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Rural Mother: 1936
... River." 35mm nitrate negative by Carl Mydans for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Sons Rose, And notice ... 
 
Posted by Ken - 07/05/2009 - 2:29am -

March 1936. "Mother and baby of family of nine living in field on U.S. Route 70 near the Tennessee River." 35mm nitrate negative by Carl Mydans for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. SonsRose, And notice that the boy you mention (the one on our right) is the only one wearing shoes. It looks like he's standing on maybe his father's feet--there's somebody else standing off the camera edge. But imagine: The clothes that they're wearing might've been their only clothes! Just to reiterate: there was no choice of what they could wear from day to day. What they have on now was all they (might've) had for possibly months at a time. "How do I get to the Susquehanna Hat Company?" What happened to them?While it's certainly disheartening to see that kind of abject poverty, the family probably fared better over the next decade. The TVA started bringing electricity to that area around the time of this photo and Tennessee had a pretty robust wartime economy. The draft board generally didn't take men with nine children so the father would have been around to find steady work. So however bad it may have been you can at least be confident it got better. And yet the boy is smilingAnd yet the boy is smiling :) Mother of povertyThis photo made cry. What more clear image of poverty in America could there be? A flour sack for a skirt and a safety pin holding a tattered sweater. I ache for her children and wonder what happened to this family. One bright spot is the boy smiling to his sister while holding her toe. Tatters...They may be poor material wise with their tatters and rags on their back, but they are rich in their love for each other. Mother of povertyThis is the worst case of poverty I have ever seen that wasn't from the third world, but look at them they are together, even able to smile, by far this picture is the best example of "the great depression". fakeThe picture is of far higher quality than existed in that era. It's obviously a fake. ["That era," the mid-1930s, when photography was 100 years old, saw some of the best photographs ever made - the work of Ansel Adams, for example. And of course a few minutes of Googling will show this to be a well-known Depression-era image in the Library of Congress archives. Comments like these are a good opportunity to point out that the farther back you go, the better and sharper the pictures get, because the recording media were bigger. Two examples are here (1865) and here (1913). As well as here and here and here. - Dave] Re: No exaggeration"And yeah, glass plate negatives are amazing. But even 35mm film actually carries more information than most digitals: ISO 100 35mm has an effective resolution of 10 megapixels, and when you up the negative size to that of a view camera or the 8x10 glass plates, you're talking resolutions and image quality that today's cameras can't touch." YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT THAT ! No exaggerationIn addition to reading "Let us Now Praise Famous Men," check out the photos of Jacob Riis and read "How the Other Half Lives." Yes, muckrakers, but they were not making up the poverty they found and photographed. When people who were doing *well* had only 2 or 3 sets of clothing, there just wasn't as much "extra" around to give to the poor. Using flour sacks and sugar sacks was incredibly common - so common that it is a trope in literature of the time. Even solidly middle-class families "turned" collars and facings on their clothing when it wore to holes, to use the other side, and every family had a rag bag in which they saved *every* scrap of old clothing for other purposes. I guess in this day of cheap clothes made by slave laborers in poison-filled factories in China, its hard to believe anyone treated clothes as so precious that they were saved and worn until they were in this state, huh? And yeah, glass plate negatives are amazing. But even 35mm film actually carries more information than most digitals: ISO 100 35mm has an effective resolution of 10 megapixels, and when you up the negative size to that of a view camera or the 8x10 glass plates, you're talking resolutions and image quality that today's cameras can't touch. Rural mother 1936Oh how I wish I could take the doubting thomases back with me to the North East of Scotland during the time that this stunning photograph was taken. I am glad that it has been brought up to watchable standard by digital magic or whatever. I can still remember my grandfather filling his boots with straw to keep the cold/wet out before going out to the field to plough or cut corn with a scythe. He also used the very same material to wipe his bottom. Granny had a grain sack for a skirt and wore clogs. My favourite time of day was when she put the 'hen's pot' out to cool. I invariably ate the potatoes and haven't tasted better since. Money-wise it was a very poor time but life had a richness difficult to achieve these days. Re: Fake>> The picture is of far higher quality than existed in that era. It's obviously a fake. We get a lot of comments like this, I guess from younger people, or people who have never been to a museum. They don't realize that the farther back you go, the better and sharper professionally taken photographs get, because the recording media were much, much larger. An 8-by-10 glass plate negative is 80 times as large as a 35mm film frame, or the image sensor in a digital camera. Two examples are here (1865) and here (1913). As well as here and here and here. Also a lot of comments from people who seem to think color photography started around 1960. Poverty exaggerationOk, this photo is an example of early photo-journalism. The family could very well have been homeless and living in a lean-to or a wooden box on top of a truck chassis- during the summer, anyway. But the depiction of poverty is exaggerated- think about it- if someone steered the photographer toward the family, then others in the community knew they were there. There's no way a family can dress like that and not receive donations of used clothes. These rags were put on to evoke sympathy for the plights of many during the depression. Don't get me wrong - shock value was probably needed to raise support for many valuable social programs that came about because of the depression. But how long could a family dress like that and not receive donations from others, no matter how bad off the community was. [Most of these migrants, refugees from the Dust Bowl farms of the Great Plains, were not especially welcome in the communities where they dropped anchor, and people often did whatever they could to get them to leave. You might want to read up a little more on the Great Depression. A good start would be "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" by James Agee with photos by Walker Evans. Or "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck. - Dave] Not an exaggeration"There's no way a family can dress like that and not receive donations of used clothes." My mother was a teenager during those years and remembered how so many people were driven to desperation. Her comment was "there was always someone trying to cheat you." Two or three years into the Depression the do-gooders began to run out of sympathy and "used clothes." And after five more years of no improvement they began to fear things would never turn around and that they would end up in the same circumstances. There were just too many newly poor people and not enough people with excess resources to balance things out. BenIf anyone was ever interested in trying to achieve that kind of detail today, I'd highly suggest buying an old used medium format camera and using some 120 roll film. I have a couple of Yashica TLR's which were considered substandard in the 50's and 60's, but their quality still makes a 35 SLR look like a cheap point and shoot. It's not the camera that makes the pictures better, but the larger negative available in 120 film. Not only do you get more detail, but the color depth is far more realistic. ClothesMy Gramma has saved some clothes that her mother made from flour sacks. She also has some made from linen and wool they spun and wove themselves, when they were more prosperous. She lived in a house with a dirt floor and didn't wear shoes in the summer. The Face of the Great DepressionThank you Mr. Caruso. I echo the response from Dave....We read in history books about the Great Depression and over the years, in our mind it is simply a swirl of facts and figures, of almost dispassionate removal that was the reality. While it has been said that hindsight is 20/20, I think it can also be argued that hindsight, especially from such a distance can be sterile becoming almost become an illusion, an event without a substance. Hopefully this will once again place it into a reality ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSShPnOS15Y Dale Oh My GoshI'm 15 years of age and I had no idea that the Great Depression was that bad. This picture really oppened my eyes to the extreme conditions at that time. Thank you for this reality. Reality CheckI have a picture on my desk showing my mother during the depression. You can see her bones because at 5'7" she weighed 85 pounds...just from the simple lack of food. Each girl in the family had two dresses and each boy had two pairs of overalls - one to wear and one to wash. By "wash", I mean using a metal tub over an open fire. Mostly they went barefoot (in the Arizona desert) because if they had shoes, they were too valuable to wear everyday. In the picture my mother is looking directly at the camera and her expression is almost exactly the same as the look on the face of a shell shocked combat veteran. As I said, I keep this small black and white photo on my desk so that if I ever, ever have even a moment of thinking that I'm having a hard day I can look at my mother's face and get a reality check. Barefoot KidsMy parents grew up in the depression. When I was a kid (in the 60s) going outside barefoot was STRICTLY FORBIDDEN, reason being that in their minds if you weren't wearing shoes it was because you didn't have any, and therefore were poor, which they viewed as something to be ashamed of. Making doThe habits of the depression generation persisted into the better days of the '40s. I remember my mother repairing worn sheets by splitting them down the middle and sewing the good edges together to prolong their life. My dad brought home flour sacks from the restaurant where he worked. My mother made dish cloths and pillow cases from them. Some of the sacks were made from patterned material for dresses. The branding on the others washed out easily. To this day I an reluctant to discard clothing. ClothesMy parents did not allow us to wear jeans (which we didn't own) or sneakers because they weren't real clothing, but only worn if you owned nothing else. Believe me we weren't rich either. Mother of NineThank you so much for sharing this. I was born in 1977, but just hearing these stories helps me to realize that we are so spoiled and really puts things into perspective. Amen! Thanks, dalecaruso!I'm going to show this to my 7th grade students who LOVED the Newbery Medal-winning book "Out of the Dust" by Karen Hesse! Amazing...moving...thank you. The habits remained - for good or badMy parents grew up in the Depression. Members of their generation, roughly those born 1920-1935, often find it difficult to throw out anything "good". In my parents' case, I was left with stacks of thousands upon thousands of moldering magazines and newspapers, piles of old shingles, 2x4s, chunks of vinyl siding, and old cardboard; hundreds upon hundreds of doilies, knick-knacks, and figurines; and tons of worthless, useless plywood and cheap wood furniture. The cry was, "I might need it someday!" and "It'll be worth GOOD MONEY one day!" and "You're so wicked and wasteful and lazy to want to throw it out!". They were wrong in every single solitary instance, no exceptions. The figurines now go for five to ten cents each on eBay (and don't sell at that price); the shingles melted together into a big unusable pile; the 2x4s and cardboard rotted to dust; the doilies were attacked with mold; the magazines were destroyed by water and age; the furniture was rickety and undesirable in its shoddy construction and unattractive, unmarketable poor style. It all went away to the dump as useless, worthless, unrecyclable (because of the mold) garbage - and it cost over a thousand dollars to have it hauled away. And I'm not the only one. There are internet groups made up of people in their 40s and 50s who are, like me, dealing with the unhealthy hoarding habits of their Depression-era parents who have passed on. But we, the children, are not the ones hurt the most by this sickness. The older generation itself is harmed most of all. The mold and dust gathered by the things they've hoarded endangers their health. The sheer bulk of the hoard can endanger them in case of fire. And since they can't find what they've hoarded, they end up buying the same things over and over again, which reduces their ability to provide for themselves. No North American generation before this one has suffered from this level of hoarding, and I doubt any one after it will. Earlier generations didn't overbuy but also weren't afraid to discard; later generations might overbuy but likewise aren't afraid to recycle or discard. Re: Hoarders I would have to seriously question the sweeping and wide swath of the brush you painted this generation with. My parents lived through the depression and the dust bowl, as did my dads' 12 brothers and sisters. and the 5 siblings of my mothers' family. And not a hoarder among them. I am sure they used things longer and valued what they had more than we do, but I hardly consider this a "disorder". Now I am sure some did, but your statement to me really portrays this generation as unhealthy mentally, and I am just a little offended by it. Oh that we today were as mentally stable as they. And if "There are internet groups made up of people in their 40s and 50s who are, like me, dealing with the unhealthy hoarding habits of their Depression-era parents who have passed on", well then I would say, perhaps it is this weak-kneed generation, who need support groups because, "Oh No, Mamma kept things a Long Long time", are the ones who are unhealthy. You do this unbelievable generation a great disservice. Future Hoarders of America Unite!You know, I don't look at the faces of these little ones and concern myself with the idea that their biggest issue in their senior years is going to be that they held on to too much stuff instead of throwing it out. When your clothes are being held together with twine and your mother is wearing a cotton feed bag as a skirt, it's kind of easy to see how, in the future, when you're an old woman, you're probably going to hang on to every scrap and see its potential usefulness someday. It's amazing how differently our consumerist culture sees items today. How often I've longed to be able to hold onto a toaster that could work just fine if I had someone who could fix it for me. But instead, appliances today aren't meant to last for more than a few years and then off to dump with them. Our landfills are overcrowded with plasticized items that will never, ever decompose - plastic bags, water bottles, take out containers...the list is endless. I hate to politicize a picture but I can honestly see how having nothing more than the holey shirt on your back would make you take stock when one day you had tremendous bounty. We could learn a lot from these people and their troubles and how to see potential treasure in trash. Alive and wellPoverty can be because of chance or personal choices. Back in the times of the Depression it was heaped on people by powers out of their control. I see it today right here in Arkansas where I live and in my own neighborhood. I live in a small town of about 5600 and even in what is supposedly the world's most rich and powerful country people are lining up at the free food banks and food giveaways, receving government commodities and waiting in ine at the free medical clinic that is run by area churches and staffed with Doctors and Nurses who volunteer their time for free. Just walk into Walmart on the 1st of the month, they way some families are dressed would break your heart. But then you have the victims of bad personal choices. There is a single other in my neighborhood that recently lost her job because she failed a drug test. She has 3 children. Everyone in the neighborhood knows she sells her food stamps for alcohol. She would buy just enough (barely) food for them to get by and sell the rest If it were not for the kindness of neighbors her children would not have any decent clothes. She was just kicked out of what is very decent public housing where she was paying $16.00 a month rent because she had her alcoholic boyfriend living there with her. Her poor choices affected not only her children but many people in the neighborhood (who at their own expense would buy extra food so they could feed her children or spend money to buy clothes for them) who have tried to help her for years. In her children I see the NEXT generation of American poverty waiting to happen and it is so sad. HoardersMy parents are children of the Depression, too. And my father most definitely instilled in me the sense that one doesn't waste or discard anything useful. He has 2 barns and a shed filled with stuff, much of which I'll have to deal with after he's gone. But you know what? Virtually everything he has is valuable! His shed is filled with dishes and small appliances and the like, which has supplied many of his grandchildren when they went away to college or got their first apartment. He has one of nearly every tool known to man, and freely loans or gives them away. He paid cash for a brand new truck recently, using the proceeds from sale of scrap copper and iron he's been saving in the plum thicket. (He's never owed money on a car in my lifetime). He loves to give to others (it's nearly impossible to leave a visit empty-handed), and a lifetime of saving and storing means he has no shortage of things to give away. Because of my upbringing, it's very hard for me to discard anything that still has value, just because I don't need it any more. But I've learned from my dad - somebody needs that, so give it away! I understand that some hoarders are truly mentally ill. But to say that all Depression children who refuse to discard things that might be useful are "wrong in every single solitary instance, no exceptions" is absolute hogwash. The DepressionAnyone who says these photos are exaggerated or fake has never talked to someone who lived during that time. My mother lived on a farm during that period, and though she didn't have much that came from a store, they were able to eat and eat well. My father's family were poor tennant farmers on unproductive land and frequently had meals like "grease smeared on bread"....try to imagine that one. With several children, all but one had to quit school at 13 to earn a living. My husband's family has pictures of the children looking just like these - torn overalls and bare feet. Do some real research in your own family's past. Family HistoryMy father's family had a farm in southwest Nebraska during the Depression, so they were able to grow their own food and eat fairly well. My mother's paternal grandfather was a Methodist minister there, which was very rough since he was dependent on what the local community could pay, which wasn't much and people had an odd idea about what made a suitable gift. So instead of eggs and chickens, which Great-Grandpa would have taken in a heartbeat (he had 5 teenage sons!), people gave him things like fancy hankies, which he had no use for, and I found 50 years later still in the gift boxes. I know the Depression had a profound impact on my grandfather; he hated to throw anything away. When my mother cleaned out Grandpa's house in the late 80's she had to throw out dumpsters of metal pie plates, shopping bags, twine, bottles, newspapers, magazines and God knows what else. AgreedMy parents did not allow us to wear jeans (which we didn't own) or sneakers because they weren't real clothing, but only worn if you owned nothing else. Believe me we weren't rich either. I would have said this if you didn't. We had sneakers for gym class and gym class only. The picture, the video, the hoarding.Two things struck me about that picture: the caked on dirt on the mother's feet and the smile on the boy's face. Sure, I had heard the phrase "dressed in flour sacks." But, there's something about an image - seeing it. It hits home. The video, The Face of the Great Depression, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSShPnOS15Y from a previous comment. At first, honestly, I thought, "Can't the pictures move faster?" Then I looked, and listened, and let time stand still for a brief moment. By the end, I was crying. The license plate in the last photo was 1939. My mother would have been 13. NOW IT GET IT. Well, I'm beginning to. A second generation child on the South Side of Chicago, she always told stories of a her gang of kids distracting the cart owner so other kids could run by - stealing whatever vegetables they could grab. They would start little fires at the curb and roast them on a stick or boil them in a pot of water. She said that's why, as an adult, she hated boiled onions or potatoes. But, the stories she told, of washing out her underclothes each night, sleeping 4 to a bed, lard and bread sandwiches...I somehow cleaned up the images and made them all pretty. I left out what it smells like if you haven't had a bath. Or, what it must have felt like to really, really be hungry. Mom hoarded. Born in 1926 she left me the legacy of wall to wall, floor to ceiling piles of National Geographic magazines and "collectors" tins." "These will be worth something someday," she chided...and promised. They weren't. Well, some of it was valuable - more from memories of her than replacement cost. More than anything, I wish she could have culled her stuff so she had more room to live. Sure, it was a burden to empty. But it was easier for me to let go of her junk than it was for her to unload the fear of being "without." I can live with that. Everyday I understand and accept her more. One little photo... Can teach so much. The Great DepressionI've read the comments about this picture and echo the feelings of distress that people have had to exist under these conditions. We only have to look at some of the present day third world countries to see the same thing. Thank God that that level of poverty has never touched me. I was born in 1927 and raised, with my sister, in a single parent home. My Mother took in washing and ironing to make a living for us, and though we didn't have an abundance, we never went to bed hungry. She bought used adult clothes and cut them down to fit us (our sunday school and church clothes). No one told me that times were hard so I didn't know it until I was grown. The hobos (Hoover Tourists) used to get off the trains near our house and come to the door begging food. My Mother always made them a peanut butter sandwich. I spent my days in school or outside playing with my friends, I had a glorious childhood. It pains me to see today's children confined to the house, afraid to go outside alone, with only a TV or computer for a companion. So many children and young adults are overweight and under exercised. The Depression was hard on a lot of people but, as a child, I skated through it and wouldn't trade my childhood memories for being a child today. Where in SW Nebraska?Hello- A friend of mine introduced me to this website. I, too, am from southwest Nebraska. Where in SW Nebraska was your family originally from? MJ The DepressionI really liked reading all the comments. I intend to get the book "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" by Agee. I was born in 1921, the seventh child in a family of 10. My father died of TB in October 1929. Our church had a dinner after the service yesterday. I noticed some people not eating all the food they had put on their plates. I told them my clean plate was a reflection of living through the Depression, when at mealtime I would hand my plate to my mother with the words "All I can have. please." Every child in the family, when they were old enough, gave most of the money they earned to our mother. In the early 1930s our school clothes and shoes would be ordered by mail from Sears and sometime they would arrive days after school started. We lived in northwest Detroit and most of the kids had fathers with good jobs. In 1936 my oldest brother started to build a home near Mount Clemens, Michigan. A family pitched a tent in a field across the street from him and lived much like the family in this picture. My brother did not want me to visit them. I served in WW2, which I enjoyed because I had been working since I was 14 and it was nice to be free of responsibility. And seeing Europe was wonderful. I am a tourist at heart. Yes! Not getting killed and living into the Internet age is wonderful. Nebraska! With family now on the West Coast in Oregon and Washington we have been driving across this country about once a year. We like Nebraska and have been driving across that state on old U.S. 30, and find it much more enjoyable than I-80. Please try this some time. For those who don't believeRead "The Worst Hard Time" by Tim Egan. Never had heard of "dust pneumonia" until reading this. Also, a section of diary entries is just heartbreaking. Poverty and desolation on a scale unimaginable today. (The Gallery, Carl Mydans, Great Depression, Rural America)
Iowa City in the Snow: 1940
... No. 2. 35mm nitrate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. Coolness I love the "Air Conditioned" sign on ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2013 - 3:35pm -

