Learning Goals The students will understand what it was like in Oklahoma during the depression.

POOR TIMES IN OKLAHOMA

Many years ago, in the days of the Great Depression ( 1930s) hundreds of families who lost their jobs and farms moved to to find work.

A “depression” is a time when many people cannot find jobs and businesses have closed. The Great Depression hurt the whole United States and the rest of the world.

Some Oklahomans traveled west to California. They hoped to find work in the large farms there.

But others stayed in Oklahoma, moving to the cities in search of work… Cities like Oklahoma City.

But work was hard to find there, too. Many people had no place to live, no job, and little food to eat.

Many families stayed on city property near the banks of the Canadian River. These families established communities of make-shift houses.

“Sand Town” South side of the Canadian River, OKC

From these camps, they looked for odd-jobs in the city’s businesses and factories.

Their homes were cold in the winter, so some families used thrown-away cardboard on the walls to help keep out the cold…

The city gave families free water, at pumps or hauled in by wagons.

Churches and hospitals gave food to needy families.

Children went to school, but had after-school jobs to help their families.

It was hard times for many people in Oklahoma…

But families tried to stay together…

And people helped one another…

And when businesses got better and the depression ended, many families found that they had survived the bad times. They were still proud to be Oklahomans.

Chapter 19 Section 1 Quiz 1.Name the term that describes a person who moved out of Oklahoma during the depression to find work. 2.Where did most of the people who stayed in Oklahoma move to? 3.What type of dwellings did many people have to build to live in? 4. Describe the type of dwellings many people had to build to live in? 5.) Why did family become so important during this period?