The Dust Bowl (1930's, western, ally, Iowa)

[metro223]

The Dust Bowl is something I just got interested in learning more about. I know it happened in the 1930's when farmers started farming wheat out in Western Kansas and Oklahoma. Were these the only areas effected? Were areas like Iowa and Nebraska effected as well? Just curious to see if any History Buffs had interesting information on the topic....

Any info is appreciated!

[Trudy Rose]

The problem was, that they plowed the fields in deep, straight lines. So when the wind blew, it picked up all the top soil. They eventually changed to a pattern of contour plowing and planting hedge rows... Then, there was Jethro Tull ( The only JT I had ever heard of was the singer) but he came up with a new idea of not plowing deep, just planting..I've used that method in my own garden.. just dump some dirt and then plant, instead of digging first.. It workd pretty good!

[Capt. Dan]

And John Steinbeck would still be unknown without the dustbowl!!

[Trudy Rose]

And Woody Gutherie

[sean98125]

Originally Posted by Trudeyrose

The problem was, that they plowed the fields in deep, straight lines. So when the wind blew, it picked up all the top soil. They eventually changed to a pattern of contour plowing and planting hedge rows... Then, there was Jethro Tull ( The only JT I had ever heard of was the singer) but he came up with a new idea of not plowing deep, just planting..I've used that method in my own garden.. just dump some dirt and then plant, instead of digging first.. It workd pretty good!

Didn't that Jethro Tull live in the 18th Century?

[Trudy Rose]

Just checked Jethro on Wiki.. 1674-1741..very interesting article...And I still love Aqualung!!

[metro223]

Interesting! Does anyone know which areas were effected the worst?

[harry chickpea]

Oklahoma and Northern Texas, IIRC. A large part of the problem was the settlement occurred during a wet period, and when the dry period came, the crops could no longer be supported by the reduced rainfall. A similar but worse problem happened to the natives who pre-dated the Pueblo Indians.

[Trudy Rose]

If you Google "Dust Bowl' and "Great Depression" you'll get some good info and pictures.. I would then suggest looking at Amazon..there are many good books on the subject that you can probably get from your library..

[John Walmsley]

Some of the photos taken by depression-era photographers have become classics, like Dorothea Lange's picture of the care-worn "Migrant Mother" and Arthur Rothstein's "Family Fleeing the Dust storm." The starkness of black and white photography captured the plight of the dust bowl victims in a way that no other medium could. I've seen the movie based on Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" several times and never tire of it. I thought the acting was brilliant.