THE DEADLY DUST

By. Edgar Santana

Backgrond I came from a family that had some money but lost it

all during the great depression and the dust bowl. When the stock market fell so did our financial status.

I have one brother and three sisters which are all younger then me.

I have a wife and three kids. I decided to move to California when I saw that things

weren't going to get better. I tried to sell our farm but couldn’t sell it.

I went completely broke my crops wouldn’t grow so we lost our farm and home. People did not buy our farm because of all the dust.

My animals all died of thirst and because there was very little grass for them to eat.

We decided to move to Cali because of the better living conditions.

My family and I packed our bags and headed west.

The trip from Kansas to Cali was long and cruel.

Education

I did not have much of an education because I didn’t finish my schooling. I had to drop out of school to help my dad around the farm.

I wish I had gone to school so I could have become something better in life. Many of my friends had to do the same.

When the dust bowl hit many parents couldn’t afford to send their kids to school because of the things they needed. They couldn’t provide the necessary things for school like books, clothing and other supplies.

Occupation For my occupation I worked in a factory. My wife would stay at home some times or when not at home she would work.The children would go to school or go to the park when they had time. I would some times play a card game or two with some friends.

Residence

We have traveled around the state of California for a while until we found a good job.

At first we would pick fruit and other crops.

I got a job at a factory that paid better and moved out of the worker camps.

Now we live in a little house out side of Fresno.

Family Life My life and the life of my family changed in a

blink on eye. We went from having everything to having nothing. I wish I could go back and relive those days.

Now that I have gotten a better job I can provide for my family more.

My wife still works at the fields picking fruit with other women but she doesn’t work as much as she used to.

Mary my oldest daughter takes care of the little ones while we are ate work.

Sources The dust bowl of the 1930s. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_02.html Drought in the dust bowl years. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.drought.unl.edu/whatis/dustbowl.htm The dust bowl. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.nasm.si.edu/ceps/drylands/dust.html (n.d.). Retrieved Dust bowl. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl from

http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/Cunfer.DustBowl Dust bowl. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/dustbowl.htm