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ISSUE NO. 35
TEXAN TIMES TEXAS - APRIL 15, 1935
Dust Disaster By: Rachel Morse, Texan Times reporter of the month Yesterday on April 14 there was a dust storm that has been labeled one of the worst storms of the prairie region in the U.S.. Bringing thousands of tons of sand up in it’s strong winds, this wall of over 100 feet high in height has blown its way into our fears and our homes. The most severe hits that this massive dust bowl brought is at our own Texas Panhandle region and the Oklahoma Panhandle region. People sought out shelter during this storm, too. Getting caught in a dust storm this huge could mean death from suffocation. All of the silt has its way of not leaving us, though. It has been able to get through even the tiniest of cracks so that buildings and houses are forced to seal up to avoid the dirt’s wrath. In fact, this event is so significant that it has been called Black Sunday by many, and rightfully so. Schools, businesses and even hospitals have to close down to clean up the mess, although transportation was cut off so that people can’t get to those places easily anyway.
Black Sunday dust storm approaching hundreds of feet in the air
Dirt Devil Creation This dust storm that so many fear was not just randomly created. In fact, we are the inventors. During World War 1, there was a wheat demand that called for more farming, along with machines being created for easier work when farming. All of this affected the soil tilled for farming so that the the dirt was not stable enough to stay put during windy days. After droughts occurring later, the soil became very dry so that when a wind storm comes now, the soil comes up with it in clouds of darkness, becoming the curse of what we’ve done to the land. Although we have thought that our state of Depression can’t get any worse, it now has all of us that live in the prairie land stuck with sand more than crops, making the agricultural aspect of the Great Depression become another disintegrated part of life. continued on page 2
Inexpensive Things We Like To Do For Fun
As many board games, Monopoly is just another one of those games that people are playing day in and day out, as more expensive entertainment is harder to get in this time of poverty.
THE BOSWELL SISTERS HIT IT OFF AGAIN WITH THERE NEW SONG “THE OBJECT OF MY AFFECTION” WITH MANY YOUNG COUPLES DANCING TO THE TUNES.
KING KONG HAS STILL BEEN A HIT TO WATCH, WITH MANY YOUNG COUPLES GOING OUT TO THE MOVIES TO HAVE SOME FUN RATHER THAN THE USUAL WORK.
Dear Advice Giver, Recently I moved from Missouri to Texas because we didn’t have enough money to keep running our farm and the drought and dust bowl were affecting us awful bad. We had to give up our richer lives to become poor which I didn’t like very much and still don’t. But recently at the new school in Texas I went to, a bully named Claudia who lives in the town where the rich people live said I smelled terrible in front of everyone. Well, I didn’t smell the best because while I was working in the rice cannery that morning before school, two workers were in a fight and splashed some of the wet shrimp on me, and when I got home to change for school, I had enough time to change my clothes and wash up, but there wasn’t enough water in the basin to wash my hair. So I had to go to school with smelly shrimp hair, although I was used to the smell and didn’t realize it was noticeable. When Claudia mentioned the smell in front of everybody and I figured out what she was talking about, I was angry. A girl named Dollie I met when I got to Texas and considered me her friend tried to explain to me that I needed to just ignore Claudia. Her brother Davis tried to help me too. but I was still angry and lashed out my anger on them. I called them bay rat’s which was a mean nickname for all of us poor folks that live by the water and next to the seawalls. They were both hurt by me but I just left them, feeling ashamed by what I had done but not wanting to apologize. It was a bad situation because they were just like me, too. They used to be richer and lived in better houses where they could live in relaxation. At the beginning when I first met Dollie, I didn’t want to be friends with her because I had a promise to keep. My promise was with my best friend Wilma that lived next to me in Missouri and had also moved, but to California. The promise was to not ever make any other friends and to always remain loyal to just our friendship. I agreed but now I’m not so sure that was a good idea. I’ve tried sending numerous letters to Wilma but she hasn’t responded to any of them. If I can’t even communicate with her, how am I to even know if we are still loyal with each other? I am starting to feel terrible about my relationship with Dollie and all the times I withdrew from her
Dear Sadie, Those kinds of things that you went through are hard. Having to move and leaving a best friend and then living a much poorer life then you are used to can be a big struggle. It’s good to have someone your age with you as a friend, especially since she went through the same thing as you. She sounds like the perfect friend to me and I think that you should try to become friends with her, even if it’s hard. these kinds of friends only come once. I don’t feel that you are being disloyal to Wilma either. Sooner or later she’ll find a friend too. No one ever said you couldn’t have two friends, now did they? The final decision needs to be made by you, but I hope my feedback helps with your final decision. Thank you for trusting us with your thoughts! Sincerely, The Advice Giver
before I yelled at her. I want to be friends with her now but I don’t know if that would hurt Wilma and I would lose her too. What should I do? Sincerely, Sadie Wynn
A Letter To The Editor Recently I have come to the conclusion that we are being caught under F.D. Roosevelt’s influence with the Depression problems and the ways he wants to fix it. One of those ways is how he wants to create new jobs so that people can make money by having the jobs they need, which is part of his plan called Roosevelt’s New Deal. However, I think he is not doing enough for the poor. Therefore, in Louisiana, I will not allow people to have over three million dollars. If they do, I will confiscate it to give to poor american families, splitting the money between 4,000 and 5,000 dollars per family. I will also make education and learning free for all, so that everyone can get the proper learning that they need. I think that these days, education is important in America. Already, Roosevelt has had many of his “economy saving” plans distinguished by the Supreme Court. I can basically say that in the end, Roosevelt is just going to ruin this country even more than it already is, and I plan to be there at the next presidential election, ready to serve my country for the better and taking us out of the Great Depression. Sincerely, Huey Long, Senator of Louisiana
Lexicon Organizer Word & Page #
Part of Speech (noun, verb, adj)
Definition
Sentence from book
Relevance or importance to topic/time period
Use the word in a new sentence. (your own!)
