Giant Eddy Encircles Whole Western Sky
By Rob Carrigan, robcarrigan1@gmail.com
The whole decade was known as the "Dark Decade" and the "Dirty Thirties" but April, 1935, was devastatingly problematic for many Coloradans when a "whirlwind nearly 1,000 miles-wide cast a pall of dust over the state." As the headlines of Denver Post noted, "Giant Eddy Encircles Whole Western Sky, with State in the Center," and "Lights Go On in Mid-Day Darkness." Along with dust "Drifts Nine Feet High Piled Up By Wind On Road Near Durango."
"Denver and the entire eastern half of the state Tuesday were in the calm, dust-laden center of gigantic whirlwind nearly a thousand miles in diameter," wrote The Post's Gene Lindberg on April 9, 1935.
"Never before in the history of the west, according to weather bureau records here, has such and immense blanket of dust been cast over the region," Lindberg said.
On April 14, 1935, a “black duster” overtook Robert E. Geiger, a reporter for the Washington (DC) Evening Star, and photographer Harry G. Eisenhard six miles from Boise City, Oklahoma. Geiger coined the term Dust Bowl when he used it in a subsequent article for the Lubbock (TX) Evening Journal. The Dust Bowl encompassed the entire Great Plains, stretching from southwestern Kansas into southeastern Colorado, northeastern New Mexico, and the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas.
Although Baca County in Colorado experienced the brunt of the Dust Bowl, dust storms occurred as far north as Burlington in Kit Carson County and Julesburg in Sedgwick County. Las Animas and Prowers counties were especially hard hit. Dust covered roads and made them impassable, suffocated livestock, destroyed crops, and laid ruin to the livelihoods of thousands of eastern Coloradans.
"During the Dust Bowl, Colorado’s plains also suffered from
grasshopper infestations. Grasshoppers thrived in the desiccated prairie
soils and first descended upon Colorado in 1934. In 1937 and 1938,
swarms of the insects almost blacked out the sun as they consumed entire
fields of barley, wheat, and alfalfa. The federal government sent
employees from the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Soil Conservation Service
(SCS) to eradicate the pests by poisoning them," according to History Colorado's Colorado Encyclopedia.
"Although some families endured, many residents found it impossible to support themselves and ended up migrating to places like California and Oregon. Baca County, for example, lost 4,363 residents during the 1930s."
On April 15, 1935, Clyde Byers from Post wrote, "Another blinding dustorm boiled over parts five states like a scourge Monday. It affected all of southern Colorado from the eastern to the western boundaries, and inflicted heavy damage and real suffering in parts of New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Dust drifts nine feet high were blown up near Durango, Colo."
"Alarmed by the situation, officials in Washington put machinery of seven government departments in high gear to alleviate the distress and push programs designed to prevent recurrence of the stifling storms. Twenty thousand civilian conservation corps enrollees are to be sent into to the stricken area to work on the latter programs and relief activities are to be broadened," said Byers.
He also reported problem with machinery like airplanes and autos in the path of the storm.
"Pilots flying into Denver municipal airport that they could not see the administration building from an altitude of 100 feet. A Wyoming Air Service plane, which left Pueblo for Denver during the afternoon was forced to turn back."
"The storm generated sufficient static electricity to cripple automobile ignition systems and scores of motorist were temporarily stranded because the static was so intense. When the storm abated, they found they could start their engines again. At the height of the storm, motorist said, they received distinct electrical shocks when they touched the door handles and similar attachments on their cars. Motorist made it a practice to drag wires and chains to ground the static and prevent short circuits."
"This static is blamed by agriculturalists and weather experts for helping kill sprouting wheat thruout the drouth and dust area. Fields of wheat sprouts are seared and shriveled from the combined effects of static electricity and the lack of moisture," said Byers in The Post.
"There were reports that jack rabbits have been electrocuted. Many of the pests have perished, but no one has conducted autopsies to determine the cause. They might have eaten too much dust. That has caused death of livestock in Western Kansas."
(Templeton Gap Camp, drainage, private land, erosion)
Creator: Newman, Almeron, 1875-1946
Date; Apr 17, 1935
Exterior panoramic photograph showing a bird's eye view of a civilian conservation corps (CCC) camp located four miles northeast of downtown Colorado Springs. The camp was named Templeton Gap Camp, but was also known as Fountain Camp. It was likely run by the U.S. Forest Service and operated from 1934 to 1938. CCC camps, also known as "drought relief camps" were created after the Dust Bowl. The members of this camp built canals, ditches, and dams. They also planted vegetation and terraced land in efforts to improve and preserve soil retention. The camp was designated as both DPE-201-C and SCS-6-C; DPE stands for "drainage private land erosion" and SCS stands for "soil control service."
Original Material Found in Collection C Photo Collection 522. Western history digital photograph collection
Digital Version Created From; C Photo Collection 522, OV Box 1
Notes; Condition: Tear in lop left corner and several along edges. Stain on bottom right. Text on front of photograph reads: "Templeton Gap Camp DPE-201-C, Colorado Springs, Colo.; Fred M. Sperry, 1st Lt. Cav. Res., commanding; Lawrence E. Carpenter, 1st Lt. Eng. Res., second in command; A. Newman Photo Co. Silver City, N.M. #2." Information provided by seller: "Almeron Newman (1875-1964) was a military photographer who primarily produced panoramic images and traveled throghout the southwest. He served as the Director of Photography for the U.S. Government at Lowery Field during WWII, and worked out of Colorado, New Mexico and the Arizona Territory." Denver Public Library Special Collections.
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