In the early 1940s, Herbert and Iva Cole moved their large family to Wasco, California, where the poor crowded into camps consisting of thin plywood shacks originally designed to house a few Mexican immigrants for the spring and summer months. But it was the Great Depression, and there was work in Wasco, so families like the Coles came en masse; they ended up living there for years. Glorified Chicken Coops, its title evoking the living conditions of that period, tells the story of the hard-scrabble existence that led up to the experience in the camp, as well as the family's eventual escape to their own house in Southern California in 1952.
An uncommonly accessible and entertaining family history, Glorified Chicken Coops is packed with extensively researched anecdotes and vignettes that describe not only the travails of one lineage that struggled against all odds to make it, but also this country's most formative years. Through it all is a compelling cast of characters weaved through an often humorous narrative that stretches from the backwoods of Oklahoma to the valleys of California. Glorified Chicken Coops merges historical research with engaging storytelling, shedding light on a period of American life that built this country's character while showing how a couple of backwoods "Okies" with little education but a lot of pluck learned to survive.
This is the story of the Herbert Cole family; being born just backwoods Okies, they lived the hunter-gatherer life during the difficult time of the depression.
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About Tanya I. Cole
Tanya Irene Cole began documenting her family’s history after she began caring for her mother in 2003, when story after story about “the good old days” came pouring out. Cole, who was raised in California’s fertile San Joaquin Valley, immediately recognized their importance and began recording them for posterity. The youngest of eight children, Cole conducted extensive interviews with remaining family members for this book, making it a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the Great Depression and the recovery years from one family’s perspective.
In the early 1940s, Herbert and Iva Cole moved their large family to Wasco, California, where the poor crowded into camps consisting of thin plywood shacks originally designed to house a few Mexican immigrants for the spring and summer months. But it was the Great Depression, and there was work in Wasco, so families like the Coles came en masse; they ended up living there for years. Glorified Chicken Coops, its title evoking the living conditions of that period, tells the story of the hard-scrabble existence that led up to the experience in the camp, as well as the family's eventual escape to their own house in Southern California in 1952.
Tanya Irene Cole began documenting her family’s history after she began caring for her mother in 2003, when story after story about “the good old days” came pouring out. Cole, who was raised in California’s fertile San Joaquin Valley, immediately recognized their importance and began recording them for posterity. The youngest of eight children, Cole conducted extensive interviews with remaining family members for this book, making it a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the Great Depression and the recovery years from one family’s perspective.