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A Friendly Game: 1938
... Reserve, Louisiana." 35mm negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Hint of a Smile That guy ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 6:36pm -

September 1938. "Game of coon-can in store near Reserve, Louisiana." 35mm negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Hint of a SmileThat guy fancies his chances. Reserve, LouisianaI grew up in Reserve in the 1950's and '60's. I'd love to get some old photos of Reserve pre-1960. Anyone out there got some? skippadeau@aol.com (The Gallery, Rural America, Russell Lee, Sports, Stores & Markets)
Garage à Trois: 1940
... Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Now ain't this the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/27/2020 - 9:58am -

September 1940. "Locomotives in roundhouse. Durango, Colorado." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Now ain't this the berries!(as my late grandfather used to say) We have a wild assortment of D&RGW head-end power waiting here: #459 was a class K-27 “Mudhen” Mikado (2-8-2), built by Baldwin in 1903 as job #21936. She served on multiple divisions of the road, and was eventually sold to Ferrocarril Nacional Mexicano, which renumbered her and converted her to standard gauge. She was finally scrapped in 1963. #375 was also Baldwin-built and also from 1903. A C-25 Consolidation (2-8-0), she began life as Crystal River Railroad #103; the Rio Grande bought her from CRR in 1916 and numbered her 432, changing to #375 in 1924. As a purchase rather than a factory order, 375 was the only representative of class C-25 on the road. She met the scrapper’s torch at Alamosa, CO in 1949. #268 still survives, though I’m not sure that was a good thing. She was built in 1882, again by Baldwin (construction number 6002), as a Consolidation. She had a tiny firebox—her grate was only 14 square feet—and only developed 16,000 pounds at the drawbar, from which her class number of C-16 came. She was such a light weight that she could only work branch lines (Crested Butte, Baldwin, Lake City) and the main line to Montrose, which almost no one else used. She was also used to pull the wrecking train that dismantled the Crested Butte branch in 1955. After that, #268 went on static display in Gunnison with a gaudily inappropriate paint job. Eventually, she was refitted in colours more appropriate to her age and station, and now is on exhibit near the Gunnison Pioneer Museum. 268 is still with us Built in 1882, it is currently at the Gunnison Pioneer Museum. No. 268 was used in the filming of the movie "Denver & Rio Grande" in 1952. Missed OpportunityBack in 2002, I spent several hours with Allen Harper, owner of the railroad, interviewing him about the Missionary Ridge Fire. He was very interested to learn that I was a steam locomotive geek as well as a wildland firefighter. So he gave me an open invitation to be an honorary fireman on one of the trips to Silverton. If I remember correctly, he said, "If the engineer likes you, you'll shovel 4 tons of coal on the trip. If he doesn't like you, you'll shovel 7 tons." Fortunately or unfortunately, I never had a chance to take him up on his offer. Keep talkingWithout you "old geezers", all the knowledge of old locomotives, cars, appliances, vintage magazines etc. would vanish. You are the treasure of this site. The More Things Change.....Same place (maybe), same scene, different century: https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2020/04/colorado-photos/610141/#img19 Now in Trois-DOr at least a panoramic simulation: (The Gallery, Railroads, Russell Lee)
The Boogie Woogie: 1940
... mail." From photos by Marion Post Wolcott documenting a Farm Security Administration camp for migrants working in Florida's vegetable fields ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/16/2013 - 6:55pm -

June 1940. "Some of the younger Osceola migratory camp members who have come to the Belle Glade post office for their mail." From photos by Marion Post Wolcott documenting a Farm Security Administration camp for migrants working in Florida's vegetable fields and tomato canneries. View full size. Needs another tagPretty Girls, to be specific. She's a real looker. [Done. - Dave] Times ChangeThis would be "Far-Out" 35 years later. Wind wings-Her 1930-31 Ford Model A Roadster once had them, as evidenced by the empty bracket at the base of her folded windshield; in this view the bracket looks something like an airplane propeller with two blades. My Model A Ford still has them in place, which secures the glass by compression of the screw holding the bracket. Hope someone, somewhere is still enjoying The Boogie Woogie car. Nice rat rod'30-'31 Ford roadster, missing its instrument cluster fascia and, no doubt, a few other things. Can't believe it looks so bad after only a few years, but car design had made huge advances since 1927, when the Model A was designed. Today, this would not be out of place in a hot rod show. There are actually custom car painters who specialize in adding what they call "patina," which means fake rust. Don't know why. Real rust is cheap enough, and easy to find. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Florida, M.P. Wolcott, Pretty Girls)
London Bridge: 1940
... format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Sorry, ma'am -- But ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/11/2019 - 10:01am -

