caroline Henderson portrayer:

A FOURTH YEAR OF FAILURE.

SINCE 1931, THE BEEN

ONE OF PRACTICALLY UNBROKEN DROUGHT.

THERE BE NO WHEAT FOR US IN 1935.

IN ONE RESPECT, WE REALIZE THAT

CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REAPING OF THE WHIRLWIND.

PREACHER- TRUE JOB'S COMFORTER--

PROCLAIMED THAT THE DROUGHT IS A DIRECT PUNISHMENT FOR OUR SINS.

THE FUTURE PROMISES ONLY

HOPELESS AND PERMANENT DESERT CONDITIONS.

SPECIAL PRAYERS FOR RAIN WERE OFFERED

AT OUR COUNTY SEAT LAST SUNDAY MORNING.

THE AFTERNOON BROUGHT ONE OF THE MOST SUDDEN, DENSE,

SUFFOCATING DUST ST: OF THE SEASON.

Narrator: BY 1935, CAROLINE HENDERSON AND HER NEIGHBORS

NEEDED ALL THE HELP THEY COULD FIND.

LIKE EVERYONE ELSE IN THE UNITED STATES,

THEY WERE SUFFERING AS THE

IN THE NATION'S HISTORY--

THE GREAT DEPRESSION-- LINGERED ON.

BUT THEY WERE ALSO CAUGHT IN THE MIDST

OF THE NATION'S GREATEST

WHERE "BLACK BLIZZARDS" BLOTTED OUT THE SUN,

CREATED DRIFTS AGAINST THEIR HOMES, RUINED THEIR CROPS,

AND TOOK THE LIVES OF THEIR CHILDREN.

AND JUST WHEN IT SEEMED THINGS

COULD NOT GET WORSE,

ON SUNDAY, APRIL 14, 1935,

OF ALL HAD STRUCK

Riney-Kehrberg: I THINK IT REALLY SCARED A LOT OF PEOPLE.

THAT IT GETS THE ATTENTION

OF THE REST OF THE COUNTRY.

IF PEOPLE WEREN'T PAYING ATTENTION TO BLACK SUNDAY,

THIS IS AN EVENT THAT IS SO MONUMENTAL

THAT PEOPLE CAN'T IGNORE IT.

Narrator: IN THE DUST BOWL, THE SURVIVORS OF BLACK SUNDAY

WORRIED THAT THEY HAD BECOME A FORGOTTEN PEOPLE

IN A FORGOTTEN LAND.

THEY WEREN'T FORGOTTEN.

WHILE PRESIDENT FRANKLIN

TO GET THE WHOLE COUNTRY BACK ON ITS FEET,

CONCERNED ABOUT THE FATE

OF THE SOUTHERN PLAINS.

BUT OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, THE DROUGHT WOULD ONLY DEEPEN,

AND THE "BLACK BLIZZARDS" THAT ADDED IMMEASURABLY

TO PEOPLE'S MISERIES WOULD ONLY INTENSIFY.

MANY WOULD FIGHT DESPERATELY

TO HOLD ON TO THEIR THEIR LIVES.

OTHERS WOULD BE FORCED TO JOIN AN EXODUS

TOWARD A PROMISED LAND THAT OFFERED BOTH WATER AND WORK.

IN THE CRUCIBLE OF DUST DROUGHT DEPRESSION,

SOME FAMILIES WOULD BE TORN \

OTHERS UPROOTED FROM THEIR HOMES,

AND SOME BROUGHT CLOSER TOGETHER THAN EVER BEFORE.

I THINK TO BE DRY FARMER,

YOU HAVE TO BE A CERTAIN KIND OF A PERSON,

DEEP DOWN INSIDE OF THEMSELVES,

THEY MUST HAVE THE FEELING, "IF WE JUST STICK IT OUT

STAY HERE, TIMES BOUND TO GET BETTER,"

WHICH DID GIVE THEM LITTLE HOPE,

BUT IN THE MIDDLE OF A DUST STORM,

IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO HOPE,

IT TAKES A LOT OF WILLPOWER EVERYTHING ELSE

TO BRING YOURSELF BACK OUT TIME AFTER TIME AFTER TIME.

PEOPLE WHO DID STICK IT OUT.

THEY COME THERE, MAYBE THEY'D BEEN THERE,

AND THEY INTENDED TO STAY.

THIS WAS THEIR HOME.

Dorothy Kleffman: WE LIVED IN A BROWN WORLD.

THE LAND WAS BARREN AND BROWN.

IT SEEMED LIKE MOST OF THE

IN MY LIFE, IT WAS A BROWN WORLD.

THE GROUND WAS BROWN.

AND I DIDN'T KNOW ANY DIFFERENCE.

Narrator: DURING THE 1930s, OF THE 48 STATES

EXPERIENCED SOME FORM OF DROUGHT,

AND FARMERS EVERYWHERE WERE HURTING, BUT NONE MORE

THAN THOSE IN THE AREA SURROUNDING THE TOWN

OF BOISE CITY, WHICH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

HAD DECLARED AS THE

OF THE DUST BOWL, WHERE CONDITIONS WERE THE WORST--

PLACE ONCE KNOWN NO MAN'S LAND.

IN 1935, BOISE CITY RECEIVED

FEWER 10 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION,

THE OFFICIAL DEFINITION OF A DESERT.

FARMERS IN NEARBY COUNTY, COLORADO,

WHO HAD ONCE HARVESTED

NOW SUCCESSFUL CROPS ON ONLY 516.

IN THE PANHANDLES,

THE ABSENTEE

WHO HAD HOPED TO STRIKE IT RICH IN WHEAT

SIMPLY ABANDONED NEARLY 4 MILLION ACRES OF EXPOSED FIELDS,

LEAVING THEM TO BLOW WITH EACH NEW WIND.

VEGETABLE GARDENS WERE PRODUCING LESS NORMAL,

QUARTER OF THE CHILDREN

WERE REPORTED TO BE AT LEAST 10% UNDERWEIGHT.

PEOPLE HERE "HAVE GIVEN UP TRYING TO BE CIVILIZED,"

A LOCAL MINISTER SAID.

"WE ARE MERELY

Virginia Frantz: WE HAD A LITTLE HEIFER THAT HAD A NEW CALF.

I WENT DOWN TO SEE THE CALF,

IT WAS LAYING THERE KICKING,

AWAY WITH A HAMMER.

HE HAD KILLED IT.

AND I RAN TO MY MOTHER JUST BAWLING ABOUT IT,

SO TENDER-HEARTED,

SHE SAID, "HE TO."

THERE'S NOT ENOUGH MILK FOR

SHE SAID, "YOU HAVE GOT TO HAVE MILK."

HE KILLED THE CALF.

Imogene Glover: WELL, IT WAS BAD.

AND FLOUR SACKS FOR MATERIAL

TO MY PANTIES,

AND I HAD A DRESS MADE

IT WAS JUST COTTON THAT BEEN PRINTED,

LIKE LITTLE FLOWERS

USED FOR MY PANTIES.

THE FLOUR SACKS MIGHT BE HAVE BIG FLOWERS,

MOTHER COULD GET US A DRESS OUT OF 3 FEED SACKS.

THEY MADE THEM PRETTY-- PRINTS

WERE USING THEM FOR THAT.

WE FOUND OUT SOME OF THE NEIGHBORS WORE

EACH OTHER AND WENT ON

IT WAS FINE.

Clarence MY FAMILY, IN TERMS OF EATING,

COULD HAVE EGGS, OUR OWN EGGS,

THEN START BORROWING FROM THE GROCER.

WHEN HE WOULD QUIT LENDING YOU MONEY,

YOU WERE DOWN TO EATING LARD AND BREAD OR AN EGG.

WE ATE SO POORLY THAT THE HOBOS WOULDN'T COME TO OUR HOUSE.

I WAS DOWN TO EATING BREAD.

Calvin Crabill: WE LIVED IN 4 DIFFERENT PLACES

WHEN I WAS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TO SURVIVE.

EVERY MY FIRST, SECOND, THIRD GRADE,

WE MOVED TO A DIFFERENT FARM EVERY TIME,

EVERY TIME, WE LOST IT.

ONE SUMMER, WE NEEDED LOAF OF BREAD,

THERE WAS THIS LITTLE COUNTRY ST

HALF-MILE AWAY FROM WHERE WE LIVED.

WE LOOKED FOR A DIME IN THE HOUSE.

WE COULDN'T FIND A DIME.

WE COULDN'T FIND A DIME IN THE HOUSE TO BUY A LOAF OF BREAD.

Glover: I THINK IT WAS PROBABLY HARDER

ON MY MOTHER IT WAS MY DAD

BECAUSE SHE WORRIED ABOUT

WHAT SHE WAS GONNA BE ABLE TO FIX FOR US TO EAT.

IT WAS FOR ANYONE TO HAVE MONEY,

BUT MY GRANDDAD WAS RESOURCEFUL,

AND HE HAD GIVEN ME 3 DIMES--AND I WAS RICH!

AND I HID THEM, AND MY MOTHER

I SAID, "I BURIED THEM IN THE

OUT AROUND THE SOUTH WINDOW."

AND SHE SAID, "WELL,

AND SHE LOOKED UNTIL SHE FOUND THOSE 3 DIMES.

ONE TIME MY BROTHER

AND MY MOTHER MADE HIM

TO GO TO THE BATHROOM UNTIL

Narrator; SOUTH OF BOISE CITY, DON WELLS AND HIS FAMILY

ON THEIR 160-ACRE FARM.

Wells: THERE WAS 10 OF US KIDS,

WE LIVED IN HOUSE.

AT NIGHT, WE WALL-TO-WALL MATTRESSES.

AT DAYTIME, WE SCOOTED THEM UNDER THE BED.

ROOMS-- THE KITCHEN,

THEN THERE WAS BED IN THERE,

AND THEN THE REST OF US ALL SLEPT IN THE OTHER ROOM.

Narrator: ONE SUNDAY, WELLS LEARNED

THAT HIS FATHER DIED IN A DIST. HOSPITAL,

FROM WHAT STARTED STREP THROAT

AND ENDED WITH HIM

WITH A GRADE-SCHOOL EDUCATION 10 MOUTHS TO FEED.

Wells: WE COULDN'T STAY OUT ON THE FARM

WHAT LITTLE MACHINERY WE HAD,

WE DIDN'T HAVE COWS LEFT.

WE DIDN'T HAVE

MY UNCLES LOADED US UP IN A TRUCK,

PUT ALL OF OUR CLOTHES FURNITURE IN THE BACK OF IT,

THEY TOOK US TO BOISE CITY.

Narrator: THE FAMILY LIVED IN ONE HOUSE ANOTHER,

FORCED TO MOVE WHENEVER THEY COULDN'T PAY THE RENT,

UNTIL THEY FINALLY FOUND SOMETHING THEY COULD AFFORD--

DOWN IN AMARILLO, THE DUST BOWL'S BIGGEST CITY,

WALTER LUCIUS DURRETT HAD

AND THEN HIS HEALTH.

THE STRAIN OF IT ALL PROVED TOO MUCH FOR HIS WIFE.

Pauline Durrett Robertson: MY MOTHER BEGAN TO DESPAIR

THAT THINGS WERE NEVER GOING TO GET

IN FACT, THEY WERE

IT AFFECTED HER... IT AFFECTED HER OUTLOOK ON LIFE,

WELL, SHE NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, ACTUALLY.

WE 3 GIRLS WERE MOTHERLESS

DURING THE DEPRESSION.

AT ONE TIME, WHEN WE DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO EAT,

WE TO APPLY FOR RELIEF, THAT WAS FOR US TO DO.

THE BROWN TRUCK WITH THE MARKING ON THE SIDE CAME

TO THE FRONT OF OUR HOUSE AND BROUGHT SOME FOOD.

IT WAS REALLY HARD FOR US TO SEE THAT.

FOR THE NEIGHBORS TO SEE

THAT WE NEEDED THAT BROWN TRUCK.

Pauline Hodges: WE COULD GO TO THE COURTHOUSE IN BEAVER

AND GET COMMODITIES IF WE WANTED TO.

THE PROBLEM WAS THAT PEOPLE LIKE MY FATHER

AND SOME OF OUR NEIGHBORS WERE TOO PROUD TO GO DO THAT.

AND I REMEMBER MY MOTHER

BECAUSE SHE WASN'T TOO PROUD,

AND WE DID GET SOME GRAPEFRUIT

AND SOME OTHER

THAT HELPED OUT WITH FOOD.

Narrator: IN TOWNS, THE NAMES OF FAMILIES ON RELIEF

WERE PUBLISHED EACH MONTH IN THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER.

IN ONE COUNTY, OF THE POPULATION NOW RELIED

ON SOME FORM OF GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE.

Williamson: THESE PEOPLE WERE...WERE SO NEEDY,

YOU FELT SORRY FOR THEM.

YOU MIGHT FEEL LIKE GIVING THEM DOLLAR OUT OF YOUR OWN POCKET,

BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU JUST DIDN'T DO THINGS LIKE THAT.

IT'S NOT PROFESSIONAL.

Narrator: FRESH OUT OF COLLEGE, AT AGE 21,

DOROTHY WILLIAMSON WAS HIRED AS A SOCIAL WORKER,

TRAINED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, DISPATCHED

TO PROWERS COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO.

50-SQUARE-MILE TERRITORY

WENT FROM ONE DUST-RAVAGED FARM TO ANOTHER.

TABLE AND TALKED TO EACH OTHER.

IT WAS ALMOST AS IF THEY WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING

THAT THEY COULD

THAT'S WHY THEY LOOKED HOPELESS,

ALSO THEY LOOKED STUNNED,

IF, "CAN THIS REALLY BE HAPPENING?"

