End of an era: Final Dust Bowl Festival held at Weedpatch Camp

Weedpatch Camp, immortalized by John Steinbeck's novel "The Grapes of Wrath," recently held its 30th and last Dust Bowl Festival on the outskirts of Bakersfield, California. Simply put, the festival is being shut down because the survivors of that calamity have gotten too old to run it. A local television station did a preview about … Continue reading End of an era: Final Dust Bowl Festival held at Weedpatch Camp

“The Grapes of Wrath” was published 75 years ago today

John Steinbeck's famous novel about the Great Depression and a family's Moses-like journey on Route 66, "The Grapes of Wrath," was published 75 years ago today. The National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, Calif., is marking the anniversary all year, and I'll post a review of a new book about the writing of the novel when … Continue reading “The Grapes of Wrath” was published 75 years ago today