June 1940. "Supervised play hour for younger children in assembly building at Osceola migratory labor camp. Belle Glade, Florida." Medium format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Sorry, ma'am --But you're still in the photograph. Duck just a bit lower, please. And the boys' names?Meet Cheek, Trouble and Mischief. London Bridge is falling down --Brings back memories. Wonder if kids still play that. And little would they have guessedit would fall in Arizona. Make up your mindI can't tell if the lady is in the act of being seated or of rising to her feet. I guess we'll never know. One thing is for sure: one boy is a boy, two boys is half a boy, and three boys is no boy at all. Dangit!I've had that song in my head all day long. (The Gallery, Florida, Kids, M.P. Wolcott)
When Pigs Fly: 1939
... keep the flies away." Photo by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Someone survived and prospered ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/08/2019 - 2:59pm -

November 1939. "Hog killing on Milton Puryear place. He is a Negro owner of five acres of land. Rural Route No. 1, Box 59, Dennison, Halifax County, Virginia. This is six miles south (on Highway No. 501) of South Boston. He used to grow tobacco and cotton but now just a subsistence living. These hogs belong to a neighbor landowner. He burns old shoes and pieces of leather near the heads of the slaughtered hogs while they are hanging to keep the flies away." Photo by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Someone survived and prosperedUsing Google Maps, you will find a "Puryear Farms" and a "Puryear Tire Services" still alongside US 501 south of South Boston, VA. There are a number of tilled plots nearby, possible evidence of truck farming and selling fruits and vegetables in season. Been there; done thatHaving grown up on a farm many years ago, I have firsthand experience with this activity. We never had a problem with flies because, for sanitary reasons, my father always killed hogs in the winter. I wonder how all this pork was lifted onto the pole. I remember those days.We always killed the hogs around Thanksgiving when it was cool enough that the flies weren't around. My father would half-bury a barrel and put water in it, then dip hot irons into it with a pitchfork until it was scalding. If the temperature was just right we could scrape the hair off the hog with oyster shells. Dad kept the notched and sized sticks for the hamstring muscles and the opening of the belly from year to year. He always said the only thing you could not use from the hog was the last squeal. TastyI have to admit I remember enjoying that good, old-fashioned leather-smoked flavor of our homemade sausage! (The Gallery, Agriculture, Animals, M.P. Wolcott, Rural America)
Family Farmers: 1939
October 1939. "Family of Fred Schmeeckle, Farm Security Administration borrower, on their dryland farm in Weld County, Colorado." ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/11/2018 - 12:38pm -

October 1939. "Family of Fred Schmeeckle, Farm Security Administration borrower, on their dryland farm in Weld County, Colorado." Medium format acetate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the FSA. View full size. Schmeeckle familyFred Carl Schmeeckle was born in Eustis, NE, on Feb 28, 1887. He homesteaded in the Stoneham area of Weld County, CO, in 1910 and, on Jun 17, 1914, married Anna (or Anny) Louise Hanson, who was born in Norway on Sep 9, 1892. They had 5 children: Leonard H. Schmeeckle - Sep 1, 1915 - Aug 1, 1972 (age 61) Ruby Schmeeckle Patrick - Oct 3, 1919 - Sep 10, 2003 (age 83) Floyd Lester Schmeeckle - Dec 8, 1924 - Jan 28, 1997 (age 72) Glenn O'Neil Schmeeckle - Jun 13, 1927 - Apr 23, 1997 (age 69) Julius "Jay" Schmeeckle - Mar 23, 1931 - Sep 29, 2016 (age 85) Anna died on Dec 23, 1953, at age 61. Fred married again, to Christina Lee Carlson on Valentine's Day 1960, and retired from farming. He died in a nursing home in Sterling, CO, on Jul 29, 1975, at age 88. His second wife died 2 1/2 years later. Navy ManFloyd (far right) enlisted and served in the USS Lesuth in the Pacific Theatre. The Real McCoyDead ringer for Walter Brennan. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Arthur Rothstein, Bicycles, Cats, Kids)
No Trespassing: 1939
... behind the town." Acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Photographer could not care ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/31/2020 - 4:04pm -

May 1939. "Grave. Kempton, West Virginia. The cemetery is on the top of a hill behind the town." Acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Photographer could not care less,i think, if that was a fence or not. Just a beautiful abstract composition. I wonderIs that fence there to keep something out or to keep something in? Blair WitchI thought the black cat was scary: tail kinked, forepaw raised, face in hissy mode. But this grave scene is terribly unsettling, out there in the country. The sharpened sticks also put me in mind of jungle mantraps, holes in the ground in the middle of trails. I’m afraid my nightmare shot of the year from Shorpy has no humans in it this year. Get in or get outwally has asked a question that I myself often ask when I roam cemeteries: Is the fence/gate there to keep folks in, or out? Either way, that may be the loneliest, most isolated grave I have ever seen, and I have seen quite a few lonely, isolated graves. (The Gallery, John Vachon)
The Scenic Route: 1941
... City, Colorado." Photo by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Disclaimer "Professional ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/14/2020 - 6:16pm -

