Growing up in Alabama in the sixties and seventies, these bonnets were the rule, not the exception, for most ladies of a certain age. Saw loads of them.

What about children in the Third World in the 21st century, huge numbers of them are still doing backbreaking work.

Nicole Hilton is Paris' younger sister, she just wasn't as crazy and a lot more normal, but yeah Nicole Richie is probably who he was thinking of.

[Oops. Pardon my ignorance! - Dave]

Reminds me of several Paris and Nicole Hilton pictures... sisters "hoeing" together.

[New flash: Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton ain't sisters. - Dave]

These poor kids hardly had a childhood, some worked from the time they could walk and hold onto a tool. My father told me he went to work with his father, in a copper mill, from the time he was 9 also (when school was out for the summer). For most of his relatively short life, he worked at least two jobs. We really have it easy these days compared to the folks who grew up in the very early days of of the 20th century or late 19th century. We cannot even imagine sending 9-year-olds to work at hard labor. Count your blessings.

[What about the rest of the 19th century. And every century before that. - Dave]

Wow - such detail - I feel as though my eyes have been polished.

My grandmother was still wearing bonnets to garden when I was a kid in the 60's. She made me wear them to keep the sun off too--just wish I'd paid attention--might have a better complexion now! Hers looked like the woman's in the background and were always highly starched and ironed.