Enormous Dust Storms Traveled All the Way to the East Coast

Beyond the endless rows of parched farmland, the starkest visual indication of an ecological system gone awry was the series of dust storms that swept across the Great Plains for much of the 1930s. The frequency of storms increased as the decade progressed, going from 14 in 1932 to a peak of 72 in 1937. 

While some of these were milder and more localized "sand blows," others were enormous "black blizzards" that wiped out visibility altogether as they ripped across several states. One such tempest, which commenced in the Northern Great Plains on May 11, 1934, carried an estimated 350 million tons of silt all the way to the Eastern Seaboard, with ships a few hundred miles offshore even noting the accumulation of dust on their decks. But the most notorious of the storms was the one that roared south from the Oklahoma Panhandle at winds reaching 60 mph on April 14, 1935. The event came to be known as "Black Sunday" and yielded the first known use of the term "Dust Bowl" in newspapers.

Migrant “Okies” Faced Discrimination 

Unsurprisingly, the unforgiving conditions prompted many residents of the Dust Bowl's hardest-hit regions to uproot their families in search of better pastures farther west. Approximately 2.5 million people moved from their Great Plains homes throughout the 1930s, with the notable share of Oklahomans giving rise to the pejorative nickname of "Okies" for any migrants who departed the desolate Midwest. 

The 200,000 or so migrants who journeyed to California found no immediate improvement to living conditions; those who sought to eke out a living picking fruit in the San Joaquin Valley often were forced to live amid unsanitary conditions in tents and shantytowns, while those who ventured south to Los Angeles were for a time turned away by the LAPD's "bum brigade." 

Although later research showed that the population decrease of the Dust Bowl states reflected both the continuation of post-World War I migratory trends and the lack of new arrivals to the area, there's no doubt that Dust Bowl migrants marked a distinct subset of Americans who struggled during the Depression era.

FDR Launched an Array of Programs To Aid Farmers

As part of the sweeping legislation passed under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, the federal government enacted a series of programs geared toward farmers ravaged by the Dust Bowl. The Emergency Farm Mortgage Act and Farm Credit Act in 1933 allowed recipients to refinance their loans and access new lines of credit, while the Farm Security Administration of 1937 offered educational opportunities and health care plans for participants. 

Other programs sought to undo some of the environmental issues at play. The Soil Erosion Service, which became the Soil Conservation Service in 1935, provided instruction on sound farming techniques such as crop rotation, and awarded subsidies for farmers to leave certain areas idle to let the land recover. Then there was the massive Shelterbelt Project, which tapped unemployed laborers to plant more than 220 million trees across a 1,300-mile row from Texas to Canada in an attempt to block winds from whipping up the dreaded dust storms.

The Dust Bowl Produced Some of the Most Enduring Art of the Century

As human suffering can be a catalyst for creativity, it's not surprising that some of the most powerful American art of the 20th century emerged from the Dust Bowl years. Photographer Dorothea Lange showcased the toll of hard living on her subjects, as exemplified by her famed "Migrant Mother" portrait from 1936. Painter Alexandre Hogue supplied his "psychorealistic" view of the era, with works highlighting the desolate landscapes and emaciated cattle of the Great Plains. Author John Steinbeck captured the desperation of the displaced Joad family in his 1939 masterpiece The Grapes of Wrath. And folk singer Woody Guthrie, who endured Black Sunday from his north Texas home and actually lived the life of the migrant "Okie," relayed the heartache of those lean years with his first commercial album, 1940's Dust Bowl Ballads.

Talking Pictures

The 1927 film The Jazz Singer is known as the first film to introduce the sound of spoken dialogue to motion pictures — albeit only in a short passage. In 1928, The Lights of New York became the first feature-length film to include sound for all its dialogue. It was billed at the time as an “all talking picture,” and cemented Hollywood’s shift away from silent films to “talkies.” 

