The Worst Hard Time

by Timothy Egan

  Hazel Shaw story from author interview with her son, Charles Shaw, September 21, 2003.

  Folkers details from Faye Folkers Gardner's previously cited book, So Long, Old Timer!

  Information on William Murray in part from Alfalfa Bill Murray, Keith L. Bryant Jr. (Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1968) and William H. Murray Collection at Oklahoma University, Carl Albert Center archives, author visit, September 9, 2003.

  Sheriff Hi Barrick and his story from oral history interview with Barrick, recorded January 7, 1983, on file at the Oklahoma Historical Society, Oral History Program, author visit September 6, 2003.

  First dust storm details from federal government's Monthly Weather Review, January 1932, www.history.noaa.gov.

  Approaching storms and social conditions from The Dust Bowl: An Agricultural and Social History, R. Douglas Hurt (Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1981).

  White family details from author interview with Melt White, November 21, 2002.

  Reaction in Boise City from Boise City News, various editions, 1932 and 1933.

  Farming troubles from An Empire of Dust, Lawrence Svobida (Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, 1940).

  8: IN A DRY LAND

  Dawson family descriptions of bugs from Dawson's book, High Plains Yesterdays, previously cited.

  White family from author interview with Melt White, November 21, 2002.

  Story of Blackjack's grave in part from pages of the Dalhart Texan, various editions, 1932, and from author interviews with Herzstein family members, February 20, 2002, and October 2, 2003.

  Weather bureau reaction to early storms in part from The Dust Bowl: Men, Dirt and the Depression, Paul Bonnifield (Albuquerque: Univ. of New Mexico Press, 1979).

  Information on Oklahoma Panhandle reaction from author interview with Gerald Dixon at his home in Guymon, Oklahoma, on November 21, 2002.

  Details of drought, social, and agricultural life from author interview with Dr. Ken Turner, curator, No Man's Land Historical Museum, Guymon, Oklahoma, on November 20, 2002.

  Lujan family details from family history on file at Boise City Public Library, Boise City, Oklahoma, and from Young, The Tracks We Followed, previously cited.

  County agricultural agent, William Baker, and his actions in part from Boise City News, various editions, 1932–1934.

  Hispanics and how they lived in part from oral history of Joe Garza, on file at Oklahoma Historical Society, Oral History Program, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

  Hugh Bennett from United States Department of Agriculture official biography, www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/history/bennett.html, and Big Hugh: The Father of Soil Conservation, Wellington Brink (New York: MacMillan, 1951).

  Farming troubles from Svobida, An Empire of Dust, previously cited.

  9: NEW LEADER, NEW DEAL

  White family details from author interview with Melt White, November 21, 2002.

  Bill Murray decline from Murray archives, William H. Murray Collection at Oklahoma University.

  Depression information in general from previously cited McElvaine, Great Depression, and The Age of Roosevelt: The Crisis of the Old Order, 1919–1933, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1957), as well as Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Rendezvous with Destiny, Frank Freidel (Boston: Little, Brown, 1990).

  Details of Boise City from Boise City News, various editions, 1933–1934.

  Farm income from Yearbook of Agriculture 1934, United States Department of Agriculture (Washington, D.C: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1934).

  General plains details from Heaven's Tableland: The Dust Bowl Story, Vance Johnson (New York: Farrar, Straus, 1947).

  Bennett quotes from previously cited USDA biography and Brink, Big Hugh.

  10: BIG BLOWS

  Weather details from Boise City News, April 1 and 14, 1933, and from No Man's Land Historical Museum, Guymon, Oklahoma, author visit November 20, 2002.

  Weather history from History of United States Weather Bureau, Donald R. Whitnah (Champaign: Univ. of Illinois Press, 1961).

  Dalhart details from the Dalhart Texan, various editions, 1933.

  Hazel Shaw information from her previously cited book, Sunshine and Shadows, and from author interview with her son, Charles Shaw, September 21, 2003.

  Lindbergh landing from Dalhart Texan and Boise City News, various editions, 1933.

  Eyewitness accounts of early storms from Oral History Program, Oklahoma Historical Society, author visit September 6, 2003.

  Cable sent to Washington from Boise City News, various editions, 1933.

