This page contains script mentions that are time-period specific or may need extra clarification. Whether you've come across an unfamiliar term, old slang, or a puzzling action, we've got it covered!
Dust Pneumonia
Page: 12
Throughout the play, we see Dorothy affected by what doctors of the time called "dust pneumonia," causing her to break into coughing fits.
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This respiratory illness was caused by inhaling tiny dust and dirt particles, and common symptoms included coughing, chest pain, difficulty breathing, and high fevers. Approximately 7,000 people lost their lives to this illness. With a less mature immune system, children like Dorothy were especially vulnerable to dust pneumonia.
Nehi Soda
Page: 20
Nehi (pronounced NEE-hy) Soda is a flavored soft drink that originated in the USA in the 1920’s. It quickly became popular during prohibition as an alternative to alcohol (one of the top selling drinks between 1924-1930), and was still very popular in 1937. Referred to as an “American icon” today.
The name "Nehi" was to remind customers that it came in "knee-high" tall bottles. Business was good until 1930, when sales declined due to effects of the great Depression. Sales stabilized again around 1933.
Land Acknowldgement
Page: 27
Referring to their family farmland in Kansas, Ma tells her children about how "the Indians had it first."
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A number of indigenous tribes lived on the land that is present-day Kansas prior to colonization. Some of these recorded tribes include the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kansa, Kiowa, Osage, Pawnee, and Wichita. Many of these people continue to live in Kansas within their communities today.
Valise
Page: 36
A small suitcase, used on shorter trips.
Rabbit Drive
Pages: 38-41
Millions of black-tailed jackrabbits lived in the Dust Bowl. They ate green plants and roots - the same things that prevented loose soil from joining dust clouds and the same things farmers were trying desperately to grow. Without any predators, the rabbit population kept growing. Several counties started offering bounties for rabbits brought in, but soon couldn’t keep up with the amount of rabbits they were receiving; Hodgeman County in Kansas received 44,000 rabbits before they couldn’t keep up with cost. Here is a description of a rabbit drive from the Kansas Historical Society website:
Drives to control the rabbit population were tried as early as the turn of the century, so the idea was not a new one in the 1930s. Drives were often held on Sunday afternoons in the late winter or early spring, with February and March being the most popular months. Drives were advertised in newspapers and on handbills in neighboring counties. Several county commissions purchased fencing. Other groups such as county farm bureaus, chambers of commerce, and local newspapers lent support.
The size of a drive varied from covering one or two sections of land to massive efforts covering several square miles. The largest successful drive was near Dighton in Lane county and involved 10,000 people in an area eight miles square. It was estimated that this drive netted 35,000 rabbits.
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At the beginning of a drive, people lined up about every 20 to 30 feet along the four sides of a square and made noise as they walked. Often there were two lines on each side with women and children behind the front line in cars and trucks blowing horns, pounding on pans, or anything else to scare rabbits ahead.
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A fenced area in the center was the object of the drive. The size of the enclosure varied from about 75 feet square to as large as 40 acres. People closed in toward it, coming closer together all the time. By the time they reached the enclosure, people were shoulder to shoulder, blocking all possible paths of escape for the rabbits. At the end of most drives, he rabbits were clubbed to death in the fenced enclosure. Firearms were strictly forbidden, lest participants injure each other.
The Land of Ev
Page: 41
The Land of Ev is a fictional country in the Wizard of Oz books. It is first mentioned in the third book as the home of the Nome King, a frequent antagonist throughout the series. The Land of Ev is one of the areas that is beyond the Impassable Desert, which surrounds the entirety of Oz.
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The Oz series is composed of fourteen books by L. Frank Baum. The first book, The Wizard of Oz, was published in 1900, while the last one, Glinda of Oz, was published in 1920. Considered fantasy and children’s fiction stories, Baum pretended he was the “Royal Historian of Oz” and wrote them as if the characters were sending him telegraphs of their adventures. Many more authors wrote books that were fully authorized to be continuations of the series; including those titles creates a total of forty books.