Who grows up wanting to be a soil surveyor? What is a soil surveyor, anyway? Hugh Bennett, that’s who. A man who classifies soil types and decides the vegetation and land use patterns for certain areas of land. The exact person needed during the 1930’s in the Great Plains as topsoil blew away by the […]
Tag Archives: Henry Finnell
28
Aug
Aug
“The Black Blizzards were fearful. A giant wall rolling toward you like a steamroller.” – Floyd Coen Learning to Live in the Desert Growing up in Oklahoma Territory in the early 1900’s, Henry Finnell learned the ways of the semi-arid land on his parents’ homestead. He graduated from the local high school in Stillwater, then […]
28
Aug
Aug
Life Through a Lens “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves – for the rights of all who are destitute.” Proverbs 31:8 Ever wonder who took the iconic photos from the Dust Bowl that make our hearts ache and give us nightmares? A few pioneers in a new field of photo documentary brought […]
28
Aug
Aug
Civilian Conservation Corps boys at work – Photo: Library of Congress The family’s farm is in foreclosure. Dust storms blot out the sun and bury the livestock. The older siblings try to share their beans, biscuit and Jack with the younger ones who cry themselves to sleep on empty stomachs. Dad’s eyes stare blankly at […]
27
Aug
Aug
For two hours, Vernon and I watched disturbing, yet stunning visuals flash across our television screen. Frightening images of gigantic black blizzards engulfing barns and cities with devastating results. Plagues of jackrabbits and locusts. Old and young coughing from dust pneumonia. The first DVD of The Dust Bowl, by Ken Burns, sent chills pearling over our […]