StoryCorps Chicago: ‘People Thought The World Was Coming To An End’

Will White visited StoryCorps Chicago with his daughters Kiera Kelly Madden and Theresa White.
Will White visited StoryCorps Chicago with his daughters Kiera Kelly Madden and Theresa White. Courtesy of StoryCorps
Will White visited StoryCorps Chicago with his daughters Kiera Kelly Madden and Theresa White.
Will White visited StoryCorps Chicago with his daughters Kiera Kelly Madden and Theresa White. Courtesy of StoryCorps

StoryCorps Chicago: ‘People Thought The World Was Coming To An End’

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

When Will White was growing up, the sky often got dark in the middle of the day. His neighbors thought it was something biblical — the end of the world, perhaps.

White grew up in a small town in Texas during the Dust Bowl, a period in the 1930s when erosion and drought combined to create dramatic weather conditions throughout a large swath of the country. White grew up with no electricity and little contact with the world outside his family’s farm.

Earlier this year, White visited the StoryCorps booth at the Chicago Cultural Center with his daughters, Theresa White and Kiera Kelly Madden, to talk about what life was like during the Dust Bowl.

Bill Healy produces StoryCorps for WBEZ. Follow him @chicagoan.