Vintage shots from days gone by!

[Brimen]

Originally Posted by jimi'shemi291

Fair question, buddy. DUST BOWL in a nutshell: The plowing techniques of the time went with the path of least resistance. And fertilizing was generally limited to using your live stock's manure, mostly on the truck garden near the house. Not scientific. Componding matters, trees and bigger shubs that MIGHT have served as a windbreak were often cut up and used for heating and cooking. This had often WORKED east of the Mississippi, but it wasn't sustainable in the west.

So, when the soil "wore out," there was little to keep it in place. Dry spells came along, and the frequent wind storms in the exposed flats picked up the dried-out topsoil and blew it here, there, everywhere -- but where it was needed.

Many families that had been hanging on just couldn't make a living off the depleted land and had to "pull up stakes" and abandon thier farms, searching for ANY work they could get farther west.

The government finally got their butts in gear and started promoting contour plowing, planting of windbreaks, mpdern fertilizers, etc., and the land gradually came back.

Originally Posted by jroberts

Like the links about this said, over cultivation left nothing to hold the soil down. A drought and wind and the dust bowl was bound to happen. Much of my Grandmother's family lived in Long Island, Kansas and I remember listening with disbelief and awe to the stories they told of being caught in those "storms." Darker than a cloudy midnight, even with headlights on in the middle of the day you could not see where you were going. The wife of one of my dad's cousins told me that the car they were driving stopped running because the dirt in the air simply choked it off. Her brother tried to get help, but got lost walking down a road he had lived on his whole life. He ended up circling around and came back to the car without know exactly how he got there. Folks would put towels and such in the cracks under and around doors and windows to keep the dust out, but within a short time there would be two inches of the stuff everywhere in the house.

Bad times indeed.

Originally Posted by Jagman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2CiDaUYr90&feature=related

Originally Posted by Novadude55

http://factoidz.com/facts-about-the-dust-bowl/

Thanks alot for the update,
never heard of this tragedy before.

[jimi'shemi291]

Vaudeville family act "The Four Novelty Grahams" of Ochlocknee,
Georgia, near Macon. Shown here with their own bus they bought
to tour with in 1925 and 1926. I did not realize that Biflex bumpers
were available for trucks, but I guess I know now. Not being a truck
guy, I don't know the make of the bus. Somebody got it?

[jimi'shemi291]

And another family and their wheels! I don't recognize this car, though it looks
like about 1918 or 1920, somewhere in there. Any help? (Photo is for sale
by Kathy'sPhotos on eBay, for you collectors!)

[jimi'shemi291]

Circa 1910 at a place called Camp Cromley (NY?), back when simple pleasures were special.

[jimi'shemi291]

Taking the water thing to an unpleasant extreme! Anybody recognize the event?

[sixdogs]

Originally Posted by Brimen

Thanks alot for the update,
never heard of this tragedy before.

We are involved in agriculture and often see current photos of the dust bowl locations. Farners today have planted a staggering number of "shelter belt" trees plus switched to no-till (minimal ground disruption) techniques and herbicide weed control to prevent a recurrance. Can't even recognize the same places.

[jimi'shemi291]

Wow, wonder when and where this was taken! Familes headed
west for a new life.

[v8nutter]

Originally Posted by Brimen

Thanks alot for the update,
never heard of this tragedy before.

The book The Grapes of Wrath by John Stienbeck is about the Okies moving to California to get away from the dust bowl. There was also a film of the same name it starred Henry Fonda

Different Subject. Vanishing Point has to be the best car movie ever made

[jimi'shemi291]

I just LIKE this snapshot, because it exemplifies a real,
regular American family -- and proud of their car, too!

[John Brown]

Originally Posted by v8nutter

The book The Grapes of Wrath by John Stienbeck is about the Okies moving to California to get away from the dust bowl. There was also a film of the same name it starred Henry Fonda

The most depressing movie ever made, IMO.

[sixdogs]

Originally Posted by jimi'shemi291

I just LIKE this snapshot, because it exemplifies a real,
regular American family -- and proud of their car, too!

#22520 If you look at the way everyone is standing, the photo is entirely about the car and they are just standing there as window dressing. That's how mauch folks loved, and still love, this empowering machine.

[DocWatson]

Originally Posted by jimi'shemi291

Taking the water thing to an unpleasant extreme! Anybody recognize the event?

I dunno but I think they may call it a flood

Doc.

[Bullet Nose]

Originally Posted by sixdogs

I just wanted to point out that many people painted their car with a brush in the '50's and '60's and it came out looking surprisingly good.

My dad was a house painter when he moved from IL to CA in 1941 to find work. He painted his 41 Chevy with a brush in the mid 40's.

[jimi'shemi291]

Doc, if ANYBODY should know floods right now, I'd guess YOU would be high on the list! LOL

And, Paul, you hit the nail on the head. I think getting your picture with your car HAS to be the most official unofficial custom in world history! I'll bet a LOT of the pix on this and other HAMB nostalgia threads show proud owners and families with their first-ever car or truck. Lots of younger folk now probably can't imagine a time when auto ownership was the EXCEPTION rather than the rule!

[jimi'shemi291]

[sixdogs]

Originally Posted by Bullet Nose

My dad was a house painter when he moved from IL to CA in 1941 to find work. He painted his 41 Chevy with a brush in the mid 40's.

Yeah, those guys were masters of the craft. Some of the cars I saw in the '50's or '60's that were painted with a brush needed a complete examination to see even a few brush strokes.

[vividlyvintage]

Originally Posted by LowKat

1943 Anchorage

behind the "owl cocktail bar" letter is a buick logo. Must have been a buick dealership before it was a cocktail bar

[Rod Zombie]

In 1899 ninety percent of New York City’s taxi cabs were electric vehicles. This fleet of electric cars was built by the Electric Carriage and Wagon Company of Philadelphia. Not only that, but in 1899 and 1900, electric cars outsold all other types of cars, such as gas and steam powered vehicles. In 1902 an electric car, the Baker Torpedo, became the first car to have an aerodynamic body that enclosed both the driver and the platform. This car at one point reached 80 mph in a speed test before crashing and killing two spectators. It was later clocked as high as 120 mph, but with spectators not invited this time.

At the time, the advantages of the electric car over the other popular types (gas and steam) were significant. The electric cars had no vibrations from the engine and were extremely quiet compared to its competitors. They also didn’t emit smoke or backfire frequently as did gas powered cars. They were also ready to go right when you sat in the car, unlike gas powered cars that needed to be cranked by hand to start; this was not only difficult, but also could be dangerous.

By 1935 the electric car was officially dead and wasn’t revisited until around the 1960s and then still unsuccessfully. To date, all attempts to create a commercially successful fully electric car have failed.

[Beach Bum]

Originally Posted by jimi'shemi291

Taking the water thing to an unpleasant extreme! Anybody recognize the event?

Back in the mid-60s we visited my Dad's favorite uncle whom I was named after. He was a retired blacksmith who lived in the little town of Proctor, West Virginia on the banks of the Ohio River. I remember a few things about that town that seemed odd to me. The houses were almost all 2-story and were a good 3-4 feet off the ground. You could almost walk under them. Most people had row boats stashed under the house and there were outside doors on the second floor but no balcony. I asked my Dad about that and he said that the river often flooded the town and when it did, people just moved upstairs and used row boats to get around. Some houses had the kitchen on the second floor.

[Johnny99]

Letting the shop warm up and having the last cup of coffee before I head out to start bangin on the Anglia. Six Days On the Road blasting from the jukebox is great background music for viewing!
Have a great weekend all, John