Ain’t pg. 166
contraction
am not : are not : is not
Then, in a low voice so as It was a commonly I ain’t gonna wash the not to wake Faye and Jean, used word clothes without eating Jack said, ‘There ain’t dinner first. nobody here for you, Mr. Ghost. You need to find your own folks and let us be.’”
Battiest pg. 239
adjective
foolish or silly
He stood over me, scowling. “That’s the battiest thing I’ve ever heard.”
A word that was more commonly used back in that time than now.
Bible pg. 23
noun
the book of sacred writings used in the Christian religion
While I tugged a comb through the tangled mess around my face, Daddy opened his Bible for our morning verse.
A religious and People read the Bible historical book that as part of their religion was used for the of Christianity. belief of Christianity which people believed then, and also now.
buying water pg. 43
verb
to get (something) by paying money for it
“We’ll be buying water from Significant to Mrs. Kendall like the poverty because Gillem’s do,” she said. people could not afford their own
People said that seeing the old lady with one hundred cats was the battiest thing they’d ever seen.
People would be buying water because they could not afford it for themselves.
Lexicon Organizer water. Cannery pg. 79
noun
a factory where food is put into cans
“But today I worked with Papa at the cannery, peeling shrimp.”
A place where anyone could go for work;; young and old alike.
Many children would go to the Cannery with their parents so that they could make money.
Carved pg. 259
verb
the act or skill of creating carved objects, designs, or figures
Lying against the silver bottom, wings stretched in light, was a seagull carved from cedar.
Carving was a type of entertainment because it cost little money, and was a type of craft to make.
Joe carved a turtle out of pine wood.
Christmas pg. 247
noun
a Christian holiday that is celebrated on December 25 in honor of the birth of Jesus Christ or the period of time that comes before and after this holiday
“Are you going to do some christmas shopping?”
A holiday that we still have now based on the religion of Christianity.
On Christmas Day Carla got the doll she wanted.
the Depression pg. 114
noun
a period of time in which there is little economic activity and many people do not have jobs
No one had much to say, unless it was about the hurricane. Or the Depression.
A time where poverty was strong in America and there were both natural and economic
The Depression was a bad time for America and it’s economy with many people becoming poor and having a hard time
Lexicon Organizer Disease (gvl)
noun
an illness that
affects a person, animal, or plant : a condition that prevents the body or mind from working normally
disasters.
surviving.
Poor children contracted pellagra and rickets, diseases that indicated malnourishment.
Spread easily during then because of poverty and not-adequate medicine.
The disease in London caused by rat flea’s killed at least 15% of London’s population.
drought pg. 4
noun
a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain
The drought took everything from her family, too, like it did the Foster’s, the Sullinger’s, and the Varner’s.
The Dust Bowl was a drought where the land was very dry and bad for farming.
During the Depression, the Dust Bowl was a big part of a drought.
dump searching pg. 155
verb
to go to a dump and find things that you need that would be reusable
I didn’t like the idea of rooting around the, dump either, but I spread rags on the back floorboard for dirty jars and helped Booby and Emily put on their shoes.
Common for people in poverty at that time to do, so that they could re-use items that were already used with something else.
