Country Kids

Life on the farm has always been a challenge, but during the 1920s and 1930s Minnesota's farmers faced even greater odds.

The farm economy, which had enjoyed an unprecedented boom during World War I, went into a recession after the war. Prices for farm commodities continued to fall through the 1920s. Farmers that had expanded operations and purchased equipment found themselves unable to pay off their debts.

The Great Depression, accompanied by severe drought in the Midwest and southern states, compounded the problem. The drought began in 1931 and raged on for nearly a decade. As crops dried up, valuable topsoil was picked up by the wind and carried in great dust storms, a phenomenon known as "The Dust Bowl." Infestations of grasshoppers created further problems for Minnesota farmers, who spread poison bait on their fields in an attempt to save their crops.

Without crops to feed their livestock or sell, and with their land spoiled by wind erosion, many farmers became destitute. Farms that had been in families for generations were lost, and rural families migrated to cities looking for a new start.

For children growing up in the country during this period, hard work and deprivation was a way of life. These children spent their days helping out on the farm, working alongside their parents. They lived in homes without electricity, indoor plumbing, and other modern conveniences. They attended one-room country schools, many of which were forced to close during the depression, and often walked long distances because of a lack of transportation.

When given time to play, the farm children of the Great Depression made their own fun. Many participated in 4-H, church youth activities, and Farm Bureau family events. The rural year was highlighted by a trip to the county fair and, perhaps, the state fair.

Citations:

• The American Experience: Timeline of the Dust Bowl, 1931-1939. Public Broadcasting Service, 1992-2006.
• Tokarz, Linda Agricultural Research Timeline - 1920s. United States Department of Agriculture, 2006.
• Tokarz, Linda Agricultural Research Timeline - 1930s. United States Department of Agriculture, 2006.
• Smiley, Gene US Economy in the 1920s. EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples. July 18, 2004.
• American Experience: The Drought. Public Broadcasting Service, 1995-2006.
• Photo: A combination of cut worms and heat has destroyed the corn on this farm, 6 miles east of Appleton, 1936.
• American Experience: Timeline of the Dust Bowl, 1931-1939. Public Broadcasting Service, 1995-2006.
• Photo: Remains of a cornstalk after the grasshoppers have moved on, farm near Marshall, 1930s.
• Photo: Starving cow and horse were brought by farmers to the State Capitol to dramatize their demands for relief, 1935.
• Object: Lake Shore Farm sale handbill, 1933.
• Photo: Feeding the pigs, 1940.
• Photo: Cormant School, District Eighty-Seven, Beltrami County, 1938.
• Photo: View of the Winona County Fair, 1937.
• Photo: Three little boys holding garden produce for display at the 1934 State Fair, 1934.