February 1940. The main street in Iowa City during a snowstorm. View full size. Businesses in this view include Bremer's, the Capitol Cafe and Princess No. 2. 35mm nitrate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. CoolnessI love the "Air Conditioned" sign on the front of the Capitol Cafe, I bet that drew customers in on a cold winter day in Iowa. Also, what's that hanging from the bike's handlebars? Some kind of tail ornament? Cool! Same block as the last one?This looks like the same block of E. Washington as the last Iowa City picture. Not my picture, and not quite the same angle, but it looks like the Capitol Cafe building is in the middle of this shot. Bicycles, white shirts and tiesCome to Utah, we have *plenty* of those. They'll come to your door and talk about Jesus! That said, I really liked this picture. Snow makes me happy! More IC winterThat photo is wonderful! The UI Libraries are featuring a digital collection of similar early 20th century winter scenes: http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/winter IC WinterThank you for posting these photos. I love looking at the past through photos. I'm not from Iowa, Newfoundland Canada actually. Also a car buff, and this picture has it all. When was the last time you saw a boy riding a bicycle in a snowstorm with a white shirt and necktie? Capitol Cafe, Iowa CityHere is a 1938 photo of the inside of the Capitol Cafe. Princess Sweet Shop?I'm guessing the Princess 2 is a sister shop to the Princess Cafe and Sweet Shop in Iowa Falls. It's an incredible piece of interior design on the main street in Iowa Falls. Didn't find any good pics of the current interior, but here is a short page about the Iowa Falls location. http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/hardin/pri.htm Capitol CafeHere is the corrected photo of the inside of the Capitol Cafe --> Click on the thumbnail for big image version. "This picture has it all"Yes, not to mention the clock that tells us what time it is, and a nice reflection of the bicycle on the side of that shiny sedan. Shorpy is a time travel machine. +83Below is the same view from May of 2023. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Bicycles, Cars, Trucks, Buses)
Hill House: 1936
... size. 4x5 nitrate negative by by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. Candy box? Look at the "Oh Henry" box being ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/07/2018 - 11:55am -

July 1936. Hillhouse, Mississippi. "Sharecroppers' families gathering needs for their Fourth of July celebration, whites and blacks together." View full size. 4x5 nitrate negative by by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. Candy box?Look at the "Oh Henry" box being held by the girl on the left. Candy? OuchWell, the "Oh Henry" box probably holds some homemade concoction, not candy bars from the company store or anything. But check out the scabs and scars on those kids' legs. Theirs were not easy lives, for sure. Hill HouseIn case anyone was wondering, the community is in the Northern Delta on MS Highway 1 near the Mississippi River. Delta Cooperative FarmThe Delta Cooperative Farm located near Hillhouse, Mississippi was an experiment in "Christian Socialism", governed on the Rochdale Principles of cooperation. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochdale_Principles). In 1935 over a hundred striking sharecropper families allied with the Southern Tenants Farmers Union were evicted from the Arkansas plantation of C.H. Dibble. Aside from the violence met by the sharecroppers, they were also unable to find other work in the fields. A number of the Union members, both black and white, gathered at the site in Mississippi to create an experimental cooperative society. They were led by members of the Socialist Party along with Reinhold Niebuhr, one of America's leading theologians, and Sherwood Eddy, an ordained minister and missionary. The experiment lasted three years when the farm and some of the families resettled nearby at Providence Farms near Lexington, Mississippi. http://mshistory.k12.ms.us/index.php?id=219 KneesI always had scabs (and sometimes Band-Aids) on my knees when I was a kid too. It wasn't because I had a hard life, but because I PLAYED HARD, out in the dirt. I'm sure these kids did have a hard life, but I don't think the scabs have anything to do with it. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Kids, Small Towns)
Bull's Bug-Dust: 1940
... Missouri. 35mm nitrate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Eads Bridge? I think this ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 10:39am -

