Black Sunday

    Parts of Kansas are in an area called the Southern Plains. This area is flat and treeless. 

    For thousands of years, the land was covered by prairie grass. Prairie grass was strong and sturdy. It could survive the area’s harsh weather—frozen winters, roasting summers, and terrible drought. 

    But by the late 1800s, the Southern Plains had changed. 

    The U.S. government was working to turn the American wilderness into towns, cities, and farms. The government took a lot of land from Native Americans. It gave that land to white settlers for free or for very little money.

    The settlers ripped up the prairie grass and planted crops. Miles and miles of land were turned into wheat farms.

    Parts of Kansas are in an area called the Southern Plains. This area is flat.  

    For thousands of years, the land was covered by prairie grass. This grass was strong. It was sturdy. It could survive the area’s harsh weather. It lived through winters. It lived through summers. It even survived drought. 

    But by the late 1800s, the Southern Plains was different. 

    The U.S. government was changing the American wilderness. They wanted more towns, cities, and farms. The government took land from Native Americans. It gave the land to white settlers. The settlers paid little or no money for the land.

    The settlers ripped up the prairie grass. They planted crops. They turned the land into wheat farms.

    Parts of Kansas are in a flat and treeless area called the Southern Plains. For thousands of years, this land was covered by strong and sturdy prairie grass, which could survive the area’s harsh weather—frozen winters, roasting summers, and terrible drought. 

    But by the late 1800s, the Southern Plains had changed.

    The U.S. government was working to turn this American wilderness into towns, cities, and farms. To accomplish this, the government took a great deal of land from Native Americans and gave that land to white settlers for free or for very little money.

    The settlers ripped up the prairie grass and planted crops, transforming miles and miles of land into wheat farms.

    At first, the farms did well. There was plenty of rain. Crops grew quickly. Towns, stores, and churches popped up everywhere. 

    Catherine was born during this hopeful time, in 1925. She was one of seven children. Catherine and her brothers and sisters went to a one-room schoolhouse. She rode horses and went with her father into the fields, where he grew wheat and raised cattle. 

    Catherine’s life was happy. But hard times were just ahead.

    Initially, the farms prospered. There was plenty of rain, and crops grew quickly. Towns, stores, and churches popped up everywhere. 

    Catherine was born during this hopeful time, in 1925. She was one of seven children, and she and her siblings went to a one-room schoolhouse. She rode horses and went with her father into the fields, where he grew wheat and raised cattle. 

    Catherine’s life was happy, but hard times were just ahead.

    Initially, the farms prospered. There was plenty of rain, and crops grew quickly. Towns, stores, and churches popped up everywhere. 

    Catherine was born during this hopeful time, in 1925. She was one of seven children, and she and her siblings went to a one-room schoolhouse. She rode horses and went with her father into the fields, where he grew wheat and raised cattle. 

    Catherine’s life was happy, but hard times were just ahead.

    In 1929, the Great Depression began. Millions of people lost their jobs and their life savings. The price of wheat fell, and farmers who sold wheat earned far less money. Many families struggled to pay their bills. 

    Then, in 1932, a drought hit the Southern Plains. The rain just stopped. Without the prairie grass to protect it, the soil dried up and was carried away by the wind. On windy days, the air was gritty and the sky was brown with dust. 

    The dust went everywhere. Catherine’s mother had to rinse the plates before meals. She kept food covered with a cloth until the family was ready to eat.

    In 1929, the Great Depression began. Millions of people lost their jobs. They lost their life savings. The price of wheat fell. Many families struggled. They couldn’t pay their bills. 

    Then, in 1932, a drought hit the Southern Plains. The rain just stopped. With no prairie grass to protect the soil, it dried up and blew away. On windy days, the air was gritty. The sky was brown with dust. 

    The dust went everywhere. Catherine’s mother had to rinse the plates before meals. She kept food covered. Food stayed under a cloth until the family was ready to eat.

    In 1929, the Great Depression began. Millions of people lost their jobs and their life savings. The price of wheat fell, farmers who sold wheat earned far less money, and many families struggled to pay their bills. 

    Then, in 1932, a drought hit the Southern Plains. The rain simply stopped, and without the prairie grass to protect the soil, it dried up and was carried away by the wind. On windy days, the air was gritty and the sky was brown with dust. 

    The dust went everywhere. Catherine’s mother had to rinse the plates before meals, and she kept food covered with a cloth until the family was ready to eat.

    Then came the storms. Huge clouds of dust and dirt blocked out the sun. The dust buried animals, killed crops, and filled basements. 

    The dust rushed up people’s noses. It scratched people’s skin like millions of tiny claws. 

    The storms started to come more often. People began to see that it was a mistake to remove all the prairie grass. But nobody could agree on what to do about it. Meanwhile, life got worse and worse. 

    Catherine’s family was lucky. They did not have much money, but there was always food on the table. Some families had nothing.

