Before he was the Man in Black, he was J.R. Cash, a son of Kingsland, Arkansas, farmers who successfully applied to take part in a 1930s Works Progress Administration experiment. The government brought in 487 families, gave them land and a mule.
"This was a practice in socialism," said Roscoe Phillips, who was born at Dyess 77 years ago. "They took people who had nothing and gave us something. It wouldn't happen today."
Under the selection criteria-- the application ran on for eight pages-- families were rewarded for their rugged independence but on arrival had to share their excess with the community. Their contributions qualified them for "doodlum," a paper currency not unlike the script issued at company towns.
--Cooter
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