Duchess & Sadie's Spring Domain

Bayfield, Colorado - Sadie and I join you on this 3rd day of May from SW Colorado in the higher elevations of the San Juan mountains, North of Bayfield, Colorado, where we awoke to a thin cover of snow on the ground Sunday morning. They say the first half of this week should see temperatures in the 60's degrees around here during the day.

We hope your first week of May is good for you in your neck of the woods. It is still a bit on the chilly side for May flowers, but usually this is the time to put out those hummingbird feeders, isn't it?

We are asking if you all got one copy of The OkieLegacy Ezine last and this week?

We know of one person that did not receive his subscribed copy last week, but that was our "Bad." It seems there was a typo in his email submitted to our mailing list of subscribers. That has been corrected and fixed, though. If someone is having trouble receiving their subscription, please let us know. Thanks!

This week we bring you a group of old cast iron toys that NW Okie picked up at a moving sale this Saturday, May Day, 2010, in Bayfield, Colorado.

We asked around to some of our network connections, "How to preserve, clean these old rusty cast iron toys. Thanks to those who gave us advice. The consensus was, "To leave as is! If you decide to clean them someday, use a liquid/gel rust remover, not a wire brush."

Brian Wilson Notified us that he has some Old Oklahoma newspapers, old documents dating back to 1910 thru 1930. Brian is looking for someone who buys old newspapers & paperwork. For more information on Brian's old papers, see Old Oklahoma Papers in the features below.

We also bring you some history of the Great Depression and Drought that contributed to the Dust Bowl Days of 1930's.

I am going to sign-off now and curl up beside my NW Okie while she puts the finishes touches on this week's OkieLegacy Ezine. One reason is because every once in awhile she (NW Okie) reaches over, gently rubs and scratches me behind the ears. Aaaaahhhhhh! It is a Dog's life, isn't it!

Good Night and Good Luck!
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Old Cast Iron Toys Found at Moving Sale

Bayfield, Colorado - Here is a link to the Old Cast Iron Toys we purchased at a "Moving Sale" here in Southwest Colorado on Saturday, North of Bayfield, Colorado. These old cast iron toys were grouped (boxed) together for Thirty ($30) dollars so we swooped them up. I believe at least one of these old toys would bring $30.

The question is, "Do we leave them "as is? Do we try to clean them?" Most of the cast iron pieces are rusty, but there are a few that appear to have a nickel-coating resulting in less rust accumulating.

The photo image on the right shows one of the interesting toys, a 2-horse Surrey carriage. It is missing a carriage driver, its Fringe-top and needs some mending done where it broke apart and separated down the middle of the carriage where I am assuming the cast iron mold joint might have been.

I love the old crank Ford tractor. and the crank actually turns. This one is for you Mr. Bud Clark! BUT ... I will keep it safe in this NW Okie's possession just for you!
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History of Antique Cast-Iron Toys

Cast-iron was a common toy material from the 1870's until World War II. It was ideally suited for mass-production, the iron was cast in molds that could be used over thousands of times.

Typically the early cast-iron toys were decorated by dipping the pieces in a basic paint and then adding hand painted details.

Cast-iron toys were bad about rusting heavily if exposed to the environments and the toys with moving parts were most susceptible. Too help eliminate this problem many manufacturers began adding nickel-plating to many of the toys. -- antique cast iron toys.

SEE ALSO:

* Ebay - cast iron toys
* Another ebay site concerning cast iron toys.
* antique-antiques.com site concerning antique cast iron toys.
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How To Clean Cast Iron Toys

Antique cast-iron toys were popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s. When in good condition with all original components, they are sought-after collector's toys. These toys are a common find in attics and estates. You can clean cast-iron toys to help improve their value. Just be careful not to damage the toys in the process.

Thing You'll Need: Towel, Paintbrush, Mineral Oil, bucket, water, dishwashing detergent. Click Here for more about cleaning cast iron toys.

To find out their value, take it to a professional if it is worth it. A bad cleaning job could cause them to become worthless.
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NW Okie's Thoughts

Alva, Oklahoma - Someone wrote us this week, "We are not OKIES. They went to Califonia (California) during dust bowl. We are Oklahomans & insulted. signed all Oklahomans"

First of all -- I know it was not signed by ALL Oklahomans, because I know some Oklahomans that do not mind being called an "Okie" and are not insulted by the use of the term.

