The Great Depression took a toll on many South Dakota families, and generations later, some are still sharing stories of endurance. An author recently published a book documenting her family’s experience and the lasting effects.
“I grew up on stories of how my family and the neighbors had managed to endure the 1930’s—those dreadful years of drought and depression. For ten long years, the lowest proportions of normal precipitation were observed in five states, one of which was South Dakota.”
Barbara Hoffbeck-Scoblic’s reads a section from her book, ‘Lost Without the River’. She grew up in Northeastern South Dakota and the Whetstone River ran through her family’s property—The Hoffbeck Farm. Scoblic’s work documents her time on the farm and her family’s stories of surviving the Great Depression. She says she wrote the story for the younger generation of her family.
“My father was a difficult man in many ways and I wanted them to know how hard his life had been. He and my mother has survived this just continuing to work hard. But without ever becoming bitter. They never were bitter about the hardships that they endured. That’s what kept me going in my writing was just trying to tell that story.”
Scoblic is one of seven siblings, and also includes their story lines in the book. She moved to a metropolitan area when she was older because didn’t want to earn a living that was dependant on the weather.
“None of us stayed on the farm. None of us stayed in South Dakota. It was actually part of the Rural Exodus. I didn't look at it that way when I was writing the book but that’s been pointed out to me—how the farms just couldn't support another generation and how the larger agricultural companies came in and the farms were combined.”
Scoblic says it was common for children in her generation to move to metropolitan areas, and her story is just one many.