  Hazel Shaw's pregnancy from her book, Sunshine and Shadows, previously cited.

  11: TRIAGE

  Government checks and government plans in Boise City from Boise City News, various editions, 1934.

  Hazel Shaw details from author interviews with son Charles Shaw, September 21, 2003, and her previously cited book, Sunshine and Shadows.

  Description of area, as quoted, from New Outlook magazine, May 1934.

  McCarty writings from his column, Dalhart Texan, various editions, 1934.

  Information on the Kohler ranch and how the Kohler family coped from Robert Kohler interview, recorded March 14, 1983, on file at Oral History Program, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, author visit September 5, 2003.

  Description of storms from "The Dust Bowl," Michael Parfit, Smithsonian, June 1989.

  Big dust storm hits New York, from the New York Times, various editions, 1934.

  Caroline Henderson writings from "Letters of Two Women Farmers," Atlantic Monthly, August 1933, and collected in Letters from the Dust Bowl, Caroline Henderson, Alvin O. Turner, eds. (Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 2001).

  12: THE LONG DARKNESS

  Birth of Shaw child and travails from Hazel Shaw's previously cited book, Sunshine and Shadows. More Shaw details from author interview with Charles Shaw, September 21, 2003.

  Hi Barrick from oral history recorded January 7, 1983, on file at Oral History Program, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, author visit September 5, 2003.

  Depression era birthrate from U.S. Census, www.census.gov.

  Government plans and payouts from Boise City News, various editions, January 1935.

  Kohler ranch from oral history, Oral History Program, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, author visit September 6, 2003.

  Lowery family canning and eating Russian thistles from Odalee Lowery Bohn's story in Footsteps: Family Histories of Cimarron County, Oklahoma, Norma Gene Butterbaugh Young, ed. (Amarillo, Texas: Southwestern Publications, 1989).

  Ehrlich family details from Willie Ehrlich oral history at Oral History Program, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, recorded July 17, 1986.

  Borth family details from author interview with Rosa Borth Becker, Shattuck, Oklahoma, September 12, 2003.

  13: THE STRUGGLE FOR AIR

  Osteen illnesses and life in dugout from author interview with Ike Osteen, April 25, 2002.

  Osteen land and descriptions of family struggle from Osteen's previously cited book, A Place Called Baca.

  Dr. Blue on dust pneumonia from Boise City News, April 1935.

  Red Cross hospitals from Boise City News, April and May 1935, and Osteen recollections, author interview, April 25, 2002.

  Stories of Baca County during 1930s from Baca histories on file at the Baca County Public Library, Springfield, Colorado.

  Stories of Red Cross and other dust-related emergency measures in southeast Colorado from Prowers County Heritage, the county history, on file at the Lamar Public Library, Lamar, Colorado.

  Weather history, From Weather Vanes to Satellites, Herbert J. Spiegel and Arnold Gruber (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1983).

  14: SHOWDOWN IN DALHART

  Arrest of blacks from Dalhart Texan, various issues, Spring 1935.

  Lunacy trials from records on file in Dallam County Courthouse, Dalhart, Texas, and from previously cited Dawson, High Plains Yesterdays.

>   Details of Dalhart decline from previously cited Hunter, Book of Years.

  White family chores and challenges, author interview with Melt White, November 21, 2002.

  Big Dalhart meeting from Dalhart Texan, various issues, Spring 1935.

  McCarty comments from his column in the Dalhart Texan, various issues, Spring 1935.

  Rainmaking from Dalhart Texan, various issues, Spring 1935.

  15: DUSTER'S EVE

  Baby's illness and death, from Hazel Shaw's previously cited book, Sunshine and Shadows, and from Hi Barrick oral history, recorded January 7, 1983, on file at Oral History Program, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, author visit September 5, 2003.

  Other details and family reaction to tragedy from author interview with Charles Shaw, September 21, 2003.

  Folkers troubles from Faye Folkers Gardner's previously cited book, So Long, Old Timer! and from author interviews with Gordon Folkers, May 2, 2002, and Faye Gardner, April 30, 2002.

  Boise City life just before Black Sunday from author interview with Norma Gene Butterbaugh Young, September 8, 2003, and her book, Footsteps, previously cited.

