John Steinbeck’s famous novel, The Grapes of Wrath, tells the story of the hard times endured by farm families who moved to the San Joaquin Valley from America’s Southern Plains states during the 1930s at the height of the Depression. They had endured an eight-year-long drought in that part of the country which left millions of acres of once-fertile farmland barren. As the constant winds blew away the dry topsoil, dust storms became so violent that it was impossible to see, let alone breathe. Everything was covered in a thick layer of grit. Water pumps and wells dried up, making living conditions unbearable. The only thing these farmers could do was leave. Tens of thousands of “refugees” from the “Dust Bowl” states moved to California’s fertile Central Valley in search of work. Based on real events, Steinbeck’s novel describes fictionalized accounts of the difficulties faced by the “Okies and Arkies (the Dust Bowl immigrants from Oklahoma and Arkansas) when they came to the San Joaquin Valley by the thousands.
Decades later many of the “Dust Bowl people” and their children were still living in the valley. Members of the Kern County Historical Society wanted to honor their struggle, as well as the impact that Steinbeck’s book had on the world. Writing to John Steinbeck, they asked his permission to place a historical monument on a hill near the town of Arvin. It was from this hill that the main characters in the Grapes of Wrath, the fictitious Joad family, first looked down on the San Joaquin Valley. The author not only gave his permission but applauded the idea.
With Steinbeck’s blessing, the next step for the Historical Society was to approach the “Dust Bowlers” families. Much to everyone’s surprise, these people didn’t want any markers to remind them of their suffering. After all, they were survivors, and as such, they didn’t want to look back at those trying years.
Without their support, the project shriveled on the vine. The historical marker was never constructed, and the hill near Arvin remains a great vantage point where passersby can view the vast San Joaquin Valley.
THE STEINBECK MUSEUM
The proposed statue of Steinbeck may have been scrapped, but an amazing museum honoring the author and his works was constructed in Salinas. The National Steinbeck Center is a museum and cultural center that not only pays tributes to Steinbeck, it highlights his desire to share the stories of the hardships facing working-class residents of the San Joaquin Valley. Many of his books, including East of Eden, were set in the Salinas area, where Steinbeck was born and raised. And many of his novels were made into movies, cementing the important history of the Salinas Valley.
The boyhood home in which John Steinbeck was born in 1902 isn’t far from the Steinbeck Center. The old Queen Anne Victorian was renovated, and a gift shop was added in the basement to raise funds to help keep the beautiful house open. Volunteers cook and serve lunch to visitors in the beautifully restored rooms on the main floor.
After years of controversies and having his books banned in numerous places in the United States, John Steinbeck’s legacy as one of the greatest writers in history is now secure. Yet, The Grapes of Wrath and several other famous Steinbeck novels have been banned in numerous states. Americans need to read these books, reminders of the hardships their ancestors suffered and how they overcame poverty and despair. Perhaps it’s time to have a statue or historical marker made to place upon that hill near Arvin. And for anyone traveling through the Salinas region of California, be sure to visit the museum and, perhaps, have lunch at the author’s former home.
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr., native son of the San Joaquin Valley who had received countless awards, including the Pulitzer and the Nobel Prize in Literature, died in 1968 at the age of 66. He was buried in his family’s plot at the Garden of Memories Cemetery in Salinas.
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