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I work here with some other girls but I rarely see them. I have been working here for some time, maybe 6 months? But I am helping my family get out of the place we are in. its dirty here and I get paid only $0.15 an hour, I work 16 hours a day. but who am I to complain, my father is always away trying to support us, him and my two older brother might get drafted for the far away war. with all of us working we eat three meals a day but due to what my eldest brother says is "inflation" we haven't had as much for dinner for the past few weeks and it keeps getting worse and worse. I have never gone to school before and know no work ethic. but all I know is that if I cant work all day I cant work at all.

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Hello, My name is Jack I'm a 37-year-old war veteran of WW1. I have a beautiful wife and an identical set of twin sons. Life was amazing after I got back from deployment. I had a steady job and was living the American dream on a beautiful farm with an amazing family. I would walk out every morning onto my deck overlooking the farm with a prominent sunset. The birds would be chirping and there would always be a sweet smell of rosemary. Then one morning October 29 I walked onto my deck and had a weird feeling deep down in my gut. I tried to ignore it, but later that day I realized why. I was enjoying a nice warm cup of coffee after dinner reading the paper and saw the stock market had suddenly crashed. I was slightly worried but brushed it off as something minor. I lazily scribbled down on my notepad I was going to visit the bank in the morning. I went upstairs and drifted off to sleep. I woke up the next morning and arrived at the bank just after breakfast to a line crowding outside the door. I saw a friend of mine Billy in the middle of the line and walked over towards him. I asked him in a worried tone "Why is everyone here I just wanted to check my account and bring my money home for safekeeping?" Billy explained how the stock market has severely crashed and everyone is despreate to take their money out. Suddenly the owner of the bank came out with a microphone to make an announcement. He explained calmly how the bank has no money left to give out. The line erupted in anger people started shouting and throwing everyday items. The banker said, "everyone can have $20 and then we will close the bank." I was extremely upset and worried I would only be able to keep my farm for 1 month before I would need a job. Billy sold his house and slept at our farmhouse supporting my faimly. This image shows Billy and I in the center of our depressed town trying to find work I am on the left side.

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hey my name is Perdo. Me and  some other workers are just taking a little  break from work. i¨m just so lucky to have this job. This job means everything to me. I don´t know what i would do if i didn't  have this job. Even thought i work all day long and all night I  don¨t  see my family  as much its all going to be worth it. All the nights I can home from bleeding and and bruised its all going to be for my family.

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my children are the light of my life, though everything they always bring out the best of me and my husband and are such a blessing. when the great depression hit all of them came to me and my husband telling us how there friends were all getting sent away from there family's. we told them we wold never ever give them up. But a couple days went by and we just did not have the money to support them. not enough food, they all froze through the night and they all ended up getting sick. my husband and i had no other option we wanted the best for out children so we sat down with them and explained our situation. it was defiantly the hardest day of my life to see there faces when they heard. we sold them and never did i think my life would come to this point, i stay up at night thinking what did i do to deserve this.

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It was very hard for me to get a good paying job because of my skin color then came the great depression, me and my folks were struggling so much. I was worried my mother got sick and I thought she wasn't going to make it I tried helping by going out everyday to find a job but I came home with nothing and my parents would ask “what happened’ and I would always tell the the same thing “they called bad names and told me to get the hell out the country” even though I know other people of other different skin colors we struggling like me too I knew since I was little that I was going struggle a little more than other people I know people that had been killed by white supremacy groups because they were black my mom never wanted me to leave the house without my dads gun because she was worried that something might happen.

I got a job in  January 1933 but they took advantage of me, they would make me do very hard stuff so I quit a month later so I was again struggling. One year later my mother died, and my dad was also getting very ill so I was preparing myself to be ready if my father dies.

In 1939 the country started getting better, my dad always told me that everything was going to get better and I was very happy it did.

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My name is Rose. I'm in this picture with Mama and my brother Luke. My Pa's not with us right now because he's been gone for almost six months trying to find work. Things are pretty hard right now but we're doing our best to get by because we know it's going to get better. Ma keeps saying this is just a little storm and that the sun will shine again soon. Every night when I go to sleep, I pray that tomorrow will be the day my Pa comes home and the sun comes out. But then when the morning comes and I wake up hungry, I realize it's just another day. I don't understand how this is happening. My Pa is smart and strong but no one will give him work and my Mama is just trying to hold together the shack we now call home. She insists on giving thanks at the dinner table, even if sometimes we have nothing to eat. She's tells us that we always have hope and that we should be thankful for the things we have, as long as we have each other.

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oh my buddies saw this sign then we got really sad  because they couldn't get a job and were trying to stay hopefully to get a job,  And we had no food  They were walking to different town to find jobs.I didn't have family to support but my friends had family to support. They struggle to put food on the table.

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My name is george, me, my mom, my sister, and my dad used to be a very happy family, That is until the great depression came. My mom got the flu and with no medicine or food or water she died about a month in, and since my sister was only 16 months old she died too. So it is just me and my dad. My dad goes off everyday looking for work of any kind while i staff home, with nothing to do i figured at least i could help my dad out so i made a sign that says “why can't you give my dad a job” and with my sign i walk around town showing it to people, hoping that i'll find someone that my dad can work.

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My name is Abigail and the girl with the brown hair is my bigger sister, Emily. We have been on the street looking for a job so we can get money for your mother; she has been sick for 2 weeks. Our father is at work all day and when he gets home from work he is tired but he still has time to talk to me and my sister. Once a week my dad gets one loaf of bread and milk because that is all he can get. Why do we have to go though this.

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📎 Photo
Juan Ramirez
Juan Ramirez
when my dad leaves to find a job, I pray to anything that he will come back with a smile on his face and say. Son were saved from this disaster! i'll ask him, is it a decent job? Then i’ll pray again for a decent job and he will say yes. It's only a dream come true that I can only say please to and pray for. This sign is the only thing I have to believe in.please give my dad a job.

Kaylynn Lemur
Kaylynn Lemur
My name is Annie. I don't like eating beans for breakfast lunch and dinner. But at least we had some food to eat. Others didn't. Mama works all day at the farm and brings home just enough to get a small loaf of bread for the week or a can of black beans. Why does it have to be this way. 
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Emma Longoria
Emma Longoria
As I sit here waiting and waiting for my husband to return, worrying he'll never come back, my children are at my side hungry, thirsty, overheating, and exhausted. We’ve been staying here for weeks with nothing but a tent, a few blankets, and very little food. My husband is gone looking for work in the intense heat and all I do every day is worry about him. I worry that he's alone, hurt, or sick; I worry he might never return. This could go on longer than we want. I can't help but think this is our life forever. But, I need to set a good example for my kids. I need to show them never to give up and to stay strong through any hard situation that comes our way. This is our life right now, these are our circumstances and we need to live it and stay strong. It may sound easy, but its not. I don't want my kids to have this experience.
Jackson McCool
Jackson McCool
Hi, my name is William. I’ve lost my job, my house and my money. I have nothing left. I used to work at a factory from nine to five everyday. It paid fine and I was saving up to invest some in stocks. I’m glad I didn’t now, with the crash and all. I’ve found some boxes to put up a little shack for myself. I feel lucky if I get food for the day. I’m digging through trash to find something to eat. The only thing I could keep was my clothes. I lost my house and all my savings. I don’t know what to do now. I can’t keep living like this. Only thing I can do is wait I think. Maybe the jobs will come back. There's no guarantee and I’ve been thinking of heading west. I heard farmers need workers and I’m willing to pun in the hours. I think the longer I stay the worse it will get.  
Tanner Bauer
Tanner Bauer
July 16, 1930
Hi, my name is Emily. I am a proud mother of my two children, Henry and James. I haven't seen my husband in 3 days. He left to go find a job to help support us. Hopefully he will be back soon. My children and I are starting to grow hungry and my youngest one is becoming sick. His breathing is heavy from the dust and he has a raging fever. I'm really worried that he isn’t going to make it. My older son has formed a terrible cough and a bad rash on his upper back from sleeping on the ground these past few nights. I’ve just barely been able to feed them enough food. The dust storms are getting worse and what used to be a corn field is now an ocean of sand and dirt. I’m truly afraid of what the future has to bring us.

