Times are tough right now, there’s no denying it. But are they as tough as they were during the Great Depression? Look through the following photos and decide for yourself. But one thing is for sure – no matter how hard it gets, Oklahomans always bounce back. From The Great Depression to catastrophic flooding to gigantic tornadoes to COVID-19, we are resilient to whatever comes our way.

Take a look back at these enduring photos (and their original captions)…

Family in front of shack home. Mays Avenue camp, Oklahoma City - 1939.
Lee Russell/Library of Congress LC-USF34-033896-D
Children of Mays Avenue camp pumping water from thirty-foot well which supplies about a dozen families. Oklahoma City, 1939.
Lee Russell/Library of Congress LC-USF34-033872-D
Poor mother and children during the Great Depression. Elm Grove, 1936.
Dorothea Langea/Wikmedia Commons
Hog pen and wallow adjacent to city dump. The man who owns the hogs rents land from the city and also has the privilege of feeding them from the city dump. Oklahoma City, 1939.
Lee Russell/Library of Congress LC-USF34-033871-D
Oklahoma children, 1936.
okpolicy.org

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Shack home of family living in community camp. Oklahoma City, 1939.
Lee Russell/Library of Congress LC-USF34-033844-D
Residents of camp near Mays Avenue. Oklahoma City, 1939.
Lee Russell/Library of Congress LC-USF34-033919-D
Child of large family sitting on bedding in shack home. Mays Avenue camp, Oklahoma City, 1939.
Lee Russell/Library of Congress LC-USF34-033939-D
A family in Muskogee is getting ready to leave for California to find work. They have packed as many of their belongings as they could.
okhistory.org
Son of a farmer in the dust bowl area, Cimarron County, 1936.
okhistory.org
This family built a temporary shelter in the May Avenue Camp. Camp residents used materials salvaged from the city dump to build many of their homes.
okhistory.org

If you have any old photos or stories to tell about living through the Great Depression, we’d love to hear about them. Share them in the comments section!

If you enjoy looking at old photos of Oklahoma, click here to see some of the oldest photos captured in the state.

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