My name is Norman Doarman and im 23 years old from Austin, Texas. I left when the depression hit because I wanted my parents to have enough money to feed my brothers and sisters. I started by getting on the rails with the other middle aged men, looking to avoid burdening their families. My parents only make about 30 dollars a month. They need every last bit of it, to my feed my siblings.
In the city, we saw the worst of it. There were Hovvervilles just about everywhere you looked. Women and children stayed in their shacks while ther husbands went out to look for work. They never came back with any. As I walked by buisnesses and banks, I saw out of buisness signs on most of them, they trusted banks with their money and this is what they got in return.
Riding into the rural area was a completely different situation. They werent having problems with food, but instead dust storms. I got there just in time of it ending to witness the aftermath. Dirt covered everything in the little towns, cattle died , and people got the dust in the lungs even if their nose and mouth were covered. The storms made it impossible for the farmers to grow any crop, uprooting it all and carrying it away.
At one of the stops I needed a place to sleep. so I stopped at one of the well known "hobo jungles". Most of the people were okay but some were completely savage. Commiting murder and stealing people hard earned money and their belongings was not an unusual occurrance. They did however, offer me a small meal and a place to sleep off of the ground.
I eventually went back to my home in Austin . The reason is because we were pulled out of the depression by the 2nd great war. Im getting ready to join the military and fight overseas. Not eveyone is completetly back to where they used to be however. My family still struggles for money but work is no longer a problem.