Lucas Biernacki
Lucas Biernacki
The name’s Robert. I’m in the front of that picture down below. Handsome, huh? I like to think so. Thoughts like that help to distract me from all the madness going on around us right now. I didn’t realize it in that picture, but that bread in my hand and that soup, if you can call slightly flavored water soup, was the last thing I would be eating for a while. I’m gonna be honest with you here, I used to be quite the optimist. I once thought that this depression would be over as soon as it had started. But, it’s been 4 years now, and things aren’t looking any better than they did on the first month. Instead of thinking of how to make things better, the only thing on everyone’s mind right now is a good meal. I’ve lost contact with my family and most of my friends, so I’m only assuming the worst has happened to them. Life wasn’t always so hard for me. I used to actually have an alright life. I worked in a factory, which wasn’t the best job, but it paid. I had a nice family, and I even had a fiancee. She was with me at the beginning of the depression, but left the country once things started going sour. All she left was a note, stating that I would have done the same thing, if I was given the chance. She took most of my money with her as well. So much for “love is eternal”. After my factory couldn’t afford to pay us workers, I had to take to the streets. Since then, I can never keep a permanent job. Most of the jobs I do are one time only. I have close to no money, but everyone around me is in the same boat. Last night, I saw a man attack another man for his bread. I’ve seen families, abandoned by the ones they needed the most. I’ve seen plenty of sick and dead people. I have seen the absolute worst of humanity, and it’s within me, too. I’ve had to steal before, just to survive. I know it's an awful thing to do, and I hate myself a little more every time I do it, but there isn’t any room for “the right thing” in the United States right now. The only thing we have to concern ourselves with, is our own well-being.
Sam Ralston
Sam Ralston
The dust got too bad in Oklahoma. We wanted to stay at our house, but none of us could breathe, and the kids got really sick, and couldn't stop coughing. The people that we lived by had left a week ago headed towards California, so we decided to do the same thing.We packed all of our stuff in the car, and headed west. After driving for about 3 hours, we ran out of gas, we weren't sure where we 
Luca Salas
Luca Salas
Life just ain't what it was in the 20's. Life was good. Our business was flourishing, and we had enough to live out the rest of our days without struggle. Much has changed. Our business is failing. We can't afford to pay the employees we have, and certainly can't hire. All that we've worked for, all that we've gone through to get to where we were. It's all gone. If this goes on much longer, we might have to declare bankruptcy, and live our lives on the road, looking for work were work is needed. I wish I could say that things will get better, that we will strive and keep our business alive. But things don't happen the way you want them to. Especially not now.
Oliver Schmitz
Oliver Schmitz 
My name is john I worked on a farm with my entire family. We were doing great in this area but when the competition started to use machinery we decided to do the same. We knew it was a risk so we borrowed money from the banks. We started to make money but when there was so many crops from everywhere we lost money and had to quit. We shut down our farms and moved toward the city I was fortunate enough to gain enough money to feed the family. A few days later I saw many people at the banks asking for their money back I had nothing in the bank and was running off my low pay job but when the office shut down because of bankruptcy we were forced to move again. More and more people were on the streets now and with a family of 6 it was hard to find food. We would search dumpsters for food but none were found because all the restaurants were gone more and more people had to be put on the streets and that is when we hit the road. Me and my family hopped in the car and started for the next town over it was going to be a drive but half way there we ran out of gas we have been walking for hours and taking breaks every now and then. We would put some of our children in a wheelbarrow to carry them so they wouldn't be tired and we suspect it is another 30 hours till we get to the town hoping something is there.
Jack Goldstein
Jack Goldstein
Life is a difficult thing. It's been difficult to find work, especially for an old timer like me. I've been around the country in search of a job. I might as well leave America at this point. Man, life used to be so great. I had money, I had a car, but most importantly I had a job. I don't know how much longer it will be until I'm able to support myself again. Hope is all I have left. I know I'll make it out of this, I just don't know when.  But until this country is back on its feet I just have to keep pushing, I'm not going to let the world push me around. Well, I should get back to it, I got a long road ahead of me.
Aidan Lesperance
Aidan Lesperance
My name is william and I just lost my job at the shoe factory. It has been had without money to survive. On the left is my friend james who has been living with me for the past week because he cant afford to live in his house. There is not much too eat, this is some of the last leftovers we have now. The food is not good either but it is the only thing keeping us alive. At this point I have given up trying to get a job and we can only hope things will change for the better.
Davis Cutforth
Davis Cutforth
Why can dad get a job? It has been such a long time in this run down shack. I hate having to lay on a wooden plank for my bed. I hate having barley and dinner, most of the time its just whatever we can find on the ground. Dad has been looking for a job for 2 years now, and just hoping for anything.Why can´t life be better. It was so good and now its so bad. I just wonder why does no one give dad a job, mom has been gone all day looking for food, or anything she can find. tomorrow she wants us to come and help her look through trash cans. Our friends help watch us while mom is gone, but they are sick so they can´t do much. Life just really sucks.
James Chinnery
James Chinnery
Hi i'm Charlene and I hate everything about my life. Back in the 20's I was living the high life. I was a stay at home mother and I spent every moment with my children. I never had to work a day in my life. My husband Frank used to work in a pencil factory. It wasn't glamorous but it paid the bills and kept me happen.  I had  not but a care in the world till the cowardly baster left me to find a new job. I didn't know how to work and he knew that, but still selfish excuse for a husband. left me with my four children, Charles, Margret, Poppy, and Elizabeth. I love em with all my heart but I just can't afford them,. I can't afford me. I know this sounds selfish but its the best thing for them. If they stay with me they'll starve and die slowly and painfully if I don't die first. I don't want them to starve or live a life not full of prosperity and opportunity, so someone please take them somewhere safe and warm, they deserve a great home.
Amaya Krutsinger Swenson
Amaya Krutsinger Swenson
My name is Nancy. This picture shows me when I was 7 and my siblings in our house in a shanty town we lived in. I'm the one in the front on the left. My brother Johnny (front right) was the one who raised me. My mom was busy everyday working as a maid for the only family in our town who was rich enough to not worry about the Great Depression. My dad had been working on a farm, but passed away because he got too much dust in his lungs and got sick. Johnny would do whatever he could to make sure me and my siblings got the childhood we deserved. He was the man of the house, an adult at 10 years old, taking care of 3 children who were too young to do anything by themselves. If you would've asked me what my favorite childhood memory was, Johnny would be in every single one of them. Yet he never got to have a childhood, and once he was 15 he left the house to go work. I was the caretaker now. I didn't have my big brother to protect me. He came back every month to say hi and to give me money. Yet one month Johnny didn't come home. I found out that he had been killed, because my daddy came home. He tried to get on a train but fell under the wheels. I never saw Johnny again, and I no longer had someone to protect me.
I miss my sweet guardian angel.
(Pictured September 9, 1930)
Matthew Skapyak
Matthew Skapyak
My name's William. Our father has been out for the past three days trying to find a job just so that he could support our family. We have majority of the things we own to the Great Depression. For the past couple of nights, the fear of losing everything haunts me. I just hope father will find a job. I'm sick and tired of not having enough to eat. Honestly, I wonder if leaving would make it easier for my mother and father to afford for each other. But then where would I go? I'd just be some scrappy little kid wandering around the streets looking for a home and for something to eat. Please, give my dad a job.

Monik Vasquez
Monik Vasquez
Hi, my name is rosa, a sick migrant child. I've seen things no child should see and I am going through things that no one should have to experience. My mom and dad couldn't afford the best things in the world but they still manage to put food on the table. I'm seeing people died from multiple things such as starvation, lack of water, and sometimes they just kill themselves. I asked my dad if things are going to get better and he just stays silent. My body aches, I have the worst headache, and my fever is getting higher and higher every day and the only thing I could do is drink warm nasty water. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to die, but maybe if I did it would be better than just suffering every day. I wake up and go to bed starving and all I can do is just cry and hope things will get better. I'm hurting and I'm in pain… I just want to be playing with my friends outside and making mud pies. Did my family and I deserve this?
Gen golsch
Gen golsch
July 15, 1930 
Mama said i needed to be strong for both of my sisters. Ever since papa died i don know how i can be strong. I'm only 11 and i don’t want to continue on the road, i want to go home. I want to go back to the farm where my daddy is, where he’ll look down at me with his light brown eyes telling me how to grow the crops. Its to hot at night and Rae crys in her sleep from the fever, mama says shes not going to last much longer. We dont have enough food for everyone so me and mama dont eat, we give the food to Marie and Rae hoping it will help keep them going a little bit longer. My little sister Marie seems to not care whats happening as long as she gets to be with me and mama and little Rae.  My name is Darcy, i'm 11 years old and i dont know how much longer i can take this. 
February 1, 1931
i was left with Marie and Rae, after mama left a while a go and i dont know when shell come back. Rae has gotten worse and i havent eaten in over 48 hours. when Mama left she said she would find us food and shelter but i dont know if shell come back. Marie is crying and i cant get her to stop, everything is falling apart. my world is fading and i feel like theres nothing i could do to stop it. 
Armando Macias
Armando Macias
My name is jimmy. Its been hard for my dad because he lost his job. He doesn´t know what do because his job was providing everything for our family. My mom once told me ¨ 
Ilasmin Gutierrez Zamora
Ilasmin Gutierrez Zamora
It's hard to find food to feed my three children. We lost our home, I lost my job, and there is nothing to do. I can't do nothing. Nothing. Being a mother, it's hard to tell your children that they will not have dinner tonight. My children are in the age of 4-12 years old and they shouldn't be feeling hunger. It hurts my heart seeing then crying. My husband died because of a fever. My family didn't have the money to help him. I'm lone. My husband would of supported my emotionally. I didn't think that I would be in the streets and my children being cold at night. I thought that I would have food for my children to eat and my family would be happy. My name is Annabelle, I have three children. I'm not sure if we are going to have dinner tonight.
Maren Williams
Maren Williams
Ever since I lost my house and my job, I've been hopeless. There is nothing left for me except my last sliver of hope and whats left of my dignity. I travel everywhere, it seems like every corner of this failing country. I travel anywhere I can find a job. Going from place to place, being lied to about hope for a new life. It seems everyone is hopeless now. I'm only 26 years old, just starting my life, just to be walked on and taken away by the government. I had opened a bank account so I could save my money so I could start my journey to a new life, but that was a huge mistake, trusting the bank. It ruined my life. It seems the only thing keeping me going now is the last bit of hope I have for myself and this country, which is getting smaller and smaller everyday. My last job was working at some farm in California. They kept saying, "you will get paid, don't worry, you'll get there." I was being lied to everyday. I never got the money I was promised. I got some, yes, but not nearly enough to turn my life around, just enough to survive. But that's the norm here in this part of history, you're lied to until there's no hope left inside of you. Now, i'm left sitting on this train, going who knows where, and inevitably nowhere. 
Alex Pineda
Alex Pineda 
My name is Conrad. I don't really understand all this bank stuff but its unfair. I've been working in the fields since 7, and all that work to now be living in a tent is stressing me out. I got a little brother to take care off and that's it, just him and I that's all we've got. This crisis has been going on since last year and I don't see anyone doing anything about it. My friends are gone and my family is too, they all went to look for a better place but I doubt they'll find one. The farmers around town got hit the hardest. Everything is gone for them and they're business. I worked for a farmer named Frank but hes long gone now and left me along with the other workers without  job or pay check. I await here with my brother trying to make it without support.  
Breana Parfait
Breana Parfait 
I have been sick for a while now. It's hard to get medicine and I can't get cured. I have been laying here on the hard ground not getting any better. Dad is working to get some money so he can afford some medication. I'm afraid i'm going to die soon. I just hurt all the time. Sometimes I think it would be better if I was just dead. All I have is water to drink which isn't even clean good water it's contaminated. I don't know how much longer I have to live. I'm always hurting there's never a time when i'm not hurting. I'm starving I just want to have a nice dinner with my family. I wonder why i'm being put through this. I just want it all to end. I just want to be healthy again. I just wish that I wasn't the one to be put through all of this. I'm only 10 years old. I just wanna be well again. I don't wanna go through this. I just hope this is over soon. 
Kaden Strunk
Kaden Strunk
 Everyday seems to get longer and longer, it feels like we are at the mercy of the hot sun i just wish we had are home back, are beds back,are dog back. I’m tired of it my brother will not shut up he will not stop talking about the dust the sun anything I just want him to shut up, and don't get me started with dad and mom fighting over the car, nobody will shut up. all a want is some peace and quiet.
Aaliyah Bustamante
Aaliyah Bustamante
I've been walking for a few days now, stopping at places to get food for my journey. The farm I was working at foreclosed last week .It was hard leaving Oklahoma, I had lived there for the past 8 years and made a lot of friends but when everything started going down hill I knew I had to start heading back towards my family and leave the life I made behind.  My sister Marry and the rest of my family lives in Tennessee and that is where I'll be headed. I've met some kind people who game met some food and water that I am very great full for. I believe that god is on my side and I will make it to Tennessee safely. 
Kevin Bedford
Kevin Bedford
My name is Mary, I'm the one in bottom right hand corner. All my life I've wanted to become a nurse, this was my chance. When I was growing up I love to help out my grandmother and father. Whenever they got ill I was next to them, bringing them soup and all that good stuff. One day my mom was coming home from work and told me that she saw a sign on the hospital door saying that they were hiring nurses. I was so excited to finally become what I have always wanted to be. The next day I went to the hospital and told them that I was here to become a nurse. The lady at the front desk asked me if I had any experience with working as a nurse. I told her that I helped my grandmother and father, but she asked in the medical field. I told her no, so she sent me down a long hallway to get trained. When I walked into the room the first thing the lady asked me was to clean the floors. I was really confused because I was here to become a nurse. She told me that there is no need for actual nurses in the medical field just nurses to help clean, cook, bathe, etc. Instead of being rude I took the opportunity to prove that I wasn't supposed to be doing this. For the next week I worked so hard that when one nurse was out they told me to fill in. The first time I had no idea what I was doing but I just did as the others asked. A few years passed and I was one of the best nurses in California. When the Great Depression came around they told me that I could either stay and get paid barely enough to survive and I told them that I was going to stay because this was my dream. I followed my passion till I was the one getting sick. August 16, 1965
Jasmin De Santiago
Jasmin De Santiago
I know im the oldest but I know im young and I dont understand whats going on but I know that we lost our home and we have to move now. We took as many things as we could. My parents keep telling me this is temporary but it doesn't feel that way. We have moved three times and we are currently staying in a what dad calls a F.S.A, its a big field but you dont really make friends, people only stay here for a few day and then they leave because of the dust, kids usually like playing but the dust gets in your eyes and it burns. My parents asked me to take care of my baby sister and she's still young and doesn't understand any of this but she'll be ok, we all will.
Sydney Carlson
Sydney Carlson
My dad was a great man. He was a hard worker and he would do anything for his family. in this photo you can see my family and I. On this day we were moving. The dust bowl made it hard to live out here in the mid west. the dust bowl just made it hard to live.We weren´t wealthy enough to move anywhere far. We lived in Oklahoma. My mom left us before the dust bowl even started, we don´t know where she went considering she left us without telling us, or even leaving a note.My dad was quiet when she left, he really isn´t the type of man to cry. Maybe being quiet was his way of coping. He took care of us with no hesitation, he loved us too much to ever leave us. I always helped around and even made it easier around the house until the dust bowl arrived. We took this picture to remember our culture and our way of living. we took this picture to remind us we can get through anything. Even though we didn't have a mom anymore, we took this picture knowing this was our TRUE family.Our dad took care of 5 kids in total. Our father wasn´t just a great man, he was an amazing father whos story needed to be told.

