Reply #2: Agree. Their living conditions were AWFUL!

[Vogon_Glory]

I read the Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of the Survivors of the Great American Dust Bowl not so long ago, and was struck by descriptions of the living conditions of most of the Great Plains farmers and ranchers even BEFORE the drought and Dust Bowl hit. Today, those would be described as Third World living standards and, as often as not, would be described as those of the poorer sectors of Third World countries.