On April 22, 1935, West Texans were still feeling the effects of the “black blizzard” that struck without warning the previous week blotting out the sun and causing every living creature to gasp for breath.

Drought, overgrazing and outdated farming methods stripped much of the Great Plains of the ground cover needed to keep rich topsoil in place. The inevitable result was the “Dust Bowl,” a 50-million acre desert centered
in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles and encompassin...