Griffin Meere
Griffin Meere
I been looking for a job for a few years now. I've had a few on the way but I get released in the first month every time. I just got fired from my last job and now I'm afraid to tell my wife my friend josh next to me has been through a lot with me we have been with each other for awhile now. MY daughter is 6 now and I got her a cute stuffed bunny but I might need to sell it so we can eat. Shes such a brave strong girl and I want to give her a good life with a good education But can't even feed them sometimes. Me and my wife are worried that we won't make it through this and I running out of options. There jobs going everyday, I want to try to move to a new state cause I hear the more jobs to the north but I'm not sure. I don't have a car and I know my family can't make it trough the journey. I'm scared I might need to leave them to help them. I'm scared.
Isayah Coombe
Isayah Coombe
The Great Depression remained as the worst time in my and my family's life. It was October 1929 when I first noticed that something unusual was going. Stock markets were lacking and started to go down in business along with even closing. As years passed on each year was getting worse as many and many people began to panic not knowing what was going on. I never thought of such a thing happening so I decided to move to California with my wife and two kids. We had planned to start driving as soon as the Great Depression hit us. 1936 was the year where it finally hit us as me and my family wishes it never had. Days later we were forced out of our farm due to a drought as we had abandoned it quickly then begun to set out our trip to California. As we began to drive me and my family saw the last of our home and life in Oklahoma. Our family would have to frequently make stops to do work such as cotton picking just so we could buy food and gas to continue. On this day I and my family were within a days travel of our destination to Bakersfield, California, yet our car had broken down as we arrived just like our life and house back at home.
Nate Hirsh
Nate Hirsh
Living in a camp and waking up at dawn every day is far from easy. I sleep in a tent and at night I can feel the rocks cutting my back. But I have no other choice, because I was born into this life. But the worst thing about picking foods and farming over here is that there is almost zero reward for doing so. My life isn't about money, it's about survival. Me and my family have nothing. We live in a camp of farmers who went the same way as us. We lost all of our money after the soil was totally destroyed on from those dust storms. After that, we couldn't afford our house, so we moved away and now we just dream that we could return to a better life. People will say that I have it better off than most. However, I'm 11 years old right now, and I am practically homeless. I also haven't changed my clothes in maybe a year at this point. If me and my family are lucky, we'll all be able to eat once a day. You may also think that we dream of a better life. You can't right now; because there is no guarantee of a tomorrow. Out here, you're just another animal. nature doesn't care about you or your situation. It has no mercy. Everywhere you go you have to be aware, because there is a good chance it will be your last adventure until you're in a pine box 6 under if you know what I mean. Yeah, so maybe one day this will all end, whether it be for the good or the bad. I guess I'll just wait and see
Daniel Mueller
Daniel Mueller 
I have nothing left so I might as well just leave and start a new life. I have no money no clothes no family and I have nowhere to go except to go somewhere else. I have no idea where this train will take me all I know is that it will take me away from here. I lost everything, my house my job my money I have nothing. I guess that the reason why I'm running, running from my problems. Running from the problem of having nothing. I wish to go to California, I heard of work there work for everyone. what I need is work because without work I cant do anything I cant buy food or buy clothes. I just wish there were a magic button that I could push to make this all go away. 
Alex Teele
Alex Teele
We all just want everything to be how it was. Things have been rough, really rough. We all do this to distract ourselves from the stress, the pain, the hardships. We all just want everything to be normal. I don't have a job anyway, so it's better to distract myself from that fact this way than any other. I'm Henry Jenkins, I'm 27 years old and unemployed. I used to have a job, before everything went to hell like this. I had a decent life, not the best, but not the worst. I had a stable job, a roof over my head. Everything was fine and dandy. Then it all went downhill. I've been trying to find work for a few years now, but that ain't possible. So here I am, playing a simple ball game, instead of facing the truth.
Alex Klein
Alex Klein
That's me. Right there, in the middle. I'm a farmer, and a father of three children. My wife died three years ago, before all this happened. I wish she were still alive, but then again, I don't know if she would want to see us now. We was doing great. We had a nice farm, and we was making a lot of sales. Then those banks stole our money. We had plenty of money to keep us in good livin' conditions. Everything were all well in good. Then ma wife died, and it all went downhill from there. At least we ain't in that horrible Dustbowl. Man do I just despise those banks. It's all their fault that we got into this mess. Ma children are having a rough time. We do all of our livin'  in this here wagon. Their mama is dead. We can't afford even to buy clean water. We have to drink from lakes. Right now, it's rough. And I know that others are goin' through some tough times too. But I hope that when this is all over, we'll get to return to our normal, peaceful lives, where there's not no dust storms or bad banks.
chase
chase
my name is Adrian and the factory I word at clost and trying to find another job. I sterting west to find a town or a bot dock. I have been walking for 3 days and past thru a couple of touns no jobs tho. It has been 10 days sens the factory closed sum bacorys wer giving out supe. Day 12 I found sum work at a bakery but they close after a couple of days but I got enuf to last me a couple more days. Day 20 I found a bot dock and one of the workers help me on a get on a boat to england and people told me that are sum jobs thar.

Mia McCallum
Mia McCallum
The exhaustion of our lungs from the dust is getting stronger, but not as strong as our hunger. I feel the hope in my heart fading, but weird enough its been like this for so long its starting to feel normal. We keep towels around to wash the dust off of our plates like it is nothing new. Today we found a half turkey sandwich in the trash which means its a good day. I still cant sleep knowing my baby John is getting worse and worse. A baby's lungs cant handle this dust, he should be able to eat when he needs and to sleep somewhere comfortable for him. After the bank took our house we've been with my sister. Box Springs all over the floors for us. I am not complaining but when i was a kid i never dreamed it would end up like this.
Coby Reid
Coby Reid
A last few puffs of exhaust manage to come out of the engine before she is gone for good. "Well, we need to walk from here," I say "I guess this is the last of ol' Jenny." We step out of the car, push her to the side of the road and start walking to our uncles home. " Will we ever her again?" My little brother asks as we walk away from the car. " I don't think so. Maybe someday we will." We walk for about six hours before another car stops by us and the man inside says "Hey y'all! Hop in and I can give you a ride to where you are going." We jump in and he asks us about where we were going and why. "We are going to our uncles house because our farm has been repossessed so we need to get there so we have a place to stay until we get back on our feet." " Wow I'm sorry that happened to y'all. How far is the town your going to?" " Maybe a few more miles" I say before looking out the window looking at the dry, dead land. We reach the town part ways with the man, and find our uncles house. " Uncle Joe? Our farm has gotten repossessed and we need a place to stay. Can you help us?" And just like that, we find a new temporary home. Soon, Uncle Joe gets fired and we end up homeless again. The rest of the story? Well, now its all just history.
Gavin
Gavin
My friends don't really know whats going on but we talked and realized all of our parents left today and we all described them as being "sad" so we were thinking there has got to be something wrong. I told them lets all just write about what we think because we needed something to do because we were all really bored. I was just wondering what could have happened and why were these adults still here, why haven't they left us like our parents did. We all just started writing in our journals because we were hopeless and we didn't have any way to communicate with our parents we have no hope and all sadness that they might not came back.
A.B.
A.B.
My friends and I try to pretend like it's normal but we all know it's not. Our parents still make us go to school and our teachers still teach us. That's normal. What is not normal is the way we have to skip breakfast and lunch everyday. My friends and I use the trash can as our lunchbox. We stuff towels in the cracks in our door, in our windows, just to keep out the dust. Of course, the dust doesn't help our hunger or thirst. But our thirst proved to be deeper than just for a sip of  water. Our thirst was for freedom from the oppressing heat and exhaustion. Yet, nonetheless, my friends and I try to be kids and try not to worry like our parents tell us not to. It's hard, but we try to be like the kids we were before. We try.
Izzy Benkowski
Izzy Benkowski
My name is Betty. Those are my two kids, my husband is off trying to find a job, trying to find work while I take care of  our two kids Josh, and Mary. I don't know if he will ever return it's been up to almost 100 degrees everyday. It hasn't been easy trying to keep going everyday not knowing what is coming next. We sleep on the ground in sleeping bags and tents, we can feel the hard cold ground against our backs, but we don't complain because it's all we have. I don't know if I can take it anymore It's been a hard time, and we've been trying to get along, but it's been very hard, we don't have a lot of food, and I don't know if ours lives will be like this forever. It's hard to imagine that anything will change and become easier. I just want my family and my kids to be happy and grow up and have a good life. 

