While the event conjures up the dark aspects of biblical “last days,” the 1930s drought, resulting in the hard-hit plains territory dubbed the “Dust Bowl,” generated countless instances of neighborly generosity and astounding tenaciousness. Journalist Timothy Egan gives voice to those heartland people in the 19 states affected the severe dust storms that blackened skies, sometimes for days. It was “The Worst Hard Time,” as Mr. Egan titled his 2005 book, but it was also a time when men, women, and children’s mettle was tried and tested and found triumphant.
Hopefulness is expressed in stories and diary entries. For example, the book shares Don Hartwell’s 1936 diary entries as he lived through dust storms on the Kansas-Nebraska border with his wife. Mr. Egan points out that Hartwell “was not going down without a fight,” adding that the farmer “started his diary at the darkest hour.”
