“Weedpatch” Temporary home of the Joads ARVIN FEDERAL CAMP “Weedpatch” Temporary home of the Joads

DUST BOWL: REVIEW Between 1935 and 1940, more than 1 million people left their homes in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri to escape wind, drought, and dust. They traveled Route 66 for California in search of work and a better life, where “no one ever went hungry.”

Government response The Arvin Federal Camp, or “Weedpatch,” prepared for the influx of “Okies.” It is located near Lamont, California, not far from Sacramento. The camp was on land leased to the United States Department of Agriculture by philanthropist Bertha Rankin. Its buildings were erected by the federal Farm Security Administration. Camp included a manager’s house; sanitary units; showers; laundry facilities; spaces for tents.

“Weedpatch” Appeal The migrants sought out Weedpatch because it was safe: as soon as they crossed California border, they were ridiculed, shamed, and rejected. Weedpatch was no “paradise”: it was clean, though, and a vast improvement over the squatters’ camps and Hoovervilles. The families were large, and many residents were children who were regarded by locals as stupid, dirty, and sub-human. Many attended school bare-footed.

1936: A key year In 1936, the camp housed about 300 people in one-room tin cabins and tents. Cost was $1 a week. That year, a newspaper reporter named John Steinbeck, researching the plight of the “Okies,” stayed in neighboring Weedpatch. He gathered material for what would become The Grapes of Wrath. When “Grapes” became a Pulitzer-Prize winner and movie rights were bought, some scenes were filmed at Weedpatch Camp. The original post office was used in the film as the manager’s office. Steinbeck dedicated “Grapes” to Weedpatch manager Tom Collins, who affectionately viewed the migrant farmers as “colorful relics of the nation’s rural past.”

1939-’40 In 1939, newly elected Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Leo Hart, took interest in the kids at the camp. He was determined to help them adjust into society. Teachers and parents did not want these “Okie” children in the local schools. In 1940, Hart determined that these children should have their own school: This story is documented in Jerry Stanley’s “Children of the Dust Bowl.”

Weedpatch Legacy The camp eventually became the Sunset Labor Camp; it was taken over in 1958 by Kern County and deeded to Kern County Housing Authority in 1965. Wooden-framed buildings have replaced the tin structures and tents; the original post office, library, and community building still stand are being restored. People who still remember living in Weedpatch return often, saying it is a “cleansing experience” to revisit. Many say they are proud to be “Okies.” In 1996, the key, original structures were placed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is still used by migrant workers today. A Dust Bowl festival is scheduled there every year.

Weedpatch Memories “Togetherness and standing shoulder to shoulder made us able to stand when it would have been easy to give up.” “We stuck together, went to church together, and when one of us needed a boost we all together rallied and helped.” Iva Townson Helm: “Iva’s Dust Bowl Memories”                                                                                        

Weedpatch in “Grapes of Wrath” The episode at the dance is symbolic of the integrity of self-governance: a reflection of how much better it is when power is distributed amongst the people. “You’re our own folks. You belong with us. Don’t knife your own folks.” The episode in with Ruthie’s rude behavior with the other children in chapter 22 – where she is ignored when she interrupts the game – is symbolic of the ultimate punishment: ostracism from the group.