A Perfect Storm? The Reader Should Decide

It was the "Roaring Twenties", with prosperity, peace, and marvelous new inventions, not to mention the popular Ragtime music and even "talkie" movies.  Yes, life was good, and that was especially true for a young couple from Le Mars, Iowa.  They had 2 growing boys, a new car, a good job, and a rental home.  The wife's older sister and brother-in-law were making good money on a farm near Lake Benton, MN, and a nearby farm had just come up for rent, with good terms.  They decided to rent the farm, cultivate the land, grow crops, and raise livestock.  Life was good.

 

All went well, and then came the stock market crash of 1929.  Even though thousands lost their life savings, and even more lost jobs, things were tolerable.  Then came the drought.  A combination of poor farming methods and drought caused extensive soil erosion.  A grasshopper infestation compounded the problem, and crop losses were massive.  Animals died from disease or starvation.  

The youngest son was herding cows back to the barn, when one of the animals kicked up a fuss, and a pitchfork went through one of his eyes.  He lost the eye, but his other eye recovered.  Still, he remained in critical condition for weeks after his surgery.  Could it get any worse?  Unfortunately, yes.  Quoting my grandmother from one of her handwritten letters, 

"I know when the boys and Pops and I moved to Lake Benton on the farm, we didn't want for nothing.  We had some money saved, a new car, and we thought we would make a fortune up there.  The boys loved it and we loved living in the country, too.  But the drought came, our stock died, I got sick, and Clyde lost his eye and broke his elbow.  We went broke and had to sell everything.  We went back home to live with Arnold's folks, and started over."

Clyde was my Dad.  He and his brother Ashton are shown in the upper right of the photo.  (Thanks to my cousin Connie for providing the photos of their days on the farm.)

If you've followed my blogs in the past, you know that they not only recovered financially, they went on to own a successful business with their sons, built a new house in Le Mars, and celebrated over 60 years of marriage.  I have written often of my eternal love for my grandparents.

So, what is a "Perfect Storm"?  According to one definition, it's a"particularly violent or critical state of affairs, arising from a rare or a number of adverse/negative factors."  Others may disagree, but I believe that nature, combined with some poor economic policies of the 1920's, all came together to cause one of the worst economic catastrophes in our country's history.  A "perfect storm", or at least a partial one.

I'd like to end with a quote from one of my recent planner pages:  

"I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."  -  Christopher Reeve

My grandparents today would scoff at being labeled "heroes"; I would, of course. disagree.  You?

DAC     3/21/2023