IT KIND OF LEFT ME WITH FEELING, TOO,

TO HAVE TO GO OUT THERE AND SEE THESE PEOPLE

BECAUSE YOU FELT YOU WERE HELPING THEM WHAT YOU COULD,

BUT YOU REALLY COULDN'T HELP THEM.

WHAT THEY REALLY NEEDED WAS AN INNER THING

THAT NOBODY COULD GIVE THEM.

THEY NEEDED A...

TRUST AGAIN IN SOMETHING WHICH THEY LOST.

Narrator: WHAT HELP THERE WAS

AND THE FLOOD OF NEW DEAL PROGRAMS

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT CREATED.

THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS PUT YOUNG MEN TO

IN NATIONAL PARKS, STATE PARKS, NATIONAL FORESTS,

THEM MONTH,

25 WHICH THEY WERE REQUIRED TO SEND HOME TO THEIR FAMILIES.

WERE ALSO DISPATCHED

TO PLANT ROWS OF TREES UP AND DOWN THE GREAT PLAINS

POTENTIAL WINDBREAKS AGAINST THE FIERCE DUST STORMS.

BY THE END OF THE DECADE, 18,600 MILES OF SHELTERBELTS,

WITH 217 MILLION TREES, BEEN PLANTED.

THE NATIONAL YOUTH ADMINISTRATION,

OPEN TO BOTH BOYS AND GIRLS, LET STUDENTS REMAIN AT HOME

AND EARN A LITTLE MONEY

THROUGH WORK-STUDY PROJECTS.

IN AMARILLO, PAULINE DURRETT ROBERTSON

WAS 25 CENTS AN HOUR TO GRADE PAPERS.

IN BOISE CITY, DON WELLS AND HIS OLDER BROTHER

AS A BONUS, HE LET THEM TAKE SHOWERS IN THE LOCKER ROOM--

LIVED IN A CHICKEN COOP.

LORENE WHITE'S MOTHER

FROM THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION,

HER FATHER RELUCTANTLY ENROLLED

WITH THE WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION,

THE NEW DEAL'S BIGGEST MOST CONTROVERSIAL PROGRAM.

White: My WAS A PROUD MAN.

HE DIDN'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS.

HE THOUGHT HE COULD HANDLE IT ON HIS OWN.

HE FOUND OUT LATER THAT HE NEEDED TO TAKE PART IN THEM.

DAD WORKED ON WPA, I THINK, ABOUT A YEAR,

THEY WERE BUILDING A BRIDGE NOT TOO FAR FROM HOME.

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL BRIDGE. IT'S STILL THERE.

Narrator: DURING THE DEPTHS OF THE DEPRESSION,

THE BECAME THE LARGEST EMPLOYER IN THE NATION,

CREATING 8 MILLION JOBS

IN VIRTUALLY EVERY CORNER OF THE COUNTRY.

"THE PRAIRIE, ONCE THE HOME OF THE DEER, BUFFALO,

ANTELOPE," ONE NEWSPAPER WROTE,

"IS NOW THE HOME OF THE DUST BOWL THE WPA."

MANY PEOPLE CONSIDERED IT

Lewis: IT MADE LOT OF DIFFERENCE

IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE A JOB,

DO-NOTHINGS, LEANED ON THEIR SHOVELS AND GOT MONEY FOR IT,

THEY RESENTED IT VERY MUCH.

BUT IF YOU WERE THE ONES THAT THE SHOVEL,

IT WAS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STARVING

WE GOT ENOUGH, IT SAVED--IT KEPT US ALIVE.

Narrator: THE BUILT A

ON RITA BLANCA CREEK

TO CREATE A RESERVOIR AND RECREATION AREA.

USING ONLY LOCAL MATERIALS,

6,000 OF THE 10,000 AREA RESIDENTS

FOUND TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT WORKING ON A NEW HIGH SCHOOL

THAT WOULD STILL BE IN USE

WITH MY FAMILY, WE WOULD HAVE STARVED TO DEATH

BECAUSE WE HAD NO OTHER

THE NEW FOR US, THE IN PARTICULAR,

MOST OF OUR NEIGHBORS FELT THAT WAY.

Narrator; PAULINE HODGES' FATHER HELPED BUILD

HIGHWAY 64 THROUGH THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE.

IT PASSED WITHIN A FEW MILES OF CAROLINE HENDERSON'S HOMESTEAD.

Henderson IF MERE DOLLARS WERE TO BE CONSIDERED,

THE ACTUALLY DESTITUTE IN OUR SECTION

COULD UNDOUBTEDLY HAVE BEEN FED AND CLOTHED MORE CHEAPLY

THAT HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT.

BUT IN OUR NATIONAL ECONOMY,

MANHOOD MUST BE CONSIDERED WELL AS MONEY.

PEOPLE EMPLOYED TO

MAY RETAIN THEIR SELF-RESPECT

TO A DEGREE IMPOSSIBLE UNDER CASH RELIEF.

IF WE MUST WORRY OVER THE RUINOUS EFFECTS

OF "MADE ON PEOPLE OF THIS TYPE,

WHY HAVEN'T WE BEEN WORRYING FOR GENERATIONS

OVER THE CHARACTER OF THE IDLERS

OF BIRTH OR INHERITANCE

HAS GIVEN WEALTH UNMEASURED, UNEARNED, AND UNAPPRECIATED?

Man: "IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE YOUR HEART BROKEN,

"JUST COME OUT HERE.

"THIS IS THE DUST ST COUNTRY.

"IT IS THE SADDEST I HAVE EVER SEEN.

"THEY SAY THAT IN 20 YEARS,

"OUR FARMLAND IS GOING TO BE PRETTY WELL SHOT

"AND THAT IN 75 YEARS,

WOULDN'T BE SEEN ON MOST OF IT."

ERNIE PYLE.

Narrator: IN 1935, AN ESTIMATED 850 MILLION TONS OF TOPSOIL

WERE BEING SWEPT OFF THE FIELDS OF THE GREAT PLAINS,

WHERE 4 MILLION ACRES IN 100 COUNTIES WERE BLOWING.

PREDICTIONS CALLED FOR

A MILLION MORE ACRES TO DO THE SAME IN 1936.

"UNLESS SOMETHING IS DONE," ONE GOVERNMENT CONCLUDED,

"THE WESTERN PLAINS WILL BE

AS ARID AS THE ARABIAN DESERT."

Worster: THERE WERE MANY PEOPLE IN THAT ERA

WHO THOUGHT THIS IS

HOW DO YOU STOP THIS?

WHAT'S GOING TO BE THE BARRIER YOU PUT UP

TO KEEP IT FROM UNDERMINING AGRICULTURE IN ILLINOIS?

Timothy Egan: IT HUGE EFFECT ON AMERICAN POLICY, TOO,

BECAUSE 5 DAYS LATER,

THE REMNANTS OF BLACK SUNDAY

YOU COULD GO LIKE THIS ON YOUR DESK,

AS FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT DID,

GET A LITTLE BIT OF IN THE OVAL OFFICE.

Narrator: WITHIN PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S INNER CIRCLE OF ADVISERS,

WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE CRISIS.

HENRY WALLACE, THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE,

THOUGHT NEW POLICIES COULD KEEP FARMERS ON THEIR LAND,

BUT INTERIOR SECRETARY HAROLD ICKES QUESTIONED

WHETHER ANY ATTEMPT SHOULD BE

Egan: IT WAS CHARACTER STRUGGLE

WITHIN THE ADMINISTRATION

CHARACTER STRUGGLE OUT ON THE PRAIRIE ITSELF.

ICKES SAYS IN HIS DIARY, "LET'S JUST GET OUT.

"LET'S PULL OUT.

"MR. PRESIDENT, IT'S NOT THE EFFORT.

THE PEOPLE OR THE LAND?"

I MEAN, LET IT RE-WILD. LET'S NOT FOOL THESE PEOPLE

INTO THINKING THEY STAY THERE.

PERHAPS SETTLEMENT WAS A MISTAKE.

Narrator: ANOTHER NEW PROGRAM,

THE RESETTLEMENT ADMINISTRATION,

WAS ALREADY PROVIDING FARMERS ON THE MOST MARGINAL LANDS

WITH LOANS TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO MOVE SOMEWHERE ELSE,

TAKING THEIR LAND OUT OF PRODUCTION.

Egan: IT WAS HOMESTEADING IN REVERSE,

IT WAS VERY CONTROVERSIAL BECAUSE FIRST OF ALL,

IT WAS AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT WE'D FAILED.

PERHAPS THEY WERE RIGHT WHEN STEPHEN LONG SAID IN 1820

THAT THIS IS A LAND "WHOLLY UNINHABITABLE BY A PEOPLE

WHO ARE DEPENDENT ON AGRICULTURE."

Narrator: BUT THE PRESIDENT REFUSED TO GO THAT FAR.

Egan: REMEMBER, ROOSEVELT, BY HIS NATURE,

IN HIS CHARACTER,

HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE KNOWN AS THE ONLY PRESIDENT

WHO GAVE UP A BIG SECTION OF ON HIS WATCH.

HE THOUGHT HE COULD SAVE BOTH THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE.

AND THEY FELT A SIMILAR ATTACHMENT TO HIM.

Narrator: ROOSEVELT TURNED TO HUGH HAMMOND BENNETT,

NORTH CAROLINIAN,

TO CREATE A NEW SOIL

TO STUDY AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES

AND TEACH THEM TO THE NATION'S FARMERS.

WE AMERICANS HAVE BEEN

THE GREATEST DESTROYERS OF

BARBARIC OR CIVILIZED.

UNLESS IMMEDIATE

TO REST! THESE SUN-SCORCHED, WIND-ERODED LANDS,

WE SHALL HAVE ON OUR NEW, MANMADE SAHARA

RICH GRAZING LAND.

Egan: HUGH BENNETT WAS THIS TALL, BIG-ARMED,

FLAP-EARED, FUNNY, JOVIAL DOCTOR OF DIRT.

NOBODY KNEW MORE ABOUT SOIL

IN THE UNITED STATES THAN HUGH BENNETT.

SO WHEN ROOSEVELT GAVE HIM THE JOB OF TRYING TO SAVE THE LAND,

HE WAS ARGUABLY THE PERFECT FORT.

Narrator: FOR THE AGENCY'S LARGEST HARDEST-HIT REGION--

THE NEARLY 100 MILLION ACRES OF THE SOUTHERN PLAINS--

BENNETT KNEW JUST THE MAN FOR THE JOB.

HOWARD FINNELL WAS SOIL SCIENTIST

WHO HAD BEEN RUNNING THE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION

IN GOODWELL,

ABOUT 25 MILES SOUTH OF CAROLINE HENDERSON'S HOMESTEAD.

FINNELL HAD PIONEERED NEW TECHNIQUES

TO DOUBLE THE OF A GOOD CROP

MOISTURE AS POSSIBLE--

USING TERRACES AND PLOWING ALONG THE LAND'S CONTOUR

TO MINIMIZE RUNOFF,

PLANTING DIFFERENT TYPES OF CROPS,

USING THE OLD-FASHIONED PLOW, CALLED A LISTER,

TO MAKE DEEPER ROWS, RATHER THAN EMPLOYING

THE POPULAR ONE-WAY PLOW THAT PULVERIZED THE SOIL.

HUGH BENNETT SENT FINNELL TO DALHART, TEXAS,

WHERE HE SET UP "OPERATION DUST BOWL"

THAT HIS NEW TECHNIQUES

NOT WANT A CHANGED CLIMATE," FINNELL SAID.

"MUCH OF THE COULD STILL PRODUCE CROPS,

IF THE FARMERS WOULD ONLY CHANGE THEIR ATTITUDES."

THE PRESIDENT HIS ADMINISTRATION MAY HAVE DECIDED

NOT TO ABANDON THE DUST BOWL,

BUT ANY SOLUTIONS WOULD TAKE TIME,

FOR THE PEOPLE LIVING THERE, TIME WAS RUNNING OUT.

YOU GO BROKE GRADUALLY.

IT DOESN'T HAPPEN LIKE JUMPING OFF OF A CLIFF.

YOU EXHAUST YOUR SAVINGS, YOU EXHAUST YOUR BORROWINGS,

YOU EXHAUST YOUR EQUIPMENT,

YOU EXHAUST YOURSELF, YOU GIVE UP.

THEN YOU'RE STARTING TO LOOK AT THE WOLVES.

Narrator; CLARENCE BECK'S FATHER HAD MOVED HIS FAMILY

JUST AS THE 1920s WERE ENDING.

HIS TIMING COULDN'T HAVE BEEN WORSE.

REPEATED CROP FAILURES,

THE DEPRESSION MEANT THERE WERE NO JOBS,

THOUGH HE FOUND TEMPORARY WITH THE

TO KEEP HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN FROM STARVATION.

LIKE MANY OTHER FAMILIES,

THEY STARTED TALKING ABOUT MOVING SOMEWHERE ELSE.

PEOPLE DIDN'T LEAVE EARLY

BECAUSE THERE WAS NO PLACE TO GO.

YOU HAVE NO MONEY, AND YOU

AT LEAST WHERE YOU ARE, YOU HAVE THE FEEL-AT-HOME-NESS.

Narrator: MEANWHILE, THE TIMES PLACED A STRAIN

ON THE BECKS' MARRIAGE.

MY MOTHER WOULD HAVE BEEN A PLAYGIRL, REALLY,

AND MY FATHER'S A DRUDGE.

HE WOULD BE PERFECTLY HAPPY TO WORK FROM DAWN TILL DUSK.

Narrator: ONE MORNING,

BEFORE CLARENCE'S YOUNGER SISTER IRENE HEADED FOR SCHOOL,

HER MOTHER TOOK HER ASIDE

Irene Hauer: SHE JUST SAID, "I WON'T BE HOME

WHEN YOU COME HOME TONIGHT"-- FROM SCHOOL,

"I WON'T BE HOME. I'M LEAVING."

