Dust Bowl Survivor Photos-Eisenstaedt

[KenRagsdale]

Dust Bowl: Photos From Oklahoma in 1942 by Alfred Eisenstaedt | LIFE.com

[Mel]

Great and sad photos.

[kelroy55]

Great and sad photos.

I agree. I think it was Ken Burns that had a series on the Dust Bowl and that was pretty interesting.

[bchris02]

I watched that documentary not long ago. It was surprising to me that the dust bowl centered on the panhandle and not central and eastern Oklahoma as depicted in the movie Grapes of Wrath.

[traxx]

I agree. I think it was Ken Burns that had a series on the Dust Bowl and that was pretty interesting.

That was a short series but tough to watch. The part with the brothers talking about their little sister dying and her asking for her brother right before she died was especially heart breaking.

[LocoAko]

It is amazing to me that it was only 70 years ago that those photos were taken, and even more amazing that there are still visible remnants and similar looking scenes scattered across the Oklahoma countryside even today. Great set -- thanks for sharing!

[Dubya61]

My great-grandma (now deceased) would tell about when they lived in a dugout (with her 11 or so siblings?!? my memory of her story is not precise) in western Oklahoma. Her dad told her to go out (up?) to get a bowl of water one night so he could wash his hands before supper. A particularly strong gust of wind came along and blew her back down into the dugout. She broke her arm.

[ou48A]

To a degree Okies still have image problems with publicity like this.
But our wall to wall tornado / weather coverage that can go national is causing a new type of bad Okie image problem....
Its just one more reason why IMHO we need to build stronger.

[ou48A]

It is amazing to me that it was only 70 years ago that those photos were taken, and even more amazing that there are still visible remnants and similar looking scenes scattered across the Oklahoma countryside even today. Great set -- thanks for sharing!

Yep... in the 60's & 70's there was a lot more of it than what we seen now.
It was mostly found in NW Oklahoma.
Kansas and Texas did a better job of removing and cleaning up dilapidated buildings and old equipment.

[Garin]

My great-grandma (now deceased) would tell about when they lived in a dugout (with her 11 or so siblings?!? my memory of her story is not precise) in western Oklahoma. Her dad told her to go out (up?) to get a bowl of water one night so he could wash his hands before supper. A particularly strong gust of wind came along and blew her back down into the dugout. She broke her arm.

My dads oldest sister was born in a dugout on the side of the salt fork river in Mangum , Ok. These people were the epitome of badasses , hard working , proud , and not ashamed of what they had to do to survive.

[ljbab728]

I watched that documentary not long ago. It was surprising to me that the dust bowl centered on the panhandle and not central and eastern Oklahoma as depicted in the movie Grapes of Wrath.

That's exactly right. It's the reason why OKC and all of Oklahoma in general has been fighting that stereotypical idea forever.

[Tritone]

I lived in the northern end of the Texas panhandle 30 years ago and knew some of the young folks in the Ken Burns film. Of course they were old when I knew them. Garin is correct aout the toughness of those folks; a lot tougher than I. Those were not easy times, with or without the dust.

[Mel]

That's exactly right. It's the reason why OKC and all of Oklahoma in general has been fighting that stereotypical idea forever.

It's also part of the reason we are tough and resilient. We are still close to our roots. Sometimes not too bad of a thing.

[ou48A]

I lived in the northern end of the Texas panhandle 30 years ago and knew some of the young folks in the Ken Burns film. Of course they were old when I knew them. Garin is correct aout the toughness of those folks; a lot tougher than I. Those were not easy times, with or without the dust.

I have lived in rural western OK and in the Texas panhandle....
What you say is true...... Those people are a lot tougher even today than most city folks and they don't complain nearly as much.