Dust Bowl

At the time of our journey in the region of the country also known as southern Great Plains the folks we met and talked to appeared content, as the economy has recovered from the recession of 2009.  People were interested and media were replete with weather stories about the dip the Jet Stream took and the Polar Vortex that brought arctic temperatures and record snow accumulation in many sections of the country.  

Well, it was a different weather phenomenon the Dust Bowl that had devastating impact in the lives of the people in that region and the economy of the country in the 30s.  

The Dust Bowl was the result of drought that hit the Great Plains in 1931, and lasted for a decade.  The drought and the poor agricultural practices caused a catastrophe of biblical magnitude.  The farmers plowed and seeded the land but nothing was grown.  

The winds in the Plains would raise dust to the sky and cause darkness for days.  Most of the impact was in the southern states such as Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas while the northern States such as Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois were less affected.  The agricultural devastation was so severe that lengthened the Great Depression of 1929 whose effects were felt beyond the borders of the United States.  

On April 14 1935, Black Sunday, the worst of the dust storms hit. Robert Geiger of Associated Press, reporting on the storm in Cimarron County, Oklahoma, described the disaster as a Dust Bowl.

Itinerary

My son and I started our trip in Orlando, Florida and thus far we have driven our friend's car thru the States of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma.  Although these southern States have commonalities each has distinct culture and flag.  I decided therefore to portrait the flags of these States and give a brief history.

The flag of Florida consists of a red saltire, the St. Andrew's Cross, on a white background, with the State seal  superimposed on the center stating in God we Trust. The term "Five Flags over Florida" usually refers to the five governments that have exerted sovereignty over all or part of Florida: the flags of Spain, France, UK, the US and the Confederacy.  

The current flag of the State of Alabama is a crimson cross of St. Andrew on a field of white.  The cross of St. Andrew is a diagonal cross, known in as a saltire. 

The flag of the State of Mississippi is the sole remaining U.S. state flag which bears the Confederate battle flag’s saltire.

The flag of the State of Louisiana consists of a "pelican in her piety" representing a mother pelican wounding her breast to feed her young from the blood. The mother pelican's head and outspread wings covering the three pelican chicks nested below her form a stylized flour-de-lis, another emblem of similar significance often depicted in Louisiana. This symbol is emblematic of Christian charity is also found on the state seal.  

The Texas flag is known as the "Lone Star Flag".  The Flag's code assigns the following symbolism to the colors of the Texas flag: blue stands for loyalty, white for purity, and red for bravery. The code also states that single (lone) star "represents all of Texas and stands for our unity as one for God, State, and Country." The "lone star" is, in fact, an older symbol predating the flag which was used to symbolize Texans' solidarity in declaring independence from Mexico.  It is still seen today as a symbol of Texas' independent spirit, and gave rise to the state's official nickname "The Lone Star State".  The idea of the single red stripe and single white stripe actually dates back to the short-lived Republic of Fredonia,  a small state near modern Nacogdoches which seceded from Mexico in 1826 before being forcibly re-integrated. The new state was formed through an alliance between local Anglo settlers and Native American tribes and the Fredonian flag used a white and red to symbolize the two ethnic groups from which the state was formed.

The flag of the State of Oklahoma consists of a traditional Osage Nation buffalo-skin shield with seven eagle feathers on a sky blue field. The Osage shield is covered by two symbols of peace: the calumet representing Native Americans, and the olive branch representing European Americans. Six golden brown crosses, Native American symbols for stars, are spaced on the shield. The blue field represents the first official flag flown by any Native American Nation, the Choctaw flag. The blue field also represents devotion. The shield surmounted by the calumet and olive branch represents defensive or protective warfare, showing a love of peace by a united people.