AND MY MOTHER JUST LEFT.

SO, THAT WAS IT. DIDN'T CARE.

SHE DIDN'T CARE ABOUT ME THAT MUCH OR ANYTHING.

Narrator: NOT LONG AFTERWARDS, THEIR FATHER'S TRACTOR--

THE ONLY POSSIBLE MEANS FOR HIM TO STAY ON THE LAND--

HE HAD TO MOVE.

CLARENCE WOULD STAY WITH UNCLES BACK IN CENTRAL KANSAS.

IRENE WASN'T SURE WHAT HER FATHER HAD IN MIND FOR HER.

AT FIRST I ASKED HIM, "ARE YOU LEAVING, TOO?"

GOING TO CALIFORNIA."

Narrator: NOT FAR

HARRY FORESTER ALSO LOST HIS FARM

HE HAD ONCE DREAMED

NOW HE COULD BARELY FEED HIS 9 CHILDREN.

Louise Forester Briggs: ONE TIME, HE CAME IN

FROM THE WIND BLOWING DUST,

THE FLOOR AND SAYING,

"I DON'T KNOW WHATEVER WILL BECOME OF US."

THAT JUST FRIGHTENED ME. THAT JUST--

MY HEART JUST CLUTCHED FROM THAT.

Narrator: WITH HIS FIELDS RUINED BY DUST

WHAT WAS LEFT OF HIS LIVESTOCK

FORESTER HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO GIVE UP FARMING.

HIS PLAN WAS TO MOVE HIS LARGE FAMILY TO GOODWELL, OKLAHOMA,

WITH HIS WIFE'S MOTHER.

HE HAD READ ABOUT A PLACE WHERE JOBS WERE PLENTIFUL,

WHERE HE COULD

SEND FOR HIS FAMILY.

HE, TOO, WOULD HEAD TO CALIFORNIA.

IN SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO, CALVIN CRABILL'S FATHER, JOHN,

Crabill: WE LOST ALL OUR STOCK.

WE LOST EVERYTHING IN 6 MONTHS.

WHEN WE NOTHING LEFT, WE LEFT.

WE NOTHING LEFT. THERE WAS NO REASON TO STAY.

Narrator: BUT FIRST,

JOHN CRABILL WOULD HAVE TO SELL HIS HORSES.

Crabill: MY MOTHER AND OTHERS WHO KNEW HIM SAID

HE WAS NEVER THE SAME AGAIN THE REST OF HIS LIFE.

HE NEVER WAS THE SAME AGAIN.

HE WOULD BE STARING OFF INTO SPACE,

THINKING ABOUT HIS STOCK.

Narrator: IN COUNTY,

DOROTHY KLEFFMAN'S FATHER THOUGHT

HE COULD HANG ON TO HIS FARM,

BUT HIS WIFE HAD COME DOWN WITH THE DUST PNEUMONIA.

Kleffman: I THINK SHE WOULD HAVE DIED.

HE COULD SEE THAT SHE WAS FAILING,

HE KNEW HE TO SOMETHING, YOU KNOW,

BECAUSE THERE WERE PEOPLE HERE WHO DID DIE.

I REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO GO. THIS WAS MY HOME,

AND EVEN THOUGH WE HAD THE DUST STORMS

WE WERE IN A DEPRESSION, GREAT DEPRESSION,

I WOULD LOVED TO HAVE JUST STAYED RIGHT HERE.

BUT BECAUSE WE TO SAVE HER LIFE, WE TO MOVE.

Narrator: HER FATHER AND AN OLDER BROTHER

WOULD TRY TO STAY ON THE FARM,

BUT HE MOVED HIS WIFE AND YOUNGER CHILDREN,

INCLUDING DOROTHY, NOT TO CALIFORNIA, BUT EAST,

BROWN WORLD OF THE DUST BOWL.

Kleffman: WHEN WE GOT DOWN THERE,

WE HAD A GREEN GRASS LAWN.

THEIR LEGS UP SO HIGH--

THEY WERE NOT USED TO THAT GRASS.

MOTHER RAISED A HUGE GARDEN DOWN THERE.

THERE WAS ENOUGH RAIN THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE TO WATER IT

LIKE WE DID OUT HERE.

AND SHE WOULD CAN ABOUT

THIS WAS OUR HOME OUT HERE.

Henderson portrayer: SOME OF OUR NEIGHBORS WITH SMALL CHILDREN,

FEARING THE EFFECTS UPON THEIR HEALTH,

HAVE LEFT TEMPORARILY "UNTIL IT RAINS."

OTHERS HAVE LEFT PERMANENTLY,

THINKING DOUBTLESS THAT NOTHING COULD BE WORSE.

THUS FAR, WE AND MOST OF OUR FRIENDS SEEM HELD--

FOR FOR WORSE-- BY MEMORY HOPE.

Narrator: COUNTY,

WHERE CAROLINE HENDERSON HAD BEEN HOMESTEADING SINCE 1907,

LOST OF ITS POPULATION IN THE 1930s.

NEARBY CIMARRON COUNTY LOST 32%,

COUNTY, JUST ACROSS THE LINE IN COLORADO,

MOVE SOMEWHERE ELSE.

HARDEST HIT WAS MORTON COUNTY, KANSAS,

WHERE EDGAR AND RENA COEN WERE RAISING THEIR LARGE FAMILY,

NOW DIMINISHED BY WITH THE DEATH

OF A DAUGHTER AND GRANDSON FROM DUST PNEUMONIA.

THE COENS WERE DETERMINED TO STICK IT OUT,

BUT THEIR COUNTY WOULD LOSE NEARLY HALF OF ITS POPULATION

AND WOULD CLOSE 11 OF ITS 17 RURAL SCHOOLS

BECAUSE THE DUST ST REFUSED TO RELENT.

YOU NEVER GOT USED TO THEM.

YOU JUST HATED EVERY ONE OF THEM

AND YOU KNEW YOU WAS PROBABLY GONNA LOSE SOME MORE NEIGHBORS.

WE WAS IN SCHOOL THEN, YOU'D GO TO SCHOOL ONE DAY,

THERE AT SCHOOL,

NEXT DAY, THEY'D MOVED AWAY.

KIND OF A SAD TIME THAT WAY.

Glover: MY AUNT AND UNCLE DECIDED

THEY HAD TO GO TO CALIFORNIA

WE ALL WENT OVER TO SEE THEM OFF,

AND THEY TOOK EVERYTHING THAT THEY COULD IN THEIR CAR.

THE THING DADDY TO MY UNCLE JACK WAS,

"DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH MONEY FOR TO GET THERE?"

AND JACK TOLD Him HOWEVER MUCH HE HAD.

DADDY SAID, "WELL, I'VE JUST GOT $17 ON ME,

"BUT I WANT YOU TO TAKE THIS

YOU'LL HAVE ENOUGH MONEY FOR GAS."

Hodges: EVERY DAY, ALL DAY LONG,

THEY OFTEN STOPPED AND ASKED FOR FOOD.

WE DIDN'T HAVE VERY MUCH, BUT MY MOTHER THOUGHT

THAN OTHER PEOPLE,

WE WERE BECAUSE OF THE

THEM SOMETHING.

I STILL REMEMBER IT WAS OFTEN BREAD AND BUTTER SANDWICHES,

BUT IT WAS SOMETHING.

SHE NEVER, EVER TURNED ANYBODY DOWN.

WHEN I WAS IN THE EIGHTH GRADE,

WE HAD A PRACTICAL

LIVE IN THE DISTRICT?

AND IT WAS 100 PEOPLE.

HOW MANY PEOPLE

AND THEN MY BROTHER GET TO THE SAME PLACE 10 YEARS LATER.

HOW MANY KIDS IN THE

THE REST OF THEM HAD LEFT.

Narrator: BUT IN THE END,

FOR EVERY FAMILY THAT LEFT THE DUST BOWL,

3 FAMILIES--75% OF THE POPULATION--WOULD HANG ON.

Worster: WHY DIDN'T EVERYBODY LEAVE?

FOR A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE, WELL,

IN THEIR MINDS, THEY HAD INVESTED THEIR LIVES THERE.

THEY HAD FAMILY BURIED IN CEMETERIES.

THE PLAINS LAY A HOLD ON YOUR AFFECTIONS

IF YOU'RE THERE FOR GENERATION OR TWO,

THEY'RE A GLORIOUS PLACE TO LIVE AT TIMES.

AND THE SENSE OF FREEDOM THERE

WERE POWERFUL DRAWS FOR THESE PEOPLE.

Henderson I CANNOT ACT OR FEEL OR THINK

AS IF THE EXPERIENCES OF OUR

NEVER BEEN, THEY ALL BOUND UP

WITH THE LITTLE CORNER

OUR CONTINUED UNITED EFFORTS.

I LOOK BACKWARD SEE OUR COVERED WAGON

DRAWN UP BY THE OF THE CABIN

IN THE EARLY LIGHT OF THAT MAY MORNING LONG AGO,

CAN FEEL AGAIN THE SWEET FRESH BREATH OF THE UNTRODDEN PRAIRIE

AND RECALL FOR A MOMENT THE PROUD CONFIDENCE OF OUR YOUTH.

BUT WHEN I TRY TO SEE THE WAGON THE OLD MODEL-T TRUCK

HEADED IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION,

AWAY FROM OUR HOME ALL OUR CHERISHED HOPES,

PERHAPS IT IS ONLY BECAUSE

THE DUST IS TOO DENSE BLINDING.

Worster: MY PARENTS LEFT.

THEY COULDN'T FIND A LIVING ANYMORE IN RURAL COUNTRYSIDE.

THEIR FARMS WERE DEVASTATED.

NO FUTURE IN THIS.

THEY DECIDED IN THE LATE 1930s TO FOLLOW THE TREK TO CALIFORNIA

TO SEE WHAT THEY COULD FIND THERE TO SUPPORT THEMSELVES.

THE BIGGEST PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO MOVED INTO ANOTHER STATE

WERE GOING TO CALIFORNIA.

THERE WERE HUNDREDS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE

POURING INTO CALIFORNIA.

THEY WEREN'T ALL

AND THEY WEREN'T ALL FROM THE GREAT PLAINS.

A RIVER OF PEOPLE

FLOWING INTO CALIFORNIA IN THE 1930s.

PULLING OUT FROM LITTLE

JOINING THIS BRIGADE GOING OUT ROUTE 686,

STOPPING AT MOTELS, SLEEPING UNDER BILLBOARDS.

THAT'S THE WAY MY PARENTS ESSENTIALLY WENT

FROM NEW MEXICO

THEY STOPPED IN NEEDLES, CALIFORNIA,

AND DIDN'T GET ANY FARTHER.

THAT WAS THE END OF THE ROAD FOR THEM.

Narrator: THOSE WHO DID LEAVE THE DUST BOWL FOR CALIFORNIA

WERE JOINING AN EVEN

DISPLACED BY THE DEPRESSION AND THE AGRICULTURAL CRISIS

THAT EXTENDED FAR BEYOND THE SOUTHERN PLAINS.

Egan: NOW THE FOLKS WHO LEFT, THE

THEY WERE CALLED--

WERE LARGELY FROM

THE EASTERN FRINGE OF THE DUST BOWL.

THEY WERE FROM ARGUABLY NOT EVEN THE DUST BOWL ITSELF.

THEY WERE FROM MISSOURI. THEY WERE TENANT FARMERS.

WHEN THE PRICES COLLAPSED YOU COULDN'T LIVING,

IF YOU WERE A TENANT FARMER, YOU NOTHING,

BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T EVEN OWN THE DIRT.

THEY LEFT.

Guthrie: THESE PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE BUT ONE THING TO DO,

THAT WAS TO JUST GET OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD.

THESE PEOPLE JUST GOT UP, THEY BUNDLED UP

THEIR LITTLE BELONGINGS, THEY THROWED IN

ONE LITTLE THINGS THEY THOUGHT THEY'D NEED,

HEARD ABOUT THE OF CALIFORNIA,

HANDBILLS THEY PASSED OUT

DOWN IN THAT COUNTRY, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE

A WONDERFUL CHANCE TO SUCCEED IN CALIFORNIA.

I'M BLOWING DOWN THIS OLD DUSTY

I'M BLOWING DOWN THIS OLD DUSTY

§ I'M BLOWING DOWN THIS OLD DUSTY ROAD, LORD, LORD §

I AIN'T GONNA BE TREATED THIS WAY

Narrator: BACK IN COLORADO,

WITH THE MONEY FROM SELLING

CALVIN CRABILL'S FATHER LOADED WHAT HE COULD

INTO THEIR SEDAN AND A LITTLE TWO-WHEELED TRAILER

JOINED THE STREAM OF CARS RATTLING DOWN HIGHWAY 66,

WITH HIS 11-YEAR-OLD SON ASTHMATIC WIFE.

WHEN YOU CAME DOWN THAT GRADE IN SAN BERNARDINO,

MY MOTHER, SHE WAS SO HAPPY,

YOU SAW THE GREEN VALLEY THERE--

THAT WAS A BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL SIGHT.

MY MOTHER THAT DAY PICKED AN ORANGE, A RIPE ORANGE,

AND ATE IT, AND THAT WAS SOMETHING FOR HER.

Worster: THE MIGRATION OUT OF THE GREAT PLAINS IN THE 1930s

MIGRATIONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

IT DWARFS THE MOVEMENT ALONG THE OREGON TRAIL

IN THE 19th CENTURY, THE COVERED WAGON ERA,

AND ROMANTICIZED.

BUT WE'VE FORGOTTEN THIS MIGRATION OF THE 1930s.

NOBODY CELEBRATES IT.

