Former Hudson teacher recalls Dust Bowl days

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Norma (Wubbels) Welty, former Hudson English teacher, will be signing copies of her award-winning book, “The Dirty Days,” a novel based on her life growing up in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, at Chapter2Books, 422 Second St., Nov. 20, 2-4 p.m.

Welty, 87, the winner of her publisher's Editor's Choice and Rising Star Awards, grew up in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl in the 1930s. At age 20 she moved to Baldwin and later taught English in both Baldwin and Hudson. Welty says she always knew she needed to write a book about what it was like growing up in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl during the Great Depression.

"I wrote my book because I needed to laud the courageous, persevering men, women and their children who didn't flee Oklahoma, but instead stuck it out through the 1930s debilitating dust storms and poverty," said Welty. "I wanted to go beyond simply telling about the courage and perseverance of the people in that time and place. I needed to show intimately the impact of those very difficult times in their day by day lives.”

Welty's novel, “The Dirty Days,” classified as historical fiction, takes the reader into the home, neighborhood, community and school life in order to show the impact of the period had on the human psyche. It's a book for both adults, male and female, as well as young adult readers and is narrated by a young girl as she grows up.

Welty's book was published June of 2012, and she says that it seemed uncanny when she learned shortly after her book was published that Ken Burns' two-part documentary on the Dust Bowl would be aired on PBS on Nov. 18 and 19 at 7 p.m. She will be signing copies of her book Nov. 20, the day after part two of the Burns documentary is shown.

After living most of her life in Baldwin, Welty currently lives in St. Paul.

For more information, see norma@normawelty.com, or email Norma at norma@normawelty.com.

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