EXPERIENCE 1

Most farmers, when they decide to leave their farms, load their household possessions in trucks or trailers, and take to the highway under power. Many of the townspeople, having no means of transport, are forced to abandon their property and leave on foot, with only the clothes on their backs and such bundles as may be carried in their hands. After every storm the highways are thronged with these refugees. On the roads running through Meade and Montezuma I have seen hundreds of people in endless procession, heading out of the Dust Bowl. So it was in 1934, in 1935, in 1936, in 1937, and in 1938—thousands of families deserting towns and farms, all seeking some haven of relief from the dust.

-----Lawrence Svobida (Dust Bowl Survivor)