May 1940. "Scraps of paper blowing on bridge." St. Louis, Missouri. 35mm nitrate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Eads Bridge?I think this must be the west end of the Eads Bridge. The white booth in the middle of the road at the extreme right appears to say in part: "Welcome to St. Louis." The buildings in the foreground, seemingly right up against the riverfront, are not inconsistent with Laclede's Landing. And the other, taller buildings of downtown St. Louis are where they should be if this picture is looking southwest. Finally compare the decorative railings in this picture with the railings in this postcard view of the Eads: BridgeI agree the booth says, "Welcome to St. Louis." Below the booth window I can read, "Pay Bridge Toll Here." Question: Was the Eads Bridge a toll bridge? Beyond that, I've nothing to offer. Good photo, though. Eads BridgeThis is indeed Eads Bridge looking southwest. All of the buildings in the foreground were demolished for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (Arch) and I-70. I recognize two buildings as still standing: the large square building on the right horizon is the Famous-Barr department store, now owned by Macy's. Macy's has recently closed the retail store. The dark brick building in the middle ground behind the utility pole is the Security Building. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, St. Louis)
Modern Ranch: 1940
... California. "One of the homes at Mineral King cooperative farm, an old ranch of 500 acres raising cotton, alfalfa, and dairy products for ... the Schmidts] have been established here by the Farm Security Administration in modern houses." Forerunner of the suburban ranch ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2018 - 11:38am -

November 1940. Tulare County, California. "One of the homes at Mineral King cooperative farm, an old ranch of 500 acres raising cotton, alfalfa, and dairy products for cash crops. Ten families [including the Schmidts] have been established here by the Farm Security Administration in modern houses." Forerunner of the suburban ranch house that characterized so much postwar residential development. Medium format negative by Russell Lee. View full size. Mineral King Cooperative Farm story?The Mineral King Cooperative Farm photos (particularly this exterior shot of an early "ranch style' home) have piqued my interest. I poked around and found this Dorothea Lange photo of the original group of houses on the farm, which is notable because of the "rotational" placement of the houses. So - where was the farm, and what happened to it? I found a few other Lange & Lee photos from the time, but nothing else. Radio DaysLooks like they have their Long Wire Radio Antenna installed and ready to pull in their favorite programs. A QuestionIs one of those homes designated the Schmidthouse? [Their house was the reverse floorplan of this one. - Dave] Built-in Long Wire Radio AntennasMy house just outside of Washington, D.C. and build in 1938 has a long wire AM radio antenna in the attic. It is connected to what looks like a vertical 2 prong electrical socket in one wall of the living room. The socket is actually for both the antenna in the attic and a ground connection. If big console AM radios ever make a comeback, I'm ready! Of course the metal roof of the Mineral King home would rule out putting their antenna in the attic. Three still standingThree of these homes are still standing on Road 158 in Visalia, CA. Wonder which one was #4? There is an antenna above the roofThere are two poles with a horizontal wire strung between them above the house. In the center, there is a vertical lead to the house. I love the house and imagine myself listening to Mexican border blaster stations on a big Zenith radio in the living room. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Russell Lee)
Pass the Pepper: 1940
May 1940. "Mrs. Marinus W. Hansen, wife of Farm Security Administration rehabilitation farmer in Box Elder County, Utah, has ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/27/2012 - 2:42pm -

May 1940. "Mrs. Marinus W. Hansen, wife of Farm Security Administration rehabilitation farmer in Box Elder County, Utah, has dinner with her three children. On the table are home-produced milk, homemade bread, home-canned peaches, home-churned butter and fish caught by the three children the day this picture was taken. Homemade dill pickles provided a relish." Medium-format nitrate negative, photographer unknown. View full size. The DenimLooks like it could be a pair of bib overalls. 1940 CensusThat's mom Elizabeth with oldest daughter Gertrude, her brother Don and little sis Helen. Younger brothers Mack and Clifford might be at the kids' table. Where's Poppa? Cracking goodAlso, a nice selection of crackers. A place at the tableHaving grown up in a close-knit family of anywhere from six to eight people together at every meal time, I can tell you that having the reassuring knowledge that there is a place for you in the family is what I feel really gives people a sense of security. I notice it in very young toddlers and kids too, when there is going to be food served to a group. They seek out their space and yearn to be included as a special recognition of their importance. Our meals were rarely elaborate either, but the camaraderie, the laughter, discussion, whatever interactions involve the entire group gives one a good feeling of belonging, which is why I absolutely hate the design of a "bar" in kitchens where everyone sits in a long row or stands over the sink to dine. That strong feeling of attachment to one's clan comes through face-to-face discussion and acceptance in my opinion. The absent dadAccording to Ancestry.com and findagrave.com, Marinus Woodruff Hansen was born 5 June 1891 in Franklin Idaho, and died 21 October 1964. He was buried in Riverview Cemetery in Tremonton, Box Elder County Utah. Like most every PoppaHe's the one taking pictures. [Not unless he was working for the Farm Security Administration. - tterrace] I'll be darned!I never expected to see something from MY neck of the woods, here, but I live in Box Elder County, Utah! This area was settled by Scandinavians and there are lots of Hansens (and Jensens, Jeppsens, Rasmussens, and all kind of other "sens"). I just learned that this family was from Tremonton, Utah, 20 miles north of me. Don served in the Marine Corps during WWII. He just passed away, in 2011, or I would contact him. I will see if I can find any descendants of this family. I'm sure they would be very happy to see this every day scene from their family's history, frozen in time, here on Shorpy! Homemade MilkNon-Pasteurized? *Gasp* How are they still alive? Bread Of LifeMy mother-in-law grew up on a farm in Minnesota in the teens and twenties. I remember discovering how to make bread back in the 1970s and telling her about it. Although she was happy for my enthusiasm, it was hard for HER to work up any. She said that her mother almost always made bread for she and her 7 siblings. On the very are occasions that they got to eat store-bought bread, they were THRILLED because, to them, it was "like cake"! Home is where the aprons areI noticed that the mother and the oldest daughter are both wearing aprons. My mother used to make me put one on when I was helping her prepare dinner. I was also wondering what the denim things are on the left hand side of the picture, next to the mother - jeans or a jacket? Completely agree with OTY's statement about a place at the table. More about the HansensFind-a-Grave also names several other members of the family who are buried at Riverview Cemetery in Box Elder County. Gudrun Elizabeth Pukkendal Hansen (mother) - Born December 3, 1895 - Died November 14, 1977 (age 81) Helen Hansen Carlson (at left in picture) - Born December 16, 1928 - Died July 4, 1968 (age 39) Don Marinus Hansen (at right in picture) - Born February 12, 1923 - Died February 9, 2011 (age 87) Two boys not in picture: Neal W. Hansen - Born December 26, 1915 - Died October 16, 1967 (age 51) Carlos A. Hansen - Born April 23, 1918 - Died February 19, 1943 (age 24) in the infamous WW II Bataan Death March. Don had a son named Carlos (1948-1994), probably in Don's older brother's honor. Here's an undated but much later picture of Don: I especially like the milk mustache on Gertrude. And it's probably on the rest of the children. Mom doesn't have one. And the mismatched glasses. Just like in my family when I was a kid. The drink of choice was iced tea though. Milk sometimes but especially in the morning for breakfast. Momma sets the toneOMG! What twinkling eye Mrs. Hansen has! They had food on the table, clothes on their backs and a roof over their heads= so happy. What a great family picture. (The Gallery, Agriculture)
Five o'Clock Shadows: 1939
... Medium format negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Those Palm Trees Need a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/30/2019 - 10:33pm -

April 1939. "Miami Beach home of former Gillette Razor Blade Company president." Medium format negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Those Palm TreesNeed a shave and a haircut. For two cents I would give them one. FSA subject matter?What was Wolcott trying to tell us with this photo? The FSA was created to assist poverty-stricken farmers and its photographers were tasked to document the lives of those who endured an impoverished rural lifestyle. Neither Miami Beach nor its residents would seem to qualify as subject matter. [The mandate of the FSA photography project, as distinct from the Farm Security Administration itself, evolved after the Dust Bowl years to include the documentation of American life in general, as well as Resettlement Administration activities. Three years after this, it became the Office of War Information photography project. - Dave] Sharp looking house!Bet a lot of cutting edge technology went into the construction. Gerard LambertHe was the son of the founder of Listerine, but worked hard to make a name for himself. Princeton Magazine has a great article about him. (The Gallery, Florida, M.P. Wolcott, Miami)
All in the Farmily: 1940
May 1940. "Farm Security Administration tenant purchase borrower and family. Crawford County, Illinois." ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/11/2019 - 10:32am -

May 1940. "Farm Security Administration tenant purchase borrower and family. Crawford County, Illinois." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the FSA. View full size. Easter time!Looks like Easter presents and baskets! Dads looking at buying some chickens! Plus a drawing of Thanksgiving dinner by Carl. Thanks for these insightful pictures of our past. [For the record, Easter in 1940 fell on March 24. - Dave] Après EasterNew overalls for Dad and boys, and Mom has stockings. Nice foot powered organ. I played one like it in 1962. Quite a lifeAmazing wall art! Poultry Keeper magazine! A rug that just won't quit! Wonderful. Bought the FarmFSA tenant-purchase was a program by which farm renters and sharecroppers (who as such were extremely disadvantaged) could apply for Federal loans with which to buy the farms in question at 3% interest over a 40-year term. While it was a popular and effective program, the sad part was that Congress appropriated only enough funds to accommodate about one out of every 100 families who applied. All In The Family: 1940This is Joe Manning. I wrote a story about this family 11 years ago. Left to right, we see Carl, Charles, Paul and Minnie Patton. I interviewed Charles, then 77 years old. See the story here: https://morningsonmaplestreet.com/2014/11/26/crawford-county-family-page... Last minute photoThe two boys must have been playing in the yard while Mr. Vachon set up his camera. Otherwise mom would have sent them to the water pail first to wash their feet. At least to me the recently used condition of the boys feet does not quite fit the overall setting. A rug that won't quitLike my family they probably called it a rug but it's linoleum. Hey, You Two—Get A Room!Mom and dad may be beat, but they are very nearly playing a little footsie, here, even with the FSA photog clicking away. It's kind of romantic. Linoleum Rugs"A rug that just won't quit!" appears to be linoleum with a fancy design. These were popular during the 1920s and 30s, and were used in other rooms of the house besides the kitchen. There is quite an interesting history with photos that you can read here. Joe ManningI love your website!! Will you be updating it with any new stories? Joe Manning website Thank you MMiller. I have over 300 stories on my website regarding the Lewis Hine child labor photos and the FSA photos. I continue to add new ones from time to time. I also have a lot of articles about other subjects. www.MorningsOnMapleStreet.com (The Gallery, Agriculture, John Vachon, Kids)
Pie Town Homesteaders: 1940
... not have much equipment; consequently he and his family farm the slow, hard way, by hand. Main window of their dugout was made from the ... Texas. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration. View full size. More on Pie Town From ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 12:02pm -

September 1940. Jack Whinery, Pie Town, New Mexico, homesteader, with his wife and the youngest of his five children in their dirt-floor dugout home. Whinery homesteaded with no cash less than a year ago and does not have much equipment; consequently he and his family farm the slow, hard way, by hand. Main window of their dugout was made from the windshield of the worn-out car which brought this family to Pie Town from West Texas. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration. View full size. More on Pie TownFrom Smithsonian. WitnessKodachrome has such a richness and vibrancy, eh? This photo makes it seem like we're standing at the photographer's right shoulder, looking on, feeling the Whinery's discomfort in what must have been a very small space. Sixty-seven years on, and we're right there. Thanks Mr. Lee. Denny Gill Chugiak, Alaska Love the colorEvery time I look at one of these photos from the 40s, with that deep, rich color, I think we must have entered a color "dark age" of sorts in the 60s, 70s and 80s... Loudon The Second?Something about this guy's face reminds me of Loudon Wainwright III DignityA sense of dignity is shown by this family. I think today's news media would tell them to "look defeated/miserable" before taking the photo. Modern media?If a freelance photographer went to take pictures of a family in these circumstances today he wouldn't likely be able to sell the photos, because no newspaper would be interested in publishing them. If he had a good shot of Lindsay Lohan, he could make $400,000 at bare minimum. So why again would he waste his time taking pictures of these people? [Russell Lee wasn't freelance. He was employed by the Farm Security Administration. - Dave] Hellooooooo handsome!I'm getting a time machine and moving to Pie Town. Going back to Pie TownI Google Mapped Pie Town and zoomed in on the streets. You can also "stand" on the hiway there as well. You can also go to Pietown's own website and see a few photos. Would like to know where his dugout house was and what happened to it. My brother said something profound about all these pictures. He's only in his forties, but he said, "I wasn't even alive and I miss this stuff." I think of these photos as true Americans. I miss it too, and I want it back! >>---------> (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Pie Town, Rural America, Russell Lee)
Field Trip: 1942
...   Two of some 300 West Virginians recruited by the Farm Security Administration to travel to Upstate New York for the fall harvest of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/17/2013 - 10:27am -

