Worst duster came on April Sunday

The worst dust storm of all those in the “Dirty Thirties” came on a Sunday afternoon, April 1, 1935, rolling into the country about 5 p.m. from the north, turning day into night.

Perryton pool was built as WPA project

Ever since Perryton started in 1919, civic minded citizens dreamed of a modern swimming pool and in 1936, thanks to the “New Deal” one was forthcoming. Construction started in the early spring that year on a new swimming pool located at the city park, at what is now Whigham Park, 9th and Main.

CITY SWIMMING POOL

CITY SWIMMING POOL — Perryton’s first swimming pool was opened in 1937 as a WPA project in the city park. This pool provided summer fun for thousands of young and old swimmers until it was replaced in the 1960s by the present swimming pool.

Wind erosion methods sought as dust storms stripped land

Soil Conservation Service personnel have long been a part of the scene in Perryton, but it wasn’t always that way. Drought had been endured before on the plains, but dust storms were something new.

Perryton not in Dust Bowl of ‘37 report

By early 1937, due to strenuous soil conservation methods, much of the battle against dust had been won.

Wolf Creek Dam was built in 1938

The Wolf Creek Dam at Lake Fryer got under construction in November, 1938, with over 100 men employed on the project. The Public Works Administration appropriated $165,000 to build this dam, with the work being supervised by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics of the Department of Agriculture.

Rangers of 36-37 were basketball champs

One of the better basketball teams in Perryton High School history was the 1936-37 squad which won the district title at a time when there were no size classifications, thus the Rangers competed on the same basis against Pampa, Amarillo, Borger and other larger schools.

PERRYTON MAIN STREET

PERRYTON MAIN STREET — Perryton had a bustling Main Street in 1935. Shown is the 200 block of South Main on the west side. Businesses pictured are the City Drug Company, R. B. Orrill and R. H. Holland’s Men’s Wear Store and the Club Cafe.

Wage scale up in ‘38

The wage scale was rising in the Perryton area by 1938, as shown by the published schedule of rates for the highway construction project underway that year. Top daily wages went to carpenters, shovel operators, crane operators, powder men and mechanics at $8 per day.

Good times gets annual

Times were so “good’’ in Perryton high school by 1937 that the high school students decided to have an annual after an absence of some six years while funds dried up due to the drought and depression.