THERE ARE NO CALIFORNIA

WE'RE ASHAMED OF IT, BASICALLY,

BECAUSE IT WAS MIGRATION OF THE DEFEATED.

Narrator: OUT IN OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,

HARRY FORESTER, WHO LEFT HIS FAMILY IN GOODWELL,

A VARIETY OF JOBS,

SOMETIMES MAKING A DOLLAR A DAY

AND SENDING AS MUCH OF IT AS POSSIBLE

BACK TO HIS AILING WIFE CHILDREN.

EVERYTHING HE HELD DEAR

THE SEPARATION FROM HIS FAMILY MADE HIM MISERABLE,

AND THEN CAME NEWS FROM HOME THAT ADDED TO HIS WOES--

ONE OF HIS 5 SONS, SLATS,

HAD COME DOWN WITH DUST PNEUMONIA.

Briggs: MY OLDEST BROTHER GOT DUST PNEUMONIA,

AND MY DAD DIDN'T KNOW

WHETHER TO COME HOME OR NOT

BECAUSE HE THOUGHT HE WAS GONNA DIE.

I IMAGINE HE WAS ABSOLUTELY THE LONELIEST MAN ON THE PLANET.

Narrator: FORESTER DECIDED HIS FAMILY SHOULD JOIN HIM

IN OAKLAND AS SOON THEY COULD.

BACK IN GOODWELL, THE FORESTER CHILDREN MOBILIZED FOR THE MOVE.

THEY ADDED HOOPS TARPS HAND-BUILT BOX

FOR STORING SERVING FOOD TO A 1928 CHEVY TRUCK,

CONVERTING IT INTO MODERN-DAY COVERED WAGON.

BUT MRS. FORESTER'S AGED AND BLIND MOTHER REFUSED TO LEAVE,

WAS LEFT BEHIND TO CARE FOR HER.

THEY MADE THEIR GOOD-BYES, BROTHER CLOIS TOOK THE WHEEL

WITH HIS FRAIL MOTHER IN THE FRONT SEAT NEXT TO HIM.

THEN THE OTHER 7 FORESTER CHILDREN SCRAMBLED ABOARD,

FOR CALIFORNIA.

Briggs: IT WAS EXCITING FOR ME

IN A HOPELESS LITTLE HEART.

WE WERE GOING TO CALIFORNIA

HAVE ORANGES STUFF, YOU KNOW?

AND WE WOULD HAVE FRUIT, AND WE WOULD LIVE HAPPILY.

AN EXCITING TIME.

I COULDN'T WAIT TO GET THERE.

Shirley Forester McKenzie: WE SAT IN DIFFERENT PLACES.

WE'D MOVE AROUND.

THE MATTRESSES WERE ROLLED UP, AND STUFFED IN THE TRUCK BED,

Briggs: MY FAVORITE SPOT SEEMED TO BE

OVER THE WHEEL OF THE TRUCK.

WE THE SIDE TARPS ROLLED UP YOU COULD SEE OUT.

ONE THING I REMEMBER, I WAS SO GLAD--

WE SAW A WEEPING WILLOW TREE, I'D NEVER SEEN ONE.

William Forester: MY BROTHER WAS OBSESSED

WITH THE POTENTIAL THAT WE MIGHT RUN OUT OF GAS,

SO HE STOPPED AT DAMN

TO TOP OFF THE TANK.

IT WAS ALITTLE 4-BANGER CHEVY,

HE DROVE IT AT ABOUT MAXIMUM OF 35 MILES AN HOUR,

AND IT TOOK A LONG TIME.

Forester: HE GOAL IN MIND

THAT WAS TO GET THIS CREW SAFELY THROUGH.

HE WAS A NERVOUS NELLY ANYWAY, HE

LOTS OF TRIBULATIONS WHEN HE HAD TO TAKE THIS JOB--

WELL, BECAUSE IT WAS A BIG JOB.

HE'S A 21-YEAR-OLD GUY, HE'S TAKING HIS SICK MOTHER

BUNCH OF ALL THE WAY TO CALIFORNIA,

ITWASA... WORRY FOR HIM, I KNOW.

Narrator: THEY WERE ALL ANXIOUS

ABOUT THEIR MOTHER'S FRAGILE HEALTH,

WHICH PROMPTED THEM TO STOP A NUMBER OF TIMES

SHE COULD RECOUP HER STRENGTH,

OVERTOOK THEM IN NEW MEXICO.

William Forester: SHE WAS DOWN

BY THE TRAVAILS OF THE PREVIOUS YEARS,

SHE WAS JUST IN SHAPE,

SHE WAS VERY FEEBLE ALL ALONG THE WAY.

INSTEAD OF CAMPING ONE NIGHT IN NEW MEXICO,

WE USED A LITTLE OF OUR SCARCE MONEY TO RENT A MOTEL

THAT SHE COULD BE SLEEPING OUT OF THE DUST.

Narrator: BUT IN EASTERN ARIZONA, DESPITE HER CONDITION,

SHE INSISTED THAT CLOIS DETOUR

THROUGH THE PAINTED DESERT PETRIFIED FOREST,

WHICH SHE ALWAYS YEARNED TO SEE.

William Forester: MY MOTHER'S HEALTH GOT WORSE AFTER THAT.

TO JUST STOP AND NOT TRAVEL

THAT SHE COULD HAVE TIME BEING STILL

RESTING IN COOL, SHADED PLACE.

Narrator: FARTHER ON, THEY HAD TO DESCEND TO THE COLORADO RIVER

ON A WINDING UNLIKE ANYTHING ON THE SOUTHERN PLAINS.

Briggs: BUT I GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT

WHEN WE HIT THE CALIFORNIA BORDER DOWN AT NEEDLES.

HA HA HA!

YOU'RE IN THE DESERT, I FELT, OH...

I JUST WENT, "OH, MY GOD, NO,"

BECAUSE I WAS JUST BROKEN-HEARTED

BECAUSE I THOUGHT THERE'D BE ORANGE GROVES RIGHT THERE, YOU KNOW.

MOJAVE DESERT AT NIGHT,

THEN TURNED NORTH, UP THE CENTRAL VALLEY,

AND FINALLY MADE IT TO OAKLAND,

WHERE HARRY FORESTER HAD RENTED A HOUSE

WAS WAITING ANXIOUSLY FOR THEM TO ARRIVE.

WE GOT INTO OAKLAND, WE WENT TO MERRITT

AND WENT UP GRAND AVENUE

AND TURNED RIGHT ON MORAGA AND WENT UP MORAGA AVENUE.

WE'RE IN THE HILLS NOW, IN THE OAKLAND HILLS,

FOR SOMEONE LIKE US.

WHEN WE STOPPED IN THE CANYON,

TELEPHONED THAT WE WERE COMING UP THE ROAD,

WE WERE A MILE HALF FROM THE HOUSE,

WE STARTED DRIVING, STARTED HUSTLING,

AND HE RACED DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE CANYON

THAT HE WAS STANDING BESIDE THE

WE CAME DRIVING BY 10 MINUTES LATER.

Briggs: AND MY DAD MET US

AT THE CORNER OF PINE HAVEN HEATHER RIDGE WAY,

HE HOUSE RENTED ON THE CORNER

JUST UP THE CORNER A WAYS.

I REMEMBER SITTING IN THE BACK OF THE TRUCK

WAITING FOR MY DAD

WHILE HE WAS GREETING MY BROTHER

AND WHOEVER HAD BEEN RIDING WITH THEM.

HE WENT AROUND TO THE BACK,

HE TOOK EACH OF THE IN TURN,

HE GAVE US A HUG, WE LAUGHED,

IT WAS...

AND THEN HE CAME AROUND BACK

STARTED LIFTING US OUT ONE AT A TIME

I LOOKED AROUND, I THOUGHT,

"OH, YES, WE HAVE COME TO CANAAN LAND."

Narrator: THEN HARRY FORESTER,

WHO HAD ONCE DREAMED OF

HE COULD BESTOW

WITH ONE SQUARE MILE OF ROLLING OKLAHOMA PRAIRIE,

SHOWED THEM ALL THEIR NEW HOME-- RENTED HOUSE OF 3 ROOMS,

ON A HILL SO STEEP THE BUILDINGS NEEDED STILTS TO BE LEVEL.

Robert Forester: AND THERE WERE BIG PINE TREES--

OH, 60-, 70-FOOT, 80-FOOT TALL, BIG TREES,

IT WASN'T YOU KNOW?

HA HA HA!

TOTO, WE AREN'T IN ANYMORE.

HA HA HA!

A FAIR-SKINNED,

FRECKLE-FACED, RED-HEADED YOUNGSTER THAT I WAS,

WHERE THAT HOT WIND

THE MIST AND THE RAIN

THAT WE KIDS WOULD GO OFF

WITHOUT A HAT OR A COAT OR ANYTHING

FEELING OF THAT MOISTURE ON US.

WE WERE PARCHED, TOO.

Lewis: WEREN'T ANY CROPS.

ENTIRE WHEAT CROP IN ONE WAGON,

Beck: THEY WERE GOOD PEOPLE.

THERE WAS NOTHING ABOUT THE POPULATION THAT WAS BAD.

TRYING TO MAKE AN HONEST LIVING,

NATURE JUST WOULDN'T LET THEM DO IT.

SO THERE WERE FAILURES, AND THERE WERE ALSO PEOPLE

THAT WERE AWFUL HARD

ENDED UP, A DEPRESSION,

THE DUST BOWL DIDN'T GET THEM ALL.

IT LEFT QUITE A FEW. BUT IT LEFT THE HARDY ONES.

ABOUT THE DUST, OF COURSE,

THAT WE LAUGHED SO WE WOULDN'T CRY, I GUESS.

ONE OF THEM WAS, A RANCHER, BIG DUST STORM,

WALKED OUT TO SEE ABOUT HIS LAND,

AND HE WAS TRYING TO FIND THE BARBED-WIRE FENCE

THAT BEEN COVERED WITH DIRT.

HE SAW THE TOPS OF IT,

THERE WAS THE COWBOY'S HAT OVER THERE.

HE WALKED OVER PICKED UP THE COWBOY'S HAT,

AND UNDERNEATH WAS A COWBOY,

AREN'T YOU IN TROUBLE THERE?"

HE'S COVERED WITH DUST.

HE SAID, "WELL, I THINK I'l GONNA BE OK,

BUT THIS HORSE I'M RIDING ISIN ALITTLE TROUBLE."

Narrator: BY NOW, THOSE WHO REMAINED IN THE DUST BOWL

HAD FOUND THAT ONE WAY TO DEAL WITH WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO THEM

WELL, THERE'S OLD SAYING THERE

THAT ONE OF THE OLD-TIMERS WAS TELLING THE PEOPLE THAT

THEY'D HAD A CHAIN WRAPPED AROUND A CORNER POST

AND SAID WHEN THAT CHAIN

THAT WAS GOOD WIND,

BUT WHEN IT WENT TO SNAPPING THE LINKS OFF, IT WAS DAMN WINDY.

OF COURSE, THAT WASN'T TRUE.

THAT WAS JUST SAYING. HAI

Narrator: 1936 WOULD PROVE TO BE AS DRY AS 1935,

IN APRIL, AN OUTSIDER SHOWED UP IN BOISE CITY.

ARTHUR ROTHSTEIN

THE SON OF JEWISH IMMIGRANTS,

BORN AND RAISED

HE WAS IN NO MAN'S LAND

FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S RESETTLEMENT ADMINISTRATION.

ROTHSTEIN'S BOSS, ROY STRYKER,

BELIEVED THAT PICTURES COULD BE A POWERFUL TOOL

TO SHOW NOT ONLY THE MULTITUDE OF PROBLEMS

THE NATION WAS FACING,

BUT WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WAS DOING ABOUT THEM.

OVER THE COURSE OF 7 YEARS, THE AGENCY BECAME

OF THE FARM SECURITY ADMINISTRATION,

AN UNPRECEDENTED DOCUMENTARY EFFORT,

EVENTUALLY AMASSING 200,000 IMAGES

OF AMERICA IN THE 1930s,

TAKEN BY A TALENTED OF PHOTOGRAPHERS,

INCLUDING WALKER EVANS, RUSSELL LEE,

MARION POST WALCOTT, JOHN VACHON,

AND DOROTHEA LANGE.

Egan: HE SENT THEM OUT THERE

WITH A VERY SIMPLE SET OF INSTRUCTIONS--

I WANT TO SEE THEIR EYES. I WANT TO SEE THEIR FACES.

I WANT TO SEE EMOTION.

I WANT PEOPLE TO LOOK AT THESE PICTURES

AND NOT SEE ABSTRACTION.

I WANT THEM TO SEE FOLKS STRUGGLING IN THE LAND.

Narrator: TO ARRIVING IN

ARTHUR ROTHSTEIN'S ASSIGNMENT HAD TAKEN HIM

ON A NATIONWIDE TOUR OF THE DEPRESSION.

HE HAD DOCUMENTED RURAL

TO CREATE SHENANDOAH NATIONAL

DESPERATE TENANT FARMERS IN ARKANSAS,

HARD-LUCK RANCHERS IN MONTANA,

SLUM DWELLERS IN ST. LOUIS.

BUT THE MOST DISTRESSING SITUATION HE EVER ENCOUNTERED,

HE REMEMBERED LATER,

DRIVING THROUGH THE DUST BOWL.

"IT WAS LIKE A LANDSCAPE OF THE MOON," HE SAID,

POPULATED BY "HARD-WORKING PEOPLE WHO,

"THROUGH NO FAULT OF THEIR

"AND THE ONLY PLACE THEY

WAS FROM THE GOVERNMENT."

ABOUT 14 MILES SOUTH OF BOISE CITY,

HE CAME ACROSS COBLE,

DIGGING OUT A FENCE POST FROM DRIFT.

