The family went from living in a nice home in Kansas to living in a dugout with no barn for their animals.  They had to haul all their water in wooden barrels from a well three miles away.  Despite the hardships of life on the plains, the family was tough and survived.  In fact, the family lived there in 1929 when the town of Pritchett was founded.  The Kirkendall children attended a schoolhouse one mile southwest of their home and graduated from Pritchett High School.  Despite years of drought, blizzards, illnesses, and dust storms, the family endured.  As other farmers left in response to these hardships, the Kirkendall Farm expanded and additional acres were rented and farmed.  Today the family produces mainly wheat, sorghum, corn, and beef on the same land as their ancestors.