The Real Grapes of Wrath

This is a picture of my grandparents - as parents. My father is the youngest boy of four children, held by my grandfather. They were share-crop farmers in Oklahoma when the dust bowl hit and they migrated, not to California like the book, but to Arizona. I'm afraid that like most Americans I really should know more about their experiences. My father died when I was ten so I did not have the chance to really ask him about this real life history. I do know that they did not suffer so much like in the book. Of course it was hard in Oklahoma. I remember my grandfather talking about when the farm dog broke his leg he had to get a saw and cut it off. The dog survived many years after that. My father also got a whole bunch of perfect attendance certificates from the public schools in Oklahoma (I still have them). He went on to study at Arizona State University under the G.I. bill.

The migration to Arizona was a success. Unlike the drama in the book, I think they just got in the car and drove to Arizona in a couple of three days, no big deal. After world war II (and after serving in the Filipines) my father moved to Los Angeles and met my mother (from North Dakota). I post this because John at Iberian Notes brought up how the book may be slightly sensationalized.

Now this is heavy, but when my father was ill before his death, his childhood friend from Oklahoma would visit and read to him from the Grapes of Wrath. They got a big kick out of it.