Sunday, November 5, 1933

The first snow of the season fell today. Most of it was melted by evening. Mark’s and Grace and kids were over.

Monday, November 13, 1933

Yesterday we had a bad dust storm, a high wind that blew almost all of the corn off the stalks. The worst dust storm we have had here for years. Marie and Arlie were over yesterday and I came home with them for a week’s visit. Ruth Weter is coming tonight.

Pg. 50— Grandma’s Day Journal– My Hunter Family Collection

During the Dust Bowl days, Iowa was not usually involved in the worst of the dust bowl devastation. But according to some research, this one was brought about by an Alberta Clipper, and covered 8 states and traveled 1300 miles in 30 hours. A real humdinger in other words. If there had been satellites in those days, you would have seen the cloud of dust extend from Huron, South Dakota to Amarillo, Texas with the highest point at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When dust got through cracks in homes, it was so thick there were footprints where a person had walked past on the floor. Food tasted like dust and visibility was under 1/2 mile in places as far away as Indiana. To compare this with today’s wildfire smoke is probably not even close. As a sufferer, I imagine my allergies would have been astronomical. Death from ‘dust pneumonia’ was a common occurance.

Just some food for thought on the Dust Bowl and so-called solutions that never came to pass. One person suggested paving it all. Unrealistic and I’m glad that never happened. One thing I’ve feel is awe inpiring—the vast view of the prairie. The breadth of what the eye captures is something that tugs at your heart and quiets the soul. A camera cannot quite see it the same way. But I tried and I’m going to share some of my attempts.