Dust, Drought and Dreams Gone Dry: A commemoration of the 1930s American Dust Bowl

-Lange, Dorothea, photographer. Date Created/Published: 1937 June.

The Pasadena Public Library will host “Dust, Drought, and Dreams Gone Dry,” a national traveling exhibition about the Dust Bowl, the disastrous drought and dust storms that wreaked havoc on the American Great Plains in the 1930s. The exhibit will be on display in Central Library’s Great Hall, 285 E. Walnut St. from September 2 to October 9. The library is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.
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 their 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?
“The Dust Bowl was one of the worst man-made ecological disasters in American history. We are proud that Pasadena Public Library was selected to help make the public more aware of this important event,” said Jan Sanders, Director of Libraries and Information Services.” This exhibition delves into the history and geography behind the Dust Bowl, and also provides a human element; through the words of the survivors themselves, we learn what it was like to live through such a difficult time.”
“Dust, Drought, and Dreams Gone Dry,” will be accompanied by a series of free library programs, including lectures and film screenings. The exhibition and programs feature several overlapping humanities themes: 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.
The exhibition was organized by the American Library Association Public Programs Office, the Oklahoma State University and the Mount Holyoke College Library. It was made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor. Pasadena Public Library is one of twenty-five sites throughout the United States and the only one in the state of California selected to present the exhibition and associated public programs in their communities.
For a schedule of programming events visit www.pasadenapubliclibrary.net. For more information, contact Christine Reeder at (626) 744-7076 or creeder@cityofpasadena.net.

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