September 1941. "Road through the mountains from Idaho Springs to Central City, Colorado." Photo by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Disclaimer"Professional driver on a closed course" - I don't think Lexus or Audi is going to be scouting this location for a slick ad, even with professional drivers. Oh, give me a brakeThis route has always been known to us locals as the "Oh-My-God Road." Maybe Virginia Canyon road?Street View hasn't made it there yet. That is a route... just made for motorcycles of the adventure sort. Twisties and swoops, beauty! Oh-My-God RoadAround 1950 our family took a trip to Denver to visit relatives and, while we were there, our uncle took us to Central City. He took Oh-My-God Road coming back and I don't think I have ever been on a road like that before or since. To say it was scary does not do it justice. A lot of it was one lane dirt road with a few pull-offs to allow oncoming traffic to pass. At some places you could look down a long, long way to the bottom.The law in Colorado says that the person coming down has to give way to the person coming up because the downhill driver has more control backing up. I don't remember that we met anyone coming up. We were sure glad to get off that road. Waiting IdlyI've waited patiently several days and am amazed no Shorpy auto sleuths as yet have identified the two autos in this image. Former rally driver hereI'd love to be set loose on this road. It looks quite well maintained. (The Gallery, Landscapes, M.P. Wolcott)
Desperado: 1941
... Oregon." 35mm acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Regrets "If only I hadn't ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2020 - 12:15pm -

July 1941. "Store with cap guns and fireworks for sale, Fourth of July, Vale, Oregon." 35mm acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Regrets"If only I hadn't spent all my money on licorice twists!" I give upWhat in the world is on the front of this young man? [A dog. - Dave] Cap RollsThe "ammo" for a cap gun is a roll of red paper with small amounts of explosive powder. The smell of the smoke emitted along with the shot was part of the experience. "A dog"A plaster dog, at that. I bet his mother just loved it! Well, at least it didn't need to be housebroken. HubleyA first-rate brand. Ask the kid who owned one. Very nice inventory, I am partial to the pearl handled 1911. General Patton would not approve ... of pearl grips on a cap gun. And while I like a good Hubley, I'm a Fanner 50 man. (The Gallery, July 4, Kids, Russell Lee, Stores & Markets)
Grandfather of All: 1935
... Medium format nitrate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Standing in the way of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/06/2015 - 7:39pm -

October 1935. "Russ Nicholson, grandfather of all the Nicholsons in Nicholson Hollow. Shenandoah National Park, Virginia." Medium format nitrate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Standing in the way of progressJohn Russell "Russ" Nicholson, a landowner in the Shenandoah Valley, whose property would be taken for Shenandoah National Park, Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. He was granted the right to live out his life in the Nicholson Valley, but passed away just two months later, on Dec. 16, 1935. The exodus of residents took place in 1937. Casting CallNowadays, Grandpa Russ could clean up as a Robert E. Lee impersonator. Looks like a "Hickory Shirt."Worn by railroad, logging, and farm workers across the country back then. So named because it was said to have been favored by Andrew Jackson. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Portraits)
La Casa Enchilada: 1940
... Mogollon, New Mexico." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. The Conversation Just After ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2018 - 11:31am -

June 1940. "Detail of front of store building. Mogollon, New Mexico." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. The Conversation Just After"C'mon in for a spell", the man with the dirty apron said, waving around a glass with some tired foam on it. "Nah, can't. Got work to do." said the photographer, feeling he'd been caught. "Government work. It's important. Might be famous someday." "What do you think I'm sayin, bud? I'm makin some more signs here and I need some help. I need a spell checker." [And that's when the photographer told him about a job opening in Montana. - Dave] Just askin'Do you get an enchilada or two if you board there? Looking at the prices, it might be a good deal if they're any good. Travel book releaseTitled "Mogollon, New Mexico, on $1.40 per day." The bench may not look too sturdy and the curtains double as dish towels (or vice versa) but where else can you take a vacation including food and lodging for that price? I wonder... if irregular boarders got a discount. Grill MarksGiven that bench is made out of straps of sheet metal, it's a wonder anyone ever actually sat on it. An interesting little town!... but the road to get there is not for the faint-hearted! It Still StandsIf you go to street view, it's known as the Old Kelly Store. It's easy to find in such a small area. It's been patched oa bit over time. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Russell Lee, Small Towns)
Coal Miner's Son: 1939
... View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by John Vachon, Farm Security Administration. Interesting... Interesting. I did not know ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/11/2007 - 9:40pm -