      Two of some 300 West Virginians recruited by the Farm Security Administration to travel to Upstate New York for the fall harvest of peaches, apples, tomatoes and other crops, part of a "Food for Victory" campaign occasioned by the wartime manpower shortage. September 1942. "High school boys and girls going by special train from Richwood, West Virginia, to upper New York state to help bring in the harvest." Photo by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Head startIt looks like our boy has already gotten one tomato. Woo WooMaybe if I act nonchalant, she won't notice my hand on her knee. Or, maybe if I play deadHe'll get up and leave. Back in the day-when the old coaches went clickedy-clack, clickedy-clack. Should photo be:Feel Trip: 1942 My two centsIf that dimple were any deeper, he could use that chin for a coin purse. (The Gallery, John Collier, Railroads)
Berrien County: 1940
... full size. 35mm nitrate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. Big Pile of What? What is the big pile behind ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 11:11am -

July 1940. Migrant camp at a fruit-packing plant in Berrien County, Michigan. (On the car: yet another Shell Oil license-plate ornament.) View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. Big Pile of What?What is the big pile behind the clothesline on the right? Rocks? Wood? Coal? Construction debris? [Coalpile for the cannery? In what seems to be two grades (below). Or maybe ballast for the train tracks. - Dave] The girl...Her face looks like she's approaching 30, but she can't be more than 10-12 years old. What is the source of this image?My client is interested in finding out about this image. Is the woman in front the mother of the baby? [The photos are from the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information prints & photographs collection at the Library of Congress. No identities were recorded for this particular series. - tterrace] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, John Vachon, Kids)
Soldiers Welcome: 1940
... Acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Dick Whitman or Donald ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/30/2023 - 4:40pm -

December 1940. "Construction of Army training camps around Alexandria, Louisiana. East Side Cafe with rooms for rent, 'Soldiers Welcome,' on highway to Camp Livingston." Acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Dick Whitmanor Donald Draper? Alternate-take photobomb Hello, Danny, come and eat with us.Did the girls from "The Shining" take a job as waitresses? Now Fort JohnsonThose Army training camps around Alexandria eventually consolidated into what was known as Fort Polk, and now known as Fort Johnson. I remember "visiting" Fort Polk when I was on active duty for a training exercise. Sand, pine trees, ticks and chiggers, along with heat and humidity. 904 Main Street, PinevilleAlexandria has no Main Street, but Pineville, just across the Red River, does. 904 Main Street lies on Military Highway, as the caption implies, and is now the City Court. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, M.P. Wolcott, WW2)
Southside Easter: 1941
... Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. That is a great pic ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/17/2022 - 8:16am -

        Happy Easter from Chicago, and from Shorpy. April 1941. "Negro boys on Easter morning, Southside Chicago." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. That is a great picWonderful ... the clothes, the car. Brilliant. [I agree. There is definitely something to be said for dressing up. - Dave] It's my favoriteIt's my favorite (Blue Thunder -Chicago) Have these boys ever been recognized?Does anyone know who these boys are and whatever happened to them? On my wallThis great picture is one of the most prominent on my wall right now! Love thisThis is definitely a classic picture. Love it :-) I love it tooOne year ago I was wisiting in Stockholm and I see this picture in Old Picture store in very big print and I was amazing! At last weekend I go to the same store again, just to see this photo again...I looked it very long time, thinking about these boys, the time...wau! It tells more than thousand words! Peik Salonen/Finland love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Got this picture for a steal framed (huge size, not sure of dimensions) for $30.00 in downtown Detroit at our farmer's market. I had walked by it monthes before and was sorry I didn't get it then. Now it is in my home...I call them "my boys". MasterpieceThe boy in the center is a rebel and a leader. His coat is unbuttoned, the small boys know how to behave. What a style. I have a copy of this picture in my wall. Hats?!?Great! You don't even see grown men these days with classic hats and these kids have snappy fedoras... love this shot. Southside Boys, Chicago 1941The boy in the center in Congressman Bobby Rush of Chicago. [I don't think so. Bobby Rush was born in 1946, five years after this photo was taken. - Dave] Chicago EasterI have this picture on my wall - and it tells a story of a million words, every time I look at this picture, I always have something different to say. It melts my heart, this picture is truly a classic, I love it ... my whole living room is focused around this pic. I wish I knew what happened to these boys. CarnationThe boy on the left, with the glasses: what is the wire that seems to be coming from his hat to his lapel, and what is that thing on his lapel? Hat PreserverI believe it was called a hat preserver. I've seen pictures of Edwardian gents wearing roughly the same thing. It's a lanyard to catch your hat if it's blown off, thus keeping it from getting filthy in the street. South Side BoysI fell in love with this picture as soon as I saw it. I have it on my wall centered with a black and white of Miles Davis on one side and John Coltrane on the other (both back in the day) I would love nothing more than to find out who these boys are. Everytime someone comes into my home that is the first thing I am asked. If anyone has information relating to the identity of these boys who are now MEN, please forward to thattallnsexy1@yahoo.com! Thanks! Southside EasterI saw this in a photo gallery this past weekend. It was with an article called "WVON Bronzeville Mystery Photo," referencing a contest by a radio station to identify the boys. I don't remember everything it said, but seems like it mentioned there is only one of them still alive. Buttoning customI noticed the two boys with the patterned suits (No. 2 & 4 from the left) have buttoned their jackets right to left. Did it simply matter less then as it should now but doesn't? [There is no choice when it comes to suit-buttoning. It depends on how the suit is made -- whether the buttons are on the left or the right. - Dave] Who are they?I loved this picture for years. My grandmother has hung this pic on her wall till her death and she used to always preach to her grandsons, make this pic an inspiration in your life and she used to tell her granddaughters to find men of this example. I just want to know who these men are and what are they doing. Love at first sightI actually saw this picture at the Magic City Classic in Birmingham, Alabama in 2007. One of the vendors had it, but it was overpriced so I left it there. My husband bought it for me for Christmas that same year. I fell in love with "my boys" (as I call them) as soon as I laid eyes on them. I would love to know their background. That lanyard thingIt's called a "wind trolley" -- keeps your hat from flying down the street if the wind knocks it off your head. Attaches to your lapel somehow. The other thing looks like a flower. Re. Buttoning customThe younger boy's button configuration is the same as women's buttoning, because young kids didn't dress themselves. They had help. Just like women of high status were dressed by a servant back in the day. Anyway, I love the hip style of the kids in this great photo. MasterpieceI have the picture on my wall too. Second is Ansel Adams moonrise in San Hernandez. Which one is better. Both are brilliant. Pekka Finland. Bronzeville Mystery PhotoGo here for video https://news.wttw.com/2015/11/25/ask-geoffrey-story-behind-iconic-1940s-... The times, they are a-changing.Today, those boys would be told to keep six feet apart. Of course, they wouldn't be so nattily attired, but still. Easter 1941 was kind of the last hurrah for a whole generation of kids; depending on when Easter fell that year, the US would be at war in 8 or 9 months. They were too young to have served, but they might have had older brothers who did. They more than likely served in Korea a decade later. Happy Easter, Shorpyites! I hope you had lots of chocolate, lots of ham, and most of all, I hope you remembered to keep them separate on the table. Grow-in' clothingFor most of those guys the loose jackets and the cuffs on the trousers make their Sunday's best look to be set up for growth. I would also bet that most of those trousers had some spare cloth in the rear seam. Let-out-as-you-grow style. I had those when I was that age, and I'm not that old. But then, my parents were kind of conservative, too. Can't do that with jeans, though. And, dress maketh the man. Button anomalyTake a look at the gent in the middle. On the right side of his jacket (his right), there seems to be both a button and a buttonhole. I can't see the other side, so I don't know if the buttoning is actually reversible. 1938 PontiacThose handsome young men are seated and standing on! Alfred P. Sloan's identification cues are in full swing, just like the music, with the chrome stripes identifying the Pontiac brand -- they would last through 1956 in one version or another. When there were two stripes, they were called suspenders. It's further indicated to be a six cylinder at the bottom of the grille. Cool guysFor straight-ahead, steely-eyed cool, the guy in the middle wins hands down (beautiful new brogues, too), but for pure styling, the lad on the left takes the cake. He’s the only one with a pocket handkerchief, too. Re: Button AnomalyDouble breasted jackets normally had a button on the inside (The young man's left) that buttoned into the buttonhole that you see, thus securing it in place. I can't tie a tie eitherMaybe it's the angle but it seems like the guy in the middle ties his ties like me -- the fat part shorter than the narrow part. Great photo. Previously on Shorpy…The location is 47th Street and Grand Boulevard (later renamed South Parkway and now Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard). We are looking south. On the left, with the folded awning, is the Savoy Ballroom. Saturday Night: 1941 The Coasters: 1941 If we could pan farther left, we would see the Regal Theater directly across from the boys. Showtime in Chicago: 1941 Philadelphia Story: 1941 (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chicago, Easter, Kids, Russell Lee)
Pop Kola: 1939
... years ago. 4x5 nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Dental Snuff That sign is ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/28/2022 - 1:00pm -

