Harvey Foust Character Analysis in The Worst Hard Time

The sheriff in Dalhart, Texas. On June 27, 1931, he tried to calm the crowd outside of Dalhart’s First National Bank after the bank closed due to insolvency. Sheriff Foust had been a town hero a year before, after killing a pair of bootleggers who had shot at him and shot and killed the sheriff at the time. For his bravery, he was promoted from deputy to sheriff. By 1931, he was drunk on the job by midday.

Harvey Foust Character Timeline in The Worst Hard Time

The timeline below shows where the character Harvey Foust appears in The Worst Hard Time. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Economic Hardship and Lessons of the Great Depression Theme Icon

...reopen. Their accounts were guaranteed by nothing but the bank’s good reputation. The new sheriff, Harvey Foust , tried to calm the crowd. There was nothing he could do; it was the... (full context)

...and bank clerks. As many as eighty people per day arrived in Dalhart at times. Sheriff Foust was responsible for putting them back on the train. If they were black, they could... (full context)