May 1939. Coal miner's son in Kempton, West Virginia. View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by John Vachon, Farm Security Administration. Interesting...Interesting. I did not know there was a Kempton in WV. There is a Kempton, in Garrett County, MD, just over the WV line. Small mining town, where my Dad was born. Not much left there these days, although a lot of the miner's families get together every year for the Kempton Reunion. Kempton, WVKempton straddles the state line between West Virginia and Maryland. The company store was in Maryland, but the post office was in West Virginia, making it a West Virginia town. My dad was a fire boss in the Kempton mine in the mid 1940's. KemptonMy Great Grandfather was an Engineer at at the mine (or so I'm told). He lived in Kempton. His name was (Irvin?) Nine. My Grandmother was raised there. Her name was Jessie Fay Nine. She married William Paul Hinebaugh. I think the company store was on the WVA side as Maryland had outlawed Company Stores. (The Gallery, John Vachon, Kids, Mining)
Colored Lunch: 1940
... Avenue)." 35mm nitrate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Memories of Jim Crow This ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/07/2012 - 7:25pm -

June 1940. Washington, D.C. "Entrance to colored drivers' lunchroom at a truck service station on U.S. 1 (New York Avenue)." 35mm nitrate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Memories of Jim CrowThis picture reminds me of the first time that I really became aware of racial bias. I was born and raised in Kansas and had never been exposed to the fact of bias against black people. We had black students in our highschool and no one had ever intimated that blacks were to be discriminated against. They were just the same as the rest of us and only working to survive like we whites. My family took a trip to Tennessee one summer in about 1956 and, during the trip, we stopped at a drive-in on a Sunday noonday for a meal. Black people could not get curb service and had to go around to the side of the drive-in for their order. Most of them had just come from church and were very nicely dressed. My family, being white, got curb service. Another car pulled in alongside of us loaded with,what I can only describe as, white-trash. They got their order delivered to them. They were throwing trash and bones out of the windows, screaming and yelling, they looked like they hadn't taken a bath or cleaned up in over a week. But, yet, they got curb service and the very nicely dressed blacks had to go around to the side window for service. That's when I first became aware of discrimination and didn't like it. Pretty Old BoxIn 1893, P.J. Dreher and his son, the "father of the California citrus industry" Edward L. Dreher, formed the Southern California Fruit Exchange. By 1905, the group represented 5,000 members, and renamed itself the California Fruit Growers Exchange. In 1908, it changed its name to Sunkist Growers, Inc. I wonder what the sign painter felt as he painted these instructions on the door? Jeb70 made me think about discrimination growing up, poverty takes precedence over discrimination, we were all equal when we were poor. Obsession??Dont know who is more obsessed by the Rt 1 truck stop, Shorpy or Jack Delano. Can we lighten up a little? [L'Obsédé, c'est vous. -Dave] Crossing the BayAs a New York kid visiting my grandmother in Portsmouth, I took the ferry from the Eastern Shore to the Norfolk area. I simply did not know what to think of Whites Only water fountains or Colored Only restrooms. Less than 6 degrees of separation Interesting that Edward L. Dreher should be mentioned here, as I married his grand-daughter's step-daughter. I guess that made him my step-great-grandfather-in-law, and his father Peter John Dreher my step-great-great-grandfather-in-law. As to who was the "Father of the California citrus industry," it was Peter J. Dreher—and not his son Edward—who was responsible for organizing the industry. A summation of Edward's oral history of his father was misread and over 5,000 websites have copied the error word-for-word. Edward gave his father all the credit. (The Gallery, D.C., Eateries & Bars, Jack Delano)
West of Fargo: 1939
... of Fargo, North Dakota." Photo by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Highway Hypnosis Better ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/27/2018 - 9:10pm -

July 1939. "Northern Pacific railroad tracks west of Fargo, North Dakota." Photo by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Highway HypnosisBetter slow down for that curve ahead. Perspective!I love these "exercise in infinity" kind of shots of railroad tracks vanishing off into the horizon. The distance beckons! Art ClassThese types of photos always remind me of the time way back when I badgered my poor mother in to signing me up for a mail order art class. One of the main chapters covered the importance of perspective, and illustrated the fact with a few pics exactly like this one. And she was right, I became bored with the whole thing after a few days and spent the rest of the summer riding bikes with my pals. Also, a complete lack of talent may have doomed my career as a budding Renoir. THE VEE-SHAPED THINGGreat photo! Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what that vee-shaped thing is between the rails of the track on the left? And what is it's its purpose? Any of you railroad buffs out there have the answer? "West of Fargo"How about he's looking west from the overpass at 46.93505N 98.1019W? Presumably the track with the guard rails (that try to keep a derailed train from demolishing the overpass) is the main, and NP decided the siding didn't rate them. That V-ThingIt's Its purpose is to ensure the wheel alignment on the rails prior to a switch. West of Fargo (East of West Fargo)Based on the two water towers visible in the distance, I'm guessing that this is taken from the road that was later turned into I-29. Those towers would be the West Fargo stockyards and state fair towers. The road to the far left would become I-94, and today it's solid infill between Fargo and West Fargo, but back then, the communities were miles apart. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Landscapes, Railroads)
Kentucky Tavern: 1940
... format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. No food, no gas The Tom ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/07/2019 - 7:17pm -