Second -- I have a question and wonder why some Oklahomans would be insulted? The only thing Oklahomans should be insulted about is the black-eye that the State Legislature has given Oklahoma globally by recently passing legislation that discriminates against Women Rights to choose.

The Great Depression / Dust Bowl Days

The Great Depression and Dust Bowl of the 1930's is a part of our Great Plains history that we should all remember, least we be condemned to repeat it!

I did a YouTube.com search for original video clips of the Dust Bowl era of the 1930's so we could pay homage to the "Worst of Hard Times" and to the Dust Bowl Refugees. We found a few videos to share with you all.





I have and shall always consider myself an "Okie" in a proud sense. I am a Northwest Oklahoma Okie, born and raised. I choose to remember our past history, looking and learning from those "Worst of Hard Times." This NW Okie shall not look upon those who left in the 1930's as quitters as some still do today.

If you know your history, it was not only Oklahoma that was affected by the drought / depression of the 1930's. The Texas panhandle, Western Kansas, Eastern Colorado, and Nebraska also felt the "Worst of Hard Times" back in the 1920's and 1930's. They were forced to leave their homes looking for any kind of work. Many headed West towards migrant jobs in California.

Yes! I shall always consider myself an "Okie" in the proudest of sense.

Good Night and Good Luck!

-- A NW Okie
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Inquiry - Louthan Family Immigration

Adrienne M. Schloegel commented on a Vol. 10, Iss. 48 article concerning Moses & Elizabeth (Gorrell) Louthan's Children, "I am a descendant of the Louthans. William B. Louthan is my great great grandfather. What book by Tom Fetters did some of this information come from? I would love to get it for my mom who knew her grandfather."

[Editor's Note: OkieLegacy Ezine - Vol. 10, Iss. 48, Moses & Elizabeth (Gorrell) Louthan's Children. Thomas Fetters sent me this Louthan information a couple of years ago. If Thomas Fetter (email: tfetters1@comcast.net) or another Louthan descendant is reading this, they can help Adrienne Scholegel get a copy of the Louthan family history book that this Louthan information came from. Thanks!]
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The Great Depression of 1930s

I am too young to know anything about the Great Depression of the 1930's, except by reading about it in books and searching for more information about it online.

They say the start of the Great Depression was pegged to the stock market crash, "Black Tuesday," October 29, 1929. The day Dow Jones Industrial Average fell almost 23% -- the market lost between $8 billion and $9 billion in value.

That was just "one in a series of losses during a time of extreme market volatility that exposed those who had bought stocks "on margin" with borrowed money," as The New York Times gives about "A Short History of the Great Depression." The stock market continued to decline; unemployment rose; wages fell for those who continued to work; and use of credit for purchase of homes, cars, furniture and household appliances resulted in foreclosures and repossessions.

The New York Times article states that President Herbert Hoover, a Republican, believed the government should monitor the economy, encourage counter-cyclical spending to ease downturns, but not directly intervene. The jobless population grew, President Hoover resisted calls from Congress, governors, and mayors to combat unemployment by financing public service jobs. Hoover encouraged creation of such jobs, but said it was up to state and local governments to pay for them. Hoover believed that relieving the suffering of the unemployed was solely up to local governments and private charities.

In 1932 -- The unemployment rate soared past 20%. Thousands of banks, businesses failed. Millions were homeless. Especially in the Great Plains of Nebraska, Kansas, the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma, southeastern Colorado, Eastern New Mexico. Many of those homeless loaded what vehicles they owned and headed West towards where they believed jobs were in California, Oregon and Washington. They drifted from town to town looking for non-existent jobs. Other homeless citizens lived at the edges of cities in makeshift shantytowns called Hoovervilles. People foraged in dumps and garbage cans for food.

The 1932 presidential campaign between Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was run against the backdrop of the Depression. Roosevelt won the Democratic nomination and campaigned on a platform of "The forgotten man at the bottom of the economic pyramid."

Hoover continued to insist it was not the governments job to address the growing social crisis. Roosevelt won in a landslide. He took office on March 4, 1933, with the declaration that "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

The Civilian Conservation Corps(CCC or parks and forests program), was the first work relief program that provided federally funded jobs. Roosevelt later created a large-scale temporary jobs program during the winter of 1933 thru 1934.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA), established by the New Deal during the Great Depression created jobs for millions of unemployed. It employed more than four million men, women at jobs from building and repairing roads and bridges, parks, playgrounds and public buildings to creating art.

