Sunday, October 14, 2012


Mark Forry

English 1110.03 M W 1:15pm to 3:15pm

Michael Lohre

10/15/12

Exploration Seven
            I researched the Weedpatch camp where the Joads camped.  The Weedpatch camp was created by the FSA or Farm Security Administration. This camp is where many of the “Okies” stayed, or wanted to stay because, just as in the book, once they got into California, everyone, including the police, treated them very poorly. These camps were police free, which allowed them to not have to worry. They also had sanitation, running hot and cold water, showers and laundry facilities. It cost the families a dollar a week to stay there, but they let them do work around the camp to pay for it if they could not afford it. John Steinbeck did a good job portraying the camp in the book, as i found many similarities with it and my research. In these camps, they made their own governments and policies, much like villages do nowadays. They had a nursery and clinic and church on Sundays for those that wanted to attend. They also eventually had their own school for all of the children. This was probably caused by all of the bullying that was happening to the camp children because of how they dressed and how they were living, although they did not have a choice. Weedpatch was its own community, which allowed them to feel safe and generate money for themselves. The Weedpatch camp is still in existence today. It still houses migrant workers that need a little help. They are currently at work at restoring some of the buildings in the Weedpatch camp so that they can keep some of the history of the camp there. This camp is important to me because it shows me that the United States still cares about its migrant works and that if they ever need help, we are there to give it.

                                              This is a picture of the Weedpatch camp from the thirty’s. Other than a few camp buildings, most everyone was living in tents with their families.
I listed the sites that I did my research from below.
http://www.weedpatchcamp.com/History/history.htm
http://www.weedpatchcamp.com/Life%20in%20Camp/life.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weedpatch_Camp

                                       

4 comments:

  1. I definitely agree that Steinbeck's description of the Weedpatch camp seems to be very authentic. He has a way of making you feel as if you are actually there. Great Research.

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  2. Excellent description and a lot of great information. and I definitely agree Steinbeck nailed his description of these camps perfectly.

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  3. Very impressive, it helps so much to visualize where they lived now that I can see it with my own eyes. I'm also impressed that it is still in business to this day! This also makes me appreciate that author's accuracy in describing real places to the reader. Thank you for your time! Much appreciated!

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  4. In times of great despair it’s nice to think about the unreported figures in history that developed a nice place for migrant families to live. In my book these people are considered heroes.

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