Clara Bow became one of the biggest stars of 1920s cinema after starring in the 1927 silent film It, which was so popular, the term “it girl” entered the lexicon. She also starred in 1927’s Wings, which won the first Academy Award for Best Picture. This photo is a production still from her first foray into talking pictures in The Wild Party. The image captures Bow’s flapper sass as she reacts to her co-star (and cousin) William Bow’s singing. While the transition to talking films infamously ended the careers of many silent-era stars, Clara Bow was able to persist into the talking era, though her rigorous schedule and the persistent celebrity gossip around the star led to her retirement from film by 1933.                                                                                                                                                

The Charleston

The Charleston gained popularity in the 1923 Broadway show Runnin’ Wild, a revue of Black music written by composers James P. Johnson and Cecil Mack. The dance became such a phenomenon that it’s nearly synonymous with the Roaring ’20s, and it spurred a dance competition fad that often took the form of dance marathons. While it’s unclear if this photo depicts a marathon, the dancers here are participating in some form of Charleston dance contest.

Speakeasies

The hidden bars of the 1920s, known as “speakeasies,” were an unintended consequence of Prohibition, as the illicit businesses served a demand for alcohol that couldn’t be legislated away. By the end of the 1920s, New York City Police Commissioner Grover Whalen claimed there were 32,000 speakeasies operating in that city alone. 

In this photo, we see a group entering a Washington, D.C., speakeasy, the Krazy Kat Klub, which was opened by artist Cleon Throckmorton and located on the second floor of a stable. At far right, wearing a hat, is Throckmorton himself. At far left is his wife, Kathrine Mullen (also spelled Kathryn Mullin), glancing at the camera.

The Jazz Age

The energetic, improvised hot jazz that emerged in New Orleans during the 1920s quickly spread to New York and Chicago, as artists such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, King Oliver, and Jelly Roll Morton developed the genre to such a point of popularity that another nickname for the 1920s is the “Jazz Age.” The wild abandon of jazz matched the zeitgeist of the time, and this photo of the St. Louis Cotton Club Band provides a visual expression. Note the difference in instrumentation from later eras of jazz: The tuba and banjo at the far left were later replaced by double bass and guitar, respectively. 

The Assembly Line

In 1913, industrialist Henry Ford’s moving assembly line — a refinement of the stationary assembly line pioneered by automotive pioneer Ransom Olds — enabled larger-scale production of automobiles, and by the 1920s, approximately 8 million Americans owned a car. By the end of the 1920s, that number had spiked to 23 million. In this photo, we see an assembly line at Ford’s Dearborn, Michigan plant, circa 1928. The workers are manufacturing the new Model A, Ford’s replacement for the Model T it had been selling for nearly 20 years. 

Milkman

Having fresh milk delivered to your doorstep was once a common part of American life. The local milkman made daily or weekly rounds, leaving glass bottles on doorsteps and retrieving empty ones. This service was necessary before the widespread adoption of home refrigeration, as fresh dairy products spoiled quickly. In the 1950s, more than half of consumer milk sales came from home delivery services. However, the rise of supermarkets and improved refrigeration technology made milk delivery nearly obsolete.

By 1975, home-delivered milk accounted for only about 7% of total milk sales, and by 2005, this number had dwindled to just 0.4%. While some niche companies still offer home delivery today, the classic image of a uniformed milkman carrying a metal crate is now a symbol of a bygone era.

Elevator Operator

In the mid-20th century, elevator operators were essential for manually controlling elevators in department stores, office buildings, and hotels. At its peak, the profession employed more than 90,000 workers in the U.S., responsible for operating controls, greeting passengers, and ensuring smooth rides. 

While automated elevators existed as early as 1900, widespread adoption was slow due to public hesitation. A major shift occurred after a 1945 elevator operators strike in New York City proved self-service elevators were viable. In 1950, only 12.6% of new elevator installations were automated, but this figure surged to more than 90% by 1959.