August 1940. "Tom Moore distillery near Bardstown, Kentucky." Medium format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. No food, no gasThe Tom Moore distillery was bought in 1944 by the Barton Group, and this is now the Barton 1792 distillery. Bard's Tavern expanded, got a brick veneer, and became the Hilltop Inn, but you can still see the original roof line and windows on the end. The Hilltop Inn closed a few years ago when the owners retired. Cars and StripesThe road markings seen here might puzzle modern-day drivers, due to the use of a solid line to separate lanes instead of today's dashed line, which was not standardized until 1956. While the double solid line seen deeper in this 1940 photo prohibited passing, as is the case today, the lack of an available dashed line eliminated the option of prohibiting passing in one direction but not the other. Thank you Dave!I‘ve been with you from early on although not signed up for several years and just wanted to thank you for posting a photo of my home, Bardstown. It’s the “Bourbon Capital of the World” and the inspiration for Stephen Foster to write “My Old Kentucky Home”. With bourbon skyrocketing in popularity these days, new warehouses have been continuously going up around the county and new distilleries have come online and bourbon tourism is very popular. It was so surprising to see something very familiar (minus 80 years) in Shorpy. I had no idea those warehouses and the Hilltop Inn existed in 1940. I hope Walcott shot a few more photos around the area. What a treat to see. Curbside ServiceNo curbs to be seen. MPW took many Bardstown picsMost are at a church picnic, so they're mostly people, not locations. That said, this is my favorite: https://www.loc.gov/resource/fsa.8a43113/ Just browse around on the LOC site to see more. Stripes AgainIn addition to Doubleclutchin's comments about the striping, I for one am also thankful for the person who came up with the idea of edge stripes. I cannot picture going down this road on a dark night, especially with a such a distinct lack of streetlights. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Gas Stations, M.P. Wolcott)
Des Moines: 1940
... full size. 35mm nitrate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. All Together Now Now all together, put your ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/29/2008 - 1:10am -

May 1940. "Afternoon, downtown Des Moines, Iowa." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. All Together NowNow all together, put your right foot forward. Hmnnn, how did Busby Berkeley, I mean John Vachon ever get all them folks to synchronize like that, now that's a photographer. Des MoinesDoes anyone know where in Des Moines this is? I'm sure it's downtown. I tried to search for Hotel Franklin, but came up with nothing. [The Hotel Franklin was at Fifth and Locust. - Dave] Hotel FranklinThe image is looking north on 5th Avenue at Locust. One can tell the direction and street by the bend in the road in the near distance. In the downtown area, only streets on the north edge (mostly numbered streets) bend that way. The Franklin Hotel became a rat trap by the '70s and was torn down toward the end of that decade or in the 1980s. The people look reasonably well-dressed, but so thin -- almost gaunt in some cases. Busby Berkeley indeed. (The Gallery, John Vachon)
Colonial Esso: 1940
... Medium format acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Reconfigured I've been ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/23/2021 - 10:53pm -

November 1940. "City Hall after a snowstorm in Norwich, Connecticut." Medium format acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. ReconfiguredI've been through Norwich, but this old photo completely baffles me. Power lines have since been buried, and the traffic pattern has changed. Esso no moIt looks like at some point Norwich decided to sacrifice parking lots and filling stations for green space, and to bury the power and phone lines in front of City Hall. I guess they opted for the Bedford Falls look over Pottersville. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Gas Stations, Jack Delano)
All Aboard the School Truck: 1935
... on the way to school. 35mm negative by Ben Shahn for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Can You Hear Me? How funny. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 12:21pm -

October 1935. Red House, West Virginia. Youngsters on the way to school. 35mm negative by Ben Shahn for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Can You Hear Me?How funny. For a fleeting second I thought the girl had a cell phone. Looks Likea still from a movie. The girl's pose and expression are like a dramatic moment plucked from a tense narrative. French New Wave meets FSA. Great CompositionAnother memorable work from the artist Shahn. His photos and paintings always have a strong emotional effect on me. (The Gallery, Ben Shahn, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Education, Schools, Kids, Small Towns)
Truckin': 1939
... Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Refrigerated trailers ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/18/2020 - 6:50pm -

September 1939. "Driver entering cab of truck which has just been cleaned and checked over in garage preparatory to next trip. Minneapolis, Minnesota." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Refrigerated trailersApparently this company — Werner — is not related to the Werner Transportation company that exists today. The 1930s Werner company is associated with the first refrigerated trailers. Harry Werner, who owned the company, prompted a golf buddy of his to build the first refrigerator units to mount to semitrailers. Which led to the formation of the Thermo-King company that still exists today. No ShuteyeIt would be difficult to crawl in the back and take a nap in that tractor. Hey look me overIn addition to that truck, I bet that handsome driver gets "checked over" a lot when he's on the road. The 1st Kenworth COE The depicted tractor is the D-89-H model, possibly the first COE (cab over engine) in the history of Kenworth Trucks. Just cleaned?I hope the driver or his employer didn't pay much for the cleaning. Granted, the truck is far from new and shiny, but still. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, John Vachon, Minneapolis-St. Paul)
Union Stockyards: 1941
... Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. View from the El platform ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/06/2020 - 12:23pm -

