Steinbeck, who had just published a bestselling novel, "Of Mice and Men," in February 1937, had found Collins while he was writing a series of articles on the plight of the Dust Bowl refugees for The ...

Almost 100 years ago, desperate Dust Bowl refugees descended upon Kern County. They were White, Christian, spoke English, were willing to work and had broken no laws. But they were not welcomed.

We hear a lot about the Bakersfield Sound but beyond the music, the voices of the valley still ring strong. One such voice was Wilma Elizabeth McDaniel, known as the "Okie Poet," who chronicled the ...