ROTHSTEIN CHATTED WITH HIM

SNAPPED A FEW PICTURES, WAS GETTING BACK INTO HIS

WHEN THE WIND SUDDENLY PICKED UP.

LOOKING BACK, HE SAW THEM BENDING INTO THE STORM,

POINTED HIS CAMERA AT THEM, AND CLICKED THE SHUTTER.

THE IMAGE THAT ROTHSTEIN CAPTURED

TOUCHED EMOTIONAL CHORDS

BECOMING THE ICONIC PICTURE OF THE DUST BOWL

AND ONE OF THE MOST WIDELY REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHS

OF THE 20th CENTURY.

IN ADDITION TO HIRING PHOTOGRAPHERS,

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ALSO UNDERWROTE A DOCUMENTARY FILM,

AND THAT SUMMER IT PREMIERED

AT THE MISSION THEATRE IN DALHART, TEXAS.

"THE PLOW THAT BROKE THE PLAINS,"

DIRECTED BY PARE LORENTZ,

THE CAUSES OF THE DUST BOWL

AND WHAT ROOSEVELT'S NEW DEAL

Film THE GRASSLANDS--

COUNTRY OF HIGH WINDS SUN,

Narrator: THE FILM PLACED MUCH OF THE BLAME OF THE DUST BOWL

ON THE ARRIVAL OF THE TRACT TO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS

AND DESCRIBED HOW

THE SOIL BEHIND A TEAM OF MULES

SUDDENLY BECAME A MECHANIZED FORCE

ARRAYED AGAINST NATURE ITSELF.

THE REACTION INSIDE THE DUST BOWL ITSELF

THEY DIDN'T LIKE SEEING THEIR LAND OR THEMSELVES

BAD END OF A DRAMA.

Robertson: SOMETIMES AT THE MOVIES,

THE NEWSREEL SHOWED THE DUST BOWL,

AND THAT INFURIATED THE LOCAL BOOSTERS,

"THAT'S BAD PUBLICITY.

WE DON'T NEED THAT PUBLICITY."

THE BOOSTERS THOUGHT,

WELL, THEY GOT THAT RIGHT,

THEY'RE REALLY TELLING IT, WHAT'S HAPPENING TO US--

THEY'RE REALLY TELLING IT RIGHT.

Narrator: IN THE SUMMER OF 1936,

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TOOK 4,000-MILE WHISTLE-STOP TOUR

ACROSS THE MIDWEST AND NORTHERN PLAINS

TO SEE FOR HIMSELF THE EXTENT

OF THE NATION'S AGRICULTURAL CRISIS.

Franklin MY FRIENDS,

I HAVE BEEN ON JOURNEY OF HUSBANDRY.

I TALKED WITH FAMILIES WHO HAD LOST THEIR WHEAT CROP,

LOST THEIR CORN CROP, LOST THEIR LIVESTOCK,

LOST THE WATER IN THEIR WELL,

COME THROUGH TO THE END OF THE SUMMER

WITHOUT ONE DOLLAR

FACING A WINTER WITHOUT FEED OR FOOD,

Narrator: AT THE SAME TIME,

HUGH BENNETT, THE HEAD OF THE SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE,

WAS ON HIS OWN FACT-FINDING TOUR

A REPORT TO FDR

ON THE FUTURE OF THE GREAT PLAINS.

BENNETT'S FIRST STOP WAS DALHART,

WHERE HOWARD FINNELL

WITH THE FARMERS HE WAS TRYING TO CONVERT.

EARLIER IN THE

FINNELL HAD PETITIONED SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE HENRY WALLACE

FOR $2 MILLION IN EMERGENCY FUNDS

TO OFFER INCENTIVES

FOR THOSE WHO WOULD TRY HIS METHOD

OF CONTOUR PLOWING ON THEIR OWN LAND.

NEARLY 40,000 FARMERS SIGNED UP

ON 5.5 MILLION ACRES.

Worster: THE ONLY THAT WAS OUT THERE

THAT WAS EFFECTIVE WAS THIS ONE,

FINNELL WAS THE POINT TO TRY TO IT

HAD STILL NOT ADMITTED

THAT IT WAS THEIR FAULT,

"THIS IS ALL NATURE'S DOING.

"LEAVE US ALONE. THE RAINS WILL COME BACK,

AND WE WILL BE BACK IN BUSINESS."

Narrator; BENNETT AND HIS COMMITTEE MOVED ON

WITH THEIR TOUR, PLANNING TO MEET UP

WITH THE PRESIDENT IN NORTH DAKOTA

AND GIVE HIM THEIR FINDINGS.

THE FINAL REPORT ESTIMATED

THAT 80% OF THE GREAT PLAINS

POINTED TO WHAT BENNETT CALLED

OF THE PROBLEM--

"AN ATTEMPT TO IMPOSE UPON THE REGION A SYSTEM OF AGRICULTURE

TO WHICH THE PLAINS ARE NOT ADAPTED."

BUT, IT CONCLUDED,

THE NATION "CANNOT AFFORD TO LET THE FARMER FAIL."

TO LET THAT HAPPEN.

BACK EAST, THERE HAVE BEEN

ALL KINDS OF REPORTS THAT OUT IN THE DROUGHT AREA

THERE WAS DESPONDENCY, LACK OF HOPE FOR THE FUTURE,

GENERAL ATMOSPHERE OF GLOOM.

BUT I HUNCH-- IT WAS THE RIGHT ONE--

WHEN 1 GOT OUT HERE,

I'D FIND THAT YOU PEOPLE

[APPLAUSE]

THAT YOU NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO THE DAY

WHEN THIS COUNTRY WOULD BE DEPOPULATED,

BUT THAT YOU YOUR CHILDREN EXPECT TO REMAIN HERE.

[APPLAUSE]

Frantz: TO US, HE WAS A SAVIOR.

HE JUST...HE GAVE US HOPE WHERE WE NONE.

I CAN REMEMBER MY DAD SAYING THAT HE NORMALLY DIDN'T

VOTE DEMOCRAT, BUT HE THOUGHT HE WOULD THAT TIME,

I THINK HE BECAME STAUNCH DEMOCRAT THAT.

NO CRACKED EARTH, NO BLISTERING SUN,

NO BURNING WIND ARE A PERMANENT MATCH

FOR THE INDOMITABLE AMERICAN

AND THEIR WIVES AND CHILDREN,

WHO HAVE CARRIED ON THROUGH DESPERATE DAYS.

HERE'S A LAND THAT GOD HIMSELF

I SHALL NEVER FORGET THE FIELDS OF WHEAT...

Egan: THE FACT THAT THE PRESIDENT STILL

GAVE IT HIS ATTENTION-- THAT WAS A VERY BIG

AT A TIME WHEN THEY FELT SO ABANDONED,

YOU CAN'T UNDERSTATE THE IMPORTANCE

OF JUST GIVING IT SOME ATTENTION.

IT WAS THEIR FATHERS' TASK TO HOMES,

IT IS THEIR TASK TO KEEP THESE HOMES,

IT IS OUR TASK TO HELP THEM WIN THEIR FIGHT.

Man: WE'RE CONTINUING WITH

MR. WOODY GUTHRIE'S

FROM TEXAS, CALIFORNIA.

Guthrie: AS I RAMBLED AROUND OVER THE COUNTRY

KEPT LOOKING AT ALL THESE PEOPLE,

SEEING HOW THEY LIVED OUTSIDE LIKE COYOTES

AROUND IN THE TREES AND TIMBER AND UNDER THE BRIDGES

AND ALONG ALL THE RAILROAD TRACKS

AND IN THEIR LITTLE SHACK HOUSES THAT THEY BUILT

OUT OF CARDBOARD

AND OLD CORRUGATED IRON THAT THEY GOT OUT OF THE DUMPS--

THAT JUST STRUCK ME TO WRITE THIS SONG.

I AIN'T GOT NO HOME, I'M JUST A-ROAMIN' ROUND

Narrator: DURING THE 10 YEARS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION,

CALIFORNIA'S POPULATION

HALF OF THE NEWCOMERS CAME FROM CITIES, NOT FARMS.

ONE IN 8 WERE PROFESSIONALS OR WHITE-COLLAR WORKERS.

OF THE 315,000 WHO ARRIVED FROM TEXAS,

AND NEIGHBORING STATES,

ONLY 16,000 WERE FROM THE DUST BOWL ITSELF.

BUT REGARDLESS OF WHERE

REGARDLESS OF THEIR SKILLS AND THEIR EDUCATION

AND THEIR INDIVIDUAL REASONS

FOR SEEKING A NEW LIFE IN A NEW PLACE,

TO MOST CALIFORNIANS-- TO THE NATION AT LARGE--

THEY WERE ALL THE SAME,

AND THEY ALL HAD THE SAME NAME.

"OKIES." WE WERE MADE FUN OF,

AND, "YOU TALK FUNNY," AND, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THAT.

"TALK SOME MORE. YOU TALK FUNNY."

YOU HATED THAT BECAUSE IT SET YOU .

Worster: THERE WAS SIGN IN A MOVIE THEATER

IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY OF CALIFORNIA

WHICH BASICALLY "NIGGERS OKIES UPSTAIRS."

THAT IS, YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN HERE WITH PEOPLE.

THEY WERE HORRIBLY MISTREATED.

THEY WERE TREATED

TREATED IN THE SOUTH.

SIMILAR TO THE SIGNS

THEY IN DALHART, TEXAS, THAT SAID,

"BLACK MAN, DON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON YOU HERE."

SIMILARLY, THERE WERE SIGNS ALL THROUGHOUT THE CENTRAL VALLEY

SAYING, "OKIE, GO BACK. WE DON'T WANT YOU."

Narrator: ABOUT A THIRD OF ALL THE RECENT ARRIVALS,

OF THEM FORMER SHARECROPPERS

FROM THE COTTON BELT,

ENDED UP IN CALIFORNIA'S AGRICULTURAL VALLEYS,

RELIED ON MIGRANT LABOR

TO PICK THEIR COTTON, VEGETABLES, FRUITS.

THEY SETTLED IN DEVELOPMENTS

CALLED "LITTLE "OKIEVILLES"

OR MOVED WITH THE HARVESTS,

SOMETIMES TRAVELING 700 TO 1,000 MILES IN THE SEASON,

STAYING IN SQUALID ROADSIDE CAMPS CALLED "JUNGLES"

OR SIMPLY PUTTING UP A TENT

ALONG THE IN AN UNUSED FIELD.

THEY FOUND THEMSELVES AT THE MERCY

OF THE CONTRACTORS, WHO CONSPIRED WITH THE GROWERS

TO DRIVE DOWN THE

Woman: "THEY HAVE THE SIMPLE AND STURDY VALUES

"OFTEN BEMOANED AS LOST.

"THEY ARE PROUD, STRONG PEOPLE,

"PATIENT, UNCOMPLAINING, INTELLIGENT.

"THEY WANT FIRST OF ALL TO

"TO HAVE A HOME FOR THEIR FAMILIES,

"TO EDUCATE THEIR CHILDREN.

"THESE SIMPLE RIGHTS ARE PART OF THE HERITAGE OF AMERICANS.

"IT IS DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO UNDERSTAND

"THAT NONE OF THEM REMAIN.

"THEIR WHOLE LIVES

"ON ONE INSTINCTIVE PROBLEM--

SANORA BABB.

Narrator: SANORA BABB, A FORMER REPORTER

WHO GROWN UP IN THE AROUND NO MAN'S LAND,

HAD FOUND A NEW JOB WITH THE FARM SECURITY ADMINISTRATION.

WITH HER BOSS, TOM COLLINS,

SHE WENT UP DOWN THE CENTRAL VALLEY,

INFORMING THE NEWLY ARRIVED MIGRANTS ABOUT PROGRAMS

TO PROVIDE THEM WITH FOOD

FOR THEIR FAMILIES, EDUCATION FOR THEIR CHILDREN,

AND BETTER LIVING CONDITIONS.

ONLY A FEW DAYS AGO,

IN SEARCH OF IMMEDIATE HELP.

HIS WIFE BABY 3 DAYS BEFORE

IN AN ABANDONED MILK HOUSE

WHERE THEY HAD TAKEN REFUGE DURING THE RECENT STORMS.

SINCE THE BIRTH, HIS WIFE, THEIR OTHER CHILDREN,

HE HIMSELF NOT EATEN FOR 3 DAYS.

IF HE DID NOT GET SOMETHING FOR THEM AT ONCE,

SHE AND THE BABY WOULD DIE.

Narrator: WHEN THE REFUGEES LEARNED

ON THE SOUTHERN PLAINS,

IT HELPED ESTABLISH A TRUST AND

THE GOVERNMENT

THE PHOTOGRAPHER DOROTHEA LANGE TO COME BACK TO CALIFORNIA

TO DOCUMENT THE DEPLORABLE CONDITIONS AMONG THE MIGRANTS.

TOM COLLINS THE FSA USED HER PHOTOS

TO PUSH FOR CREATION OF A HANDFUL OF GOVERNMENT CAMPS

WITH BETTER SHELTER AND SANITATION FOR

COLLINS INSISTED THAT THE CAMPS BE SELF-GOVERNED,

WITH ELECTED COMMITTEES RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING FROM

SEWING CLUBS AND LIBRARIES

BUT ONLY A LUCKY FEW WERE ABLE TO FIND SPACE THERE.

AND WHILE THE GROWERS DEPENDED ON THE MIGRANTS FOR CHEAP LABOR,

THE LOCALS, WHO WERE THEMSELVES SUFFERING FROM THE DEPRESSION,

DIDN'T APPRECIATE ANYTHING

THAT ENCOURAGED THE NEWCOMERS TO STAY,

NOR DID THE GROWERS ONCE THE HARVEST WAS OVER.

