In oral histories, they recall impact of Depression years, mechanization.
The Associated Press
PARSONS -- For southeast Kansas farmers, the Great Depression marked the
beginning of a transformation as machines replaced horses and the
government undertook an effort to bring electrical power to rural
communities.
Forty-five farm families who lived through this period have shared their
stories through an oral history project undertaken by the Southeast
Kansas Farm History Center.
The Joplin Globe reported that the center's Pam Cress, a researcher,
spent two years asking about the effects of President Franklin
Roosevelt's New Deal programs on rural families. She also used the
interviews to explore the farm practices and social life of the period.
For one of her interview subjects, 83-year-old Bill Scott Jr., the New
Deal provided gravel for the mud road, which meant Scott could ride his
bicycle to school.
Though times were hard, the lifelong Labette County farmer said that farm dwellers had advantages over the town dwellers.
"We knew that, you know, that we had a meal every day," Scott said. "We
always did. We could eat every day. A lot of people couldn't."
Today, the histories are available to anyone with an Internet
connection. Besides audio files and written transcripts of each
interview, the collection includes archived historical photographs.
Funding for the project came from the Kansas Humanities Council. And the
Axe Library at Pittsburg State University is serving as host to the
collection.
"It was the end of an era," said Randy Roberts, curator of special
collections at Axe Library, who also grew up on a farm. "These are
stories that need to be saved, need to be told, can teach us a lot."
The interview subjects include several women who taught in one-room schools and men who served during World War II.
Several of those who were interviewed worked for the Civilian
Conservation Corps, earning three meals a day and money to send back
home. Others benefited from the Works Progress Administration, building
civic projects for $1 a day.
"When I asked about the Rural Electrification Administration, everyone
had memories of when electricity came to their place and how that
changed their lives," Cress said. "The women, especially, had
fascinating stories."
One recalled the installation of a wind generator that powered an
electric iron. When the wind blew, she ironed as fast as she could. When
it stopped, so did her power.
"It speaks to that era, that generation, that you made do, you got by,
you kept moving ahead," said Roberts of the farmers' tendency to
overcome challenges with resolve.
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