Starting tomorrow night, acclaimed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns tackles a subject that figures prominently in the history of Route 66 — the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.
“The Dust Bowl” will air on PBS for two consecutive nights. Check your local listings for times and channels.
The trailer for the film:
When the fields of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Texas and New Mexico turned into choking dust during a 10-year drought, many financially devastated farmers and their families took to Route 66 in an effort to escape the calamity. Those refugees on the Mother Road inspired John Steinbeck’s novel “The Grapes of Wrath,” then the Oscar-winning movie based on the book. And a songwriter by the name of Woody Guthrie took to Route 66 as well during the disaster.
Making a film about the Dust Bowl had been percolating in Burns’ head for years. But the impetus for making the film a reality was Timothy Egan’s book “The Worst Hard Time,” which won the National Book Award for nonfiction.
True story: When I moved to Oklahoma in mid-2004, I was disappointed to find that history books about the Dust Bowl at my local library were scarce on many details. Egan’s book, when it was published in 2006, instantly rectified that situation. It memorably told about the miseries of the Dust Bowl through the eyes of those who lived it. That included “Black Sunday,” the chapter about that day that is as terrifying as any horror book you’re likely to read.
I fully intend to watch “The Dust Bowl” when it’s broadcast. But I felt obligated to inform you of the book that likely led to the series.
Just a year or so ago ,I watched a documentary on the Dust Bowl years. I am not sure who made it ,but was very enlightening
At the end of the show they took a building and set up a mock Dust storm. The guy came out after 10 minutes .
After he was able to talk ,he said it was amazing how people even survived it period.
They did talk to several people that had family that lived in that time frame and one man lost 3 brothers and a sister I believe it was.
My mom and dad as well as my wifes mom and dad lived thru that era. I ask them how they survived .They both said it was sheer will power and the grace of the good Lord.
Mom said they would strain water over and over with what we call today something like cheese cloth or a piece of canvas. Once they got it clean then it was capped . She said eating food was sometimes really tough .It would taste like dirt or grit when you ate
I will try and catch this one as well
If you’ve ever seen the TV mini-series “Centennial” there’s a segment that deals with the dust bowl and the effect it had on a family.
No, I was a bit too young at the time.
Sure hope we’re not headed there again? Some of the same areas have now been in a drought for over 12 years, people still till and try to over farm dry land, haboobs in Arizona, dust storms in New Mexico with high winds regularly, and I recently drove through a near blackout in Oklahoma to get to Cuba Fest! Nothing as bad as the Dust Bowl, yet the drought continues…