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Juan Ramirez
Juan Ramirez
when my dad leaves to find a job, I pray to anything that he will come back with a smile on his face and say. Son were saved from this disaster! i'll ask him, is it a decent job? Then i’ll pray again for a decent job and he will say yes. It's only a dream come true that I can only say please to and pray for. This sign is the only thing I have to believe in.please give my dad a job.

Kaylynn Lemur
Kaylynn Lemur
My name is Annie. I don't like eating beans for breakfast lunch and dinner. But at least we had some food to eat. Others didn't. Mama works all day at the farm and brings home just enough to get a small loaf of bread for the week or a can of black beans. Why does it have to be this way. 
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Emma Longoria
Emma Longoria
As I sit here waiting and waiting for my husband to return, worrying he'll never come back, my children are at my side hungry, thirsty, overheating, and exhausted. We’ve been staying here for weeks with nothing but a tent, a few blankets, and very little food. My husband is gone looking for work in the intense heat and all I do every day is worry about him. I worry that he's alone, hurt, or sick; I worry he might never return. This could go on longer than we want. I can't help but think this is our life forever. But, I need to set a good example for my kids. I need to show them never to give up and to stay strong through any hard situation that comes our way. This is our life right now, these are our circumstances and we need to live it and stay strong. It may sound easy, but its not. I don't want my kids to have this experience.
Jackson McCool
Jackson McCool
Hi, my name is William. I’ve lost my job, my house and my money. I have nothing left. I used to work at a factory from nine to five everyday. It paid fine and I was saving up to invest some in stocks. I’m glad I didn’t now, with the crash and all. I’ve found some boxes to put up a little shack for myself. I feel lucky if I get food for the day. I’m digging through trash to find something to eat. The only thing I could keep was my clothes. I lost my house and all my savings. I don’t know what to do now. I can’t keep living like this. Only thing I can do is wait I think. Maybe the jobs will come back. There's no guarantee and I’ve been thinking of heading west. I heard farmers need workers and I’m willing to pun in the hours. I think the longer I stay the worse it will get.  
Tanner Bauer
Tanner Bauer
July 16, 1930
Hi, my name is Emily. I am a proud mother of my two children, Henry and James. I haven't seen my husband in 3 days. He left to go find a job to help support us. Hopefully he will be back soon. My children and I are starting to grow hungry and my youngest one is becoming sick. His breathing is heavy from the dust and he has a raging fever. I'm really worried that he isn’t going to make it. My older son has formed a terrible cough and a bad rash on his upper back from sleeping on the ground these past few nights. I’ve just barely been able to feed them enough food. The dust storms are getting worse and what used to be a corn field is now an ocean of sand and dirt. I’m truly afraid of what the future has to bring us.

Lucas Biernacki
Lucas Biernacki
The name’s Robert. I’m in the front of that picture down below. Handsome, huh? I like to think so. Thoughts like that help to distract me from all the madness going on around us right now. I didn’t realize it in that picture, but that bread in my hand and that soup, if you can call slightly flavored water soup, was the last thing I would be eating for a while. I’m gonna be honest with you here, I used to be quite the optimist. I once thought that this depression would be over as soon as it had started. But, it’s been 4 years now, and things aren’t looking any better than they did on the first month. Instead of thinking of how to make things better, the only thing on everyone’s mind right now is a good meal. I’ve lost contact with my family and most of my friends, so I’m only assuming the worst has happened to them. Life wasn’t always so hard for me. I used to actually have an alright life. I worked in a factory, which wasn’t the best job, but it paid. I had a nice family, and I even had a fiancee. She was with me at the beginning of the depression, but left the country once things started going sour. All she left was a note, stating that I would have done the same thing, if I was given the chance. She took most of my money with her as well. So much for “love is eternal”. After my factory couldn’t afford to pay us workers, I had to take to the streets. Since then, I can never keep a permanent job. Most of the jobs I do are one time only. I have close to no money, but everyone around me is in the same boat. Last night, I saw a man attack another man for his bread. I’ve seen families, abandoned by the ones they needed the most. I’ve seen plenty of sick and dead people. I have seen the absolute worst of humanity, and it’s within me, too. I’ve had to steal before, just to survive. I know it's an awful thing to do, and I hate myself a little more every time I do it, but there isn’t any room for “the right thing” in the United States right now. The only thing we have to concern ourselves with, is our own well-being.
Sam Ralston
Sam Ralston
The dust got too bad in Oklahoma. We wanted to stay at our house, but none of us could breathe, and the kids got really sick, and couldn't stop coughing. The people that we lived by had left a week ago headed towards California, so we decided to do the same thing.We packed all of our stuff in the car, and headed west. After driving for about 3 hours, we ran out of gas, we weren't sure where we 
Luca Salas
Luca Salas
Life just ain't what it was in the 20's. Life was good. Our business was flourishing, and we had enough to live out the rest of our days without struggle. Much has changed. Our business is failing. We can't afford to pay the employees we have, and certainly can't hire. All that we've worked for, all that we've gone through to get to where we were. It's all gone. If this goes on much longer, we might have to declare bankruptcy, and live our lives on the road, looking for work were work is needed. I wish I could say that things will get better, that we will strive and keep our business alive. But things don't happen the way you want them to. Especially not now.
Oliver Schmitz
Oliver Schmitz 
My name is john I worked on a farm with my entire family. We were doing great in this area but when the competition started to use machinery we decided to do the same. We knew it was a risk so we borrowed money from the banks. We started to make money but when there was so many crops from everywhere we lost money and had to quit. We shut down our farms and moved toward the city I was fortunate enough to gain enough money to feed the family. A few days later I saw many people at the banks asking for their money back I had nothing in the bank and was running off my low pay job but when the office shut down because of bankruptcy we were forced to move again. More and more people were on the streets now and with a family of 6 it was hard to find food. We would search dumpsters for food but none were found because all the restaurants were gone more and more people had to be put on the streets and that is when we hit the road. Me and my family hopped in the car and started for the next town over it was going to be a drive but half way there we ran out of gas we have been walking for hours and taking breaks every now and then. We would put some of our children in a wheelbarrow to carry them so they wouldn't be tired and we suspect it is another 30 hours till we get to the town hoping something is there.
Jack Goldstein
Jack Goldstein
Life is a difficult thing. It's been difficult to find work, especially for an old timer like me. I've been around the country in search of a job. I might as well leave America at this point. Man, life used to be so great. I had money, I had a car, but most importantly I had a job. I don't know how much longer it will be until I'm able to support myself again. Hope is all I have left. I know I'll make it out of this, I just don't know when.  But until this country is back on its feet I just have to keep pushing, I'm not going to let the world push me around. Well, I should get back to it, I got a long road ahead of me.
Aidan Lesperance
Aidan Lesperance
My name is william and I just lost my job at the shoe factory. It has been had without money to survive. On the left is my friend james who has been living with me for the past week because he cant afford to live in his house. There is not much too eat, this is some of the last leftovers we have now. The food is not good either but it is the only thing keeping us alive. At this point I have given up trying to get a job and we can only hope things will change for the better.
Davis Cutforth
Davis Cutforth
Why can dad get a job? It has been such a long time in this run down shack. I hate having to lay on a wooden plank for my bed. I hate having barley and dinner, most of the time its just whatever we can find on the ground. Dad has been looking for a job for 2 years now, and just hoping for anything.Why can´t life be better. It was so good and now its so bad. I just wonder why does no one give dad a job, mom has been gone all day looking for food, or anything she can find. tomorrow she wants us to come and help her look through trash cans. Our friends help watch us while mom is gone, but they are sick so they can´t do much. Life just really sucks.
James Chinnery
James Chinnery
Hi i'm Charlene and I hate everything about my life. Back in the 20's I was living the high life. I was a stay at home mother and I spent every moment with my children. I never had to work a day in my life. My husband Frank used to work in a pencil factory. It wasn't glamorous but it paid the bills and kept me happen.  I had  not but a care in the world till the cowardly baster left me to find a new job. I didn't know how to work and he knew that, but still selfish excuse for a husband. left me with my four children, Charles, Margret, Poppy, and Elizabeth. I love em with all my heart but I just can't afford them,. I can't afford me. I know this sounds selfish but its the best thing for them. If they stay with me they'll starve and die slowly and painfully if I don't die first. I don't want them to starve or live a life not full of prosperity and opportunity, so someone please take them somewhere safe and warm, they deserve a great home.
Amaya Krutsinger Swenson
Amaya Krutsinger Swenson
My name is Nancy. This picture shows me when I was 7 and my siblings in our house in a shanty town we lived in. I'm the one in the front on the left. My brother Johnny (front right) was the one who raised me. My mom was busy everyday working as a maid for the only family in our town who was rich enough to not worry about the Great Depression. My dad had been working on a farm, but passed away because he got too much dust in his lungs and got sick. Johnny would do whatever he could to make sure me and my siblings got the childhood we deserved. He was the man of the house, an adult at 10 years old, taking care of 3 children who were too young to do anything by themselves. If you would've asked me what my favorite childhood memory was, Johnny would be in every single one of them. Yet he never got to have a childhood, and once he was 15 he left the house to go work. I was the caretaker now. I didn't have my big brother to protect me. He came back every month to say hi and to give me money. Yet one month Johnny didn't come home. I found out that he had been killed, because my daddy came home. He tried to get on a train but fell under the wheels. I never saw Johnny again, and I no longer had someone to protect me.
I miss my sweet guardian angel.
(Pictured September 9, 1930)
Matthew Skapyak
Matthew Skapyak
My name's William. Our father has been out for the past three days trying to find a job just so that he could support our family. We have majority of the things we own to the Great Depression. For the past couple of nights, the fear of losing everything haunts me. I just hope father will find a job. I'm sick and tired of not having enough to eat. Honestly, I wonder if leaving would make it easier for my mother and father to afford for each other. But then where would I go? I'd just be some scrappy little kid wandering around the streets looking for a home and for something to eat. Please, give my dad a job.