July 1941. "Union Stockyards. Chicago, Illinois." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. View from the El platformAt the very bottom of Vachon's image is the Exchange station platform of the Chicago Elevated rail transit line that served the Stockyards. You can see a billboard for Clorox bleach, among others. Here's how it looked if you were standing on the Exchange station platform. It is interesting to note that men were riding horses among the pens. The View Is Fine Depending on the WindIn one of his radio shows, penurious comedian Jack Benny bragged he was staying at the Stockyards Plaza hotel while his cohorts wasted money staying up town in the Ambassador East or the Drake. Requiem for some heavyweightsI thoroughly enjoy John Vachon's work. There are aspects of this photograph that are immensely pleasing from an aesthetic standpoint. But probably not if you're a cow. "How sad, to leave Chicago. I have had such a wonderful week."John Vachon's letters to his pregnant wife Penny sent during his week in Chicago at the end of June 1941 reflect a combination of emotional peaks and valleys. Expected by FSA to spend his time photographing cattle and produce, he experienced and photographed intriguing Chicagoans in many settings, and loved wandering through the Institute of Arts and seeing nightly movies (including, on this trip, Citizen Kane). Yet he was practically broke, wearing through his clothing, and neglected by a seemingly uncaring boss back in DC (Roy Stryker) who was slow to pay him, communicate to him, or to even like the negatives he was sending back to the office. This particular series of his letters to Penny appears, in full, in "John Vachon's America" (on Google Books). Stockyard InnIn the late '40s and early '50s, a day at the annual Chicago Boat Show with my parents was always followed up by dinner at the Stockyard Inn. I was just a kid, so I don't remember what I had, but it must have been good because I still remember how I looked forward to eating there. What I remember most was that I always wondered if it was going to smell as bad inside the restaurant as it did outside, but apparently it didn't, because my most two vivid memories from over 60 years ago are how bad the neighborhood smelled, and how much I looked forward to dinner at the Stockyard Inn! (The Gallery, Agriculture, Animals, Chicago, John Vachon, Railroads)
Industrial Iowa: 1939
... in Des Moines, Iowa." Photo by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Minnie & Louie ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/20/2018 - 1:03pm -

September 1939. "Factory buildings in Des Moines, Iowa." Photo by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Minnie & LouieMinneapolis & St. Louis No. 84 will still be kicking in 1963, hauling coal around the Midland Electric Co. power plant at Middle Grove, Ill. On the Tootin' LouieWe get a picture of a mixed freight consist behind Minneapolis & St. Louis 0-6-0 loco #84 (no builder information that I can find on her, but there's a nice portrait here). It's moving west out of town at the bend of the Raccoon River, on the modern-day Iowa Interstate line toward Van Meter, De Soto, Atlantic, and Council Bluffs. Almost the same viewThe Fitch building is there but mostly hidden. The building to the right of the Fitch building is there. The white tower of the Meredith building is there. F.W. Fitch, the Shampoo KingThe shampoo and soap products made in the F.W. Fitch Co. factory in Des Moines were famous in this era - advertised in Life magazine, and on national radio networks. The company, which Mr. Fitch founded in Madrid, Iowa, was the sponsor of the Fitch Bandwagon music program (and later, Bandwagon Mysteries) on NBC radio. F.W. Fitch was also somewhat litigious, taking the IRS all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court twice during the 1940s, once over taxation of income from an alimony trust he set up when he separated from his wife, and once in challenging the company's excise taxes. The IRS won both times. After World War II, the company's revenues could not keep up with its expenses, and it sold out to Grove Laboratories, which sold out a decade later to Bristol Myers. The Exile Brewery is one of the building's proud occupants. https://exilebrewing.com/the-f-w-fitch-company/ No. 84Was built by Alco. She's beautifully presented for a switch engine - someone's pet loco, or normally a passenger terminal switcher? The Story of F W FitchThe Story of F W Fitch - The Shampoo King and the Peacock Vanity names Boone, and not Madrid, as the place where Fred Fitch started his company. The building, to be seen in the above picture seems to be the Main Building of the F. W. Fitch Company Historic District. I suppose the Exile Brewery is housed in another of the former Fitch plant buildings. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Factories, Railroads)
Waiting for the Oranges: 1936
... Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. Landon and Knox Assuming that is his car, I see ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/15/2008 - 8:17am -

