House of Earth (28 page)

1878

Woody's father, Charley Guthrie, is born.

1888

Woody's mother, Nora Belle Sherman, is born.

1902

Charley Guthrie meets Nora Belle Sherman.

1904

N
OVEMBER
24: Charley and Nora's first child, Clara Edna Guthrie, is born.

1906

D
ECEMBER
17: Charley and Nora's second child, Roy Guthrie, is born.

1907

The Guthrie family moves to Okemah, Oklahoma.

1912

Woodrow Wilson is nominated by the Democratic Party for president.

 

J
ULY
14: Charley and Nora's third child, Woodrow Wilson Guthrie, is born.

1913

Woodrow Wilson is inaugurated as president of the United States.

 

The Guthrie family moves into the “Old London House” on South First Street, in Okemah.

1918

F
EBRUARY:
Charley and Nora's fourth child, George Guthrie, is born.

1919

M
AY:
Woody's older sister, Clara Edna Guthrie, dies in a fire.

1922

Oil is discovered in Cromwell, twelve miles southwest of Okemah.

 

M
AY:
Charley and Nora's fifth child, Mary Josephine Guthrie, is born.

1923

Okemah's population jumps to 15,000 because of the Cromwell oil.

1926

Charley sends two of his children, George and Mary Jo, to stay with his sister Maude in Pampa, Texas.

1927

Charley is severely burned in a fire. Nora Belle Guthrie is hospitalized. Charley moves to Pampa, Texas, to recuperate. Woody stays with Roy in Okemah, Oklahoma.

1927–1929

Woody lives with various families in Okemah.

1929

J
UNE:
Woody moves to Pampa, Texas.

1930

Woody forms his first band, the Corncob Trio, with his friends Matt Jennings and Cluster Baker.

 

J
UNE
13: Nora Belle Guthrie dies at a hospital in Norman, Oklahoma.

1932

The Great Depression is at its worst.

1933

OCTOBER
28: Woody marries Mary Jennings. (They would divorce in 1943.)

1935

APRIL
14: Palm Sunday dust storms.

 

NOVEMBER:
Woody and Mary's first child, Gwendolyn Gail Guthrie, is born.

1937

Woody leaves Pampa, Texas, and heads to California, the “Garden of Eden.”

 

J
ULY:
Woody and Mary's second child, Carolyn Sue Guthrie, is born.

 

S
EPTEMBER:
Woody and his singing partner Maxine “Lefty Lou” Crissman perform for the first time on KFVD radio.

 

D
ECEMBER:
Woody, Mary, and their kids move to Glendale, California.

1938

J
ANUARY
22: Woody, Mary, and Allene Guthrie (Woody's cousin) and others travel to Tijuana, Mexico, to work on XELO radio. It doesn't work out, and they move back to California three weeks later.

 

J
UNE
18: Woody and Maxine “Lefty Lou” Crissman end the
Woody & Lefty Show
on KFVD.

1939

M
ARCH:
The Grapes of Wrath
is published. It sells 420,565 copies in its first year and wins both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

 

M
AY
12: The first “Woody Sez” column appears in
The Daily Worker
.

 

J
ULY:
Ed Robbins introduces Woody to Will Geer.

 

S
EPTEMBER AND
O
CTOBER:
Woody travels with Will Geer and others to support migrant workers organizing.

 

O
CTOBER
7: Woody and Mary's third child, William Rogers Guthrie, is born.

1940

Woody and Mary appear as extras in Pare Lorentz's documentary
The Fight for Life
.

 

F
EBRUARY:
Woody moves to New York City and stays with the Geers.

 

F
EBRUARY
18: Will Geer introduces Woody to Alan Lomax at a benefit concert for Spanish Loyalist refugees.

 

F
EBRUARY
23: Woody writes “This Land Is Your Land” while living at the Hanover House in New York City.

 

M
ARCH
3: Pete Seeger for the first time hears Woody perform at a benefit concert for migrant workers hosted by the John Steinbeck Committee to Aid Agriculteral Organization.

