Southeast Kansas Farm History Center Preserves Stories of Local Farm Life

Neosho County farmer John Diediker, reshocking wheat after the 1951 flood washed the shocks to the other end of the field.PARSONS, Kan. (AP) — Stories of southeast Kansas farm life during the Great Depression have been captured through an oral history project.  The Joplin Globe reports that researcher Pam Cress of the Southeast Kansas Farm History Centerhas spent two years collecting stories of 45 farm families. Interviews focused on farm practices, the social lives of farmers, and the impact that New Deal programs had on rural families. Today, the histories are available to anyone with an Internet connection. Besides audio files and written transcripts of each interview, the collection includes archived historical photographs. Axe Library at Pittsburg State University is serving as host to the collection. Funding for the project came from the Kansas Humanities Council.