The Ford Barn

Ed in Maine · 07-23-2013, 07:20 AM

I recently picked up a book entitled "Children of the Dust Bowl" by Jerry Stanley, copyright 1992. It has pictures of 1920s and 1930s cars going from Oklahoma to southern California. The families are looking for work and a new life in the rich farm belt of California. No jobs, no food, dirty cloths, no indoor plumbing during the trip (it lasted 3-4 months), no motels, no schools, sickness in the camps and no AC. It was often up to 120F in the desert. All their possessions are tied to their cars. Three or four children in the back seat. There is one picture of a sedan with a goat in a wooden crate fastened to the running board. The goat is the only one who looks happy! Any money that is available is spent on gas and oil and car repairs. The cars are held together by a thread, a very worn one and then they had to face the Rocky Mountains with mechanical brakes, bad tires and leaky radiators.

So the next time you are trying to decide how much of a shine there should be on your firewall, you might give a thought to the misery that your car was a part of when it was used for every day transportation. Ed

07-23-2013, 07:20 AM	#1
Ed in Maine Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cty., ME or Flagler Cty., FL Posts: 1,223	Model As, Built During a Very Difficult Time I recently picked up a book entitled "Children of the Dust Bowl" by Jerry Stanley, copyright 1992. It has pictures of 1920s and 1930s cars going from Oklahoma to southern California. The families are looking for work and a new life in the rich farm belt of California. No jobs, no food, dirty cloths, no indoor plumbing during the trip (it lasted 3-4 months), no motels, no schools, sickness in the camps and no AC. It was often up to 120F in the desert. All their possessions are tied to their cars. Three or four children in the back seat. There is one picture of a sedan with a goat in a wooden crate fastened to the running board. The goat is the only one who looks happy! Any money that is available is spent on gas and oil and car repairs. The cars are held together by a thread, a very worn one and then they had to face the Rocky Mountains with mechanical brakes, bad tires and leaky radiators. So the next time you are trying to decide how much of a shine there should be on your firewall, you might give a thought to the misery that your car was a part of when it was used for every day transportation. Ed