With unemployment still persisting at high levels, the administration created a permanent jobs program called the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) which began in 1935 and lasted until 1943. It employed 8.5 million people and spent $11 billion transforming the national infrastructure, making clothing for the poor, and creating landmark programs in art, music, theater and writing.

Maybe you have seen signs of the WPA projects in your neighborhoods. The buildings would have plaques designating built by the WPA and the year built. Northwest Oklahoma has many of those projects still standing today.
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Living History Farm History of 1930's

The Living History Farm website states, "Farming in the 1930s on the Great Plains was perhaps the most difficult occupation in the world. Farmers not only faced a global economic slow down of historic proportions, but they also faced one of the worst, longest droughts in America's history."

"People around the world had no money to buy the crops and animals that farmers produced, and the drought made it almost impossible to plant and harvest the crops in the first place. As a result, many farmers lost their farms. Many moved West out of the Great Plains of the United States, looking for any kind of work they could find. Many became migrant farm laborers on the West Coast."

Things were not easy with the drought and depression that deepened on the Great Plains. Let us not forget the bank failures, stock market crash and how all of this affected the farmers / ranchers and others during the 1930's. People were forced off their lands looking for work and a better life for their families.

Farming In the 1930s gives this interesting insight/history of the 1930s Dust Bowl / Depression, "As the 'double whammy' of drought and depression deepened on the Great Plains, more and more farmers gave up or were forced off of their land and lost their land to foreclosures. There was the relentless march of new tractors, which meant that the farmers who were able to scrape together enough money to buy a tractor could buy out their neighbors. Fewer farmers farmed more land."

This website continues to say, "Some went to cities. But many decided to head west. In fact, during the 30s hundreds of thousands left the plains for the West Coast. So many migrated from Oklahoma that they were dubbed "Okies" in the popular press. For years, California, Oregon and Washington had been growing. Many who were pushed off of the plains were pulled west because they had relatives who had moved to the coastal areas. And the boosters of California had advertised that the state offered a perfect climate and an abundance of work in the agricultural industry."

BUT -- When the Dust Bowl Refugees arrived on the West Coast, they were not given the welcome and hope many were searching.

Black Sunday - 14 april 1935

I doubt that the young people will remember the "Black Sunday" of 14 April 1935, when the most visible evidence of how the Dust Bowl days struck the Great Plains and blew its top soil all the way to the East coast.

This NW Okie did not experience it either, but my parents and grandparents stayed and lived through it. I have read, heard stories of that day when tons of topsoil were blown off barren fields and carried in dusty storm clouds for hundreds of miles. Even as far as the East Coast. Day became night.

The driest regions of the plains were found around Southeastern Colorado, Southwest Kansas and the Panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas.

It affected the entire region and the entire country. In 1932, 14 dust storms were recorded on the Plains. In 1933, there were 38 storms. By 1934, it was estimated that 100 million acres of farmland had lost all or most of the topsoil to the winds. It was April, 1935 that saw weeks of dust storms. The cloud that appeared on the horizon Sunday, 14 April 1935 was said to be the worst. Winds were reportedly clocked at 60mph just before it hit.

The livinghistoryfarm.org quoted Avis D. Carlson, who wrote in a New Republic article, "The impact is like a shovelful of fine sand flung against the face. People caught in their own yards grope for the doorstep. Cars come to a standstill, for no light in the world can penetrate that swirling murk... We live with the dust, eat it, sleep with it, watch it strip us of possessions and the hope of possessions. It is becoming Real."

The impact of "Black Sunday" was felt all over the united States. The dust storm arrived in Washington, DC all the way from the Great Plains. The dusty gloom spread over the nation's capital and blotted out the sun. Congress passed the Soil Conservation Act to help this from happening again.

I know that the label "Okie" came about during the depression and dust bowl days when residents of Nebraska, the Panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas, Arkansas, Western Kansas, eastern New Mexico, Southeastern Colorado headed west toward California. BUT -- That doesn't mean that we have to accept and look at the word "Okie" as something degrading.

What is so wrong with re-defining the term "Okie" and remembering the reasons for so many heading West? They were not all Oklahomans. Texas, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska and surrounding States were lumped into that term of "Okie."
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This Land Is Your Land

We found this Arlo Guthrie - This Land Is Your Land, on jguth3 - YouTube.com site. Guthrie states, "Our grand daughters, Olivia and Jacklyn jumped on stage along with Annie Guthrie, Sarah Lee & Johnny. Arlo stops the song to tell a story his dad Woody used to tell. This was Abe's last night playing with Arlo after twenty years. He was looking forward to working in the recording studio and being home with his family.


