The Oklahoma Panhandle
a three-county region located in northwestern Oklahoma that is named for its resemblance to the handle of a pan
The Great Depression / The Depression
lasting from 1929 to 1939, a worldwide economic slowdown that led to mass unemployment, plummeting prices, and the halting of most construction
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
established by the US Congress in 1933, a New Deal work relief program that lasted for nine years and employed millions of young men to plant trees and build shelters and trails in more than eight hundred national parks
Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)
alongside the CCC, a federal work program established in 1933 that gave more than 20 million people jobs
The Dust Bowl
area of Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas where windstorms caused severe soil erosion in the early 1930s, thus destroying farmers' crops and forcing people to migrate
schoolhouse
building, usually comprising one large room, used as a school in a village or small town
simmering
in a state of suppressed excitement or anger
kerosene
fuel oil made from distilled petroleum, used domestically in lamps and heaters
F.D.R.
nickname of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was U.S. President from 1933 to 1945 and whose New Deal programs helped bring the country out of the Great Depression
sorghum
cereal grain widely cultivated for livestock feed, sweetener, and alcohol
New Deal
economic measures (including a wide-reaching public works program and the granting of loans) that FDR introduced in 1933 to mitigate the widespread unemployment brought about by the Great Depression
locomotive
vehicle used for pulling train cars
Cimarron County
westernmost county in Oklahoma and one of three Oklahoma Panhandle counties
shale
soft sedimentary rock formed from layers of clay or mud
crank phone
early consumer telephone that required the user to turn an electrified magnetic crank to alert the attention of the operator
holler
loud shout or cry
scowl
frown in an angry or resentful manner
mule
animal born to a male donkey and female horse typically used for carrying loads
rile
make someone irritated
Warm Springs
resort in northwestern Georgia where FDR sought relief from his polio and later established a polio treatment center
