SEGMENT: FARMING DURING GREAT DEPRESSION & ENVIRONMENT
Michael Scully>LPL Interviews N-Z>LPL Interviews K-Z, Segment 8
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- FARMING DURING GREAT DEPRESSION
- Father lived abroad, rents were high during Depression. No permanent damage to business. Rents were lower than elsewhere, even until recently. Recent policy to have an average rent. In grandfather's time, tenants were responsible for and owned anything above ground. Tenants do have title to land. Rationale is that they do not have other prosperous businesses, so keep the fortune in land. Oil gets depleted, but land continues. The prairie is a natural resource. The depth of black soil was 21 inches, on top of yellow clay.
- ENVIRONMENT
- Logan County very wet. Drained it. Compared it to North Dakota lands in wheat. Grandfather started drainage system in the 1850s. Trained Mr. Sims and crew (photos). They dug the system over forty years over thirty thousand acres. Ditches and graduating tiles. Very expensive but made farm successful. Got some of the richest land anywhere. 92 per cent is A-Class land.
