At the height of the Great Depression in the summer of 1933, Earl Neller and six children tramped, hitchhiked, and railroaded some 850 miles across the Dakotas over twenty-seven days.
Neller, a high school teacher from St. Louis, Missouri, and the children, ages eight to thirteen, hiked west from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, journeyed through the Black Hills, then headed north until they reached their destination in Hebron, ND.
Archivist Matthew Reitzel shares the experiences the Nellers and Kinkaid children had in their hitchhiking journey in 1933. He’ll also share how the diaries and photographs related to the trip came into the State’s care.
History Talk 20230810