Woody Guthrie was born July 14, 1912 in Okemah, Oklahoma, a farming town that later experienced an oil boom in the 1920's. Guthrie's childhood was a heartbreaking experience. The family fell apart when Woody's mother, Nora, set her husband, Charley, on fire with a kerosene lamp. Charley survived and went to Pampa, Texas, to live with his sister, while Nora was institutionalized for the rest of her life. Woody's younger siblings went to Pampa while he and …showed first 75 words of 848 total…

…showed last 75 words of 848 total…shows and earned a hefty salary. But the strict censorship of his work compelled him to walk away from his success. (Gale; "Guthrie, Woody (1912-1967)", American Decades. 2003) Meanwhile back in Oklahoma, Guthrie's wife Mary felt abandoned by Woody, so she and the children went to live with her parents in Texas. Woody then met dancer Marjorie Greenblatt Mazia while working on a choreographed dance piece for Dust Bowl Ballads. (Gale; "Guthrie, Woody (1912-1967)", American Decades. 2003)