Monik Vasquez
Monik Vasquez
Hi, my name is rosa, a sick migrant child. I've seen things no child should see and I am going through things that no one should have to experience. My mom and dad couldn't afford the best things in the world but they still manage to put food on the table. I'm seeing people died from multiple things such as starvation, lack of water, and sometimes they just kill themselves. I asked my dad if things are going to get better and he just stays silent. My body aches, I have the worst headache, and my fever is getting higher and higher every day and the only thing I could do is drink warm nasty water. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to die, but maybe if I did it would be better than just suffering every day. I wake up and go to bed starving and all I can do is just cry and hope things will get better. I'm hurting and I'm in pain… I just want to be playing with my friends outside and making mud pies. Did my family and I deserve this?
Gen golsch
Gen golsch
July 15, 1930 
Mama said i needed to be strong for both of my sisters. Ever since papa died i don know how i can be strong. I'm only 11 and i don’t want to continue on the road, i want to go home. I want to go back to the farm where my daddy is, where he’ll look down at me with his light brown eyes telling me how to grow the crops. Its to hot at night and Rae crys in her sleep from the fever, mama says shes not going to last much longer. We dont have enough food for everyone so me and mama dont eat, we give the food to Marie and Rae hoping it will help keep them going a little bit longer. My little sister Marie seems to not care whats happening as long as she gets to be with me and mama and little Rae.  My name is Darcy, i'm 11 years old and i dont know how much longer i can take this. 
February 1, 1931
i was left with Marie and Rae, after mama left a while a go and i dont know when shell come back. Rae has gotten worse and i havent eaten in over 48 hours. when Mama left she said she would find us food and shelter but i dont know if shell come back. Marie is crying and i cant get her to stop, everything is falling apart. my world is fading and i feel like theres nothing i could do to stop it. 
Armando Macias
Armando Macias
My name is jimmy. Its been hard for my dad because he lost his job. He doesn´t know what do because his job was providing everything for our family. My mom once told me ¨ 
Ilasmin Gutierrez Zamora
Ilasmin Gutierrez Zamora
It's hard to find food to feed my three children. We lost our home, I lost my job, and there is nothing to do. I can't do nothing. Nothing. Being a mother, it's hard to tell your children that they will not have dinner tonight. My children are in the age of 4-12 years old and they shouldn't be feeling hunger. It hurts my heart seeing then crying. My husband died because of a fever. My family didn't have the money to help him. I'm lone. My husband would of supported my emotionally. I didn't think that I would be in the streets and my children being cold at night. I thought that I would have food for my children to eat and my family would be happy. My name is Annabelle, I have three children. I'm not sure if we are going to have dinner tonight.
Maren Williams
Maren Williams
Ever since I lost my house and my job, I've been hopeless. There is nothing left for me except my last sliver of hope and whats left of my dignity. I travel everywhere, it seems like every corner of this failing country. I travel anywhere I can find a job. Going from place to place, being lied to about hope for a new life. It seems everyone is hopeless now. I'm only 26 years old, just starting my life, just to be walked on and taken away by the government. I had opened a bank account so I could save my money so I could start my journey to a new life, but that was a huge mistake, trusting the bank. It ruined my life. It seems the only thing keeping me going now is the last bit of hope I have for myself and this country, which is getting smaller and smaller everyday. My last job was working at some farm in California. They kept saying, "you will get paid, don't worry, you'll get there." I was being lied to everyday. I never got the money I was promised. I got some, yes, but not nearly enough to turn my life around, just enough to survive. But that's the norm here in this part of history, you're lied to until there's no hope left inside of you. Now, i'm left sitting on this train, going who knows where, and inevitably nowhere. 
Alex Pineda
Alex Pineda 
My name is Conrad. I don't really understand all this bank stuff but its unfair. I've been working in the fields since 7, and all that work to now be living in a tent is stressing me out. I got a little brother to take care off and that's it, just him and I that's all we've got. This crisis has been going on since last year and I don't see anyone doing anything about it. My friends are gone and my family is too, they all went to look for a better place but I doubt they'll find one. The farmers around town got hit the hardest. Everything is gone for them and they're business. I worked for a farmer named Frank but hes long gone now and left me along with the other workers without  job or pay check. I await here with my brother trying to make it without support.  
Breana Parfait
Breana Parfait 
I have been sick for a while now. It's hard to get medicine and I can't get cured. I have been laying here on the hard ground not getting any better. Dad is working to get some money so he can afford some medication. I'm afraid i'm going to die soon. I just hurt all the time. Sometimes I think it would be better if I was just dead. All I have is water to drink which isn't even clean good water it's contaminated. I don't know how much longer I have to live. I'm always hurting there's never a time when i'm not hurting. I'm starving I just want to have a nice dinner with my family. I wonder why i'm being put through this. I just want it all to end. I just want to be healthy again. I just wish that I wasn't the one to be put through all of this. I'm only 10 years old. I just wanna be well again. I don't wanna go through this. I just hope this is over soon. 
Kaden Strunk
Kaden Strunk
 Everyday seems to get longer and longer, it feels like we are at the mercy of the hot sun i just wish we had are home back, are beds back,are dog back. I’m tired of it my brother will not shut up he will not stop talking about the dust the sun anything I just want him to shut up, and don't get me started with dad and mom fighting over the car, nobody will shut up. all a want is some peace and quiet.
Aaliyah Bustamante
Aaliyah Bustamante
I've been walking for a few days now, stopping at places to get food for my journey. The farm I was working at foreclosed last week .It was hard leaving Oklahoma, I had lived there for the past 8 years and made a lot of friends but when everything started going down hill I knew I had to start heading back towards my family and leave the life I made behind.  My sister Marry and the rest of my family lives in Tennessee and that is where I'll be headed. I've met some kind people who game met some food and water that I am very great full for. I believe that god is on my side and I will make it to Tennessee safely. 
Kevin Bedford
Kevin Bedford
My name is Mary, I'm the one in bottom right hand corner. All my life I've wanted to become a nurse, this was my chance. When I was growing up I love to help out my grandmother and father. Whenever they got ill I was next to them, bringing them soup and all that good stuff. One day my mom was coming home from work and told me that she saw a sign on the hospital door saying that they were hiring nurses. I was so excited to finally become what I have always wanted to be. The next day I went to the hospital and told them that I was here to become a nurse. The lady at the front desk asked me if I had any experience with working as a nurse. I told her that I helped my grandmother and father, but she asked in the medical field. I told her no, so she sent me down a long hallway to get trained. When I walked into the room the first thing the lady asked me was to clean the floors. I was really confused because I was here to become a nurse. She told me that there is no need for actual nurses in the medical field just nurses to help clean, cook, bathe, etc. Instead of being rude I took the opportunity to prove that I wasn't supposed to be doing this. For the next week I worked so hard that when one nurse was out they told me to fill in. The first time I had no idea what I was doing but I just did as the others asked. A few years passed and I was one of the best nurses in California. When the Great Depression came around they told me that I could either stay and get paid barely enough to survive and I told them that I was going to stay because this was my dream. I followed my passion till I was the one getting sick. August 16, 1965
Jasmin De Santiago
Jasmin De Santiago
I know im the oldest but I know im young and I dont understand whats going on but I know that we lost our home and we have to move now. We took as many things as we could. My parents keep telling me this is temporary but it doesn't feel that way. We have moved three times and we are currently staying in a what dad calls a F.S.A, its a big field but you dont really make friends, people only stay here for a few day and then they leave because of the dust, kids usually like playing but the dust gets in your eyes and it burns. My parents asked me to take care of my baby sister and she's still young and doesn't understand any of this but she'll be ok, we all will.
Sydney Carlson
Sydney Carlson
My dad was a great man. He was a hard worker and he would do anything for his family. in this photo you can see my family and I. On this day we were moving. The dust bowl made it hard to live out here in the mid west. the dust bowl just made it hard to live.We weren´t wealthy enough to move anywhere far. We lived in Oklahoma. My mom left us before the dust bowl even started, we don´t know where she went considering she left us without telling us, or even leaving a note.My dad was quiet when she left, he really isn´t the type of man to cry. Maybe being quiet was his way of coping. He took care of us with no hesitation, he loved us too much to ever leave us. I always helped around and even made it easier around the house until the dust bowl arrived. We took this picture to remember our culture and our way of living. we took this picture to remind us we can get through anything. Even though we didn't have a mom anymore, we took this picture knowing this was our TRUE family.Our dad took care of 5 kids in total. Our father wasn´t just a great man, he was an amazing father whos story needed to be told.

Griffin Meere
Griffin Meere
I been looking for a job for a few years now. I've had a few on the way but I get released in the first month every time. I just got fired from my last job and now I'm afraid to tell my wife my friend josh next to me has been through a lot with me we have been with each other for awhile now. MY daughter is 6 now and I got her a cute stuffed bunny but I might need to sell it so we can eat. Shes such a brave strong girl and I want to give her a good life with a good education But can't even feed them sometimes. Me and my wife are worried that we won't make it through this and I running out of options. There jobs going everyday, I want to try to move to a new state cause I hear the more jobs to the north but I'm not sure. I don't have a car and I know my family can't make it trough the journey. I'm scared I might need to leave them to help them. I'm scared.
Isayah Coombe
Isayah Coombe
The Great Depression remained as the worst time in my and my family's life. It was October 1929 when I first noticed that something unusual was going. Stock markets were lacking and started to go down in business along with even closing. As years passed on each year was getting worse as many and many people began to panic not knowing what was going on. I never thought of such a thing happening so I decided to move to California with my wife and two kids. We had planned to start driving as soon as the Great Depression hit us. 1936 was the year where it finally hit us as me and my family wishes it never had. Days later we were forced out of our farm due to a drought as we had abandoned it quickly then begun to set out our trip to California. As we began to drive me and my family saw the last of our home and life in Oklahoma. Our family would have to frequently make stops to do work such as cotton picking just so we could buy food and gas to continue. On this day I and my family were within a days travel of our destination to Bakersfield, California, yet our car had broken down as we arrived just like our life and house back at home.
Nate Hirsh
Nate Hirsh
Living in a camp and waking up at dawn every day is far from easy. I sleep in a tent and at night I can feel the rocks cutting my back. But I have no other choice, because I was born into this life. But the worst thing about picking foods and farming over here is that there is almost zero reward for doing so. My life isn't about money, it's about survival. Me and my family have nothing. We live in a camp of farmers who went the same way as us. We lost all of our money after the soil was totally destroyed on from those dust storms. After that, we couldn't afford our house, so we moved away and now we just dream that we could return to a better life. People will say that I have it better off than most. However, I'm 11 years old right now, and I am practically homeless. I also haven't changed my clothes in maybe a year at this point. If me and my family are lucky, we'll all be able to eat once a day. You may also think that we dream of a better life. You can't right now; because there is no guarantee of a tomorrow. Out here, you're just another animal. nature doesn't care about you or your situation. It has no mercy. Everywhere you go you have to be aware, because there is a good chance it will be your last adventure until you're in a pine box 6 under if you know what I mean. Yeah, so maybe one day this will all end, whether it be for the good or the bad. I guess I'll just wait and see
Daniel Mueller
Daniel Mueller 
I have nothing left so I might as well just leave and start a new life. I have no money no clothes no family and I have nowhere to go except to go somewhere else. I have no idea where this train will take me all I know is that it will take me away from here. I lost everything, my house my job my money I have nothing. I guess that the reason why I'm running, running from my problems. Running from the problem of having nothing. I wish to go to California, I heard of work there work for everyone. what I need is work because without work I cant do anything I cant buy food or buy clothes. I just wish there were a magic button that I could push to make this all go away. 
Alex Teele
Alex Teele
We all just want everything to be how it was. Things have been rough, really rough. We all do this to distract ourselves from the stress, the pain, the hardships. We all just want everything to be normal. I don't have a job anyway, so it's better to distract myself from that fact this way than any other. I'm Henry Jenkins, I'm 27 years old and unemployed. I used to have a job, before everything went to hell like this. I had a decent life, not the best, but not the worst. I had a stable job, a roof over my head. Everything was fine and dandy. Then it all went downhill. I've been trying to find work for a few years now, but that ain't possible. So here I am, playing a simple ball game, instead of facing the truth.
Alex Klein
Alex Klein
That's me. Right there, in the middle. I'm a farmer, and a father of three children. My wife died three years ago, before all this happened. I wish she were still alive, but then again, I don't know if she would want to see us now. We was doing great. We had a nice farm, and we was making a lot of sales. Then those banks stole our money. We had plenty of money to keep us in good livin' conditions. Everything were all well in good. Then ma wife died, and it all went downhill from there. At least we ain't in that horrible Dustbowl. Man do I just despise those banks. It's all their fault that we got into this mess. Ma children are having a rough time. We do all of our livin'  in this here wagon. Their mama is dead. We can't afford even to buy clean water. We have to drink from lakes. Right now, it's rough. And I know that others are goin' through some tough times too. But I hope that when this is all over, we'll get to return to our normal, peaceful lives, where there's not no dust storms or bad banks.
chase
chase
my name is Adrian and the factory I word at clost and trying to find another job. I sterting west to find a town or a bot dock. I have been walking for 3 days and past thru a couple of touns no jobs tho. It has been 10 days sens the factory closed sum bacorys wer giving out supe. Day 12 I found sum work at a bakery but they close after a couple of days but I got enuf to last me a couple more days. Day 20 I found a bot dock and one of the workers help me on a get on a boat to england and people told me that are sum jobs thar.

