Ragtown by Kelly Stone Gamble
The Hoover Dam is a model of American engineering and ingenuity. But, it is also a testament to the fortitude of the common man: overcoming the burdens of the Great Depression, learning to survive and thrive in an unforgiving climate. It was that story that I was compelled to write.
RAGTOWN explores the different roles placed on men and women during the Great Depression, not only by society, but themselves, and what each must do to survive in the harsh climate of the Nevada desert. As both Helen and Ezra are vested in the diversion of the Colorado River from the course it has run for thousands of years, their lives parallel this monumental change.
My inspiration to write comes from the personal histories of actual dam workers who endured this remarkable era in American history. It is through Helen and Ezra that I tell their story.
RAGTOWN explores the different roles placed on men and women during the Great Depression, not only by society, but themselves, and what each must do to survive in the harsh climate of the Nevada desert. As both Helen and Ezra are vested in the diversion of the Colorado River from the course it has run for thousands of years, their lives parallel this monumental change.
My inspiration to write comes from the personal histories of actual dam workers who endured this remarkable era in American history. It is through Helen and Ezra that I tell their story.
Rattlesnakes and black widow spiders are the least of seventeen-year-old Helen Carter’s concerns when she is left alone in Nevada’s Black Canyon following the death of her father. She is determined to challenge the norms and find her own “American Dream.” Relying on her own resourcefulness, she soon learns she can’t go it alone; she must embrace the aid of Ezra, a young worker at the Hoover Dam, a few prostitutes, a thirteen-year-old runaway, and a dead Indian, if she hopes to change her course and live on her own terms.
Ragtown incorporates authentic dramatic events and the oral history quotes of actual dam workers into the text. It highlights a time in American history when ordinary men and women rose to the challenges thrust upon them, and triumphed.
Ragtown incorporates authentic dramatic events and the oral history quotes of actual dam workers into the text. It highlights a time in American history when ordinary men and women rose to the challenges thrust upon them, and triumphed.