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The Dirty Thirtiesby - LK Wagner - 3 December 1997, Wednesday
In the 'Blow of 1934' ". . . The finest parts of our Plains soil found its way on the boat decks and waves of the Atlantic far at sea; In Texas, the skim milk-sand; In the midland, median particles; In Ohio, a light, unseen deposit, soon whisked away by water; Overhead in Maryland, the very cream of rich far western soils blowing out to sea to be drowned and lost . . . " as quoted by Russell Lord in John Cable's 'Birth Of Freedom'. Rain refused to fall in normal amounts and it disappeared altogether in some areas in 1934 and 1936. The chief victims were wheat farmers. The Drought of the 1930s settled the question of whether Farming or Ranching would predominate for many. Cattle could survive on meager grass. No wheat crop could survive without rain.
The Dust Bowl in the daylight hours had people and families driving home from community events with their car lights on. Many families packed up and left their farms that had been devastated by the drought and heavily mortgaged to lending institutions and individuals. The mortgaged farms were especially vulnerable. Ten percent (10%) of Oklahoma's farms changed hands in bankruptcy sales between 1931 and 1933. Lots of farming and ranching operations were started by the misfortunes of a few. Land facing foreclosure by banks could be bought for an amount of money on the land and then take over the payments on the property. The Drought of the 1920s combined with the dust of the Dirty Thirties found many farmers that couldn't make enough to pay their mortgages that were coming due. My Great Grandfather (John R. Warwick) was one of those waiting in line to purchase the foreclosures on debt-ridden and drought-stricken farmers and ranchers. That is when most of the Warwick land was acquired in the early 1900s up through the Dirty Thirties until my Great Grandfather died in late 1937. I was born after the Depression in 1948, so many experiences and stories that I have encountered concerning the Dirty Thirties came from family stories, books, newspapers, and movies. Speaking of movies and books, every time I think about the Dirty Thirties I recall "The Grapes of Wrath". I think of all those farm families that lost their lands and packed their belongings and families in their makeshift autos and headed west to find a better climate for their health and jobs. Only to find when they arrived in the far western States that they were unwanted, mistreated, and isolated into work camps. They formed their own little communities for their own protection and were sooned known by the nickname "Okie". I was fortunate to come from ancestors that stayed and found ways to survive the Great Depression that hit many northwestern communities throughout Oklahoma. The 1930s were also viewed as going through many changes in population, landowners, and market fluctuations. In the 1930s Freedom, Oklahoma was on the Eastern edge of the Dust Bowl. It was a small, rural farming and ranching community (Pop. 351, 1930 Census) located in the Northwest Oklahoma. Market prices in 1932 found the bottom for many things, especially among the cattle prices (which were almost nothing), the wheat reached a low of $0.25 per bushel, and the hogs were selling for 2 1/2 cents ($0.025) per pound. The Dirty Thirties during the Drought, grasshoppers, and Depression made the barest survival a luxury. Farmhand wages were common at $0.50 per day, with room and board. It makes you wonder how did and could they survive. Necessities became luxuries for most people back then. People were finding whatever methods they could for making ends meet in 1932. Accumulating livestock meant finding a place to put them. Some landowners rented their acreage's with grass to help make ends meet. Farmers sold fresh country hen eggs on a varied market of $0.06 to $0.25 per dozen. The Great Depression also forced farmers who couldn't pay their bills to trade eggs, cream, hogs, chickens and cattle for groceries. Of course, we can not leave out those that followed the wrong paths during the Depression. There were quite a few found that robbing banks seemed to be a more exciting and easier (lazier) way to survive the Great Depression. In the early 1930s the Federal Government stepped into the picture when they had animals destroyed on farms and ranches to lower the surplus of cattle and hogs. Stockmen were paid up to $12 per head for each eliminated cow.
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