Mia McCallum
Mia McCallum
The exhaustion of our lungs from the dust is getting stronger, but not as strong as our hunger. I feel the hope in my heart fading, but weird enough its been like this for so long its starting to feel normal. We keep towels around to wash the dust off of our plates like it is nothing new. Today we found a half turkey sandwich in the trash which means its a good day. I still cant sleep knowing my baby John is getting worse and worse. A baby's lungs cant handle this dust, he should be able to eat when he needs and to sleep somewhere comfortable for him. After the bank took our house we've been with my sister. Box Springs all over the floors for us. I am not complaining but when i was a kid i never dreamed it would end up like this.
Coby Reid
Coby Reid
A last few puffs of exhaust manage to come out of the engine before she is gone for good. "Well, we need to walk from here," I say "I guess this is the last of ol' Jenny." We step out of the car, push her to the side of the road and start walking to our uncles home. " Will we ever her again?" My little brother asks as we walk away from the car. " I don't think so. Maybe someday we will." We walk for about six hours before another car stops by us and the man inside says "Hey y'all! Hop in and I can give you a ride to where you are going." We jump in and he asks us about where we were going and why. "We are going to our uncles house because our farm has been repossessed so we need to get there so we have a place to stay until we get back on our feet." " Wow I'm sorry that happened to y'all. How far is the town your going to?" " Maybe a few more miles" I say before looking out the window looking at the dry, dead land. We reach the town part ways with the man, and find our uncles house. " Uncle Joe? Our farm has gotten repossessed and we need a place to stay. Can you help us?" And just like that, we find a new temporary home. Soon, Uncle Joe gets fired and we end up homeless again. The rest of the story? Well, now its all just history.
Gavin
Gavin
My friends don't really know whats going on but we talked and realized all of our parents left today and we all described them as being "sad" so we were thinking there has got to be something wrong. I told them lets all just write about what we think because we needed something to do because we were all really bored. I was just wondering what could have happened and why were these adults still here, why haven't they left us like our parents did. We all just started writing in our journals because we were hopeless and we didn't have any way to communicate with our parents we have no hope and all sadness that they might not came back.
A.B.
A.B.
My friends and I try to pretend like it's normal but we all know it's not. Our parents still make us go to school and our teachers still teach us. That's normal. What is not normal is the way we have to skip breakfast and lunch everyday. My friends and I use the trash can as our lunchbox. We stuff towels in the cracks in our door, in our windows, just to keep out the dust. Of course, the dust doesn't help our hunger or thirst. But our thirst proved to be deeper than just for a sip of  water. Our thirst was for freedom from the oppressing heat and exhaustion. Yet, nonetheless, my friends and I try to be kids and try not to worry like our parents tell us not to. It's hard, but we try to be like the kids we were before. We try.
Izzy Benkowski
Izzy Benkowski
My name is Betty. Those are my two kids, my husband is off trying to find a job, trying to find work while I take care of  our two kids Josh, and Mary. I don't know if he will ever return it's been up to almost 100 degrees everyday. It hasn't been easy trying to keep going everyday not knowing what is coming next. We sleep on the ground in sleeping bags and tents, we can feel the hard cold ground against our backs, but we don't complain because it's all we have. I don't know if I can take it anymore It's been a hard time, and we've been trying to get along, but it's been very hard, we don't have a lot of food, and I don't know if ours lives will be like this forever. It's hard to imagine that anything will change and become easier. I just want my family and my kids to be happy and grow up and have a good life. 

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when my dad leaves to find a job, I pray to anything that he will come back with a smile on his face and say. Son were saved from this disaster! i'll ask him, is it a decent job? Then i’ll pray again for a decent job and he will say yes. It's only a dream come true that I can only say please to and pray for. This sign is the only thing I have to believe in. the only thing I have hope for. please give my dad a job.

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My name is Annie. I don't like eating beans for breakfast lunch and dinner. But at least we had some food to eat. Others didn't. Mama works all day at the farm and brings home just enough to get a small loaf of bread for the week or a can of black beans. Why does it have to be this way.

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I sit here waiting and waiting for my husband to return, worrying he'll never come back. My children are at my side hungry, thirsty, overheating, and exhausted. We’ve been staying here for weeks with nothing but a tent, a few blankets, and very little food. My husband is gone looking for work in the intense heat and all I do every day is worry about him. I worry that he's alone, hurt, or sick; I worry he might never return. This could go on longer than we want. I can't help but think this is our life forever. But, I need to set a good example for my kids. I need to show them never to give up and to stay strong through any hard situation that comes our way. This is our life right now, these are our circumstances and we need to live it and stay strong. It may sound easy, but its not. I don't want my kids to have this experience.

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Hi, my name is William. I’ve lost my job, my house and my money. I have nothing left. I used to work at a factory from nine to five everyday. It paid fine and I was saving up to invest some in stocks. I’m glad I didn’t now, with the crash and all. I’ve found some boxes to put up a little shack for myself. I feel lucky if I get food for the day. I’m digging through trash to find something to eat. The only thing I could keep was my clothes. I lost my house and all my savings. I don’t know what to do now. I can’t keep living like this. Only thing I can do is wait I think. Maybe the jobs will come back. There's no guarantee and I’ve been thinking of heading west. I heard farmers need workers and I’m willing to pun in the hours. I think the longer I stay the worse it will get.

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July 16, 1930

Hi, my name is Emily. I am a proud mother of my two children, Henry and James. I haven't seen my husband in 3 days. He left to go find a job to help support us. Hopefully he will be back soon. My children and I are starting to grow hungry and my youngest one is becoming sick. His breathing is heavy from the dust and he has a raging fever. I'm really worried that he isn’t going to make it. My older son has formed a terrible cough and a bad rash on his upper back from sleeping on the ground these past few nights. I’ve just barely been able to feed them enough food. The dust storms are getting worse and what used to be a corn field is now an ocean of sand and dirt. I’m truly afraid of what the future has to bring us.

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The name’s Robert. I’m in the front of that picture down below. Handsome, huh? I like to think so. Thoughts like that help to distract me from all the madness going on around us right now. I didn’t realize it in that picture, but that bread in my hand and that soup, if you can call slightly flavored water soup, was the last thing I would be eating for a while. I’m gonna be honest with you here, I used to be quite the optimist. I once thought that this depression would be over as soon as it had started. But, it’s been 4 years now, and things aren’t looking any better than they did on the first month. Instead of thinking of how to make things better, the only thing on everyone’s mind right now is a good meal. I’ve lost contact with my family and most of my friends, so I’m only assuming the worst has happened to them. Life wasn’t always so hard for me. I used to actually have an alright life. I worked in a factory, which wasn’t the best job, but it paid. I had a nice family, and I even had a fiancee. She was with me at the beginning of the depression, but left the country once things started going sour. All she left was a note, stating that I would have done the same thing, if I was given the chance. She took most of my money with her as well. So much for “love is eternal”. After my factory couldn’t afford to pay us workers, I had to take to the streets. Since then, I can never keep a permanent job. Most of the jobs I do are one time only. I have close to no money, but everyone around me is in the same boat. Last night, I saw a man attack another man for his bread. I’ve seen families, abandoned by the ones they needed the most. I’ve seen plenty of sick and dead people. I have seen the absolute worst of humanity, and it’s within me, too. I’ve had to steal before, just to survive. I know it's an awful thing to do, and I hate myself a little more every time I do it, but there isn’t any room for “the right thing” in the United States right now. The only thing we have to concern ourselves with, is our own well-being.

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The dust got too bad in Oklahoma. We wanted to stay at our house, but none of us could breathe, and the kids got really sick and couldn't stop coughing. The neighboring farm next to ours had left a week ago headed towards California on route 66, so we decided to do the same thing.We packed all of our stuff in the car, and headed west. After driving for about 3 hours, we ran out of gas. We weren't sure where we were, so We pushed the car over to the side of the road, and sat down. We didn't have any food or water, and people were starting to get hungry. The children were crying and the adults were getting nervous. After about an hour, we heard sound from the road. We looked and saw another family coming up the road in their car. They saw us and pulled over.
"What are you guys doing out here in the middle of nowhere?" The man in the front seat said.
We told him that we weren't sure where we were. He said he would give us some gas, and we could fill up our tank up the road at a gas station. We got back on the road and had just enough fuel to make it to a gas station. Once we had a full tank, we headed onto route 66, where there were many people just like us driving to California to start a new life.

