#2013 The Dust Bowl Migration of the 1930s

#2013 The Dust Bowl Migration of the 1930s

Thursday, May 15, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

The Dust Bowl of the 1930s in the western United States was caused by a combination of severe drought, excessive plowing of the topsoil that destroyed native grasslands, and strong persistent winds that resulted in massive dust storms across the Dust Bowl states - Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma; the strong winds spread remnants of the dust storms across neighboring states and the Eastern United States.  The most significant migration of Dust Bowl residents, mostly farmers and their families, happened between 1935 and 1940 when roughly 2.5 million people migrated to California and other western locales.  Many Dust Bowl migrants found economic and social conditions little better than those they left behind, primarily because the ongoing Great Depression of 1929 to 1939 created high rates of poverty and unemployment, decreased demand for agricultural and industrial workers, and widespread monetary failures of banks and businesses in the US and around the world.  Time will be provided for questions and discussions during this presentation. 

Dick Fairley: PhD in Computer Science and Systems Engineering from UCLA.  He worked as an engineer, university professor, consultant, and as a jazz disk jockey at KRCC.   

PILLAR Member-FREE  Not-Yet-Member-$25.00