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.

Big snowfall hit Perryton in 1938

One of the biggest snowfalls on record hit Perryton on April 7, 1938, when a nine inch snowfall was whipped into 20 foot drifts by high winds, blocking traffic and stopping all business activity for several days. The storm hit while school was in progress, preventing rural students from going home.

Ranger Field grassed during 1937

(Reprinted from the Herald, April 21, 1937) Due to the interest of Calvin Flowers, a member of the Perryton Independent School District Board, and the boys of the Ranger football squad, contesting athletes of the future will find a beautiful green Ranger Field.

Canadian Road paved in ‘37

Travel between Perryton and Canadian became much easier in October 1937 when the new black top pavement was opened between the two towns. This cut the distance to Canadian nine miles, making the route only 43.8 miles as compared with more than 60 miles the old way by dirt road.