Traces of Texas on Sunday tweeted out a San Antonio Light photo from 1951 of an area farmer overcome with joy as rain fell on Easter Sunday.
The photo captures the relief of not only the farmer, Sam Smith, but of the entire state, which had been hammered by a severe drought.
The twitter account, which regularly tweets out historic photos from around the state, pointed out the sheer joy in the farmer's face. The photo was taken by then-San Antonio Light photographer Harvey H. Belgin, who died in 2003 at the age of 91. Belgin's photo was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize the following year.
According to a 2015 San Antonio Express-News article, the years-long drought of the 1950s is considered one of the worst natural disasters in Texas history and lasted from 1950 to 1957.
The story said crops were scarce because of the lack of precipitation and ranchers resorted to burning the thorns off prickly pear cactus to feed their cattle
Some Twitter users shared their memories of the drought in replies to Traces of Texas' tweet, which has received more then 1,700 likes on the social media platform as of Monday .
One man said he was out of town with his mother visiting relatives when his dad called to tell his mom they had received rain. "He was crying & praising God," the man tweeted.
In a 1981 San Antonio Light article announcing Belgin's retirement, the paper called the Sam Smith photo "probably the most famous San Antonio news photograph of the century." The Associated Press later included the photograph as one of the best news photos of the past half century, the article said.
The photo was taken on March 25, 1951, and published the following day in the Light.
Express-News researcher Misty Harris contributed to this story
peter.rasmussen@mysa.com
"light" - Google News
April 06, 2021 at 03:42AM
https://ift.tt/2PCcim3
Tweet of 1951 San Antonio Light photo a reminder of devastating Texas drought - San Antonio Express-News
"light" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2Wm8QLw
https://ift.tt/2Stbv5k
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Tweet of 1951 San Antonio Light photo a reminder of devastating Texas drought - San Antonio Express-News"
Post a Comment