Guthrie: IT TAKES A WORRIED

TO SING A WORRIED SONG

TAKES A WORRIED

TO SING A WORRIED SONG

I'M WORRIED NOW...

Narrator: LIKE OF THE NEW ARRIVALS,

WOODY GUTHRIE HAD SETTLED IN ONE OF CALIFORNIA'S CITIES--

BEFORE FINALLY LANDING

HIS OWN SHOW ON RADIO STATION KFVD.

EACH DAY, HE PERFORMED

OLDER FOLK TUNES HE LEARNED IN TEXAS,

WHICH REMINDED MANY LISTENERS IN HIS GROWING AUDIENCE

OF THE HOMES THEY HAD LEFT.

I ASKED THAT JUDGE...

Narrator: BUT THOUGH

WELL-KNOWN RADIO PERSONALITY,

HE, TOO, FELT THE STING OF BIGOTRY

AIMED AT ANYONE CONSIDERED AN "OKIE."

HE BEGAN SPENDING TIME TRAVELING

PERFORMING FOR FREE IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY,

WHERE THE TREATMENT OF THE FARM WORKERS POLITICIZED HIM,

HIS MUSIC, FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.

HOLDING OUT FOR HIGHER WAGES

STARTED A NEWSPAPER COLUMN, "WOODY SEZ,"

IN THE LEFT-LEANING

"Il AINT A COMMUNIST

"BUT I'VE BEEN IN THE ALL MY LIFE."

Guthrie: § LOTS OF FOLKS BACK EAST, THEY SAY

IS LEAVIN' HOME EVERY DAY

BEATIN' A HOT OLD DUSTY WAY

TO THE CALIFORNIA LINE

Narrator: GUTHRIE WAS OFFENDED THAT THE STATE LEGISLATURE

NEARLY PASSED A LAW CLOSING THE STATE'S BORDERS

TO PEOPLE IT CALLED

"PAUPERS AND PERSONS LIKELY

Guthrie: § NOW, THE POLICE AT THE OF ENTRY SAY

YOU'RE NUMBER 14,000 FOR TODAY...

Narrator: THEN, WITHOUT LEGAL AUTHORITY,

THE LOS ANGELES POLICE CHIEF

TO THE MAIN ENTRY POINTS FROM ARIZONA, NEVADA, AND OREGON.

THEY INTIMIDATED

ANYONE THEY CONSIDERED "VAGRANTS,"

INCLUDING CLARENCE AND IRENE BECK'S FATHER SAM,

FROM WHEELESS, OKLAHOMA.

Beck: MY FATHER WAS A DUST BOWL OKIE.

HE GOT PUT IN JAIL WHEN HE CROSSED INTO CALIFORNIA

BECAUSE HE DIDN'T

WOULD HAVE GONE TO JAIL EXCEPT THAT

ONE OF HIS EX-NEIGHBORS IN

AND WAS PREPARED FOR THIS

AND MET HIM, ARRANGED THAT HE COULD STAY WITH THEM

Narrator: FOR A WHILE,

BECK WAS ALLOWED TO STAY AT A CHICKEN FARM,

WHERE HE IN EXCHANGE FOR EGGS TO EAT.

BUT HE FINALLY LANDED A JOB

WITH THE LOS ANGELES HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT

AND STARTED A NEW LIFE FOR HIMSELF AND HIS DAUGHTER.

Hauer: IT'S A FRESH START.

I GUESS THAT'S THE TO USE--A FRESH START,

IT REALLY WAS.

Narrator: BECK DIED OF HEART ATTACK IN 1947, AT AGE 54,

SPREADING BLACKTOP ON A CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY.

Beck: HE HAD A TOUGH LIFE.

HE HIS LIFE WAS THE REASON THAT I SAID,

"GOD, WHAT DO I HAVE

"AND NOT BE A FARMER, I'LL DO IT.

"I DON'T CARE WHETHER IT'S BEING A PIMP.

"I DON'T CARE WHETHER IT'S STEALING.

I'l NOT GONNA FARM,

I'M NOT GOING TO BE BROKE."

AND THAT'S BEEN MY DRIVING FORCE.

IT HAS BEEN.

AND I'M NOT A FARMER, AND I'M NOT BROKE.

I'M NOT A PIMP, EITHER, THANK GOD.

Guthrie: I'M A DUST BOWL REFUGEE

Narrator: CALVIN CRABILL'S FATHER, JOHN,

RESCUED HIS WIFE FAMILY

FROM THE DUST OF EASTERN COLORADO,

BUT THE HARD TIMES FOLLOWED HIM TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

HE MOVED FROM ONE TEMPORARY JOB TO ANOTHER--

COLORADO COWBOY, FAR FROM THE PLAINS HE LOVED.

Crabill: MY FATHER

HE WAS A GENTLE, QUIET MAN,

I THINK HE COULD TAKE IT WELL.

IT MADE ME WITH A CHIP ON MY SHOULDER

THAT I PROBABLY CARRY TO THIS DAY,

THAT I THOUGHT I WAS

THE POOREST KID IN HIGH SCHOOL.

WE RENTED A LITTLE HOUSE ON THE ALLEY IN BURBANK,

THE HOUSE IN FRONT, THE PEOPLE MONEY,

THEY WERE VERY AWARE THAT WE WERE

THE PEOPLE ON THE BLOCK.

IN THOSE DAYS, YOU COULD GET SOMETHING

TO PUT ON YOUR LICENSE PLATE

THAT WOULD BE SOME KIND OF A SLOGAN.

IT "PEACEFUL VALLEY,"

MY FATHER LIKED THAT PLACE,

HE PUT IT ON HIS LICENSE PLATE.

THE PEOPLE AT HIS JOB

AND WROTE "PEACEFUL ALLEY"

HE LIVED ON AN ALLEY.

IF YOU'RE DOWN, THEY PUSH YOU DOWN, FELLA,

THEY PUSH YOU DOWN,

HAPPENED TO HIM,

OVER OVER OVER, OVER OVER.

HOW BRAVE THEY ALL ARE.

I HAVE NOT HEARD ONE COMPLAINT.

THEY ALL WANT HATE TO HAVE HELP.

Narrator: AS SHE MOVED

SANORA BABB KEPT A NIGHTLY JOURNAL,

WHICH SHE PLANNED TO TURN INTO A NOVEL,

ABOUT THE PEOPLE SHE HAD MET AND WHAT THEY HAD GONE THROUGH.

SHE ALSO WROTE DETAILED FOR HER BOSS TOM COLLINS,

SHARING HER NOTES

WITH A WRITER WORKING ON A MUCK-RAKING ARTICLE

NAMED JOHN STEINBECK.

WHEN STEINBECK FIRST CAME,

HE HAD TO STOP SEEING THEM BEFORE THE DAY WAS OUT.

TOM COLLINS SAID HE SAID,

"BY GOD, I CAN'T STAND ANYMORE.

I'M GOING AWAY AND BLOW THE LID OFF THIS PLACE."

Narrator: SANORA BABB WOULD EVENTUALLY SEND

SOME CHAPTERS OF HER NOVEL TO BENNETT CERF,

PROMINENT EDITOR OF HOUSE IN NEW YORK CITY,

WHO WAS SO IMPRESSED HE ASKED HER

TO COME EAST TO TALK ABOUT IT.

BUT BY THE TIME SHE ARRIVED, IN THE WINTER OF 1939,

STEINBECK HAD COME OUT WITH

HIS OWN PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING NOVEL,

"THE GRAPES OF WRATH,"

WHICH CHRONICLED THE TRIBULATIONS OF THE JOAD FAMILY,

TENANT FARMERS WHO HAD MIGRATED TO CALIFORNIA

FROM THE COTTON FIELDS OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA--

NOT THE DUST BOWL.

THE MARKET COULDN'T SUPPORT

SECOND NOVEL ON THE SAME SUBJECT,

AND HER EDITOR ADVISED SANORA TO PUT HER MANUSCRIPT ASIDE.

IT WAS FINALLY PUBLISHED IN 2004,

A YEAR BEFORE HER DEATH.

Babb portrayer. YOU, WHO LIVE IN ANY KIND OF COMFORT

OR CONVENIENCE, DO NOT KNOW HOW THESE PEOPLE

SURVIVE THESE THINGS, DO YOU?

THEY WILL ENDURE BECAUSE

THERE IS NO IMMEDIATE ESCAPE FROM ENDURANCE.

THE REST MUST LIVE.

Henderson THE WORST STORM THUS FAR IN 1937

OCCURRED IMMEDIATELY AFTER A SLIGHT SNOWFALL,

DELUSIVE HOPES.

THAT SNOW MELTED ON A TUESDAY.

WITH A RISING WIND,

AND UNTIL LATE FRIDAY NIGHT, THERE WAS LITTLE RESPITE.

WE ARE NOW RELUCTANTLY FEEDING OUR LIVESTOCK

THE SMALL REMAINDER OF THE CROP OF 1931.

Narrator: IN MOST OF THE NATION, THE DROUGHT ENDED,

BUT FOR CAROLINE HENDERSON HER NEIGHBORS

WHO STAYED IN THE HEART OF THE DUST BOWL,

1937 WOULD PROVE TO BE THE WORST YET.

GUYMON, OKLAHOMA, JUST 30 MILES SOUTHEAST OF HER HOMESTEAD,

WAS ENGULFED BY DUST ST! THAT JANUARY,

14 IN FEBRUARY, THEN 13 IN MARCH,

INCLUDING ONE THAT CLOSED

OFF OF BUILDINGS

A HUNDRED MILES AWAY

ON THE AFTERNOON OF MAY 21,

A LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHER NAMED FRANCIS CRAVER

NOTICED A DUST CLOUD APPEARING

OVER THE DORIC THEATRE IN DOWNTOWN ELKHART, KANSAS.

HE GRABBED HIS CAMERA AND CHRONICLED THE STORM'S DESCENT,

WHICH CAUSED THE HIGH SCHOOL TO CANCEL

COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES PLANNED FOR THAT EVENING.

IN HOOKER, OKLAHOMA, A FURNITURE

SAW ANOTHER WALL OF DIRT APPROACHING.

HE SCRAMBLED TO THE TOP OF THE TALLEST BUILDING IN TOWN

AND BEGAN TAKING PICTURES WITH HIS BROWNIE CAMERA.

DROPPED 3 FEET OF DUST

ON HOOKER THE SURROUNDING COUNTRYSIDE.

BY THE END OF JULY, THE NUMBER OF DESTRUCTIVE ST:

WOULD RISE TO 79;

BY THE END OF THE TO 110.

THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SOUTHERN PLAINS

AND THE SAHARA DESERT,

WAS THAT A LOT OF "DAMNED FOOLS"

WEREN'T TRYING TO FARM THE SAHARA.

Williamson: IF YOU WERE A FARMER,

YOU PLOWED THE GROUND,

YOU PUT SEED IN IT, IT GREW UP.

YOU DIDN'T EXPECT THIS DIRT THAT WAS GIVING YOU THIS FOOD

TO TURN ON YOU LIKE THAT DESTROY YOU LIKE IT DID.

Robert McCoy: THOSE PEOPLE THAT WAS REAL RELIGIOUS

DRIVE US OFF OF THE LAND.

I NEVER DID BELIEVE THAT, NEVER DID BELIEVE IT,

AND WE BELIEVED WHATEVER DAD BELIEVED, YOU KNOW, AS KIDS.

DAD SAID THEY'LL JUST BE TIMES THAT THEY'LL BE BAD

AND TIMES THAT THEY WON'T.

Frantz: BOTH OF MY PARENTS WERE VERY, VERY GOOD CHRISTIAN.

NO MATTER WHAT CAME ALONG, THEY SEEMED TO ACCEPT IT.

THEY BOTH JUST SEEMED LIKE

DOING THE BEST THEY COULD,

THEY DIDN'T WHOLE LOT OF GRIPING ABOUT IT.

Narrator: AROUND THE HOUSE, VIRGINIA FRANTZ'S MOTHER

TAKE HER CHILDREN'S MINDS

OFF THE TROUBLES STARING THEM IN THE FACE.

Frantz: § I'M PRESSING ON THE UPWARD WAY

NEW HEIGHTS I'M GAINING EVERY DAY

§ STILL PRAYING AS I ONWARD BOUND §

IS HIGHER GROUND §

THEN IT WAS...

OH, LIFT ME UP LET ME STAND

BY FAITH, ON HEAVEN'S TABLE

HIGHER FAITH I HAVE FOUND

OH, LIFT ME UP ON HIGHER GROUND

HA HA! IT'S BEEN

SINCE I'VE HEARD THAT SONG.

I REMEMBER WE HAD THE RADIO, AND HE'S LISTENING TO IT

TALKING ABOUT A FLOOD ON THE OHIO

AND HOUSES FLOATING DOWN AND PEOPLE ON THEM HOUSES.

MY DAD TURNED

"WE'VE GOT IT BETTER HERE THAN THEY HAVE UP THERE."

SO HE THOUGHT THAT THE DIRT WAS BETTER THAN THAT WATER.

Narrator: IN APRIL OF 1937,

FARMERS FROM 5 STATES MET IN GUYMON,

"THE PROBLEM IN THE DUST BOWL IS ENTIRELY TOO LARGE

"FOR THE REMAINING GOOD FARMERS TO EVEN ST.

TO COPE WITH," THEY WROTE THE GOVERNMENT.

"WE MUST HAVE HELP, AND IT'S IMPERATIVE WE HAVE HELP NOW."

Riney-Kehrberg: I THINK IT HAS TO BE EXTREME

FOR A GROUP OF FARMERS,

VERY INDEPENDENT-MINDED, VERY STUBBORN,

'A GROUP THAT ON THE WHOLE DOESN'T LIKE TO BE MEDDLED WITH

AND MEDDLE WITH US."