July 1939. Gordonton, North Carolina. "Country store on dirt road. Sunday afternoon. Note kerosene pump on the right and the gasoline pump on the left. Rough, unfinished timber posts have been used as supports for porch roof. Negro men sitting on the porch. Brother of store owner stands in doorway." Our second look at this establishment, seen here two years ago. 4x5 nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Dental SnuffThat sign is the only one that survives according to Google. All of those other signs are gone. See the comment "Improvements" below. Maybe the "American Pickers" added some of those to their collection. Smoke 'em if ya got 'emI guess since no one is actually pumping gasoline at the moment, it's OK to be smoking. Somehow these folks are not quite as sophisticated as the gents in the cigarette ads. Priceless junkI'll bet the "American Pickers" guys would love to just step into that shot and start spreading the cash around. It's everything they dream about. ImprovementsSince 1939, they've painted the sky blue. Click for more. Cannot Live on Bread AloneMust also have soda pop and tobacco products. Curious that nothing else is advertised and that 71 years later those two evil items seem to be the root of all health problems. We must be slow learners. Orphaned ShoeThere it is! Lower right, under the porch. Not under the porchIt's a damn shame that there's no hound dog sleeping down there! Gas PumpAppears to be a Fry Model 117. Immortalized in FloridaIf I'm not mistaken, this scene was almost completely duplicated as a stage set for "The American Adventure" show at EPCOT Center. The gents in the show are or were audio animatronics robots who spoke for a few minutes about the Depression and how not many people would pay 18 cents a gallon for gas. Is this show still in place? American AdventureAnnoying Disney Fan, I was thinking the same thing. The show is indeed still there. The banjo player strums and sings, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" FDR comes over the radio and says, "the only thing we have to fear..." On the LevelI suspect the store owner believed his "unfinished timber posts" added to the rustic charm of his establishment - he obviously could have used plain timbers. The stone supports for the porch have been artfully built up to keep the porch level, so he cared about maintaining appearances. Note to Dave: I am very protective about the quality of your wonderful web site, and I appreciate the necessity for advertising support. However a fine line is crossed when ads expand out of their sidebar location and obscure half the page, as the Jack in the Box ad did tonight. Making the reader reach up and close the ad is cheesy and impertinent. This Shack in the Present DayThat store in Gordonton has been documented in the present day! I like the previous shorpy picture betterIn the last picture they were just talking amongst themselves. This one most of them have turned to look at the Camera. It just looses something now. Chicken catching or "catchin"I revisited this picture and now see what I missed before. There is a chicken crate barely visible under the left side of the building. I went to high school one year in a small town in the south. On Friday nights sometimes chicken farmers would come to town and pick up boys and men to work the chicken houses. The workers would run around and catch the chickens in the houses, throw them in crates like the one shown. They would load them on the trucks for market. They say some of the good catchers could grab 4 to 6 chickens by the feet with one hand. Bell BottomsDid anyone else notice the boy under the coke sign wearing the trousers from an old Navy blue uniform. The suspenders are a classy touch, but probably more a necessity than a fashion statement. Great PictureThis is really a great picture. It captures so much in one shot. Thanks, tipster,for posting the photos by panorino of the current state of the store. And there's nothing like a "Carolina Blue" sky! I wonderwhat a building inspector would say about those deck supports. And yet it seems to have worked, since it's still standing. Navy uniformI wore those navy 13 button trousers for thirteen years and I'd bet that the pants pictured are not navy trousers. If I recall correctly, there was a civilian "style" during those years that resembles what is shown. SupportLooking at the state of the place now, I'd have thought those rocks and tree stumps were added later on as support as the place started to fall down and need maintenance. But nope - looks like they were there all along, piled just like that! Clicking on the previous post is totally worth it, by the way. I LOVE the characters photoshopped in! So cool. Pop Kola cap and a quarterIn 1939 in Corpus Christi, Texas you could take a ride in a Ford Trimotor for 25 cents and a Pop Kola bottle cap. I took such a ride in 1939. This is the first reference to Pop Kola that I have seen in 70 years. Thanks for making my day. Now that's marketing.Pop Kola. So when Yankees come down and ask for a "pop" you can give them one. "Pop Kola. People ask for it by name. Even when they don't mean to." What did they sell?I am looking at signs on stores like this and think that they didn't sell anything except cola and cigarets. ColorizedClick to enlarge. [Wow!! I made this into a a separate post here. - Dave] (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Gas Stations, Rural America, Stores & Markets)
Just Picked: 1941
... County, Maryland." Photo by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. I think they're in the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/07/2019 - 11:50am -

August 1941. "Children of Maryland farmer helping harvest the tomato crop. Dorchester County, Maryland." Photo by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. I think they're in the wrong fieldThey look more like Children of the Corn to me. 1941 farm to market1941, when it took two days from Mayland farm to DC market. These days, two days from CA farm to DC market? And an unsettling effect of black and white photography. Whether that tomato is green or red, is has almost the same grey hue as those rather fair-haired kids' skin. Break out the sunblocker, please! Hot soilIn Europe, Operation Barbarossa lasted for two months. II WW is speeding up. A beautiful photo (probably siblings) - an idyll. I can see the color of tomatoes. Thank you Shorpy ! (The Gallery, Agriculture, John Collier, Kids)
State-of-the-Art Facilities: 1941
... size. Medium format safety negative by Shipman for the Farm Security Administration. "Stinkies" Funny how nothing has ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/06/2008 - 3:32pm -

Minnesota, 1941. "Complete sanitary privy properly protected to prevent flies from spreading diseases. Concrete floor slab, riser stool and building are fabricated at central yard for environmental sanitation program." View full size. Medium format safety negative by Shipman for the Farm Security Administration. "Stinkies"Funny how nothing has changed since the first outhouses. They still look the same, still feel the same, and I bet they still smell the same! I had to use one in minus-25 temps at my friend's log cabin 3 weeks ago, brrrr! TP or not TPIndeed, that must have been a pretty fancy/rich outhouse to have TP! I remember my grandfather telling me that when he was growing up on the farm, the outhouse was pretty far from the house and they did not have TP... they would cut strips from the evening paper or expired mail order catalogues... Apparently only "rich" families had TP and the really rich ones even had a small oil heater in the outhouse! I really like the design of this outhouse with the cesspool vent tube coming up behind the seat and venting on the sides, and I assume there is probably screening in the vents to stop the flies. It's a really fancy design! KEEP LID CLOSED DURING FLY SEASON!Ewww ... Perhaps I'm being priggish, but why not just keep the lid closed all the time? TPObserve the toilet paper, has it really not changed at all? A subject we can all relate toYes, a lot of thought has gone into this outhouse, verily a modern design. But the TP in the picture is probably closer to what we in the modern day refer to as fine-grain sandpaper, or perhaps burlap. In which case I'd prefer last year's Sears. The stink in the modern porta-potties is wholly different, though. They all smell of perfumed antiseptics, ie. evil - at least the vintage version smells honest! Our farm toilet until 1972No nostalgia here just crude sanitation ... and we used sears catalogues for paper to boot! San Diego vs. MinnesotaSo, on January 18, as one sits reading one's Sears Catalog and minding one's own business while performing one's business, does one want to be doing so while it is 77 degrees (oops, just went up to 78) or minus 19? Not to mention, it is never "fly season" in San Diego, unless you are a Blue Angel. Well, this picture cements it. I'm staying. Just when I was on the verge of returning to Minnesota where the hardy stock thrives, this picture comes along and upends the privy, so to speak. The OuthouseI cannot begin to tell you how I HATE outhouses. I grew up with them since I spent time with my grandparents. I especially hated them during the night, especially hot weather, when the wasps made nests there. It's hell to have to go and worry about being stung several times in the process. I was 16 when grandpa finally put the toilet in the house. God, what rejoicing there was! And I ain't lyin'. You never heard such whoopin' and hollerin' from a bunch of girls! (I had lots of cousins). Sears was bestGrandpa always used the Sears Roebuck catalogue. He said the Monkey Ward ones were too slick to do any good. He was right too. San Diego vs. Minnesota # 2I was visiting Tucson this past June and was seriously considering relocating there. During that brief visit, I came across two very large and creepy spiders: one was in my room and was promptly dispatched under a mound of bathroom spray while the other one - a startlingly massive, flesh-colored, jointed-legged eye-popper - was covered with a stray towel and stomped. That experience got me to thinking about black widow spiders, which I'd seen in San Diego and also on a previous Tucson visit. I began wondering about the incidence of spider bites and started doing some googlin'. What I discovered surprised and alarmed me. Most reported cases of black widow spider bites in the American Southwest from the late 1800s through the early 1900s were contracted by men using outhouses. All the bites were on their genitals. It makes you wonder why nobody installed hinged seats that could be lifted and checked under. I'm thinking that Minnesota is looking pretty good from where I'm sitting right now. (The Gallery, Rural America)
Wintry Mix: 1940
... City, Iowa. 35mm nitrate negative by Arthur Rothstein, Farm Security Administration. View full size. Our readers point out the Englert ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/17/2007 - 3:21am -

February 1940. Newsboy during a winter storm in Iowa City, Iowa. 35mm nitrate negative by Arthur Rothstein, Farm Security Administration. View full size. Our readers point out the Englert Theater to the right, where "Balalaika" is playing. Iowa City hardware storeThis is Joe Manning. Note the hardware store by the theater. The name looks like Lenoch & (something). I found two current listings in Iowa City for Lenoch & Cilek Ace Hardware. Eat your heart out Home Depot. Movie at the EnglertThey're showing "Balalaika" with Nelson Eddy and Ilona Massey. Release date December 29, 1939 from MGM. In those days of course movies didn't debut everywhere at the same time. They didn't strike nearly the number of prints that they do today so it would probably take quite a while for a film like this to "trickle down" to a place like Iowa City. Englert TheaterIn the background to the right of the man is the Englert Theater (with vertical sign above the marquee). A major fundraising effort in the past decade saved the Englert from destruction, and today the theater is part of a thriving arts community near the University of Iowa campus. More information, including a history of the Englert, is available at http://www.englert.org. Oh, Leo Kottke's gonna be there in February. I may need to pay a visit. [Interesting. Say hi for Shorpy! - Dave] Iowa City hardware storeIt's been a few years since I've lived in Iowa City, but Menard's was the main home improvement store. (Checks Google -- yep, closest Home Depot is a half-hour away in Cedar Rapids) When I lived there, the downtown Lenoch & Cilek was a block or two south of the Englert in the Ped Mall (pedestrians only). It appears that store has moved a few blocks north of this picture. One thing of note is that most of these commercial buildings are 2 or 3 storey mixed-use structures, with the top 1 or 2 floors devoted to apartments. Many University of Iowa students live there as downtown is adjacent to campus. Well, the campus sprawls all over the place, but its core is an easy walk from this location. +83Below is the same view from May of 2023. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Cars, Trucks, Buses)
A Poor Diet: 1936
... cabbage and pie." Nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration View full size. Christmas Dinner Makes me ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/16/2022 - 3:20pm -

December 1936: "Christmas dinner in home of Earl Pauley near Smithfield, Iowa. Dinner consisted of potatoes, cabbage and pie." Nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security AdministrationView full size. Christmas DinnerMakes me want to cry. - Calli. Christmas DinnerIt's sad I bet that pie tasted sweetI bet that pie tasted sweet though Christmas DinnerAnd kids today think they have it tough In 1936 many were in suchIn 1936 many were in such straits. It would be interesting to know how these children fared in later life. They don't seem as sad as we are for them. Let's go out and feed some of the poor that we still have with us here and abroad. The worst thing is like manyThe worst thing is like many of us this was probably one of the better meals of the year. Back in these days the fact that the kids are clothed and getting pie is pretty good. Still sad looking back on this from today. I think the eldest in theI think the eldest in the corner looks pretty happy about her pie, and the baby on the box makes me grin with that cute hair!! What a great picture. The Invisible CatAnyone notice the invisible cat behind the boy next to that press like thing (a still)? It seems to be pretty interested in something to the left off camera. Judging by the shoes and pants, I'd say it is a boy in the corner, next to the oldest girl. Then it looks like the older boy next to the baby girl standing on the soap box. Looks like poppa has a job of some sort.. he hangs his lunchbox on the wall behnid them when he's not at work. Re: The Invisible CatThe "press like thing" is a cream separator, not a still. "Poppa" is a farmer. Biscuits Too.There's a pan of biscuits there as well. Those kids actually looked relatively well nourished for the time. they are bright eyed and bushy tailed (so to speak). Cream SeparatorWhen I lived in Iowa, I noticed an awful lot of folks used those cream separators as lawn ornaments. Am I the only person who noticed the coffee can? Christmas of 2009As sad as that looks, I know that many families will be having that for Christmas this year (2009) I know that the local food banks are starting to ration and even turn needy families away. I pray this recession is over soon. I don't know how our family is going to fare. For this Christmas I lost my job and I don't know how long I will have before things start to go. One thing for sure, my internet access will be the first to go, then perhaps phone service, but I'll try to do what I can to keep food on the table and shoes on the kids' feet. Not exactly Norman RockwellBut a beautiful family all the same. (The Gallery, Cats, Christmas, Great Depression, Kids, Russell Lee)
FSA to NBC: 1942
... Miss Mary Alsop, at left." Photo by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Tuck your shirt in, kid I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/07/2022 - 4:40pm -

