US English-Of Mice and Men: Salinas Valley

By 1930 the Salinas population reached 10,263, and would continue to grow given the area’s many advantages. Fine weather, an expanding agricultural industry, and later the government assisted building programs and projects drew refugees from the harsh reality of the Depression and the conditions of the Dust Bowl in other parts of the county. New residents were not always welcome.

Dust Bowl Migrants settled in the Alisal area to the east of Salinas, lived in camps and trailer s, and worked in the agricultural industry alongside the Filipinos and other laborers. Their arrival concerned many local residents. Some residents opposed the camps because “they didn’t want their belongings stolen by encamped transients.” Agricultural leaders objected to the establishment of labor camps feeling that such camps were not only an easy target for agitators and Communists, but a focal point for disease.

In an effort to eliminate the roadside camps, Monterey County Supervisors drew up an or dinance giving the government power to regulate sanitary conditions in private camps and to oversee labor camps.

To read more from the Salinas Library History Project, click HERE.

The Salinas Valley is located in California. It is known as "the salad bowl of the world" because of its heavy agriculture industry, which supplies most of America with salad greens and other vegetables.

• Wikipedia entry
• Britannica
• City of Salinas