West Michigan car museum shows Dust Bowl exhibit

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HICKORY CORNERS, Mich. — A West Michigan car museum is offering an exhibition that looks at autos in the Dust Bowl era.

The display at the Gilmore Car Museum coincides with the recent airing of PBS' two-part television series, "The Dust Bowl." The film by Ken Burns features interviews with residents who lived through the Great Depression, drought and wind storms in the 1930s.

The Gilmore museum's display includes Dust Bowl-themed photographs, but its focus is on the cars of the time.

A Duesenberg custom-built for Hollywood's elite sits next to a Ford Model T covered with a family's only belongings.

Museum executive director Michael Spezia says it's important to "show these automobiles in a setting that reflects the social and economic context of the time period."