Dark Room: 1938

by four years. I was born in a one room cabin in the coal mining area. I suspect the cabin was similar. Morgantown, Ky. Dad worked the mines for a dollar a day.

I was born in the 60s and I remember seeing those wooden washboards. I haven't seen one in many years now.

Honey Dew Brand Pure Lard!

Without cross-ventilation, this little shack must have been stifling in the hot, humid summers of the Mississippi bottoms. The table is covered with a cloth to keep the flies off the food. The flies were a misery, yet closing the door would made the house an oven.

The flies remind me of something an elderly fellow in Kentucky told me about his childhood in a house without screens. On summer nights, even when it was very hot, they pulled the sheet over their faces to keep the flies off.

Has got creepy hands!

So many flies in there.

I can't find words to express the heartache of this photo.

I love this picture. So many unanswered questions. Mom looks healthy and the children well fed. The boy would be about 72 today and his sister 74. Young by today's standards. I would like to think they both succeeded in life and have done well.

Judging from the number of critters crawling on top of the tables amongst the food and dishes, there was little in the way of screening on this house. When the one door opened all the flies came right in.

Those kids would be in their seventies now. Wonder if any of them are still alive and browsing the internet.

That little baby's face is pretty comical, but it's hard to laugh when you notice the squalor surrounding the family. With everything we're privileged with today, it's hard to remember people used to live like this not too long ago.