Becca and her family went to the dump to find cans for the oncoming pickling.
the Dust Bowl (gvl)
noun
a region that suffers from prolonged droughts and dust storms
In 1934, weather conditions and farming practices in the Great Plains combined to produce an ecological disaster called the Dust Bowl.
Part of the Great Depression and made the poverty worse.
The Dust Bowl made the farmers very poor because of dying crops and infertile soil.
Lexicon Organizer flour-sack noun dresses pg. 51
clothing made I could wear flour-sack from flour sacks dresses this year if it used because of helped us save money. their type of material and patterns
Poor people would use flour sack material to make clothing items instead of buying cloth material from the store or pre-made clothing.
People who didn’t have very much money would make there own clothing items with flour sack material.
Icebox pg. 198 noun
used for insulating ice blocks to keep food cool
That second round would have to go into the icebox for tomorrow.
Used before electrical freezers and refrigerators, as those were not made yet
Charles put the rest of the meat in the ice box so that he could save it for later.
The Lone Ranger pg. 87
a radio show “Forgot to tell you, Sadie. that you could The Lone Ranger is on listen to, a form tonight. of entertainment before television
A show listened to on the radio, showing that the radio was a common form of entertainment, with the television not created yet.
The family huddled around the radio so that they could listen to The Lone Ranger.
not eating enough food or not eating enough healthy food : poorly nourished
People who were poor during the Depression sometimes didn’t have the money to have a full meal everyday for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The people in the small house were malnourished because they didn’t have enough money to buy food.
noun
malnourished adjective gvl: Childhood and the Depression
One-fifth of the children in New York City were malnourished.
Lexicon Organizer Potbellied Stove pg. 72
noun
a stove with a large, rounded body
poverty (Instagrok)
noun
the state of being poor
Mama had us prop open all the windows and haul everything but the potbelly stove out for scrubbing.
The family stood by the potbellied stove so that they could warm up their hands.
Poverty was a big thing during the time of the Great Depression, with many people jobless and poor.
Poverty was all over the place because so many people were losing their jobs.
Was used and is still used now for canning and other things, showing where they were at in terms of inventing.
Missy used the pressure cooker to cook the food for the big dinner faster.
Pressure noun cooker pg. 197
a special pot that is used to cook food quickly by using the pressure of steam
radio pg. 251
noun
of, relating to, or Mr. Hauke’s radio had said A device more operated by the weather would turn commonly used radiant energy cool again tonight, just in more then, than time for our party. now. It shows the technology level that they were at.
Becca listened to the radio to hear her favorite song “Ain’t We Crazy”
Roosevelt’s New Deal pg. 114
noun
the legislative
Roosevelt’s New Deal was created to help out the Depression era and stop it.
and administrative program of President F. D.
About the time Mama had her first seven jars in the pressure cooker, we saw Oren and Jacob coming down the seawall with two more sacks of ducks.
Older invention used without electricity shows less advancement than now.
“Roosevelt’s New Deal is supposed to drum up new jobs for them,” another
When Roosevelt was the president and made a decision for America to try to
Lexicon Organizer Roosevelt said. designed to promote economic recovery and social reform during the 1930s;; also : the period of this program
stop the Depression in America.
Seawall pg. 257
noun
a wall built to keep sea waves from coming up onto land
I decided to take the trail up People in poverty The seawall blocked the seawall to watch for the at that time would the big waves from the coming norther. live close to the hurricane. ocean in small houses, with the sea wall protecting them and their houses from floods.
sewing pg. 133
noun
the act or process of using a needle and thread to make or repair something (such as a piece of clothing)
I didn’t care much for sewing, and my stitching showed it, but Mama insisted that I keep practicing.
Was more used for poor people in that time period because they couldn’t afford to buy store made clothes.
tar-paper shack pg. 111
noun
a heavy type of
I’d been drowning, too, under a flood of tents and tar-paper shacks and big
Cardboard walls People would live in tar and tar paper roof paper shacks that shows poverty that usually had cardboard
paper covered with tar that is
Everyone at the clothes factory was making sure that the machines didn’t mess up its sewing.
Lexicon Organizer Thanksgiving pg. 193
noun
used especially in roofs
brick school houses, and people had to live soon, a room full of Nadine in such small and Lowrys. unstable places.
the fourth Thursday in November in the U.S. or the second Monday in October in Canada celebrated as a legal holiday for people to be thankful for what they have
Duck season would open on Thursday, November 16, just one week before Thanksgiving.
walls and dirt floors because they didn’t have enough money for a stronger home.
A holiday that we Lydia’s whole family celebrate now, came over for the big showing that the Thanksgiving dinner. time period is not before the creation of this holiday.
Bibliography: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/potbellied%20stove
"Potbellied Stove." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
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