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Life just ain't what it was in the 20's. Life was good. Our business was flourishing, and we had enough to live out the rest of our days without struggle. Much has changed. Our business is falling apart. We can't afford to pay the employees we have, and certainly can't hire. All that we've worked for, all that we've gone through to get to where we were. It's disappearing. If this goes on much longer, we might have to declare bankruptcy, and live our lives on the road, looking for work were work is needed. I wish I could say that things will get better, that we will strive and keep our business alive. But things don't happen the way you want them to. Especially not now.

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My name is john I worked on a farm with my entire family. We were doing great in this area but when the competition started to use machinery we decided to do the same. We knew it was a risk so we borrowed money from the banks. We started to make money but when there was so many crops from everywhere we lost money and our house and where forced to move. We lost our farm and moved toward the city I was fortunate enough to gain enough money to feed the family a few meals but it is hard with a family of 6. A few days later the stocks crashed so we also lost our money there. More and more people were on the streets now and with a family of 6 it was hard to find food. We would search dumpsters for food and where fortunate if we found half a loaf of bread. So me and my wife decided we should travel west we still had half a tank in our vehicle and we hit the road. Me and my family hopped in the car and started for the next town over it was going to be a drive but half way there we ran out of gas and we don't have enough money to buy gas or to even buy a meal. We have been walking for hours and taking breaks every now and then. We would put some of our children in a cart to carry them so they wouldn't be tired and we suspect it is another 16 hours till we get to the town while heading west  hoping something is there.

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Life is a difficult thing. It's been difficult to find work, especially for an old timer like me. I've been around the country in search of a job. I might as well leave America at this point. Man, life used to be so great. I had money, I had a car, but most importantly I had a job. I don't know how much longer it will be until I'm able to support myself again. Hope is all I have left. I know I'll make it out of this, I just don't know when.  But until this country is back on its feet I just have to keep pushing, I'm not going to let the world push me around. Well, I should get back to it, I got a long road ahead of me.

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My name is william and I just lost my job at the shoe factory. It has been had without money to survive. On the left is my friend james who has been living with me for the past week because he cant afford to live in his house. There is not much too eat, this is some of the last leftovers we have now. The food is not good either but it is the only thing keeping us alive. At this point I have given up trying to get a job and we can only hope things will change for the better.

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Why can dad get a job? It has been such a long time in this run down shack. I hate having to lay on a wooden plank for my bed. I hate having barley and dinner, most of the time its just whatever we can find on the ground. Dad has been looking for a job for 2 years now, and just hoping for anything.Why can´t life be better. It was so good and now its so bad. I just wonder why does no one give dad a job, mom has been gone all day looking for food, or anything she can find. tomorrow she wants us to come and help her look through trash cans. Our friends help watch us while mom is gone, but they are sick so they can´t do much. Life just really sucks.

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Hi i'm Charlene and I hate everything about my life. Back in the 20's I was living the high life. I was a stay at home mother and I spent every moment with my children. I never had to work a day in my life. My husband Frank used to work in a pencil factory. It wasn't glamorous but it paid the bills and kept me happen.  I had  not but a care in the world till the cowardly baster left me to find a new job. I didn't know how to work and he knew that, but still selfish excuse for a husband. left me with my four children, Charles, Margret, Poppy, and Elizabeth. I love em with all my heart but I just can't afford them,. I can't afford me. I know this sounds selfish but its the best thing for them. If they stay with me they'll starve and die slowly and painfully if I don't die first. I don't want them to starve or live a life not full of prosperity and opportunity, so someone please take them somewhere safe and warm, they deserve a great home.

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My name is Nancy. This picture shows me when I was 7 and my siblings in our house in a shanty town we lived in. I'm the one in the front on the left. My brother Johnny (front right) was the one who raised me. My mom was busy everyday working as a maid for the only family in our town who was rich enough to not worry about the Great Depression. My dad had been working on a farm, but passed away because he got too much dust in his lungs and got sick. Johnny would do whatever he could to make sure me and my siblings got the childhood we deserved. He was the man of the house, an adult at 10 years old, taking care of 3 children who were too young to do anything by themselves. If you would've asked me what my favorite childhood memory was, Johnny would be in every single one of them. Yet he never got to have a childhood, and once he was 15 he left the house to go work. I was the caretaker now. I didn't have my big brother to protect me. He came back every month to say hi and to give me money. Yet one month Johnny didn't come home. I found out that he had been killed, because my daddy came home. He tried to get on a train but fell under the wheels. I never saw Johnny again, and I no longer had someone to protect me.
I miss my sweet guardian angel.
(Pictured September 9, 1930)

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My name's William. Our father has been out for the past three days trying to find a job just so that he could support our family. We have majority of the things we own to the Great Depression. For the past couple of nights, the fear of losing everything haunts me. I just hope father will find a job. I'm sick and tired of not having enough to eat. Honestly, I wonder if leaving would make it easier for my mother and father to afford for each other. But then where would I go? I'd just be some scrappy little kid wandering around the streets looking for a home and for something to eat. Please, give my dad a job.

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Hi, my name is rosa, a sick migrant child. I've seen things no child should see and I am going through things that no one should have to experience. My mom and dad couldn't afford the best things in the world but they still manage to put food on the table. I'm seeing people died from multiple things such as starvation, lack of water, and sometimes they just kill themselves. I asked my dad if things are going to get better and he just stays silent. My body aches, I have the worst headache, and my fever is getting higher and higher every day and the only thing I could do is drink warm nasty water. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to die, but maybe if I did it would be better than just suffering every day. I wake up and go to bed starving and all I can do is just cry and hope things will get better. I'm hurting and I'm in pain… I just want to be playing with my friends outside and making mud pies. Did my family and I deserve this?

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July 15, 1930
Mama said i needed to be strong for both of my sisters. Ever since papa died i don know how i can be strong. I'm only 11 and i don’t want to continue on the road, i want to go home. I want to go back to the farm where my daddy is, where he’ll look down at me with his light brown eyes telling me how to grow the crops. Its to hot at night and Rae crys in her sleep from the fever, mama says shes not going to last much longer. We dont have enough food for everyone so me and mama dont eat, we give the food to Marie and Rae hoping it will help keep them going a little bit longer. My little sister Marie seems to not care whats happening as long as she gets to be with me and mama and little Rae.  My name is Darcy, i'm 11 years old and i dont know how much longer i can take this.
February 1, 1931
i was left with Marie and Rae, after mama left a while a go and i dont know when shell come back. Rae has gotten worse and i havent eaten in over 48 hours. when Mama left she said she would find us food and shelter but i dont know if shell come back. Marie is crying and i cant get her to stop, everything is falling apart. my world is fading and i feel like theres nothing i could do to stop it.

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My name is jimmy. Its been hard for my dad because he lost his job. He doesn´t know what do because his job was providing everything for our family. My mom once told me ¨

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It's hard to find food to feed my three children. We lost our home, I lost my job, and there is nothing to do. I can't do nothing. Nothing. Being a mother, it's hard to tell your children that they will not have dinner tonight. My children are in the age of 4-12 years old and they shouldn't be feeling hunger. It hurts my heart seeing them crying. My husband died because of a fever. My family didn't have the money to help him. I'm alone. My husband would of supported me emotionally. I didn't think in all my life that I would be in the streets and my children being cold at night. I thought that I would have food for my children to eat and my family would be happy. My name is Annabelle, I have three children. I'm not sure if we are going to have dinner tonight. I don't know why this is happening or any of that bank problems. My husband was a successful person. He was a banker for five year. I had a job as a nurse in a clinic. My husband and I would bring enough money so my kids could eat.

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Ever since I lost my house and my job, I've been hopeless. There is nothing left for me except my last sliver of hope and whats left of my dignity. I travel everywhere, it seems like every corner of this failing country. I travel anywhere I can find a job. Going from place to place, being lied to about hope for a new life. It seems everyone is hopeless now. I'm only 26 years old, just starting my life, just to be walked on and taken away by the government. I had opened a bank account so I could save my money so I could start my journey to a new life, but that was a huge mistake, trusting the bank. It ruined my life. It seems the only thing keeping me going now is the last bit of hope I have for myself and this country, which is getting smaller and smaller everyday. My last job was working at some farm in California. They kept saying, "you will get paid, don't worry, you'll get there." I was being lied to everyday. I never got the money I was promised. I got some, yes, but not nearly enough to turn my life around, just enough to survive. But that's the norm here in this part of history, you're lied to until there's no hope left inside of you. Now, i'm left sitting on this train, going who knows where, and inevitably nowhere.

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My name is Conrad. I don't really understand all this bank stuff but its unfair. I've been working in the fields since 7, and all that work to now be living in a tent is stressing me out. I got a little brother to take care off and that's it, just him and I that's all we've got. This crisis has been going on since last year and I don't see anyone doing anything about it. My friends are gone and my family is too, they all went to look for a better place but I doubt they'll find one. The farmers around town got hit the hardest. Everything is gone for them and they're business. I worked for a farmer named Frank but hes long gone now and left me along with the other workers without  job or pay check. I await here with my brother trying to make it without support.

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I have been sick for a while now. It's hard to get medicine and I can't get cured. I have been laying here on the hard ground not getting any better. Dad is working to get some money so he can afford some medication. I'm afraid i'm going to die soon. I just hurt all the time. Sometimes I think it would be better if I was just dead. All I have is water to drink which isn't even clean good water it's contaminated. I don't know how much longer I have to live. I'm always hurting there's never a time when i'm not hurting. I'm starving I just want to have a nice dinner with my family. I wonder why i'm being put through this. I just want it all to end. I just want to be healthy again. I just wish that I wasn't the one to be put through all of this. I'm only 10 years old. I just wanna be well again. I don't wanna go through this. I just hope this is over soon.

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Everyday seems to get longer and longer, it feels like we are at the mercy of the hot sun i just wish we had are home back, are beds back,are dog back. I’m tired of it my brother will not shut up he will not stop talking about the dust the sun anything I just want him to shut up, and don't get me started with dad and mom fighting over the car, nobody will shut up. all a want is some peace and quiet.

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I've been walking for a few days now, stopping at places to get food for my journey. The farm I was working at foreclosed last week .It was hard leaving Oklahoma, I had lived there for the past 8 years and made a lot of friends but when everything started going down hill I knew I had to start heading back towards my family and leave the life I made behind.  My sister Marry and the rest of my family lives in Tennessee and that is where I'll be headed. I've met some kind people who game met some food and water that I am very great full for. I believe that god is on my side and I will make it to Tennessee safely.

