Okies: The Dust Bowl's Migrants and their Legacy

PUBLISHED ON August 3, 2023

GREENWICH, N.Y. — The Dust Bowl upended the lives of many farmers during its decade-long hold on the Great Plains. While many stayed in their home regions conditions forced some farmers to seek opportunities elsewhere. In one of the largest migrations in U.S. history thousands of migrants who became known as “Okies” moved west to seek work and a new start in their lives.

Migrations started prior to the Dust Bowl due to economic factors. As was discussed in last week’s Hansen’s Histories, commodity prices dropped throughout the 1920s. To overcome this many farmers planted more acres and took on debt to do this. When the Great Depression set in in 1929 many farmers were unable to pay these debts leading to farm foreclosures. Mechanization displaced farmers too. With the increased use of tractors less tenant farmers were needed since the machine could do this work without them leaving these workers without jobs and the living spaces that came with them.

These factors caused initial movement in the early 1930s, predominantly from parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, and Arkansas where these changes hit farmers hardest. The troubles of these farmers were compounded when recurring droughts brought about the Dust Bowl. With land that was not workable and offering little opportunity, many opted to migrate. It is important to note though that not everyone did. Three out of four people that lived in Dust Bowl regions stayed.

Migrants went to other locations across the country some of which include the upper Midwest, the orchard country of Washington and Oregon, and parts of Arizona. However, the place the place that most migrants set out for was California. California was a desired location, particularly for farmers, because of its mild climate and the diversity of crops grown which was believed to present more work for them throughout the year. Popular songs, stories, and advertisements from the time also depicted California as a “promised land” of sorts making it an appealing destination.

So, the refugees of the Dust Bowl ventured west bringing change to the areas they moved to and the places they moved from. Between 1930-1940 2.5 million people moved from the Plains states. While numbers vary it is believed anywhere from 200,000-500,000 of these migrants settled in California. These movements sometimes had devastating effects on the regions from which they moved. For instance, the state of Oklahoma lost around 440,000 citizens to migration in the Dust Bowl era. Towns that once boomed during the land rush were reduced to populations sometimes as low as the single digits.

Often strapping their meager belongings to their vehicles the familiar image of families in overloaded jalopies or trucks making their way down U.S. Route 66 toward California became a regular sight in the mid-to late-1930s. Traveling with everything they had these migrants would camp out along the route and find food from wherever they could, if at all.

As more and more migrants arrived in California, they began to be referred to as “Okies” or “Arkies” depending on where they came from. The name was derived from the fact that a large portion the migrants (around 20%) came from parts of Oklahoma. The name stuck and “Okie” was used as a descriptor for any migrants regardless of what state they moved from.

While a common perception exists that Okies were strictly farmworkers, the majority worked other professions and moved because opportunities dried up in their home regions. Upon entering California many settled in Los Angeles or other metropolitan areas. For those that sought farm work the San Joaquin Valley and the state’s other agricultural valleys became the end goal. These locations produced a large portion of the nation’s fruit along with other crops like vegetables, cotton, and nuts. The farms in this part of the state relied on migrant labor for harvesting crops so many Okies from farming backgrounds sought work performing these kinds of jobs. In doing so they ended up taking the place of the many Mexican and Filipino migrant workers who often performed those jobs up until that time.

However, life remained hard for the Okies in their new environments. Many California farms were corporate-owned, larger, and more modernized employing a style of agriculture that was not familiar to Okies. The thousands that moved to the state created an overabundance of labor which depressed wages. Many scrupulous growers and contractors would lower wages further since they knew Okies were desperate and would work for just about anything. Workers were paid for the amount of crop they picked which usually amounted anywhere from 75 cents to $1.25 a day. Overall, Okies typically made around $300 to $450 a year which could barely afford some necessities let alone residence.

Okies followed harvests throughout the year which meant that they were often on the move. Whatever commodity was in season, they would be traveling to places with farms that potentially needed help. Because of this nomadic lifestyle Okies lived in tent camps on farms where they were working or along roadsides and vacant lots. Called “jungles,” these camps were unsanitary often lacking access to necessities like clean water. Sickness was rampant because of these conditions and an inability to purchase good food led to malnutrition. Those that were able to settle in an area often lived in makeshift developments and resided in structures made from scrap metal, cardboard any other materials that could be found. “Okievilles” or “Little Oklahomas” as they came to be called more often resembled a city dump than a place of living.

Discrimination was another large factor that made life difficult for the Okies. California was already overburdened with economic and social needs because of the Depression. The Okies were viewed as unwelcome newcomers who would sap more resources from native Californians. At one point there was a force of L.A. police officers dubbed the “Bum Brigade” stationed at a border crossing in order to prevent Okies from entering the state, however legal challenges put an end to it. Okies were cast as a health threat that would overrun and infest the state their poverty, poor health, and backward thought.

Their southern drawls and simple values drew ridicule. Children were often teased in school for their speech and usually ragged clothing. The name “Okie” was used as a derogatory term to describe them as poor, unlearned, superstitious, and dirty. In short, they were deemed second-class citizens. This made the transition all the more difficult for Okies as they went from being viewed as “deserters” in the home regions (Egan p.230-231) to failures and rejects in their new home.

The plight of the Okies became more noticed in the in the late 1930s. After writing a series of articles on the Okies for a California newspaper, author John Steinbeck published The Grapes of Wrath in 1939 telling the story of the Joad family and their tribulations in California. The Farm Securtiy Administration also sent photographer Dorothea Lange to the region to document the conditions of the Okies. One of her photos from this project, the “Migrant Mother,” is arguably one of the most famous photos of the 20th century. Both these works and other journalistic work on the group helped prompt responses.

President Franklin Roosevelt had the Farm Security Administration establish labor camps with structures for migrants to temporarily reside in. Beginning in 1937 thirteen camps were established with the capacity to hold 300 families each. These camps were not designed to house families permanently but rather give them a clean, safe environment to live in while working in a region and to rest before moving to their next job. California also received more funding from the government to provide for some of the health needs of the Okies.

While these measures provided some relief life remained poverty-ridden and migratory for the Okies. Like much of the country it was not until the onset of World War II that conditions improved for the Okies. Many found better paying and steady work in shipbuilding and other wartime industries, and they eventually became established in California society.

While they lived a life of hardship the Okies left a mark on their new home on the west coast. In places where they settled some towns took on the feel of their home regions. Towns like Bakersfield or Oildale, California more closely resemble towns from the Texas Panhandle than other California towns. Pentecostal and Southern Baptist denominations of Christianity grew on the west coast because of the Okie migration. Also, country music became more popular in California because of the Okies. Performers like Buck Owens and later Merle Haggard rose to fame with their distinct “Bakersfield Sound” which blended west coast rock-and-roll with the honky tonk style of the Southern Plains.

The name “Okie” itself transformed throughout the years. Over time the name moved from being a derogatory term mocking the sufferings of the migrants, to a term that celebrated Okie values like simplicity, hard work, and independence. This is seen in the fact that by 1969 Merle Haggard had a #1 Country hit in a song that exclaimed, “I’m proud to be an Okie from Muskogee.” Those who grew up as Okies and received the name as an insult found the name to have a newfound respect by the time they reached old age.

Chandler Hansen grew up and lives in Easton, NY. He is a graduate of Gordon College where he earned a bachelor’s degree in History. He serves as a writer and editor for Morning Ag Clips.

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