October 4, 1929

My name is Sarah Hopkins. I am seven years old and live in Cimmaron County, Oklahoma. Many consider this area to be pretty dull, but to me, it is home to all 6 members of my family. My dad's name is Sam. He is a very successful farmer and sells crops of many kinds. Sometimes he lets me plant the seeds if the soil is right. My mom, Beatrice, stays at home most of the time and often cleans up the messes my idiot brother makes. Joe is 11 years old. I also have two sisters named Jenna and Samantha. Jenna is 5 years old and is the quiet one in the family. Me and her get along just fine. Oh, and I can't forget my dog, Lucky! That's Joe playing with him.

October 16, 1929

It's been really dusty lately. I think we're about to get a storm, but i've never seen it this bad before. The sky is gloomy and i haven't seen a bird in what feels like days. Anyways, we bought a new radio today! Dad says that this new credit system is very helpful!

October 24, 1929

Today mom and dad were really stressed. I could tell because they started yelling at each other again. They didn't tell us much about it, but i overheard them saying we might have to move. Maybe it's because of all the bad weather we're having. It usually never gets this dusty, but mamma said that it will pass soon.

October 25, 1929

I was right! Mamma said that we were going to move all the way to California! I'm scared to leave home because i like our farm, but mamma said my room is going to way bigger than the one i have right now. The storm has gotten worse and now I'm positive that is the reason we're leaving. It's hard to breathe outside with all of the dust and it's super dark outside. I don't even remember what the sun looks like! I hope the weather is better in California. I also hope i make new friends out there!

October 27, 1929

California sucks, big time! I can't play outside because mamma said it's "too dangerous". We don't even have a backyard! Dad can't grow his own food anymore, so all we get are the cheap canned foods like peas and corn. Yuck! People are mean here too. Mamma's constantly got the radio on. She says that the outside world has gone mad over money! On top of that, she's making me start homeschooling while dad is in college. I wish we still lived in Oklahoma.

October 29, 1929

Dad dropped out of college today. He said that we don't have enough money to pay for it, which is weird because we had tons of money from the farm. He mentioned something about a stock market crash, whatever that means. He said until the stock market is back up, mamma isn't allowed to spend a lot of money. They sat down and started to put budgets on certain things. I guess ill be stuck with canned foods for a while.

October 30, 1930

Momma said that we can't go trick or treating this year because it's too dangerous outside, which is really sad because we always went trick or treating in Oklahoma! But it's okay, she said once the stock market is back up and we can make a little more money, that she'll buy us a whole bucket of candy. Anyways, we had a new family move in to our apartment today! I have to share my room with them, but that's okay because i made a new friend! Her name is Rose, and shes 10. She's really nice and her family is too. She said that her family can't pay for her house anymore. She also said her dad lost his job because he's colored, which doesn't make any sense because mamma always told me that a person is a person, no matter what they look like

This is me and Rose!