Fontell Littrell's grandmother was a devout Latter-Day Saint. But when Fontell's father turned to bootlegging and poker to support an extended family of ten during the dirty thirties, her grandmother took it in stride "The Lord works in mysterious ways, his miracles to perform," she rationalized. The Litrells' story and those of thousands of others who rode out the dust bowl in southwest Kansas are the focus of Pamela Riney-Kehrberg's study of survival in a drought-ridden decade. Unlike other historians, who have dwelt on those who fled hardship, Riney-Kehrberg concentrates on the majority--three-quarters of the population--who endured. Examining the social impact of drought and depression, she illustrates how both farm and town families dealt with the deprivation by finding odd jobs, working in government programs, or depending on federal and private assistance. Years of tribulation, she shows, affected standards of living, family relationships, city and county finances, land ownership, farm prices and production, population shifts, and politics (traditionally staunchly Republican, southwest Kansas twice voted for Roosevelt). Looking also at the environmental impact, Riney-Kehrberg presents both the negative and positive sides of farming practices and governmental intervention. Most Kansas persvered for nearly ten years, Riney-Kehrberg emphasizes, and how they adapted indelibly altered their outlook and plans for the future. More than fifty years later, the devastating dust storms continue to affect agricultural practices and policy and the population of southwest Kansas.
--This text refers to the
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"A finely crafted social history. Stark and evocative photos enhance the work." -- Journal of American History
"A significant contribution to the environmental and social history of the Dust Bowl." -- Environmental History
"Full of rich information." -- Western Historical Quarterly
"Recommended reading for anyone concerned with the history of environmental and public welfare policies, as well as agricultural history." -- American Historical Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
"A significant contribution to the environmental and social history of the Dust Bowl." -- Environmental History
"Full of rich information." -- Western Historical Quarterly
"Recommended reading for anyone concerned with the history of environmental and public welfare policies, as well as agricultural history." -- American Historical Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
About the Author
Pamela Riney-Kehrberg is assistant professor of history at Illinois State University in Normal.
--This text refers to the
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting overview but limited to Kansas,
By BasenjiRoo (NE, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rooted in Dust (Rural America) (Paperback)
This book focuses on the Dust Bowl in Kansas and provides a lot of interesting information on how people coped; maps and photographs enhance the content.
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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median farmer, county agricultural extension, drought distress, dirt storms, relief clients, sixteen counties, relief load, half gallon jars, home demonstration agent, southwestern comer, dust bowl, poor fund, agricultural census, price crash Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Garden City, Finney County, Ford County, Morton County, Great Plains, Dodge City, Grant County, Stanton County, Hamilton County, Red Cross, Seward County, African American, Emergency Relief Committee, Clark County, Haskell County, Highpoint Township, Pleasant Valley, United States, Gray County, Kansas State Historical Society, Library of Congress, Farm Security Administration, Stevens County, Chamber of Commerce, Great Depression New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
median farmer, county agricultural extension, drought distress, dirt storms, relief clients, sixteen counties, relief load, half gallon jars, home demonstration agent, southwestern comer, dust bowl, poor fund, agricultural census, price crash Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Garden City, Finney County, Ford County, Morton County, Great Plains, Dodge City, Grant County, Stanton County, Hamilton County, Red Cross, Seward County, African American, Emergency Relief Committee, Clark County, Haskell County, Highpoint Township, Pleasant Valley, United States, Gray County, Kansas State Historical Society, Library of Congress, Farm Security Administration, Stevens County, Chamber of Commerce, Great Depression New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
7
books
cite this book:
See all 7 books citing this book
- Next Year Country: Dust to Dust in Western Kansas, 1890-1940 by H. Craig Miner in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Diaspora in the Countryside: Two Mennonite Communities in Mid-Twentieth-Century Rural Disjuncture by Royden Loewen in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Past Time, Past Place: GIS for History by Anne Kelly Knowles on page 103
- Letters from the Dust Bowl by Caroline Henderson in Back Matter
- Letters from the Dustbowl by Caroline Henderson in Back Matter
See all 7 books citing this book
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