November 1936. "Drought refugee from Polk, Missouri. Awaiting the opening of orange picking season at Porterville, California." View full size. Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. Landon and KnoxAssuming that is his car, I see by the sticker in his rear window that he did not support Franklin Roosevelt in the election that month. I hope......his life turned out okay and that California turned out to be a happy home. (Does he remind anyone else of Vladimir Putin?) PortervilleHe's wearing new clothes. Reminds me of a short piece that John Steinbeck wrote in the 1930s, describing a family of migratory workers he came accross one morning in California. If I recall, life was good for them that morning: they had new clothes and food. They shared breakfast with him. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Dorothea Lange)
Gone Fishin'
... 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Marion Post Wolcott, Farm Security Administration. Even though it's not the Mississippi.... ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/12/2012 - 6:10pm -

June 1940. Cajun boys fishing in the bayou near Schriever, Louisiana, not far from the Terrebonne Parish School. View full size. 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Marion Post Wolcott, Farm Security Administration. Even though it's not the Mississippi....I'll second the Tom Sawyer reference! The photo is a perfect illustration of Tom and Huckleberry Finn. Twain's universal boyhood themes are still relevant today. Too bad that some school boards have actually banned "Huckleberry Finn", one of the first books to explore the evils of racism...because some of its words were "racist" and allgedly make some students "uncomfortable" I guessI guess they just finished painting a white fence? Me tooThat was the first thought I had, Tom and Huck....amazing how his writings are remembered and loved after all this time. DSS Gone Fishin'This is just a beautifully rendered photograph, I thought it was an illustration at first. This could easily be a painting, the composition and coloring is breathtaking. (The Gallery, M.P. Wolcott, Rural America)
Texas Saturday Night: 1942
... February 1942. Weslaco, Texas. Saturday night dance at the Farm Security Administration camp with music by the Drake family. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/10/2009 - 12:38am -

February 1942. Weslaco, Texas. Saturday night dance at the Farm Security Administration camp with music by the Drake family. View full size. Medium-format safety negative by Arthur Rothstein for the FSA. FriskySeems like the young man dancing with the polka dot girl is getting a bit "handsy." [That's two girls dancing. - Dave] Wish I had a time machineOh, how I'd love to go to that dance! Facial ExpressionI wonder what the woman in the center is thinking? She appears to have on a wedding ring, but they are dancing like they aren't too close. She doesn't look unhappy, but she is clearly thinking about something! [Maybe the next call in the square dance. - Dave] (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Drake Family, Music)
Wasatch Range: 1940
... Summit County, Utah." Photo by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Which direction BillyB? I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/18/2018 - 1:23pm -

March 1940. "Wasatch Mountains. Summit County, Utah." Photo by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Which direction BillyB?I say the road ends at a "T" junction and that road goes both left and right. I have driven some of the boring roads where you see the town ahead and yet it takes 30 minutes at 60mph plus to actually get there. Lincoln Highway (Interstate 80)It appears that perhaps this is a view looking southwest down the "Lincoln Highway", now Interstate 80, just southwest of its intersection with Highway 189. The road heads across the mountains into Salt Lake City. Straight as a rulerOn road trips these highways were very boring to travel, so Mom used play a game with us of which way the road would turn next. I'm gonna guess this one turns to the left. Kink in the roadEventually all of these roads have to have a "kink" or double turn because they are trying to go in a straight line on the curved surface of the earth. Check out any road map of an area in the great plains. In most places road planners make these shifts as gentle as possible; in some places they are dead ends with abrupt turns which can be dangerous for drowsy drivers. Boring straight highwaysAbout that time they were made less boring by Burma Shave. Now With Added LanesSocks is right about the location. I've driven this road many times in many different road conditions. Up ahead is Park City to the right and Cedar City to the left and down a ways. I wonder if the old Lincoln Highway went down Parley's canyon en route to Salt Lake City? That's a very steep road even for today's vehicles to handle. Despite that, modern day I-80 plunges right through it at break-neck speeds! My Google Map coordinates for my updated photo are 40.7361046,-111.4881046. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Landscapes)
Meet the Renningers: 1941
... format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Cool kitty A very handsome ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/18/2019 - 11:17am -

September 1941. "Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Renninger with sons Richard and Winfield, members of the Two River Non-Stock Cooperative, FSA co-op. Waterloo, Nebraska." Medium format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Cool kittyA very handsome family, and Kitty is really digging it! For the "Win"Win Renninger was a mover and shaker in Fremont, Nebraska. Unfortunately, he died young, at 44. This clip is from the March 1, 1974, Fremont Tribune. He had recently moved to Wisconsin to work for the Credit Union National Association. And Harvey's obituaryalso from the Fremont Tribune, 28 February 1958. He apparently sold his farm in 1949 and began a home-building business, Town & Country Construction Company. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Cats, Kids, M.P. Wolcott, Rural America)
West Memphis: 1935
... Memphis, Arkansas." 35mm negative by Ben Shahn for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Blind Musician It's a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/29/2008 - 7:01am -

