Grapes of Wrath Travel Journal 1 - Chapters 1-10 Part A

Farming during the 1930s was especially hard in the region known as the Dust Bowl. For the 1920s, farming in the region was prosperous, with lots of rains and a large amount of usable topsoil. In the 30s, the weather turned dry, hot and windy, kicking up massive storms that stripped the topsoil and caused lots of damage to property and farms, destroying people's lives in the process. As the decade began, people were hopeful the weather would return to its original paradise for farmers and the rains would return, however the dust storms got worse, more than doubling in number from 1932 to 1933. An estimated 100 million acres of farm was lost, and dust settled everywhere. People living in this region of hardship depict the impacts from the storms here. One farmer stated that their chickens went to sleep in the middle of a storm because it got so dark. The dust became an inevitable part of life, finding its way into all parts of life, in houses, covering everything, and even getting into the food you would eat. Another farmer tells his tale of trying to buy a tractor to help with the meager farming, but he had to dig it out of the sand and dust that covered it. Houses, farms, and fences were buried in dust piles that were akin to a heavy snowfall of a few feet, the difference being it did not melt, but stayed forever, ruining lives and dreams of a simple farming life.