June 1942. Bridgeton, New Jersey. "National Broadcasting Company, making a record for national use, at FSA agricultural camp for workers, many migrants, employed at Seabrook Farms. Man holding paper is a member of the camp's governing council; camp nurse, Miss Mary Alsop, at left." Photo by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Tuck your shirt in, kidI know: you're thinking "It's only an audio, no one can tell" They can tell. FSA under pressureIn June 1942, the Farm Security Administration was in need of positive publicity. American conservatives, who had always regarded agricultural camps like the one pictured as the entering wedge of socialism, argued that the wartime manufacturing boom rendered the FSA obsolete. After Republican gains in the 1942 election, the Roosevelt Administration and Congress significantly reduced the FSA; the famous photographic unit that Collier worked for was transferred into the Office of War Information, then disbanded in 1944. In 1946, what was left of the FSA was transformed into the Farmers Home Administration, with a mission to help secure financing for purchases of farms, particularly by veterans. The FHA, in turn, was greatly expanded as part of Lyndon Johnson's war on poverty, and lasted until 2006, when it was transferred into the Department of Agriculture's USDA Rural Development. Standard coupeA '38 Ford Standard Coupe had a cavernous trunk put to good use here for the recording equipment. DeLuxe would have a tail light on the side in view. Bootleggers loved the giant trunk and the peppy V8 motor. TechCutting a record -- direct to disc. ObscureLook at that wind. A portable PRESTO disc recorderIn the trunk of the car the sound engineer is recording the interview using a Presto disc recorder, in his hand he is holding the microscope (Presto type 125-A) dedicated to check the condition of the cutting needle and to judge the depth and quality of the record groove. The long way thereI'm impressed NBC is making a record in the trunk of a car. Given most records were and are made in sound studios, outside conditions, no doubt, had to be just right. The record in this case is being made maybe 15-feet behind the broadcaster; so why does the microphone cord run off the left side of the photograph? Making a “record”Not in the jukebox sense - they're recording an interview on location for eventual radio broadcast. No tape recorders in the US yet - the Germans had them all. Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?Interesting picture that evokes an optimistic, can-do feeling of team spirit, common goal, mutual respect and racial harmony. Where have those things gone? I wonder what the two posters on the interior office wall depict. (Technology, The Gallery, Agriculture, John Collier)
Pittsburgh: 1941
... Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. I love the rain... This ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/17/2023 - 2:46pm -

June 1941. "Rain. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. I love the rain...This photo immediately brings forth the smell of rain, the hiss of car tires as they pass and the drip drip drip of rainwater off the eaves of the porch. Pittsburgh by VachonThis is a beautiful picture. John Vachon's photos did not have the pathos and personal drama of Dorothea Lange's work, but more than any other American photographer, he has left an invaluable scrapbook of the vernacular American landscape. He is my favorite photographer. What are the towers ...... in the background? Is that another church? Looks Orthodox. Perhaps someone familiar with Pittsburgh will know. A Rainy DayThe person walking with the umbrella really makes the photograph work. You can almost feel the rain.. Pittsburgh PrecipitationI agree with others here about the evocative quality of this photo. Staring at this for a few moments I swear I can hear the rain coming down! Canada Dry SpurCanada Dry Spur ("the cola drink with Canada Dry quality") was Canada Dry's attempt at entering the cola wars. By this time of course the company was owned by P.D. Saylor and Associates and the only connection with Canada was the name. Such a wonderIt's 103 degrees on my front porch (yes, that's in the shade), my part of Arizona hasn't seen rain in 3 or 4 months. Guess whats going on my desktop. Thanks. DSS Look how it falls straight down!Not only can I relate to DSS since we don't get a lot of rain in West Texas, but I'm just amazed at how it's coming *straight down*. (Huge gusts of wind aren't sucking her umbrella inside out, and the rain isn't coming in sideways and raising welts on her skin!) P.S. Not that I'm complaining...I love it here, and my glasses usually protect my eyes from the infrequent SIDEWAYS rainstorms! Tioga Street, PittsburghPittsburgh has a lot of onion-dome ethnic churches all over town. The 1941 City Directory lists a Wm. James Confectionery at 7314 Tioga Street, which is where Point Breeze meets Homewood meets nothing original still standing. This would be east of downtown. South Side P-BurgThis looks like the "South Side" of Pittsburgh and if I am not mistaken, this is an orthodox church which is now the private home and studio of the owner of the number one Pittsburgh chain of hair salons and spas. Morrow TriangleAtlantic ave is a one-way northward running street to the east of downtown. The only intersection that makes a bend like the one photographed is at Liberty and Baum. There are no row homes or churches there now though. The vantage point of the photo is a parklet called Morrow Triangle. The filling station and church are now the site of a car dealer. Unless there was a street name change that the Atlantic ave in the picture is different from the current Atlantic ave I think I'm right. [The "Atlantic" sign is advertising a brand of gasoline. - Dave] It's SouthsideI've lived in Pittsburgh all my life and this shot looks remarkably like the Southside (flats) to me just off Carson Street. Many churches of similar Greek Orthodox venue there. A previous poster indicated he thought that Atlantic sign was a street. It looks like a gas station to me, or something else. It's DeutschtownThis is the corner of Madison and Lockhart, looking west. The church with the onion domes is St. Mary's -- Bavarian Catholic, believe it or not. You can't go and see this intersection anymore since it was destroyed in the 1980s so that the Parkway North could be built. The church is still there, although now it's a hotel. Pressley StreetThe previous comment is correct. That's St. Mary's (now known as the Priory) which sits at 614 Pressley Street. Atlantic GasThe Atlantic sign is for the gas station. Atlantic petroleum was founded in Philly, then eventually acquired by Sunoco in the 80's or 90's. (The Gallery, John Vachon, Pittsburgh)
Hillside Danglers: 1939
... Virginia." Nitrate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Mobile homes These days in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/13/2023 - 7:04pm -

January 1939. "Houses at city limits. Charleston, West Virginia." Nitrate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Mobile homesThese days in West Virginia you see mobile homes perched on impossible places, and wonder how they got them up there! It seems this is a longstanding tradition. Sliding DirtyI sure would hate to fall down that hill but at least the roof of that house would break my fall. And that house. And that house. Hanging Out With My FriendsGives new meaning to the phrase for kids living in these houses. ElectricityLooks like the home on the left has power. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Rural America)
Cheers: 1937
... night in a saloon." Medium format negative by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration. View full size. White gas Kerosene lanterns ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/19/2012 - 10:17pm -

September 1937. Craigville, Minnesota. "Saturday night in a saloon." Medium format negative by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration. View full size. White gasKerosene lanterns had just an open flame. These pictured were fueled by white gas and the tank had to be pressurized with a hand pump. Hands-Off policyInteresting that the "Cheers" folks removed the fellow's hand from the lady's shoulder. Indoor campingPretty rustic. The lights are kerosene lanterns. Slim pickin'sA James M. Cain novel is written all over that woman's face. P.A.Do you have Prince Albert in a sign? Cheers...... it ain't.... Cheers!Hey! Doesn't the guy holding glass appear in the old lead-in for "Cheers"? Cheers to you too!Oh my gawd it's the folks from the "Cheers!" intro. I must have seen their colorized faces a thousand times (thanks to reruns), and now I know where they're from. It's like running into long-lost family members. Thanks Dave! Where everybody knows your nameThis photo was used in the opening sequence of "Cheers." As I remember, it was cropped, to highlight the couple in the center. 0:43Character actorsCentral Casting, eat your heart out! Cheers!Remember the opening titles to the TV show "Cheers"? It shows old photos of people at bars. One of the "Cheers" photos is THIS photo; they did a close-up of the guy on the left. And yes, I watch too much TV. Casting? Sure ...That's Howard Hughes, Patricia Neal, and G.W. Bailey on the right. Can't quite make out the lady on the far left, though. A certain dignity.Even though these people have seen more than their fair share of hard times, there is a kind of dignity in the way the hold their drinks. Serious drinkers for sure. The guy on the right looks kind of like George Clooney. They all exhibit character with a capital C. The guy on the left is giving a major superiority pose to the guy taking a nip. The lantern in the back corneris a Coleman. I have one just like it. Still works very well. A rose is a rose is a rose.A barfly is a barfly is a barfly. Nice hat on the alcoholic on the extreme right, looks like he stole it from a horse. Not politically correct but my opinion. GaslightNotice the fixture in the upper left of the photo is providing light via gas, not electricity. [As noted below, that's a kerosene lantern. The tank holds the fuel. - Dave] CamelsAnd I'm thinking that's a Camel cigarette pack on the bar. Recognize the "pillars" from my father's smokes. That's where I've seem him!Thanks everyone for restoring my sanity. I saw the guy on the left and immediately thought "were have I seen him before?" I am a child of the 80's so that's why his face was burned into my brain. Camels for sureI used to smoke them before Pall Mall. Cigarettes didn't have filters in those days. Maybe it was the "Hits or Cracks" game that made me switch from Camels to Pall Mall. As I remember, you guessed if it was the letter H or C under the stamp. If you picked wrong you got slugged on the upper arm. Alternate casting suggestionsLeft to right: Rosie O'Donnell, Robert Ryan, Margaret Hamilton, Walter Huston. Whatever is transpiring, it's interesting enough for the Missus to delay her request to "light me." SimplicityThe beer looks great. Camel Caravan"Camel" was the first nationally advertised and distributed brand of American cigarettes, beginning in about 1914. My dad's first real job was with their NY Distributor, Metropolitan Tobacco, back in 1921. He smoked Camels and only Camels for the nexr 65 years, and never had so much as a cough ("Not a Cough in a Carload"). Back in my time, if I ran out of my favorite, Lucky Strike, I'm bum a Camel from him. Without any exception, they were the strongest, looseest and hottest burning American cigarette that ever existed. They would have killed me after a year! And yes, I do also remember the H and C thing from under the revenue stamp on the packages. LanternsActually both lanterns are probably Colemans. The one over the bar is an indoor table lamp, which would have originally come with a shade, much like an electric table lamp. The other one is an outdoor type lantern. Both are missing their globes, a rather alarming fact, as the furring strips on the ceiling suggest that it is made of combustible fiberboard, a cheap and popular building material at that time. Like most Colemans, these burned "white gas," which I believe is actually naphtha, but kerosene models were also available. More common kerosene lanterns have wicks, but pressurized ones do exist. They can be distinguished from the white gas version by the primer cup below the mantle. You fill this cup with alcohol to preheat the kerosene; otherwise, it does not vaporize properly. BTW, "not a cough in a carload" was the slogan of Lucky Strike, not Camel. And I don't believe for a second that anyone smoked any brand for 65 years without coughing. Lumberjack TownSome history on this town, and this saloon can be found here: http://www.lakesnwoods.com/Craig.htm This place was evidently both a saloon and a barbershop. There are some photos here of other customers, as well as another shot of these folks. Another image in original Cheers Theme SequenceThe original Cheers Theme Sequence has a picture of my Great-Grandfather W.T. Price II in the Horseshoe Saloon in Junction City, Kansas taken in 1905 by a photographer named Pennell! (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Russell Lee)
Pit Crew: 1940
... nitrate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Ms. Maybelline Just finished reading ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/05/2012 - 7:09pm -

August 1940. "Port Gibson, Mississippi." Medium-format nitrate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Ms. MaybellineJust finished reading "The Help" -- a portrait straight from the book. Nurse and maid? They must be pretty far from the house, the maid has got those hot scratchy hose rolled all the way down to her ankles. Street ViewSo much that is interesting in this picture -- the pushcart stroller, the saddle oxfords, and the unique apron, which must have been pinned to the girl's bodice, since it has no ties. A perfect slice-of-life picture. Junior's buggyThey are called Taylor Tiny Tots. Four swivel wheels, a push handle that can be removed, and a custom owner operated steering wheel. When Junior gets older, you remove the steel belly pan and the handle, and he can operate it by himself. A smart invention. Apron ChicAll good aprons are pinned. Straps are for scullery maids and butchers. Marion Post Wolcott FanMarion had the eye of an artist and the mind of a scholar. She's packed a lot of history into a deceptively simple image. It's a trick that she pulled off time and again. Click on her name above the photo for more. You'll see what I mean. Taylor Tiny TotsDon't know for sure if that is what I had when I was under 2 years old -- born in 1942. Mine was a light blue color and may have had some modifications due to the war effort. I know my first tricycle had no rubber on the wheels because of materials needed in World War II. Toe-TiedMy stroller (late '40s) was very similar. My father told me that once when he took me to the grocery store, the owner commented on how well behaved I was, compared to when I was with my mom: "When he's with your wife, he's out of that stroller and into everything." That's because my dad tied my shoelaces together. Family pictureThis picture is my dad. We have this picture in my dad's things. It was taken in front of my grandparents house. I have seen it other places and have seen that it is the cover of the UK version of the help. My question is, how did it get out there? We don't mind just have always wondered. Any help would be great. - thanks! [The photo was taken for the Farm Security Administration, a U.S. Government agency. Their files and photographs are archived at the Library of Congress, and are in the public domain. The record and high-resolution scan of this particular negative can be found at the LOC via this link. -tterrace] (The Gallery, Kids, M.P. Wolcott)
Cow Boy: 1939
... County, Minnesota." Photo by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Separating the sheep from the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/20/2017 - 10:02am -