BUT AT THIS POINT,

THEY'RE INTO THEIR SIXTH OF NO INCOME,

THEIR FIFTH OF NO CROPS,

AND THEY'RE SEEING NEIGHBORS' FIELDS BLOWING INTO THEIR OWN,

THEY'RE SEEING ENORMOUS CLOUDS OF DIRT IN THE AIR,

THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO.

AND WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO

YOU'RE OF LOSING YOUR FARM,

THEN YOU BEGIN TO ASK FOR RATHER MORE EXTREME MEASURES

THAN YOU WOULD HAVE ASKED FOR OTHERWISE.

IF ONE MISHANDLED HIS LAND,

UNDER THESE CONDITIONS.

THOUSAND-ACRE FARM

BLOWING DIRT BADLY

TO DISRUPT THE LIVES OF EVERYBODY AROUND HIM.

IF THAT FARM OPERATOR ACTUALLY HAPPENED

TO BE LIVING IN AMARILLO OR DENVER

THERE WAS NO AUTHORITY TO

Narrator: THE FARMERS WANTED EVERY LANDOWNER TO BE REQUIRED

TO LEAVE STUBBLE ON HARVESTED FIELDS,

TO HAVE ABANDONED ACRES PLANTED WITH COVER CROPS.

TO DO IT, THEY EVEN SUGGESTED THAT MARTIAL LAW BE DECLARED.

Egan: THEY WANTED THE ABILITY TO CONDEMN OTHER PEOPLE'S PROPERTY

IF THEY WEREN'T KEEPING IT UP.

TO HOW MOST OF THESE PEOPLE THOUGHT.

IN SOME COUNTIES, THEY WERE GRANTED AUTHORITY

TO GO OUT CONDEMN SOMEONE,

TO SLAP THEM IN JAIL IF NEED BE,

IF HE WAS LETTING HIS LAND BLOW AGAIN.

VERY AUTHORITARIAN MEASURE FOR FOLKS WHO

CONSIDERED THEMSELVES HIGHLY INDIVIDUALISTIC.

ALL IDEOLOGY GOES OUT THE WINDOW.

SO HERE IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE

WHO VERY ANTI-STATE, ANTI-GOVERNMENT,

GOVERNMENT INTERFERING

WITH ANYTHING THEY DID TELLING THEM WHAT TO DO,

BUT WHO, WHEN THE CHIPS DOWN,

GOING TO ASK FOR THE ONLY HELP THEY GET,

AND THAT'S FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

Narrator: EVENTUALLY,

SOIL CONSERVATION DISTRICTS WERE ESTABLISHED,

MEANT TO ENFORCE BETTER FARMING

AT THE SAME TIME, THE GOVERNMENT WAS BUYING BACK

AS MUCH LAND AS IT COULD FROM DUSTED-OUT HOMESTEADERS

AND SLOWLY RETURNING IT

GASOLINE FOR THEIR TRACTORS

IF THEY WERE DOING

THEY EVEN RECEIVED PAYMENTS

Worster: "WE HAVE GOT TO BEGIN TO INDUCE PEOPLE TO PLANT LESS."

YOU CAN'T JUST TAKE THEIR AWAY FROM THEM.

THEM NOT TO PRODUCE.

FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE GREAT

THEY COULD KEEP THEIR LAND,

THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO GO OUT EVERY FALL WHEAT AGAIN,

THE GOVERNMENT WOULD SEND THEM A CHECK,

THIS COULD GO ON,

AND UNTIL BETTER TIMES EMERGED.

Hurt: NOBODY KNEW WHETHER

OR HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE.

MIGHT BE 50 YEARS, MIGHT BE 70 YEARS; NOBODY KNEW.

IT'S A TIME PERIOD IN WHICH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

ENTERED AGRICULTURE AS NEVER BEFORE, AND IT'S NEVER LEFT.

Narrator: MEANWHILE, NEAR DALHART,

DUNES THAT HAD ONCE TOWERED 36 FEET

FINNELL'S EMPLOYEE'S CARS

HAD BEEN TAMED IN 18 MONTHS OF PAINSTAKING RESTORATION WORK.

THE CONTRAST BETWEEN CONTOURED FIELDS THAT CAPTURED THE RAIN

AND THOSE FARMED THE

SUCH TANGIBLE RESULTS,

MORE AND MORE FARMERS DECIDED TO TAKE FINNELL'S ADVICE.

BY THE END OF 1937, DESPITE THE PERSISTENT DUST STORMS,

THE AMOUNT OF DANGEROUSLY ERODED

HAD BEEN REDUCED BY MORE THAN HALF.

IN 1938, THE RAINFALL EDGED UPWARD--

18 INCHES IN BOISE CITY--

AND ALTHOUGH THE NUMBER OF DUST

SOME FARMERS IN NO MAN'S LAND

BROUGHT IN A WHEAT CROP OF 10 BUSHELS PER ACRE--

NOTHING CLOSE TO A BUMPER CROP,

BUT ALMOST BOUNTIFUL TO PREVIOUS YEARS.

THE DROUGHT SEEMED TO BE LOSING ITS GRIP.

WHEN THE WORST WAS ARGUABLY OVER,

WHEN THEY SEEN THE BACKHAND OF NATURE,

WHEN THEY'D SEEN MORE YENOM AND ANGER AND OUTRIGHT EVIL,

THEY CALLED IT, THAT THE SKY THROWN AT THEM,

THAT ANY HUMAN BEINGS COULD EVER TAKE,

THEY THOUGHT IT WAS OVER,

CAME ONE ALMOST BIBLICAL PLAGUE.

MOSTLY WERE CRAWLING,

BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU SCARE THEM, THEY'D JUMP FLY.

BUT MOST OF THEM WERE JUST CRAWLING,

JUST LIKE A WHOLE SEA OF THEM.

THEY ATE EVERYTHING IN SIGHT.

IT IT ALMOST LOOKED LIKE THE GROUND WAS MOVING,

THEY WOULD GET THAT BIG,

AND THEY WOULD EAT ON THE BARK OF THE TREES,

AND THEY ATE EVERYTHING

THAT THEY COULD COME IN CONTACT WITH.

FROM HERE, THEY LEFT ON, AND WHAT I UNDERSTAND,

SOMEWHERES IN THEY GREW WINGS,

THEY ALL TOOK FLIGHT,

THEY THEY SHADED THE SUN

BECAUSE THEY WERE ALL TOGETHER.

Narrator: FARMERS HOOKED UP SLEDS TO THEIR TRACTORS

AND DRAGGED THEM

TRAPPING GRASSHOPPERS IN VATS OF KEROSENE.

SOME TRIED CRUSHING THEM UNDER ROLLERS.

THEIR NATIONAL GUARDS

TO SPREAD POISON,

MOLASSES OIL, ALONG THE ROADSIDES.

HOW MUCH MORE OUT

WHEN THEY'RE NOW POURING STRYCHNINE

ON WHAT HAD BEEN THE

TO KILL GRASSHOPPERS WHO

BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE LEFT TO LIVE?

THAT ITSELF, BY THE TIME THEY WERE POURING POISON

ON THE THAT BEEN KILLED BY THEM,

I THINK THEY HAD GONE SO FAR DOWN THE ROAD

IN ALTERING THIS

THAT IT WAS ALMOST BEYOND

Robertson: ALL THE DEMOCRATS WERE EXCITED.

THERE WERE PEOPLE IN AMARILLO WHO DID NOT LIKE ROOSEVELT,

THEY WERE USUALLY THE WEALTHY PEOPLE.

I KNOW ONE OF THEM WAS-- ONE OF THE RICH MEN I HEARD SAY,

"THIS SOCIALISTIC REGIME IS NOT AMERICAN.

IT'S ANTI-AMERICAN."

THOSE OF US WHO WERE, YOU KNOW,

APPRECIATED THE PROGRAMS THAT ROOSEVELT STARTED.

Narrator: ON JULY 11, 1938,

TRAIN BEARING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

PULLED INTO THE STATION AT AMARILLO, TEXAS,

IN THE DUST BOWL.

IN HONOR OF THE PRESIDENTS VISIT,

ORGANIZERS HAD ASSEMBLED WHAT THEY CLAIMED TO BE

THE WORLD'S LARGEST MARCHING BAND: 3,000 PEOPLE--

ANYONE, THEY SAID, BETWEEN THE AGES OF

ESTIMATED CROWD OF 200,000--

TIMES THE POPULATION OF THE CITY ITSELF--

TURNED OUT, LINING THE 3-MILE ROUTE

OF ROOSEVELT'S MOTORCADE TO ELLWOOD

"PEOPLE WHO ARE IGNORANT AND PEOPLE WHO THINK

ONLY IN TERMS OF THE MOMENT," THE PRESIDENT SAID,

"SCOFF AT OUR EFFORTS SAY,

"OH, LET THE NEXT GENERATION TAKE CARE OF ITSELF.

"IF PEOPLE OUT IN THE DRY PARTS OF THE COUNTRY

CANNOT LIVE THERE, LET THEM MOVE OUT."

Egan: AND THEN THE MOST AMAZING THING HAPPENS.

REMEMBER, THE DROUGHT HAS

THESE CLOUDS COME OUT OF NOWHERE.

IT'S A JULY DAY. IT'S HOT SEASON.

CLOUDS BUNCH, IT RAINS.

IT'S AN OLD-FASHIONED GULLY-WASHER.

AND THE RAIN COMES OFF OF ROOSEVELT, AND HE CONTINUES.

HE'S GOT HIS CLAMPED KNEES UP THERE,

AND HE CONTINUES

"I'M NEVER GONNA DESERT YOU."

Narrator: "I THINK THIS LITTLE SHOWER WE HAVE HAD,"

THE PRESIDENT BEAMED, "IS A MIGHTY GOOD OMEN."

Robertson: AND WE HAD BEEN WISHING FOR RAIN,

PRAYING FOR RAIN, AND IT RAINED THE DAY HE CAME.

IT RAINED. SO HE TOOK CREDIT FOR THAT.

Narrator: A SNOWSTORM IN EARLY 1939 BROUGHT HOPE,

WHICH GREW WHEN THE SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE

ANNOUNCED THAT, THANKS TO BETTER FARMING PRACTICES,

CONDITION IN 7 YEARS.

BY THE END OF THE

THE DUST BOWL HAD SHRUNK

I DON'T KNOW

WE'D GET A LITTLE RAIN LITTLE RAIN.

THE THING I REMEMBER, THAT WHEN IT FIRST STARTED,

THE SUNFLOWERS

THEY WERE IN OUR PASTURE

WHEN WE WENT TO GET OUR MILK COWS IN,

WHICH WE DID ON HORSEBACK--

YOU TO HUNT THEM BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T SEE THEM--

AND THE SUNFLOWERS WOULD BE UP ABOVE OUR HEAD.

Narrator: IN FOLLETT, TEXAS,

TRIXIE TRAVIS BROWN'S FATHER HAD BEEN TRYING FOR YEARS

TO PERSUADE HIS WIFE TO PULL UP STAKES MOVE TO IDAHO.

Trixie Travis Brown: MY MOTHER WAS VERY RELUCTANT

BECAUSE ALL OF HER FAMILY~-- YOU KNOW, WE HAD,

PROBABLY 50 PEOPLE OF THE 437 IN FOLLETT

WERE ALL RELATIVES.

MY FATHER, HE EVEN HAD THE LAND PICKED OUT IN IDAHO.

HE HAD THE MAP OUT.

MOTHER JUST KEPT HOLDING OUT.

Narrator: THEN, SLOWLY, THINGS BEGAN IMPROVING.

Brown: WE BEGAN TO GO OUT ON A REGULAR BASIS.

MOTHER AND DAD LIKED

MOTHER GOT OUT WITH ALL THE IN THE HOUSE

THAT SHE WOULD SAY, "GEORGE, LET'S TAKE

OUT TO LOOK AT THE WHEAT."

SEE HOW HIGH IT WAS TO US CHILDREN.

WE'D ST. THERE,

AND THEY'D SORT OF MEASURE THE HEIGHT OF THE WHEAT.

THEN WHEN IT BEGAN TO REALLY DEVELOP,

BE A REALLY GOOD WHEAT CROP.

THE WENT INTO A DRAWER,

THE TO IDAHO WAS CANCELLED.

White: NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW

WHAT IT MEANT TO YOU TO HAVE IT RAIN.

EVEN TO THIS DAY, WE RAIN THE OTHER DAY,

AND I THOUGHT WHEN IT WAS RAINING HOW NICE THIS WAS,

AND THAT'S WHAT WE WHAT WE PRAYED, WHAT WE YEARNED FOR

WAS THE RAIN THAT CAME THAT WOULD SOAK INTO THE GROUND

LET US RAISE A CROP EVENTUALLY STOP THE DUST.

Floyd Coen: WELL, WHEN IT DID START RAINING,

WE'D GO OUT IN THE RAIN AND HOLD OUR HANDS UP

LET THAT HIT OUR OUR FACE

WORSHIPPED THAT RAIN

Glover: IT JUST SEEMED HAPPIER EVERYWHERE YOU WENT--

EVERYBODY, NOT JUST MY FOLKS.

WHEN WE'D GO TO THE NEIGHBORS EITHER SIDE,

THE THRASHERS OR THE FREEMANS,

WE ALWAYS FELT LIKE THINGS GETTING

I REMEMBER THE FIRST YEAR

THAT WE PROBABLY GOOD CROP THE DIRTY THIRTIES,

WE GOT STUCK IN THE FIELD

DADDY DIDN'T EVEN GRIPE ABOUT IT,

WE WERE HAVING RAIN.