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My name is Mary, I'm the one in bottom right hand corner. All my life I've wanted to become a nurse, this was my chance. When I was growing up I love to help out my grandmother and father. Whenever they got ill I was next to them, bringing them soup and all that good stuff. One day my mom was coming home from work and told me that she saw a sign on the hospital door saying that they were hiring nurses. I was so excited to finally become what I have always wanted to be. The next day I went to the hospital and told them that I was here to become a nurse. The lady at the front desk asked me if I had any experience with working as a nurse. I told her that I helped my grandmother and father, but she asked in the medical field. I told her no, so she sent me down a long hallway to get trained. When I walked into the room the first thing the lady asked me was to clean the floors. I was really confused because I was here to become a nurse. She told me that there is no need for actual nurses in the medical field just nurses to help clean, cook, bathe, etc. Instead of being rude I took the opportunity to prove that I wasn't supposed to be doing this. For the next week I worked so hard that when one nurse was out they told me to fill in. The first time I had no idea what I was doing but I just did as the others asked. A few years passed and I was one of the best nurses in California. When the Great Depression came around they told me that I could either stay and get paid barely enough to survive and I told them that I was going to stay because this was my dream. I followed my passion till I was the one getting sick. August 16, 1965

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I know im the oldest but I know im young and I dont understand whats going on but I know that we lost our home and we have to move now. We took as many things as we could. My parents keep telling me this is temporary but it doesn't feel that way. We have moved three times and we are currently staying in a what dad calls a F.S.A, its a big field but you dont really make friends, people only stay here for a few day and then they leave because of the dust, kids usually like playing but the dust gets in your eyes and it burns. My parents asked me to take care of my baby sister and she's still young and doesn't understand any of this but she'll be ok, we all will.

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My dad was a great man. He was a hard worker and he would do anything for his family. in this photo you can see my family and I. On this day we were moving. The dust bowl made it hard to live out here in the mid west. the dust bowl just made it hard to live.We weren´t wealthy enough to move anywhere far. We lived in Oklahoma. My mom left us before the dust bowl even started, we don´t know where she went considering she left us without telling us, or even leaving a note.My dad was quiet when she left, he really isn´t the type of man to cry. Maybe being quiet was his way of coping. He took care of us with no hesitation, he loved us too much to ever leave us. I always helped around and even made it easier around the house until the dust bowl arrived. We took this picture to remember our culture and our way of living. we took this picture to remind us we can get through anything. Even though we didn't have a mom anymore, we took this picture knowing this was our TRUE family.Our dad took care of 5 kids in total. Our father wasn´t just a great man, he was an amazing father whos story needed to be told.

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I been looking for a job for a few years now. I've had a few on the way but I get released in the first month every time. I just got fired from my last job and now I'm afraid to tell my wife my friend josh next to me has been through a lot with me we have been with each other for awhile now. MY daughter is 6 now and I got her a cute stuffed bunny but I might need to sell it so we can eat. Shes such a brave strong girl and I want to give her a good life with a good education But can't even feed them sometimes. Me and my wife are worried that we won't make it through this and I running out of options. There jobs going everyday, I want to try to move to a new state cause I hear the more jobs to the north but I'm not sure. I don't have a car and I know my family can't make it trough the journey. I'm scared I might need to leave them to help them. I'm scared.

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The Great Depression remained as the worst time in my and my family's life. It was October 1929 when I first noticed that something unusual was going. Stock markets were lacking and started to go down in business along with even closing. As years passed on each year was getting worse as many and many people began to panic not knowing what was going on. I never thought of such a thing happening so I decided to move to California with my wife and two kids. We had planned to start driving as soon as the Great Depression hit us. 1936 was the year where it finally hit us as me and my family wishes it never had. Days later we were forced out of our farm due to a drought as we had abandoned it quickly then begun to set out our trip to California. As we began to drive me and my family saw the last of our home and life in Oklahoma. Our family would have to frequently make stops to do work such as cotton picking just so we could buy food and gas to continue. On this day I and my family were within a days travel of our destination to Bakersfield, California, yet our car had broken down as we arrived just like our life and house back at home.

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Living in a camp and waking up at dawn every day is far from easy. I sleep in a tent and at night I can feel the rocks cutting my back. But I have no other choice, because I was born into this life. But the worst thing about picking foods and farming over here is that there is almost zero reward for doing so. My life isn't about money, it's about survival. Me and my family have nothing. We live in a camp of farmers who went the same way as us. We lost all of our money after the soil was totally destroyed on from those dust storms. After that, we couldn't afford our house, so we moved away and now we just dream that we could return to a better life. People will say that I have it better off than most. However, I'm 11 years old right now, and I am practically homeless. I also haven't changed my clothes in maybe a year at this point. If me and my family are lucky, we'll all be able to eat once a day. You may also think that we dream of a better life. You can't right now; because there is no guarantee of a tomorrow. Out here, you're just another animal. nature doesn't care about you or your situation. It has no mercy. Everywhere you go you have to be aware, because there is a good chance it will be your last adventure until you're in a pine box 6 under if you know what I mean. Yeah, so maybe one day this will all end, whether it be for the good or the bad. I guess I'll just wait and see

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I have nothing left so I might as well just leave and start a new life. I have no money no clothes no family and I have nowhere to go except to go somewhere else. I have no idea where this train will take me all I know is that it will take me away from here. I lost everything, my house my job my money I have nothing. I guess that the reason why I'm running, running from my problems. Running from the problem of having nothing. I wish to go to California, I heard of work there work for everyone. what I need is work because without work I cant do anything I cant buy food or buy clothes. I just wish there were a magic button that I could push to make this all go away.

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We all just want everything to be how it was. Things have been rough, really rough. We all do this to distract ourselves from the stress, the pain, the hardships. We all just want everything to be normal. I don't have a job anyway, so it's better to distract myself from that fact this way than any other. I'm Henry Jenkins, I'm 27 years old and unemployed. I used to have a job, before everything went to hell like this. I had a decent life, not the best, but not the worst. I had a stable job, a roof over my head. Everything was fine and dandy. Then it all went downhill. I've been trying to find work for a few years now, but that ain't possible. So here I am, playing a simple ball game, instead of facing the truth.

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That's me. Right there, in the middle. I'm a farmer, and a father of three children. My wife died three years ago, before all this happened. I wish she were still alive, but then again, I don't know if she would want to see us now. We was doing great. We had a nice farm, and we was making a lot of sales. Then those banks stole our money. We had plenty of money to keep us in good livin' conditions. Everything were all well in good. Then ma wife died, and it all went downhill from there. At least we ain't in that horrible Dustbowl. Man do I just despise those banks. It's all their fault that we got into this mess. Ma children are having a rough time. We do all of our livin' in this here wagon. Their mama is dead. We can't afford even to buy clean water. We have to drink from lakes. Right now, it's rough. And I know that others are goin' through some tough times too. But I hope that when this is all over, we'll get to return to our normal, peaceful lives, where there's not no dust storms or bad banks.

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my name is Adrian and the factory I word at clost and trying to find another job. I sterting west to find a town or a bot dock. I have been walking for 3 days and past thru a couple of touns no jobs tho. It has been 10 days sens the factory closed sum bacorys wer giving out supe. Day 12 I found sum work at a bakery but they close after a couple of days but I got enuf to last me a couple more days. Day 20 I found a bot dock and one of the workers help me on a get on a boat to england and people told me that are sum jobs thar.

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The exhaustion of our lungs from the dust is getting stronger, but not as strong as our hunger. I feel the hope in my heart fading, but weird enough its been like this for so long its starting to feel normal. We keep towels around to wash the dust off of our plates like it is nothing new. Today we found a half turkey sandwich in the trash which means its a good day. I still cant sleep knowing my baby John is getting worse and worse. A baby's lungs cant handle this dust, he should be able to eat when he needs and to sleep somewhere comfortable for him. After the bank took our house we've been with my sister. Box Springs all over the floors for us. I am not complaining but when i was a kid i never dreamed it would end up like this.

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A last few puffs of exhaust manage to come out of the engine before she is gone for good. "Well, we need to walk from here," I say "I guess this is the last of ol' Jenny." We step out of the car, push her to the side of the road and start walking to our uncles home. " Will we ever her again?" My little brother asks as we walk away from the car. " I don't think so. Maybe someday we will." We walk for about six hours before another car stops by us and the man inside says "Hey y'all! Hop in and I can give you a ride to where you are going." We jump in and he asks us about where we were going and why. "We are going to our uncles house because our farm has been repossessed so we need to get there so we have a place to stay until we get back on our feet." " Wow I'm sorry that happened to y'all. How far is the town your going to?" " Maybe a few more miles" I say before looking out the window looking at the dry, dead land. We reach the town part ways with the man, and find our uncles house. " Uncle Joe? Our farm has gotten repossessed and we need a place to stay. Can you help us?" And just like that, we find a new temporary home. Soon, Uncle Joe gets fired and we end up homeless again. The rest of the story? Well, now its all just history.

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My friends don't really know whats going on but we talked and realized all of our parents left today and we all described them as being "sad" so we were thinking there has got to be something wrong. I told them lets all just write about what we think because we needed something to do because we were all really bored. I was just wondering what could have happened and why were these adults still here, why haven't they left us like our parents did. We all just started writing in our journals because we were hopeless and we didn't have any way to communicate with our parents we have no hope and all sadness that they might not came back.

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My friends and I try to pretend like it's normal but we all know it's not. Our parents still make us go to school and our teachers still teach us. That's normal. What is not normal is the way we have to skip breakfast and lunch everyday. My friends and I use the trash can as our lunchbox. We stuff towels in the cracks in our door, in our windows, just to keep out the dust. Of course, the dust doesn't help our hunger or thirst. But our thirst proved to be deeper than just for a sip of water. Our thirst was for freedom from the oppressing heat and exhaustion. Yet, nonetheless, my friends and I try to be kids and try not to worry like our parents tell us not to. It's hard, but we try to be like the kids we were before. We try.

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My name is Betty. Those are my two kids, my husband is off trying to find a job, trying to find work while I take care of  our two kids Josh, and Mary. I don't know if he will ever return it's been up to almost 100 degrees everyday. It hasn't been easy trying to keep going everyday not knowing what is coming next. We sleep on the ground in sleeping bags and tents, we can feel the hard cold ground against our backs, but we don't complain because it's all we have. I don't know if I can take it anymore It's been a hard time, and we've been trying to get along, but it's been very hard, we don't have a lot of food, and I don't know if ours lives will be like this forever. It's hard to imagine that anything will change and become easier. I just want my family and my kids to be happy and grow up and have a good life.