The Dust Bowl A Film by Ken Burns Part I
“chronicles the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history, when a frenzied wheat boom on the southern Plains, followed by decade-long drought during the 1930s, nearly swept away the breadbasket of the nation.”
Discussion led by: Dr. Kurt Kemper, Professor History Dakota State University
The library is one of 25 sites nationwide to host and audiences will learn through history, geography and the fascinating histories of Dust Bowl.
The exhibition recalls a tragic period in our history — the drought and dust storms that wreaked havoc on the Great Plains in the 1930s — and explores its environmental and cultural consequences. It raises several thought-provoking questions:
- What caused fertile farms to turn to dust?
- How did people survive?
- What lessons can we learn?
This exhibition will include a series of free and open to the public programs to explore the nature of the connection between humans and nature; the many ways human beings respond to adversity; and how people came to understand and to describe their experiences living through the Dust Bowl.