During the Dust Bowl migration more than one million people left their homes and set out for California. The Weedpatch Camp near Lamont, became a safe place for them to live. Many of those folks who once called the camp home returned.
To understand the Sullivan's, there's one thing you need to know about the place they grew up. Jim Sullivan came to Kern County in 1939. "This was heaven compared to what we were used to, you had a chance here." And where they survived.
Joyce Carpenter lived at the Weedpatch Camp. "It was better then we ever had, we had a bathroom, we had running water it was in the center, we enjoyed it."
Home for the Sullivans was a small school on the outskirts of Lamont, a place shared by thousands of families who migrated from Oklahoma in search of a better life. They, along with hundreds turned out for the Dust Bowl Festival near Lamont to tell stories, and keep history alive. Ray Rush, survived the dust bowl. "I've done so much better then I dreamed I would, when I was young I never dreamed I would own my own home, I figured I would do like my dad, go to place from place and work."
Over the years this festival has evolved to different locations, now resting at Sunset Middle school, the very school started to educate the children who came here. Doris Weddell, co-chair, dust bowl committee. "It really is an awesome experience to spend time at the camp."
Vivian Tucker first introduced us to Doris Weddell in 2005. "It took us years and years to get to this point." Since then Weddell has made it her mission to restore old buildings at the Weedpatch Camp.
The buildings were once featured in the Hollywood film, "The Grapes of Wrath." "I have been really lucky to meet a lot of wonderful people through this work, it has taken over my life I retired early, I have been doing this work almost full time." A job that come has come full circle, and one that continues today.
And just as the Weedpatch Camp became part of Hollywood history so many years ago. According to Movie Insider dot com, producers are scouting locations for a new film based on the children of the dust bowl and it could be filmed right here in Kern County.
