Central Kansas Library System

Helen shares her struggles with unassuming charm and intelligence: the frustration of not being able to express herself-- like wandering though a dense fog-- and the happiness of finally apprehending light breaking through the mist. The joy she felt when she first made the connection between the word water and the cold, wet liquid that poured over her fingers, comes spilling onto the pages with girlish, infectious enthusiasm. Written when she was...

She moved to Oklahoma's panhandle to homestread and teach in 1907, and her writing mirrored her love of the land and of the literature that sustained her as she struggled for survival during the Great Depression of the 1930's. Even today, Henderson's articles, notably "Letters from the Dust Bowl," are frequently cited for her vivid descriptions of the dust storms that ravaged the Plains.