University of Illinois CONTENTdm Collection : Item Viewer

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Dust Bowl refugees traveling by freight train


Title	Dust Bowl refugees traveling by freight train
Coverage / Year	1939
Description	Photograph, b/w
Interpretation	This Oklahoma family was photographed traveling by freight train through the Yakima Valley, Washington in 1939. During the dust storms of 1932, in the Great Plains states, many farms literally dried up and blew away. Thousands of farmers packed up their families and traveled west, where they hoped to find work in agriculture. Finding work however did not end the migrant's travels, because to maintain a steady income they were forced to follow the harvest.
Lesson Plans / Themes	Transportation--A Student's Historical Explanation; Studying the Great Depression through novels;
Learning Standards	16 History; 15 Economics;
Author or Creator	Unknown
Source	Hard Travellin': The Hobo and His History by Kenneth Allsop, 448 p., 1967 (illustrations)
Subject / Keywords	United States--Social conditions; United States--Economic conditions; Depressions--1929--United States; Dust Bowl; Trains
Collection Publisher	Illinois State Library
Further Information	For any further information related to this record, please contact the Collection Publisher. See http://images.library.uiuc.edu/projects/tdc for more information about this project.
Rights Management Statement	http://images.library.uiuc.edu/projects/tdc/conditions.htm
CONTENTdm file name	4619141882003_hobo2.jpg