[Leica] Panhandle: A final view of the old home near Wayside

[jeffmatsler at amaonline.com (Jeff S. Matsler)]

Interesting you mentioned the Dust Bowl, Phillipe.

This is one of the places people fled "to" during the drought.  Imagine what 
it must have looked like in Oklahoma!

Jeff M

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jeff S. Matsler" <jeffmatsler@amaonline.com>
To: "Leica Users Group" <lug@leica-users.org>
Sent: Saturday, April 07, 2007 11:57 AM
Subject: Re: [Leica] Panhandle: A final view of the old home near Wayside


> Hi Phillipe,
>
> The Texas Plains have never been fully occupied.  In the past, there 
> wasn't enough water to sustain life or crops in big numbers.  Only with 
> the advance of new technologies are the "gaps" being filled in - people 
> are moving here in numbers unsustainable even 50 years ago - and fewer 
> farmers are planting more sections (square miles) of crops than ever 
> before possible.
>
> Some of the people here are saddened by this, but it is bringing the 
> countryside into the 21st century - somewhere I can testify they are 
> indeed NOT at the moment.  The town I live in is culturally 30 years 
> behind the nearest "cities" and probably further than that behind Houston, 
> Dallas, LA, NYC, etc.  Interestingly that factor draws a certain type of 
> resident from the city to the town (sort of like Green Acres).  These 
> people raise their children in a much more controlled environment, with 
> fewer outside influences.  The crux is that once too many of these types 
> move into a small community, it ceases to be a small community and becomes 
> a bedroom community or a suburb, depending on how close it is to the 
> growth from the nearest city.  Many of these "desolate" geographies that 
> Bill is showing us are now suburbs of Amarillo.  Others, like the house at 
> Wayside, fell down years ago (if it's the house I think it is - that's one 
> of my favorite drives in search of photos, between Hwy 207 and I-27, only 
> problem is that every year another old farmhouse falls down or is torn 
> down).
>
> So, Bill's pictures are more than just art, they are works of history. 
> This is why I've suggested he contact one of the larger museums in the 
> region to see if they'll sponsor a showing and perhaps a book.  These are 
> very important images of a time that is either gone, or going.
>
> Jeff M
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Philippe Orlent" <philippe.orlent@pandora.be>
> To: "Leica Users Group" <lug@leica-users.org>
> Sent: Saturday, April 07, 2007 11:42 AM
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Panhandle: A final view of the old home near Wayside
>
>
>> It is a impressive series. But this huge land desertion, where did it 
>> come from? Still signs of the Dust Bowl?
>> Philippe
>
>
>
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