    Then came the storms. Huge clouds of dust rolled in. They blocked out the sun. The dust buried animals. It killed crops. It filled basements. 

    The dust rushed up people’s noses. It scratched people’s skin. 

    The storms came more often. People saw that it was a mistake to remove all the prairie grass. But they could not agree on what to do. Meanwhile, life got worse and worse. 

    Catherine’s family was lucky. They did not have much money. But there was always food on the table. Some people had nothing.

    Then came the storms. Enormous clouds of dust and dirt blocked out the sun, buried animals, killed crops, and filled basements. 

    The dust rushed up people’s noses and scratched people’s skin like millions of tiny claws. The storms increased in frequency. People began to realize that it had been a mistake to remove all the prairie grass, but nobody could agree on how to address the problem. Meanwhile, life got more and more difficult.

    Catherine’s family was fortunate. Although they didn’t have much money, there was always food on the table. Some families had nothing.

    On the morning of April 14, 1935, many people thought better times had come at last. For the first time in weeks, the sky wasn’t swirling with dust. 

    After church, Catherine was enjoying the afternoon at her grandmother’s house. 

    Then the black cloud appeared. 

    This dust storm was worse than any that had come before. It rose 8,000 feet into the sky and turned the day dark. Farmers stumbled in their fields, unable to see. Drivers crashed their cars. 

    It is not known if anyone died because of the storm, but hundreds of people were rushed to hospitals. They were sick from breathing in dust. 

    The day came to be known as Black Sunday.

    It was the morning of April 14, 1935. Many people thought better times had come. The sky wasn’t swirling with dust for the first time in weeks. 

    Catherine went to church with her family. Then she went to her grandmother’s house. 

    That’s when the black cloud appeared. 

    This dust storm was worse than any that had come before. It rose 8,000 feet into the sky. It turned the day dark. Farmers stumbled in their fields. They could not see. Drivers crashed their cars. 

    It’s not known if anyone died because of the storm. But hundreds of people were rushed to hospitals. They were sick from breathing in dust. 

    The day came to be known as Black Sunday.

    On the morning of April 14, 1935, many people thought better times had finally arrived. For the first time in weeks, the sky wasn’t swirling with dust. 

    After church, Catherine was enjoying the afternoon at her grandmother’s house. 

    Then the black cloud appeared. 

    This dust storm was worse than any that had come before; it rose 8,000 feet into the sky and turned the day dark. Farmers stumbled in their fields, unable to see, and drivers crashed their cars. 

    Whether anyone died because of the storm is unknown, but hundreds of people were rushed to hospitals, sick from inhaling the dust. 

    The day came to be known as Black Sunday.

    More than 80 years later, Catherine still remembers the terror of that day. She remembers how she and her grandmother huddled together for hours. 

    “I really did think the world was coming to an end,” Catherine says. 

    But Catherine and her family survived. 

    Because of the dust storm, the government had to face this fact: Humans had broken the prairie. Now it was up to humans to fix it. 

    In the coming years, millions of trees and prairie grasses were planted across the plains. Farmers learned to be kinder to the land. The weather changed too. By the late 1930s, the drought had ended. 

    There has never been another dust storm as bad as the one on Black Sunday.

    Many people left the plains after that terrible day. But Catherine’s family stayed. She later married and settled down not far from where she grew up. 

    Black Sunday taught Catherine an important lesson. 

    “I learned that even when things didn’t work out quite right, I should be thankful for everything,” she says. •

    It’s been more than 80 years since Black Sunday.  But Catherine still remembers the storm. She and her grandmother huddled together. The storm lasted for hours. 

    “I really did think the world was coming to an end,” Catherine says. But she survived. 

    People faced the truth. Humans had broken the prairie. Humans had to fix it.

    People planted millions of trees. They planted prairie grasses too. Farmers learned to be kinder to the land. And the weather changed. By the late 1930s, the drought had ended. 

    There has never been another dust storm as bad as the one on Black Sunday.

    Many people left the plains after that storm. But Catherine’s family stayed. She later married. She settled down near where she grew up. 

    Black Sunday taught Catherine a lesson. 

    “I learned that even when things didn’t work out quite right, I should be thankful for everything,” she says.

    More than 80 years later, Catherine still remembers the terror of that day and how she and her grandmother huddled together for hours. 

    “I really did think the world was coming to an end,” Catherine says. 

    But Catherine and her family survived. 

    Because of the dust storm, the government had to face this fact: Humans had broken the prairie. Now it was up to humans to fix this problem. 

    In the coming years, millions of trees and prairie grasses were planted across the plains. Farmers learned to be kinder to the land. The weather changed too, and by the late 1930s, the drought had ended. 

    There has never been another dust storm as bad as the one on Black Sunday.

    Many people left the plains after that terrible day, but Catherine’s family remained. Catherine later married and settled down not far from where she grew up. 

    Black Sunday taught Catherine a valuable lesson. 

    “I learned that even when things didn’t work out quite right, I should be thankful for everything,” she says.