The stay is short and the family moves to Ganado, Texas. Texas The next ten years were the most difficult faced by the family because not only were they facing a brutal economic depression, but also the patriarch of the family has been felled by a crippling illness, which severely limited his ability to function. He s barely able to walk and constantly suffers from painful arthritis and yet he continued to work wherever work can be found. In the summer, he receives 50 cents a week to water the city park. He plants and harvests cotton and maize on vacant land that is bordered by 12th and Henderson streets.
Milk cows provide milk to sell and calves to slaughter for food for the family.
Shucking oysters provides badly needed income during the fall, winter, and spring seasons. Finally the summer garden provides food for the dinner table. And yet all his efforts fail to meet the needs of the family. It fell upon the mother and the oldest four, all girls, to pitch in and help. They pick cotton, both their own and that of others.