September 1939. "Son of dairy farmer. Dakota County, Minnesota." Photo by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Separating the sheep from the goatsIt takes a photo like this bit of agricultural magnificence to separate the hack photogs from the truly greats. Thank you, Arthur Rothstein. No one could've done this better. Mud in his eyeI see a man in a hat with a bulky coat reflected in the boy's eye. Pareidolia or Rothstein? Cowden Bit the DustThe Cowden Manufacturing Company, of Lexington, KY, manufacturer of men's and boy's clothing, was bought by Interco in 1964. Eventually, Interco wound down its clothing operations, and Cowden was no more. See more here. Grass toothpicksI frequently had a Timothy stem in my mouth as a kid, this boy has something different though. I learned it by imitation from grandpa and liked the brief, sweet taste. He told me about a few other types that offered a different taste, often bitter but I've forgotten most of them. Sometimes I used it used the stems as a toothpick for the goofy gap in my front teeth. The eyesWow. Definitely one of the best photos I've seen on this site. And there are a lot of "best" photos. The overalls seem to be the same brand as the one here: https://www.shorpy.com/node/2462. Photo is also by Arthur Rothstein. Whatever happened to Cowden? Couldn't find much other than they might have gone out of business around 1948. [Scroll down! - Dave] Yup, was actually submitting this one for posting before the answer was up. Re chewing on grass (bwayne), don't know what it was but as a kid, some of us did that. I didn't like the taste of it, so I was not one of them constantly doing it. More recent years, kids I know would do. Haven't got a clue, though, as to what kind of fodder it was. Don't think it is anything that will ever stop. Chewing on GrassI'm not sure where the practice of sticking some sort of grass or straw stem in the mouth and chewing on it came from but obviously Manhattanite Rothstein thinks it enhances the rural feel. We had farms for 40+ years and yes, I tried it once or twice very early on. Foxtail tastes bitter and I never saw anyone do it but a citified greenhorn visiting the farm. Farm LifeMy mom was a child of a farmer in Wisconsin during the Depression. She says even though they didn't have much money they never went hungry, unlike my city kid dad, who knew what it was like to go without meals. Pastures aplentyBefore suburban sprawl made Dakota County Minnesota’s third-most populous county, dairy reigned. As Alistair Cooke of the BBC wrote when touring America three years after Rothstein’s photo was taken, “for thirty miles north of Faribault, you swing over wonderful dairy pastures where every prospect pleases and the land seems abundantly able to answer any call the Army or the government could make on it. Intermittent stands of maples and oaks are just so much pleasing decoration to sweeping acres that fatten sleep Holsteins for the butter and cream market. . . . You follow the Cannon River for a while, and at Farmington they are so indisposed to launch into sales talks that you have to wring from a member of the Milk Producer’s Cooperative the astounding fact that this small town of about 1,500 souls receives every day a quarter-million pounds of milk.” (Cooke, “The American Home Front: 1941-1942” at p. 254.) Look close, a Talon zipperTalon Zipper is a company founded in 1893, originally as the Universal Fastener Company, in Chicago. They later moved to Hoboken, New Jersey, and finally to Meadville, Pennsylvania. It was in Meadville that the zipper as we know it was invented, until then they were producing hookless fasteners for boots and shoes. Here, the zipper was mass-produced beginning in the 1920s. Chewing on ... whateverOur grandson loves chewing on Oxalis stems. Very sour, but somehow attractive... On chewing grassIt's worth noting that when you pull a blade of grass, the white part at the base is slightly sweet, and when you enjoy that, even the more bitter part is actually kind of tasty. Boy Scouts are taught this as a survival tactic. SunfloweredI used https://deepdreamgenerator.com/ To generate an image combined with sunflowers. Looks appropriate to me. [I'm pretty sure those are daisies! - Dave] (The Gallery, Agriculture, Arthur Rothstein, Kids)
Jackson County: 1936
... Today, a selection of images by the undeservedly obscure Farm Security Administration photographer Theodor Jung. April 1936. "Wife of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2012 - 12:11pm -

Today, a selection of images by the undeservedly obscure Farm Security Administration photographer Theodor Jung. April 1936. "Wife of rehabilitation client. Jackson County, Ohio." 35mm nitrate negative. View full size. AgreeJung should not be overlooked. This is an absolutely stunning portrait; this woman is unable to hide any of her personality from his lens, despite her dourness and additionally the photo is quite nicely composed. If this Wikipedia entry is correct, Jung only worked for the FSA for one year or so. From all I’ve read, Roy Stryker, who managed the FSA photographers, took good care of them with clear directions, adequate funding and a fair degree of artistic independence. Denny Gill Chugiak, Alaska Lady of the HouseI wonder how old she is. Younger than we suppose, I bet. DaleThanks. Your efforts are appreciated. Joe The Great Dust BowlI think what amazes me most in looking over hundreds of photos here and at the Library of Congress photo archives is that despite the situation, the near hopelessness of it all, look closely at their eyes ... in this photo and in others. There is a determination that somehow, in some way they will pull through. That in some fashion THEY will pull themselves through. Compare these with photos of today’s poor and homeless, too often is the case that in their eyes is the look of ... “who is going to fix this FOR me.” To paraphrase Mort Sahl, "There were four million people in the Colonies and we had Jefferson and Franklin and colonists that wouldn’t say quit. Now we have over 200 million and the two top guys are Clinton and maybe Rudy Giuliani and plenty of welfare and ‘do for me.’ What can you draw from this? Darwin was wrong!" An old friend of mine, John West, who is an Egyptologist, once told me “Have you ever noticed that as the curve of technological achievements moves up, the curve of morality moves down.” Perhaps there is something to that. Oh, as you might read in my profile, for 25 years I was a writer/ producer (audio-radio) and after retiring, taught journalism part-time. Now, having terminal cancer, I feel like even that is an infringement on whatever time remaining, so I cut back to the occasional lecture. Recently I discovered microsoft’s movie maker - meaning it had been on my machine for years, just never noticed it before. Using pictures here, and from the LOC, and little bit of this, that and the other. I produced a “slide/video project. It is up at YouTube. Shorpy.com is mentioned in the credits and in the description is the link to here. I do hope that it will draw even more attention to this incredible site. Also, I have a number of other similar projects posted there, in the search just enter dalecaruso. As to the purpose of all these, other than through some, hopefully interesting enough videos, get folks to visit and become interested in similar sites such as this one. And to be blunt and honest, from a purely personal standpoint ... I AM BORED TO TEARS, and just wanted something to do. Dale Mr CarusoJust watched your project and what a wonderful use of time, gave me goose bumps!! Thank you Re: Mr.CarusoThank you very much ... but "Mr. Caruso" was my dad ... Every time someone says that, I tend turn around and look if he is standing behind me ... and wonder, what in the world did I do wrong THIS TIME. Also, he passed some 10 years ago ... so that REALLY becomes spooky. Dale Moved to tearsHi Dale What an amazing video that is. My father was Arthur Rothstein and he took many of the images in your video. I've never seen anything like this and after viewing your video I looked at some of the other Depression era videos on You Tube. You might be bored but you really did move me. I really enjoyed it, thank you! Wishing you all the best. Take care of yourself Eve Grim DeterminationI don't get the "grim determination" of yesteryear compared to the present day "gimme" looks. If I compare this photo to poor folks I see today they both look tired to me. (The Gallery, Portraits, Theodor Jung)
War Barn: 1941
... Medium format acetate negative by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Wired What are those wires ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/02/2022 - 2:09pm -

October 1941. "Defense motive in outdoor advertising. Near Elmira, New York." Medium format acetate negative by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. WiredWhat are those wires leading to the masts on top of the barn? I am surmising some kind of ham radio? Communication device? [Lightning rods. - Dave] Thanks Dave - Baxado Yes! Don't waste gasolineYou may not realize it, but that car or truck you're driving isn't that fuel efficient to begin with. But today, you should feel free to use the extra gas necessary to visit Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, final resting place of Mark Twain. Sparking personalityThe old house I grew up in had lightning rods but no glass balls - maybe there was a reason! From the Kansas Farm Bureau: During the 19th Century, the lightning rod became a decorative motif. Lightning rods were embellished with ornamental glass balls (now prized by collectors). The ornamental appeal of these glass balls were also used in weather vanes. The main purpose of these balls, however, was to provide evidence of a lightning strike by shattering or falling off. If after a storm a ball is discovered missing or broken, the property owner should then check the building, rod and grounding wire for damage. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Gas Stations, John Collier, WW2)
Cattleman's Bar: 1941
... Nebraska." Acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/12/2023 - 10:37am -

September 1941. "Cattlemen's bar and cafe near Union Stockyards. South Omaha, Nebraska." Acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, M.P. Wolcott, Omaha)
Peas Train: 1942
... Our second look at the high schoolers recruited by the Farm Security Administration amid a wartime labor shortage to travel from Richwood, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/01/2023 - 4:45pm -

Sept. 1942. "Special train carrying agricultural workers to upper New York state to work in the harvest." Our second look at the high schoolers recruited by the Farm Security Administration amid a wartime labor shortage to travel from Richwood, West Virginia, to Batavia, New York, to help bring in the fruit crop. Acetate negative by John Collier. View full size. DeKalb DetasselersI remember back in the '70s there was a ready job every summer for high school and college students detasseling corn in the fields around DeKalb, Illinois. The kids would go to DeKalb Ag HQ before dawn and board buses to be hauled to the next field needing detasseling. They often didn't get back until after dark. Mountaineer Farmers New York Times, September 5, 1942. West Virginians Help Harvest Here Mountaineers Are Being Moved by FSA to Five Counties in Western New York RICHWOOD, W. Va., Sept. 4 — A migration of mountaineer farmers to help harvest the tomato and peach and other crops of upper New York State began today. The first thirty-three of almost 300 volunteers in the food-for-victory drive left by bus for Rochester and 250 will go Tuesday, accompanied by their families, on a special train chartered by the Farm Security Administration. Recruited from the farms and gardens of Nicholas and Clay Counties, the force includes men, women, girls and boys. Leslie Atkins, representative of the migratory labor division of the FSA employment service, had certified the Nicholas-Clay County area of the Central West Virginia mountains as one in which the residents were in need of employment. The workers will be sent to FSA camps or to certified dwellings in a five-county area in New York and will remain there through the harvest season for tomatoes, peaches, apples, carrots, onions and other crops. The FSA will bring them back home, Mr. Atkins said, or they may go on to Florida to help with the Winter crops if they wish. Other contingents will move from areas in Virginia, Ohio and Tennessee. While away from the mountains the farm helpers will have guarantee of three-fourths employment and will receive rations when they are not employed. This Score Just InSeptember 14, 2013: The Beckley Registger-Herald reports that the Fayetteville Pirates "carved up" the Richwood Lumberjacks 61-0. "Walk-over" SeatsThose seat backs were not very soft, nearly vertical, and weren't adjustable, they didn't recline. But they were hinged in such a way that they could easily be reversed. The base of the seat never moved, only the back. This made it easy to set up forward seating no matter how the car was pointed. And it was easy to set up two seats anywhere for face-to-face seating of four people, as has been done with some in this photo. There was little improvement in coach seating for a long time, probably at least 50 years. The railroads weren't overly concerned about it, since uncomfortable coaches encouraged passengers to upgrade to first class. When new seats that resemble what we're accustomed to today came along, they were such a vast improvement that passengers made travel plans based on avoiding the old style seats. That's why, in timetables right up to the Amtrak era, you will almost always see "Reclining Seat Coaches" prominently printed in the schedules. While passengers loved the new seats, they were an operational headache for the railroads, far beyond their initial high cost. They were much more complicated to maintain, and it was no longer quick or easy to reverse seats at endpoints. Like dining cars and sleepers, it was usually easier to turn the entire car around than it was to individually turn reclining seats. Many passengers on long trips cannot--or will not--ride backwards. And the new seats were so much more expensive to maintain, bulletins were frequently issued asking train personnel to watch for, and prohibit, the use of seats as footrests, as is being done in the foreground of this picture. Times have changedThese young workers must have checked their baggage, since all likely had suitcases as they'd be staying through the harvest. There is almost no overhead stuff stored here. Today, travelers would have two or more pieces jammed in the overhead area, and all would be concentrating on hand-held devices instead of looking out the windows -- and certainly not reading as a few riders are doing here. RRCould be a coach from the DL&W. (The Gallery, John Collier, Railroads)
Mint, Sage, Caraway and Thyme: 1942
... inch Kodachrome transparency by Arthur S. Siegel for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Point of order I found ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/19/2023 - 8:38pm -

