The effects of the drought are shown in this 1980 photo.
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's shoes (foreground) and those of Secretary Benson's stir dust in Carl Peoples' sparse wheat field near Woodward during a 1957 visit to Oklahoma. STAFF PHOTO BY RICHARD COBB, THE OKLAHOMAN
PHOTO COMPOSITE-TWO PHOTOS: Cracked earth is only one sign of the drought conditions, aggravated by a prolonged dry spell, which spread throughout southwestern Oklahoma and the Panhandle in 1970. Fence posts stand in parched fields. STAFF PHOTOS BY PAUL LONG, THE OKLAHOMAN
Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower is shown with an entourage during a 1957 state visit. STAFF PHOTO BY RICHARD COBB, THE OKLAHOMAN
A relentless sun bears down upon drought-ridden southwest Oklahoma. A windmill surrounded by lifeless weed stalks and framed by sunrays produces a wild sort of beauty, perhaps the drought's only defense. STAFF PHOTO BY PAUL LONG, THE OKLAHOMAN (1970)
H.H. Bennett, Chief of the Soil Conservation Service and member of President Roosevelt's Drought Commission, inspects a dust buried truck on an abandoned farm near Guymon in 1936. AP PHOTO
Arthur Rickets is shown kicking up dirt as he walks through a dry peanut field after the 1980 drought. STAFF PHOTO BY J. DON COOK, THE OKLAHOMAN
Drought-stricken farmers sit on the shady side of a Sallisaw street while their crops burn in the fields. - PHOTO BY DOROTHEA LANGE, 1936