October 1935. "Street musicians. Blind fiddler. West Memphis, Arkansas." 35mm negative by Ben Shahn for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Blind MusicianIt's a bitter irony that the blind street fiddler would have had to drink from public fountains marked "Colored," even though he didn't know what skin color was. All people would have been the same to him. Justice may have been blindfolded, but not blind. (The Gallery, Ben Shahn, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Music)
Ice Dealer: 1941
... City." Medium format negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Alas, Doomed James "Tell of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/25/2018 - 10:00am -

December 1941. "Ice man. New York City." Medium format negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Alas, Doomed James"Tell of Seeing James Go to Doom in Flight Fight," the headlines scream. Who among the Shorpyite sleuths might be able to pin down the date of the photograph from this tantalizing little clue? (Flair enough; the flocus on these phlotographs are always a tad flidgety.) PushcartsThe ice dealer was one of the few who plied the streets with their carts. The others were gathered into centers where they sold their wares. Mayor LaGuardia housed them in the Essex Street Market. The first pushcarts appeared on Hester Street in 1886. There were 10,000 street vendors at one time in NYC. Grandpa did thisMy grandfather Anthony Sabbatini was the iceman in East New York, Brooklyn. Known as "Tony the Iceman" for years until he finally got a job with Railway Express, sort of like UPS of the 1930s. He was a strong stocky guy who must have climbed a million stairs delivering ice and packages. A hard life no matter how you look at it. I still remember:Growing up on Belmont Avenue in the Bronx in the 1940s and seeing the ice man, the coal delivery trucks, the horse-drawn vegetable wagon, and the small wagon with the cage-enclosed merry-go-round for the kids. All going door to door offering their goods and services. The leaping ramgives away the 1936 Dodge on the right. A universally recognized trademark, it is still in use both in name and image 82 years later. Maybe ...If those are old newspapers that he's using for wrapping, could the headline refer to the sinking of the Reuben James? [Yes, and he went down at Madison Square Garden. - Dave] Looks like the placeWest 18th Street between Ninth and 10th avenues. A most unusual building in a neighborhood rapidly redeveloping itself. Old maps label this a gasholder house for the Manhattan Gas Company. It shows up on the earliest map I could find of this area, 1854, and could be a good deal older than that. An incredible survivor. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, NYC)
Earth Rover: 1939
... format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Thought I saw Hydraulics ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/22/2021 - 10:18am -

April 1939. "A whirling plough used by United States Sugar Corporation in soft powdery muck to prepare soil for planting sugarcane. Near Pahokee, Florida." Medium format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Thought I saw HydraulicsBefore I enlarged the photo the springs that keep down force on the tool in the ground looked like hydraulic cylinders. Thinking it was early to see them. Further inspection shows the plough is moved by chains coming from the front of the machine. Possibly not even a diesel yet too. A friend of mine had a road grader on his property in Maine to service the miles long dirt road into his property. The machine was from about 1930 or so. A full size grader pretty much like you see today. It was powered by a four cylinder engine from a Model T. Back then it wasn't all brute power but more engineering and gearing. So much for the golf club carrying 600HP half ton pickups today. [Here's a side view of this Caterpillar tractor. - Dave] He has styleIf we could transport the driver to today, he could attend a steampunk party and fit right in. Unique tractor The wide low ground pressure treads with a special grouser profile on the trackpads make this machine suitable to work the type of ground described. I would like to see the PTO arrangement on the front that powers those chains to lift that heavy booger of an implement. In reply to Mark P, it is a Cat RD6 diesel. Three cylinders with pistons the size of small coffee cans and eight inches of stroke. It was governed at about 800 RPM but did its best work down about 600 with the throttle wide open. It had enough raw grunt to affect the rotation of the earth if you had it pulling in the right direction. The only thing using gasoline was the two cylinder pony motor used to start the main engine. For many years around many mining and construction sites the morning quiet was shattered by the sharp cracking exhaust of unmuffled Caterpillar pony motors. It’s a dieselI took some time to look around and unfortunately can’t figure out which model this is but diesels in Cat products were very common back then. This one is definitely diesel since it has an injection pump and a 3 cyl engine as there are three injector lines. Cat made some gas stuff but by the middle of the '30s they made half of all the diesel power in the US. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Florida, M.P. Wolcott)
Pallbearers: 1938
... Medium format nitrate negative by Edwin Rosskam for the Farm Security Administration. Eeriest I think this is the eeriest photo I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/06/2019 - 11:31am -

January 1938. "Ponce, Puerto Rico. Funeral of a child." View full size. Medium format nitrate negative by Edwin Rosskam for the Farm Security Administration. EeriestI think this is the eeriest photo I have yet seen on Shorpy. Soo sad.Soo sad. My mom was only 2 years away from being born in that same town. Another 1000 word picture...Every one of them a synonym for "sad". (The Gallery, Edwin Rosskam, Kids, Puerto Rico)
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