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Great Plains Dust Bowl of 1930's & Dust Bowl Blues

This next video is a segment from Discovery Channel's, Making of A Continent (1989-90) about the Dust Bowl wind erosion of the 1930's.



Dust Bowl Blues - Part 1

memchip - February 26, 2007 - Memories of the West - Images and Music of the post-depression era when poor land management practices and drought brought dust storms, displacement and the great western migration and the rebirth of hope.



SEE ALSO Dust Bowl Blues - Part 2
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The Great Dust Storms Videos

Photos and narratives of the dust storms of the 1930's, created by guerillabill - September 24, 2007 - on YouTube.com.



The Dust Bowl - Okies, Kansas, California & Route 66

amliterature - March 06, 2008 - This is an educational video of the Dust Bowl of the 1920's. Super to use in American History classes, but some use it with the Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men. Photos are either freeware or from the Finney County Historical Museum in Kansas."


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1930's Farm Life Home Movie

Want to see what farm life was like back in the 1930's? Here is what TomWills put together, January 8, 2007, "This is a 16MM home movie of farm life in the 1930's, especially tractors and even a tractor pulling a shed.


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Dust Bowl - Black Blizzard (14 April 1935)

windmill1947 put together, May 12, 2009, this documentary was shown on the History Channel. This took place in America's heartland from 1930-'40. Dust Bowl Alternately Called Black Blizzard Clip

Dust Bowl Memories

This video was found on pikespeaklibrary, August 29, 2008, Oliver Clibon, Harry Collier, and Chuck Bowman recollect their time spent in the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression.


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Dust Bowl Disaster Slideshow & Refugees

gmbudt put this together September 20, 2009. They say, "This is a revised version of the slideshow so many of you have already watched (thank you!). I am discovering / learning new technology, hence the new version. Images of the 1930's Great Plains Dust Bowl, and the Black Sunday Dust Storm in particular, provide a chilling visual backdrop for Woody Guthrie's song Dust Storm Disaster."



Dust Bowl Refugees

dalecaruso - December 19, 2008 - Photos: The Dorothea Lange Collection, The Library of Congress, Hard Time Killing Floor Blues, Chris Thomas King, Can't Find My Way Home, Down to the River to Pray, Alison Krause.

(www.alisonkrauss.com, Presbyterian Guitar, Soggy Bottom Boys, This Land is Your Land, Woody Guthrie, conceived and produced by Dale Caruso.


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History of The Past

1985> The Coca-Cola Co. announced it was changing its secret formula for Coke.

1968> Leftist students at Columbia University in New York City began a weeklong occupation of several campus buildings.

1941> The first organ is played at a baseball stadium in Chicago.

1937> The ancient Basque town of Guernica in northern Spain is bombed by German planes.

1929> The first non-stop flight from England to India is completed.

1919> The first U.S. air passenger service starts.

1890> The Territory of Oklahoma is created.

1803> The United States doubles in size through the Louisiana Purchase, which was sold by France for $15 million.

1789> George Washington is inaugurated as the first U.S. president.

1789> President-elect George Washington and his wife moved into the first executive mansion, the Franklin House in New York City.

1514> Copernicus makes his first observations of Saturn.

1527> Henry VIII of England and King Francis of France sign treaty of Westminster.
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Woody Guthrie - So Long, It's Been Good To Know You

We found this folksong, So Long It's Been Good To Know You, song by Woody Guthrie on YouTube.com at the following youTube user: vantowers, which they put together November 22, 2008

I got the news that the war had begun
It was straight for the Army Hall that I run
And all of the people in my home town
Was a running up and a running down, singing

So long, it's been good to know you
So long, it's been good to know you
So long, it's been good to know you
There's a mighty big war that's got to be won
And we'll get back together again.


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FOR SALE - Old Oklahoma Papers

Brian Wilson (email: brianwillson1965@hotmail.com) inquiry, "I'm looking for someone who buys 1910-1930 Oklahoma newspapers & other Oklahoma paperwork; Woodrow Wilson paper that was sent out to Americans why he would be a better president.

"The Farmers Co-operative Advocate (a farm, co-operative and economic publication of March 25, 1916, No.9, Vol.11), 1913 Cyphers Companys adaptable brooding hover incubator instruction manual, old age assistance metal & paper coins, old oklahoma road maps, old mail, etc."

Contact: Brian by phone #: 684-9925 or by email.
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