It’s been several years since I read The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan. In this account, the Pulitzer-prize winning author delves into the lives of those who stayed in the Dust Bowl and attempted to survive what has been called the worst natural disaster in American history. After providing the background for why this happened, he follows the lives of several residents of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, showing how the tragedy of the Dust Bowl went far beyond the loss of the topsoil and fertility of the ground.
What people remember most about the Dust Bowl, if anything, is that the farming practices of the time destroyed the land and created the conditions for the Dust Bowl. What very few people understand is how the people lived—and how they died.
Egan’s basic premise is that man’s greed, government incompetence, and lack of understanding of the climate and geography of the region all contributed to the Dust Bowl. We already know that most people are greedy, the government is beyond incompetent and totally corrupt, and that lack of education all contribute to problems all generations encounter. However, there are several things to learn from the Dust Bowl that we as preppers can apply to our lives and efforts now.
They couldn’t grow anything. The dust buried plants like snowdrifts, and even if the crops weren’t buried, there was no rain to water them. During that era, people in that area grew their own produce. Trucking in food was expensive—and during the storms of the Dust Bowl the trucks couldn’t make deliveries. The storms reduced visibility and clogged filters and engines. Families had canning jars, but the only “food” they could can was tumbleweeds. Yes, they resorted to eating tumbleweeds. So what can we learn?
Store food. Store canning lids and jars. Tumbleweeds are edible and can become food to those who did not prepare well. The trucks can’t always be relied on to make deliveries.
They died from the dust. When the dust storms came up, there was no escape. They had no way to keep from inhaling the dust. Dust pneumonia was a real thing, and it was fatal, and especially so in infants and young children. So what can we learn?
Being prepared for medical emergencies is essential. The mandated masks that do nothing against COVID would actually help against a dust storm. Our medical supplies can be used in a myriad of ways and common household items may save our lives. One thing that people living in the Dust Bowl tried to do in their homes was to hang blankets and such inside to create clean areas where less dust would penetrate. In such a situation today plastic sheeting and duct tape could come in handy.
Infants and children are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition, disease, and environmental threats.
They refused to leave. They couldn’t believe that life would only get harder. So many individuals and families decided to stay behind because surely the storms would stop soon. (The dust storms that carried away the topsoil occurred about every three days.) They would be able to resume farming soon. The rains would come soon. Their crops would be in demand again and they would be able to work and support their families and pay their debts soon. They felt determination and persistence would pay off in the end. They didn’t want to leave and cut their losses. And in many cases, they and/or their loved ones died as a result. So what can we learn?
Hindsight is always 20/20. It is easy for us to look at those who lived during the Dust Bowl and say we would have been wiser, we would have left. Unfortunately, most people live with extreme normalcy bias. Life has always been good and will always be good. The situation won’t get worse. We see it today all around us. People don’t notice the inflation; they’re just sinking into deeper debt every month.
Those who lived through the Dust Bowl—who stayed and struggled to survive—were persistent, determined individuals and families with a solid Puritan work ethic. Prepare as you might, sometimes you have to cut your losses. Don’t become so attached to your current situation and preps that you can’t move and begin again. Starting over in a new location is better than death.
06.10.21