 

M
ARCH
21, 22, 24: Woody records for Alan Lomax and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

 

M
AY:
Woody records
Dust Bowl Ballads
for RCA Victor.

 

A
UGUST:
Woody appears on CBS radio in a pilot for a series called
Back Where I Come From
.

 

N
OVEMBER:
Woody appears on
Cavalcade of America
and is hired by the Columbia Broadcasting System.

1941

J
ANUARY:
Leaves New York City to head across the country with Mary and their three children.

 

F
EBRUARY:
Woody gets a short-term job at KFVD in Los Angeles and begins work on the manuscript that will become
Bound for Glory
.

 

M
ARCH:
Woody performs at an International Woman's Day Committee tea.

 

A
PRIL
3: Woody performs at an Okie benefit in Los Angeles.

 

A
PRIL
4: Woody performs at Barn Dance, a benefit for the Cannery and Agricultural Workers Union.

 

M
AY
13: Woody begins his monthlong Columbia River project; he earns $266.66.

 

J
ULY:
Upon returning to New York City, Woody joins up with the Almanac Singers on a trip west. They perform together in Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Denver, and San Francisco.

 

J
ULY
7: Woody records
Deep Sea Chanties
and
Sod Buster Ballads
with the Almanac Singers.

 

A
UGUST:
Woody appears at Asheville, North Carolina, for a folk festival.

 

D
ECEMBER
7: Attack on Pearl Harbor.

 

D
ECEMBER
8: The United States enters World War II.

1942

J
ANUARY:
Woody records home discs with the Almanacs in New York City and meets Marjorie Greenblatt Mazia at the Almanac House while rehearsing for
Folksay
(choreographed by Sophie Maslow).

 

J
ULY:
RCA rejects Woody's proposal to record his war songs.

1943

F
EBRUARY:
Woody and Marjorie Guthrie's first child, Cathy Ann Guthrie, is born.

 

M
ARCH:
Bound for Glory
is published.

 

J
UNE
5: Woody and his buddies Cisco Houston and Vincent “Jimmy” Longhi ship out with the Merchant Marine.

 

Woody, Marjorie, and Cathy move to 3520 Mermaid Avenue, Coney Island, in Brooklyn, New York.

1944

A
PRIL
16, 19, 20, 24, 25: Woody records for Moe Asch.

 

A
PRIL
19: Woody records fifty-seven songs with Cisco Houston.

 

O
CTOBER:
Woody performs in Chicago with the FDR Bandwagon.

 

Woody records
Struggle
for Asch Records.

1945

M
ARCH:
Woody records for Moe Asch.

 

M
ARCH
10: With Ben Botkin, Herbert Haufrecht, Richard Dyer-Bennet, Charles Seeger, and Sonny Terry, Woody attends an all-day conference at Elizabeth Irwin High School on the place of folklore in a democracy.

 

M
AY
8: Woody is inducted into the army.

 

N
OVEMBER
13: Woody marries Marjorie Greenblatt Mazia. (They would divorce in 1953.)

 

D
ECEMBER
21: Woody is discharged from the army.

1946

Songs to Grow On
is released.

 

Woody begins work on his unpublished novel
House of Earth
.

1947

Woody continues work on
House of Earth
.

 

F
EBRUARY:
Cathy Guthrie dies in an electrical fire.

 

J
ULY
10: Woody and Marjorie's second child, Arlo Guthrie, is born.

1948

J
UNE TO NOVEMBER:
Woody and Cisco Houston sing for Henry A. Wallace's presidential campaign.

 

D
ECEMBER
25: Woody and Marjorie's third child, Joady Guthrie, is born.

1950

J
ANUARY
2: Woody and Marjorie's fourth child, Nora Guthrie, is born.

 

F
EBRUARY:
Woody enrolls in Brooklyn College. He takes courses in philosophy, English, Spanish, and classical civilizations.

1952

Woody moves to Topanga Canyon, California, and meets Anneke Van Kirk.

1953

D
ECEMBER
: Woody marries Anneke Van Kirk. (They would divorce in 1955.)

1954

Woody and Anneke have a daughter named Lorina Lynn.