Today, elevator operators are almost nonexistent, with the role no longer tracked in labor statistics. In fact, out of 270 occupations listed on the U.S. Census in 1950, elevator operator is the only one that’s since been completely automated. However, a few historic buildings, particularly in New York City, still employ operators for nostalgia or specialized service.

Typist

Secretarial jobs such as stenographers and typists became essential during the Industrial Revolution, as businesses generated more paperwork than ever before. By the early 20th century, clerical work was a predominantly female profession, as companies could pay women lower wages for administrative tasks due to the gender discrimination at the time. Secretarial schools provided professional training, allowing many women to enter the field without a full college education.

By 1950, secretarial work had become the most common occupation for women, with 1.7 million employed as stenographers, typists, or secretaries, according to census data. However, the introduction of computers, word processing software, and voice recognition technology gradually reduced the need for dedicated typists. While secretarial roles still exist today, the number of workers specifically categorized as "word processors and typists" declined to 37,200 by 2023.

Motion Picture Projectionist

Motion picture projectionists played a vital role in the moviegoing experience in the 1950s, operating and maintaining film projectors in theaters. Their work was labor-intensive, involving tasks such as film changeovers, managing carbon arc lamps, and handling nitrate film, which required a lot of manpower. But the demand for traditional film projectionists dramatically declined with the rise of digital projection technology. By 2013, an estimated 92% of movie theaters in the United States had made the switch to digital projection.

In 1950, more than 26,000 people were employed as motion picture projectionists. By 2023, that number had fallen to just 2,610, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This drastic reduction is largely due to the automation brought about by digital projection, which has replaced the need for manual operation and maintenance of film projectors.

Gas Station Attendant

Full-service gas stations were the standard in the 1950s, with attendants providing services such as pumping gas, checking oil levels, cleaning windshields, and inspecting tire pressure. The first self-service gas station in the U.S. opened in 1947 in Los Angeles, but the concept didn't gain widespread acceptance until the 1970s.

Several factors contributed to the shift toward self-service stations. Rising labor costs made it more expensive for station owners to employ attendants, prompting many to adopt self-service pumps to reduce expenses. Technological advancements also improved the safety and ease of self-service fueling, increasing consumer acceptance. 

The 1973 oil crisis, which led to soaring gas prices, further accelerated this transition as both businesses and consumers sought cost-saving measures. Today, New Jersey remains the only state that prohibits drivers from pumping their own gas, maintaining a full-service mandate.

Imbibing on the Job

As depicted in the hit TV series Mad Men, it was common to see well-stocked bar carts or bottles of spirits tucked into desk drawers in the 1960s. It was also common for executives at big-city advertising agencies and corporate firms to head to nearby bars for what became known as a “three martini lunch.” After a leisurely, booze-soaked break, the execs would put in a little more time at the office before heading back to the bar with co-workers for more cocktails after work.

Formal Attire

After World War II, many women started to incorporate more leisurely attire, such as pants, into their day-to-day wardrobe. But in the workplace, dresses and skirts — with stockings — were still preferred in the 1960s. Men dressed in suits and ties, but the silhouette became sleeker as bulky, sloped shoulders went out of style. Despite the decade’s fashion formalities, the idea of “casual Friday” also has its roots in the 1960s workplace. In Hawaii, the president of the Hawaiian Fashion Guild encouraged state politicians to wear Hawaiian shirts to work as a way to promote the local garment industry. The “Aloha Friday” trend had taken off in the state by the late 1960s, but trickled into the U.S. mainland more slowly, gaining widespread adoption in the 1990s.

Office Hierarchy

Workplaces in the 1960s adhered to formal hierarchies. There were clear distinctions between management and employees — often physically, with managers in private offices and employees in rooms where desks were placed side by side like a factory line. Communication was direct, usually in person, and people often used titles and surnames when addressing colleagues or superiors. In the early ’60s, cubicles were also introduced to office-based workplaces as a flexible “Action Office” concept designed by Herman Miller. It was a major departure from the traditional office layout, giving employees a more personalized experience.