  Kansas State professor's estimate of volume of dust, as reported by Amarillo Daily News, April 22, 1935.

  Hi Barrick's duties from his oral history on file at Oral History Program, Oklahoma Historical Society, previously cited.

  Descriptions of rabbit clubbings from Boise City News and oral history of Verdela Harriman Fry, on file at Oral History Program, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, author visit September 6, 2003.

  16: BLACK SUNDAY

  Description of weather that morning, author interviews with Ike Osteen, Melt White, and Norma Gene Butterbaugh Young, all previously cited, and newspaper accounts.

  Osteen activities, from author interview with Ike Osteen, and Mr. Osteen's book, A Place Called Baca, previously cited.

  Description of storm hitting Dodge City from Black Sunday: The Great Dust Storm of April 14, 1935, Frank L. Stallings, Jr. (Austin, Texas: Eakin Press, 2001).

  Lucas funeral from Hazel Shaw's previously cited book, Sunshine and Shadows, and Boise City News, various editions, April 1935.

  Trucks in ditch and sky black in Boise City from remembrance of Louise Fairchild, as told to Natalie Weaver and Andrew Randolph in Boise City Language Arts class, 1999, on file at Cimarron Heritage Center, Boise City, Oklahoma.

  Folkers's experience from Faye Folkers Gardner's previously cited book, So Long, Old Timer!

  Story of Joe Garza and saving the child from interview with Garza, recorded 1985 (no month), on file at Oral History Program, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, author visit September 8, 2003.

  The Associated Press team, from AP dispatches, chiefly the one sent the day after Black Sunday, April 15, 1935, printed in the Amarillo Daily News, April 15, 1935.

  When storm hit Denver from photos and records on file at Denver Public Library, Western History Department, Denver, Colorado, author visit May 12, 2004.

  How the Germans fared from author interviews with Ehrlichs, July 18, 2003, and Borths, September 12, 2003.

  What happened to Ehrlich, from Willie Ehrlich oral history, Oral History Program, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, recorded July 17, 1986.

  Black as night from Berenice Jackson, Oral History Program, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, author visit September 6, 2003.

  When the storm hit Texas Panhandle from Amarillo Daily News, April 15, 1935.

  Woody Guthrie account from a recording made March 21, 1940, between Guthrie and Alan Lomax, as presented on "Woody Guthrie on Weekend Edition, Oct. 20, 1996," from the transcript.

  17: A CALL TO ARMS

  Bob Geiger dispatches from Associated Press filings, previously cited.

  Hugh Bennett waiting for storms to call for aid from previously cited USDA biography and Brink, Big Hugh, and news accounts, as well as government booklet, "The National Grasslands Story," United States Department of Agriculture—Forest Service (Washington, D.C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1964).

  Land "essentially destroyed," from USDA, Yearbook of Agriculture 1935, previously cited.

  Beginnings of conservation plans from The Soil Conservation Service, D. Harper Simms (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1970).

  Odalee Bohn Lowery recollections, from oral history on file at Boise City Public Library, Boise City, Oklahoma, and from previously cited Young, Footsteps.

  Dalhart stirrings from John L. McCarty Collection, Amarillo Public Library, Amarillo, Texas.

  Formation of Last Man's Club from Dalhart Texan, April 22, 1935.

  Rainmaking from the Dalhart Texan, April 29, 1935, and Dawson, High Plains Yesterdays, previously cited.

  Roosevelt actions, in part, from Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal, William E. Leuchtenburg (New York: Harper & Row, 1963), and The Age of Roosevelt, 3 vols., Arthur M. Schlesinger (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1957–1960).

  Harold Ickes, in part, from Righteous Pilgrim: The Life and Times of Harold L. Ickes, 1874–1952, T. H. Watkins (New York: Henry Holt, 1990).

  Ickes quote on idealism from New York Times Magazine, May 27, 1934.

  Bennett from previously cited USDA biography and Brink, Big Hugh.

  McCarty quotes from his columns in the Dalhart Texan, April, May, June, 1935.

  Cimarron County telegram from Boise City News, April 1935.

  18: GOINGS

  Osteen breakup, all from author interviews with Ike Osteen and Mr. Osteen's book, previously cited.