July 1942. "Birmingham (near Detroit), Michigan. Herbs and kitchen utensils in a house in Birmingham." 4x5 inch Kodachrome transparency by Arthur S. Siegel for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Point of orderI found myself wondering why the caption was in a different order than the bottles, but then I deduced that this was taken in Scarborough. Secret IngredientThe wad of chewed gum on the shelf is a nice touch. Secret IngredientI sure hope that is gum on the shelf!!! Well used toolsI like the patina of age and use on the various cooking utensils. The handles tell that these have been used often to make meals for whomever they belonged to, and their family. The small pan was probably used to melt butter or lard. Nice rackSomeone had to say it. "Nice rack" - ?No. Actually, no. Nobody had to say that. I see fiveI think there's a dab of spearmint visible, too. Still in useChange the handles of some of those utensils to red and white and you can find them in my kitchen. Metal and mintI love photos like this, which provide a glimpse of daily life in the past. Those are great utensils! Looks like they had all ready been around for quite a while, by then, but still had lots of use left in them. I watch secondhand stores for such things, and have several I use. I'd like to know how she used that mint. I'll bet it was from her garden! Utensil RingsThe four utensils on the right had an identical threaded metal ring screwed into each handle end to allow it to hang on a hook. The ring on the end of the small skillet was too big for the hook, and it appears a bit of force was used to make it fit. This was clearly a time before stainless steel. I like the detail of the rough plaster wall - I'd love to see the rest of the kitchen. Any related images? NostalgicI'm pretty certain some of those utensils are probably still in use by someone. Some of my favorite kitchen gadgets are those that belonged to my mom and grandmother in the '30s and '40s. They are still in great condition, whereas a lot of what I bought when I got married in 1969 only lasted a couple of years. Wabi, sabiPerfect examples of the Japanese qualities of wabi and sabi. The enjoyment of the slight imperfections in objects which are in everyday use, especially those which are hand-made, and of the honest wear which accumulates on such objects. Scarborough Fare?They must've run out of parsely and rosemary. These old implementsThey remind me of my grandmother's 'polenta' paddle, which I still use for stirring pasta. Polenta is basically corn meal mush. The paddle is a wooden device similar to the spatula-like thing third from left, but made of wood and about 2 inches wide by 1/4 inch thick. The one I have is over 100 years old, as my grandmother got it when she was first married in 1908. I got it when I moved into my first apartment in '73. Can't remember how many times I got my butt warmed with that paddle! (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Arthur Siegel, Kitchens etc.)
Streets of Baltimore: 1940
... Medium format safety negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. For the love of old cars. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/23/2012 - 6:45pm -

"Row houses, Baltimore, June 1940." Medium format safety negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. For the love of old cars.The immaculate black 1937 Ford Touring Car was a rarity at that time and scarce today - valuable indeed. The last car is a similar vintage Chevrolet. Would someone please identify the car in the middle of the scene. ShuttersI don't think I've ever seen shutters on doors before. You usually see them on the windows of coastal cities for storm protection but unless the doors were primarily glass the shutters would be more ornamental than practical. AntennasI'm always fascinated to see rooftops without TV antennas but I'm seeing shortwave "longwire" antennas aplenty here. Radio truly was the mode of communication back then. Work dayIt must be a workday -- no one is stoop-sitting. Baltimore was famous for marble steps on its row houses, but these look like wood. LocationAnyone know this intersection? Hear the drums?Gene Krupa! ShinySo that's what they looked like brand new! Bazooka Bubble GumI bet those kids are reading the Bazooka Joe comics from the gum they just bought. Gene Krupa, July 2Wow! There's a band date I would have liked to attend. Baltimore Row ApartmentsAll those incredibly narrow apartments with the flimsy wood stoops. They can't be much more than 12 or 14 feet wide. Is this an old Baltimore solution for cheap housing, or do some other Eastern cities have these as well? They all look neat and well scrubbed, but my dad would have called them "cribs." Meeeeeeooooow!You can almost hear that kittycat on the stoop wailing to get back in! Graham-PaigeThe middle car would appear to be a circa 1934 Graham-Paige, possibly a Blue Streak or Custom Eight. Quite a machine. Fond memories are mineThese are not apartments! They are individual homes. Many had small back yards on the alley. Some even had garages. Many residents would turn their "stoops" over at night. Virtually every step was painted annually, and was washed every day. Most of the rowhouses were on "land leases" over the whole city. The ground lease was typically for 100 years. Philadelphia and St. Louis also had many rowhouses. What's the larger structure in the background? That would place this on the money. I think this is north of the harbor. Marble stepsIt looks like there are some of the famous marble stairs by the first parked car in the background. I imagine this looks fairly similar to my dad's boyhood home on Kennedy Avenue in Bawlmer -- He'd have been about 4½ when this picture was taken. Cross-ventilationThe shutters were on the front door for ventilation. The row houses I knew had solid front doors. The front door was opened; the shutters were closed and latched. Typically the front door was at the bottom of the steps to the second floor. The windows would be opened at the back of the house on the second floor. Voila; natural ventilation. Shuttered doorsShutters are common all over the Caribbean and in South Florida, and exist in many places in the south. They were popular in pre-air conditioning days, so you could get let a breeze in with the window or door shaded to stop "heat gain" and a wood barrier is slightly more security than a flimsy screen. In a urban setting like this, the bigger appeal may have been privacy, even with the door open. Yikes,This is funThe tracks were for the #27 Streetcar line. The building in the background was the Carroll Park Shops. This was an absolutely enormous facility that did virtually all of the heavy overhaul and maintenanc for Baltimore's streetcars. Found this on Wikipedia: The Washington Boulevard streetcar line, which started operating in 1905, was designated No. 27. This was converted to electric trolley buses in 1938. Ground RentNot called "land lease" but "ground rent." It made it possible for people with not a lot of money to buy a house without buying the land. The rent is fixed and rather low. The system is so old and antiquated and the deeds were so poorly unrecorded that people who bought a rowhouse would sometimes not know they were on ground rent. Until they didn't pay for X years and had their houses taken away from them! The Baltimore Sun did a series on this in the last couple of years and laws have been reformed to make this impossible. Too bad there are no visible house numbers, that would help narrow it down a lot. You can see it was on a streetcar line. It appears to be fall or spring, not hot enough for the man in the background to go without a jacket, but the kids are okay without one. [Another clue is in the caption, where it says "June 1940." - Dave] So tidyYes, those are actually wooden steps. I think marble would be seen on a slightly higher class house (or later). These look like "alley" houses, the smallest of the rowhouses, usually built for working folks. I just looked through a book at BCPL on Baltimore Alley Houses, and they showed a lot of pictures of houses with shutters on the doors and windows, to actually use in hot weather. Seems like it would be so handy. They do look about 12 feet wide in this picture, which is pretty common. Judging from the Italianate styling, I'd guess late 1800s. They do have rowhouses in other cities. Washington, Philadelphia, and the narrowest ones I've ever seen were in Georgetown (DC). MemoriesGrowing up in Bal-mer in the 50's and 60's, these places are my memories. We lived in the burbs although all my family lived in places like these. And yes, even in the burbs we were paying ground rent! Just a way of life and I've never heard of it anywhere else! Horton"Horton" (or Morton) would be the company that painted the sign. HortonDidn't they sometimes used to put street names on corners of buildings back then? I wonder if Horton is maybe the name of that side street. Just a thought. Hortons Nortons and MortonsI checked them all via local.live and google maps. They're alleys with nothing like this scene. The street has streetcar tracks, so it's at least a halfway important street. But Baltimore had tons of lines. The big structure in the background looks like a church nave to me, the front of the church facing the photographer, so that would put the church on a corner. [This is from a series of photos taken on U.S. Route 1, Baltimore-Washington Boulevard. - Dave] I think it's a LincolnI think the spiffy droptop on the street is a Lincoln Zephyr, which would've looked a lot like it's poor cousin, the Ford. The teardrop shaped headlamps are the clue. [The car is a Ford, not a Lincoln. - Dave] Found it: Carroll ParkThanks Dave for the clue about US 1. View Larger Map This is at the corner of Washington Boulevard and Bayard Street. The opposite side of the street is Carroll Park (which probably explains why the car has such a long shadow). The big roof in the back ground is not a church like I thought, but an old carbarn for the streetcars. The long monitor roof along the ridge of the carbarn has been removed and the building is now a bus maintenance garage. Of course, being Baltimore, the whole row is covered in FormStone or PermaStone, whatever you want to call it. You see one of the sad things about FormStone: all the great wood cornices are chopped off so the FormStone can be installed. Charm CityGreat shot--it's June, the two kids are hanging out at the corner store, the cat on the steps, the car--a nice moment in time. Trackless TrolleysYes, these are in fact trackless trolley wires. You can clearly see where the B.T.C. simply added a negative wire along side the existing positive street car wire. There is a Baltimore trackless trolley sitting inside of the car barn at the Baltimore Street Car Museum. It was built by the old Pullman Standard Car Mfg. Company of Worcester, Mass. I grew up in BaltimoreIn the 26th Ward, in a rowhouse just like these. I'll never forget Saturday mornings and my mother scrubbing the white marble steps. Although we lived on the southeast side, I passed this intersection daily making deliveries to the old Montgomery Ward building that was the next block down!! MemoriesI grew up in Baltimore and my grandma lived on East Monument Street and she had marble steps. All the neighbors would wash their marble steps and keep them looking white. And everyone sat outside at night to chat. Pigtown Historic DistrictThis scene is indeed at Washington Boulevard and Bayard Street, facing south. It is within Pigtown Historic District. The hip-roofed building at the end of the row appears to have been constructed after 1914 and been demolished by 1951. It stood at 1463 Washington Boulevard, and was a filling station by the December 1951 Sanborn map. The 1914 Sanborn shows the lot owned by D.M. Larkin, Contractor. None of the buildings depicted look much like the hip-roofed structure in the photo. The Carroll Park Shops, on the far side of Bush Street from the mystery building, were constructed c. 1899. The United Railway & Electric Company hired B&O architect E. Francis Baldwin to design a single, centralized shop for repairing and rebuilding streetcars. Two huge one-story buildings (each covering an entire block) went up on the southeast side of Washington Boulevard, between Bush and Elk Streets. Each structure is lit by four long roof monitors that run the entire length of the building. Today, these turn-of-the-century facilities still stand as the repair shop for MTA buses. The buildings were never three stories high, however, and couldn't be the structure depicted in the photo. Of the houses in the photo, they were built in 1888 by Cornelius H. Saffell (or Soffell), and have typical Queen Anne-style decorative brick door hoods; first floor windows have segmentally arched lintels made up of a double row of header bricks, with the upper row alternately projecting to create a decorative effect. The late Italianate-style cornices have jig-sawn friezes. Saffell was one of many German-born builders to construct buildings in the district. Indeed, many of the residents were German immigrants working in the butchering industry. +74Below is the same view from July of 2014. (The Gallery, Baltimore, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Jack Delano)
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