For those of you on Pacific time, tonight on OPB at 10 PM-- Oregon Public Broadcasting, is the Ken Burns documentary--THE DUST BOWL. Supremely interesting and illustrative of the period of the 30s in America. Can't recommend this too highly. The dust storms are absolutely UNBELIEVABLE!! I REMEMBER THE MIGRATION OF THE "OKIES" and went to school with many of the children from down south in the 40s.
Oh snap, missed it! I did get to listed to OPB on the 4th, and their broadcasting was phenomenal as always.
You seem to be a bit behind the times because I remember seeing it a few years ago. It was excellent though Hotwater
Yeah, I know----however I've seen it a couple of times over the years. I'm going to assume that folks can STILL go to OPB and watch it on their site any time. It's well worth it, as those of you who watched it know. Those kids I went to school with were from a few states down south, but all were referred to as 'okies. Many of them wore the same clothing every day and some had no place to shower, as one could tell. They were a rough bunch after having to go through the dust bowl, losing everything they had, including their land, their homes and any chance of making money and seeing their parents broken down. They were fully accepted at our little school. I met and married (yes, I was married once) a girl whose family cam out during the migration. Her dad became a carpenter, her uncles all got good trades--plumber--oil field worker,ect, so it did pay off for them to come west. Some went through the travails of being abused and beaten by goons hired to make them work for the little that was offered, as was shown in The Grapes of Wrath.
if indiginous wisdom had been respected there wouldn't have been a dustbowl. they were chased there from everywhere and then even that was taken from them. so there's a kind of kharmic aspect to oaklahomaley. not of course that later generations ever deserve the kharma of their parents, i'm not trying to imply that. people repeat the same dumb mistakes, not because they fail to study history, but because historians distort most of what they teach people about it. grapes of wrath and that woman who took all those photos for the wpa, were something of an exception. social conscience is not something feudal lords want peasants to have.