  Resettlement activity in Baca, from records on file at Springfield Public Library, Baca County Library, Springfield, Colorado.

  Osteen graduation, mother comments, from author interviews with Mr. Osteen, previously cited.

  19: WITNESSES

  Donald Hartwell's writings are from his unpublished diary, on file at the Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln, Nebraska, and provided to the author. Copyright holder unknown.

  Rothstein information, from Farm Security Administration public records, www.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml, and The Depression Year, Arthur Rothstein (New York: Dover Publications, 1978).

  Pare Lorentz, "The Plow That Broke the Plains" from the film itself (U.S. Government short film, produced by Pare Lorentz, 1936), and from Pare Lorentz and the Documentary Film, Robert Snyder (Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1968).

  Panhandle reaction to film from Amarillo Daily News, June 1, 1936.

  Dorothea Lange from An American Exodus: A Record of Human Erosion, Dorothea Lange and Paul Schuster Taylor (New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1939).

  Bam White watching film from author interviews with Melt White, previously cited.

  20: THE SADDEST LAND

  Hazel Shaw pregnant, from her previously cited Sunshine and Shadows.

  Statistics on volume of dirt, from the New York Times, March 31, 1935.

  Statistics on out-migration from United States Census Population Survey, www.census.gov, and American Exodus: The Dust Bowl Migration and Okie Culture in California, James N. Gregory (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1989).

  Caroline Henderson letters from letters published in the Atlantic Monthly, previously cited.

  Hazel Shaw details from author interview with son Charles Shaw, September 21, 2003, and her previously cited book, Sunshine and Shadows.

  Weather statistics on Oklahoma, from a chart entitled "Oklahoma Weather Timelines," courtesy of the State of Oklahoma.

  Ehrlich details from family history, Seventy-Eight First Cousins, and Willie Ehrlich oral history, both previously cited.

  Borths from Rosa Borth Becker interview, September 12, 2003, and family history on file at Wolf Creek Heritage Museum, Lipscomb, Texas.

  New York Times story from March 31, 1935, edition.

  Another New York Times story, May 27, 1934, edition.

  McCarty singing and Guymon visitors from Dalhart Texan, various editions, Spring 1936.

 
21: VERDICT

  Quotes from report are direct from public file, "Report of the Great Plains Drought Area Committee, Aug., 1936," www.newdeal.feri.org.

  Second report directly quoted from "The Future of the Great Plains," 1937, public record, www.newdeal.feri.org.

  Roosevelt thoughts from Harold Ickes's diary, Secret Diary of Harold L. Ickes: The First Thousand Days, 1933–1936, Harold L. Ickes (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1953).

  22: CORNHUSKER II

  Donald Hartwell's writings are from his unpublished diary, on file at the Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln, Nebraska, and provided to the author. Copyright holder unknown.

  23: THE LAST MEN

  White family details from interviews with Melt White, previously cited.

  Dick Coon and the hundred-dollar bill, and the barbecue from Hunter, Book of Years, previously cited.

  XIT reunion barbecue from displays at the XIT Museum, Dalhart, Texas.

  McCarty leaving, from Dalhart Texan, 1936.

  Migration statistics, from Gregory book, American Exodus: The Dust Bowl Migration and Okie Culture in California, previously cited.

  Death of Bam White, from author interviews with son Melt, previously cited.

  Dick Coon broke, from Hunter, Book of Years, previously cited.

  Death of Doc Dawson from Dawson, High Plains Yesterdays, and from Hunter, Book of Years, both previously cited.

  24: CORNHUSKER III

  All of Hartwell's writings are from his unpublished diary, on file at the Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln, Nebraska, and provided to the author.

  25: RAIN

  FDR visit from Amarillo Daily News, various editions, July 1938, and from FDR archives, www.newdeal.feri.org.

  Trees, "Forestry on the Great Plains, 1902–1942," R. Douglas Hurt, Kansas State University, archive, History Department, www-personal.ksu.edu/~jsherow/lesintro.htm.

  EPILOGUE

  Information on grasslands from author interview with Michelle Stevens, archaeologist with United States Forest Service grasslands division in La Junta, Colorado, on August 10, 2003, and Forest Service history of grasslands, previously cited.