Narrator: AT HIS FARM IN THE PANHANDLE,

DOROTHY KLEFFMAN'S FATHER

TO BRING HIS WIFE CHILDREN BACK FROM ARKANSAS.

THEY HAVE A SAYING HERE

THAT IF YOU OUTA OF BOOTS HERE IN THE PANHANDLE,

YOU'LL COME BACK, WHEN WE DID COME BACK,

THE LAND HAD BEEN RECOVERED.

THEY HAD LEARNED HOW TO TERRACE THE LAND.

I REMEMBER MY WHEAT CROP,

I THINK IN 1940, THAT WAS A GOOD WHEAT CROP.

WE THOUGHT, WE'RE BACK.

Henderson portrayer: DECEMBER 13, 1944.

WE FOR ONCE SUPER-ABUNDANCE OF RAIN

WHEAT WAS A FAIR CROP.

BETWEEN RAINS.

WE HAVE AMPLE PASTURAGE WITH THE INCREASED RAINFALL,

AND CATTLE HAVE DONE REASONABLY WELL.

AND WE HAD A NICE GARDEN,

WITH MOST OF OUR WINTER'S LIVING ST AWAY.

Narrator: JUST AS IT YEARS EARLIER,

A WAR IN EUROPE AND THE RETURN

OF A RELATIVELY WET WEATHER CYCLE

BROUGHT PROSPERITY TO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS.

AND HARVESTS WERE BOUNTIFUL.

Henderson portrayer: MAY 1945,

MOST OF THE MATERIALS FOR PIPING WATER INTO THE HOUSE,

WITH A SINK IN THE KITCHEN

AND INDOOR TOILET IN THE BATHROOM.

BUT WE NEED A SUPERMAN TO DO THE

WE HAVE BOTH WORN DOWN FAST

DURING THE YEARS OF EXTREME DESOLATION SINCE 1931.

EVERY SMALL ACCOMPLISHMENT NOW SEEMS TO DEMAND

GREATER OUTPUT OF ENERGY RESOLUTION

THAN IN THE YEARS THAT ARE GONE.

Narrator: CAROLINE HENDERSON WAS GRATEFUL

FOR BETTER WEATHER AND HIGHER PRICES,

BUT SHE HER HUSBAND WILL WERE NOW NEARING 70.

SHE SUFFERED FROM ASTHMA, HE HAD A HEART CONDITION,

AND NEITHER OF THEM COULD FORGET

OF THE DUST BOWL.

Henderson IT IS GOOD TO REMEMBER

THAT THE LAWS OF THE UNIVERSE RECOGNIZE NO FAVORITES

AND CHERISH NO HOSTILITY OR SMALL VINDICTIVENESS;

THAT BEFORE SUN RAIN, ST WINDS,

KIND BENEFICENCE,

WE ALL STAND UPON ONE COMMON LEVEL.

Narrator: IN THE FIRST 5 YEARS OF THE 1940s,

DEVOTED TO WHEAT EXPANDED BY NEARLY 3 MILLION ACRES.

THE SPECULATORS AND SUITCASE FARMERS RETURNED.

AN ACRE DURING THE DUST BOWL

SOMETIMES 100 DOLLARS AN ACRE.

EVEN SOME OF THE MOST MARGINAL

WERE PUT BACK INTO PRODUCTION.

"THE SAME PROCESS," HOWARD FINNELL WARNED,

"IS STARTING AGAIN IN THE VERY SAME PLACE."

"Il ALWAYS I WAS THE ONLY ONE

WHO COULD REMEMBER THOSE DREADFUL DAYS,"

CAROLINE CONFIDED TO A FRIEND, ADDING,

"PEOPLE HAVE SIMPLY ASSUMED IT COULDN'T HAPPEN AGAIN."

THEN, IN THE EARLY 1950s,

WHEN THE WET CYCLE ENDED DROUGHT REPLACED IT,

PICKED UP ONCE MORE.

BUT THE DAMAGE TO THE WAS MITIGATED

HAD CONTINUED USING

HOWARD FINNELL'S CONSERVATION PRACTICES,

AND BECAUSE NEARLY 4 MILLION ACRES HAD BEEN PURCHASED

BY THE GOVERNMENT DURING THE DUST BOWL

AND PERMANENTLY RESTORED

THE SOIL DIDN'T BLOW AS MUCH.

HAD BEEN LEARNED.

WE WANT IT NOW,

IF IT IF IT MAKES MONEY NOW, IT'S A GOOD IDEA.

BUT IT ISN'T NECESSARILY IT'S A GOOD IDEA.

IF THE THINGS WE'RE DOING ARE GOING TO MESS UP THE FUTURE,

DON'T DEAL ON THE MOMENT.

TAKE THE LONG-TERM LOOK AT THINGS.

Egan: I THINK THAT THE MOST BASIC LESSON WAS, BE HUMBLE.

RESPECT THE LAND ITSELF.

LISTEN TO WHAT IT'S TRYING TO TELL YOU.

IF THE WIND BLOWS 60, 70 MILES AN HOUR FOR 50% OF THE YEAR,

ONE THING IS GROWING THERE,

DON'T TRY TO PUT THINGS IN PLACE THERE THAT DON'T BELONG THERE.

LISTEN TO THE LAND ITSELF.

Narrator: BUT NOW, INSTEAD OF LOOKING TO THE SKIES FOR RAIN,

FARMERS BEGAN LOOKING BENEATH THE SOIL,

WHERE THEY BELIEVED A MORE RELIABLE--AND IRRESISTIBLE--

COULD BE FOUND--

THE VAST OGALLALA AQUIFER, AN UNDERGROUND RESERVOIR

STRETCHING FROM NEBRASKA TO NORTH TEXAS,

FILLED WITH WATER THAT HAD SEEPED DOWN FOR CENTURIES

AFTER THE LAST ICE AGE.

COULD PUMP THE ANCIENT WATER UP,

IRRIGATE THEIR LAND, GROW OTHER CROPS,

LIKE FEED FOR CATTLE PIGS,

WHICH REQUIRE EVEN MORE MOISTURE THAN WHEAT.

Charles Shaw: THE ONLY THING

THAT'S HOLDING THAT GROUND TOGETHER

IS THAT IRRIGATION WATER THAT COMES OUT OF THE

THE IS ABOUT 100 FEET DEEP ON THE AVERAGE.

WE'VE GOT ABOUT YEARS OF WATER LEFT

UNDER THESE 8 STATES OR THE PORTIONS OF THESE 8 STATES,

AND IT'S DISAPPEARING.

IT'S GONNA BE GONE IN 20 YEARS.

IF YOU LOSE THE WATER, YOU'RE GONNA LOSE THE LAND.

AND THAT'S IT IN A NUTSHELL.

Lewis: MY FOLKS PUT IN ONE OF THE FIRST IRRIGATION WELLS,

WE THOUGHT IT WAS A GREAT IDEA.

THE BEGINNING OF A BAD IDEA.

HAVING IRRIGATION WATER PERMITTED US TO DO SOME THINGS

THAT WEREN'T GOOD FOR THE LONG TERM.

SOME OF THESE DAYS... I'LL BE GONE,

BUT SOMEBODY IS GONNA BE OUT OF WATER.

FOLKS ARE GONNA HAVE TROUBLE GETTING ENOUGH DRINKING WATER,

THEY'LL LOOK BACK SAY,

"AND TO THINK BACK THERE IN THE FIFTIES AND SIXTIES,

THEY USED UP OUR DRINKING WATER TO RAISE HOG FEED."

Worster: I THINK THE DUST BOWL HAPPEN AGAIN--

MOST EMPHATICALLY

IT BECOME CREEPING SAHARA.

THE SAHARA DESERT, A FEW THOUSAND YEARS AGO,

WE KNOW THAT IT'S POSSIBLE

TO TURN FROM SAVANNAH TOA ST DESERT,

AND THERE'S NO REASON TO THINK THAT IT CAN'T HAPPEN

IN THE MIDDLE OF NORTH AMERICA.

Henderson portrayer: AUGUST 1, 1965.

ANOTHER HOT DESOLATE DAY.

WE BOTH QUITE WEAKENED BY OUR STRUGGLES,

EITHER WITH ASTHMA DESPERATE COUGH,

I BELIEVE LARGELY THE RESULT OF WORKING WITH THE DUSTY WHEAT.

WE REASON TO HOPE FOR GOOD RAIN FOR THE FEED CROP,

JUST NOW IN NEED OF ENCOURAGEMENT,

BUT THE MOISTURE WAS CUT OFF WITH ONLY A LIGHT SHOWER.

Narrator: ON HER HOMESTEAD IN NO MAN'S LAND,

CAROLINE HENDERSON CARRIED ON WITHOUT RESORTING

TO IRRIGATION WATER FROM THE OGALLALA AQUIFER.

IT HAD BEEN NEARLY 60 YEARS SINCE SHE FIRST ARRIVED,

FULL OF DREAMS OF FARMING HER OWN LAND

AND PROSPERING FROM ITS BOUNTY.

IN THOSE 60 YEARS,

SHE AND WILL HAD SEEN ONLY 10 BUMPER CROPS--

AND OFTENTIMES,

FEELINGS OF FAILURE

THEY APPROACHED THE AGE OF 80,

THEY WERE STILL USING THE FARM EQUIPMENT

THEY HAD PURCHASED IN THE 1920s BECAUSE

CAROLINE REFUSED TO BORROW MONEY FOR MACHINERY.

BUT THEY WERE FREE OF DEBT,

THEIR DAUGHTER HAD BECOME

GIVEN THEM A GRANDSON WITH A BRIGHT FUTURE.

IN HER OLD AGE, CAROLINE

TO TURN HER LAND OVER TO A FARM MANAGEMENT COMPANY--

MONEY-GATHERING CORPORATION,"

SHE CALLED THEM, "WITH NO POSSIBLE INTEREST

IN THIS SMALL BIT OF THE GOOD EARTH."

IN 1965, WITH BOTH OF THEM IN HEALTH,

SHE FINALLY AGREED

TO LIVE WITH THEIR DAUGHTER.

THEY RETURNED TO NO MAN'S

FOR A FINAL VISIT.

WILL DIED 3 DAYS LATER.

CAROLINE JOINED HIM--

CALLED "THE WESTERN GATE"--

WITHIN A FEW MONTHS.

THE HOMESTEAD WAS PLACED IN TRUST,

ON THE CONDITION THAT IT NEVER BE PLOWED AGAIN.

Henderson TO THE GROUND AS WELL AS WE MAY,

TO SOW OUR SEEDS, TO CULTIVATE CARE FOR--

THAT IS OUR PART.

YET HOW DIFFICULT IT IS FOR SOME OF US TO LEARN

THAT THE RESULTS WE MUST LEAVE

TO THE GREAT SILENT UNSEEN FORCES OF NATURE,

WHETHER THE CROP BE CHARACTER.

CAROLINE HENDERSON.

[CAPTIONING MADE POSSIBLE BY FRIENDS OF NCI]

THAT OLD DUST ST KILLED MY BABY

BUT IT CAN'T KILL ME, LORD, IT CAN'T KILL ME

THAT OLD DUST STORM, WELL, IT KILLED MY FAMILY

BUT IT CAN'T KILL ME, LORD, IT CAN'T KILL ME

THAT OLD LANDLORD, HE GOT MY HOMESTEAD

BUT HE CAN'T GET ME, LORD, HE CAN'T GET ME

THAT OLD DRY SPELL KILLED MY CROP, BOYS

BUT IT CAN'T KILL ME, LORD, IT CAN'T KILL ME

§ THAT OLD TRACTOR

BUT IT CAN'T GET ME, LORD, IT CAN'T GET ME

§ THAT OLD TRACTOR RUN MY HOUSE DOWN §

§ BUT IT CAN'T GET ME DOWN, AND IT CAN'T GET ME §

THAT OLD PAWN SHOP GOT MY FURNITURE

BUT IT CAN'T GET ME, LORD, IT CAN'T GET ME

THAT OLD HIGHWAY, IT'S GOT MY RELATIVES

BUT IT CAN'T GET ME, LORD, IT CAN'T GET ME

THAT OLD DUST MITE KILLED MY WHEAT, BOYS

BUT IT CAN'T KILL ME, LORD, IT CAN'T KILL ME

§ I HAVE WEATHERED

BUT IT CAN'T GET ME, BOYS, IT CAN'T KILL ME

THAT OLD DUST STORM, WELL, IT BLOWED MY BARN DOWN

§ BUT IT CAN'T BLOW ME DOWN, AND IT CAN'T BLOW ME DOWN §

THAT OLD WIND MIGHT BLOW THIS DOWN

BUT IT CAN'T BLOW ME DOWN, IT CAN'T KILL ME

THAT OLD DUST ST KILLED MY BABY

BUT IT CAN'T KILL ME, LORD, IT CAN'T KILL ME

Narrator: HISTORY, AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF KEN BURNS,

IS JUST COLLECTION OF STORIES

ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENED IN THE .

IT'S A CHANCE FOR US ALL

TO REFLECT ON HOW TO BUILD A STRONGER TOMORROW.

WE SHARE IN HIS VISION,

WE'RE PROUD TO SUPPORT HIS EFFORTS.

Announcer; FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM IS PROVIDED BY:

MEMBERS OF THE ANGELS SOCIETY,

DEDICATED TO HELPING KEN BURNS TELL AMERICA'S STORIES,

INCLUDING THE HAMEL FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST,

ROBERT BEVERLY GRAPPONE;

THE ARTHUR VINING DAVIS FOUNDATIONS,

DEDICATED TO STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S FUTURE

THROUGH EDUCATION;

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES,

EXPLORING THE HUMAN ENDEAVOR;

THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION;

THE WALLACE GENETIC FOUNDATION;

THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING

AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION

FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.