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Mother and Child: 1936
... Township." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration. Mary (Walker) & Wallace ... on her last day on earth. (The Gallery, Rural America, Russell Lee) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/10/2008 - 11:40am -

December 1936. Woodbury County, Iowa. "Mrs. Mary Kelsheimer and one of her sons on a tenant farm in Miller Township." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration. Mary (Walker) & Wallace Kelsheimer her sonThis is my husband's great-grandma & his grandfather William Kelshimer's brother. Can contact me at debkroll@hickorytech.net Bates motel revisitedAll I can think of is Norman and his mother on her last day on earth. (The Gallery, Rural America, Russell Lee)
Back Seat Duet: 1938
... Louisiana." View full size. Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. This natty duo can also be seen ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 7:08pm -

October 1938. "Negro musicians playing accordion and washboard in automobile. Near New Iberia, Louisiana." View full size. Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. This natty duo can also be seen here. Cool & HandsomeMy God the other man on the left side is handsome and dressed in a cool way. I just had to comment on it because there is always so much talk about pretty ladies. Ha, this picture proves that also some handsome men were captured on film back in the day! Thanks for the great photos. (The Gallery, Music, Russell Lee)
Cascade Cafes: 1941
... town and its valley." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee. View full size. Perfection Is Gone This downtown is even more ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/30/2018 - 2:46pm -

June 1941. "Street scene in Cascade, Idaho. Cascade is a microcosm of Idaho's past and present -- all the industries of the state, including lumbering, mining, agriculture, stock raising and tourist trade, are apportioned to this town and its valley." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee. View full size. Perfection Is GoneThis downtown is even more gone than most Shorpy pictures, judging by google streetview. I think I can figure out where this was by the church building. But the diagonal parking has been replaced by a grocery store, a bank, and a depressing suburban look. It's possible one or two of these buildings is still standing, but I couldn't find one. VisitsI visited here in June 1973. Friends living farther south had a cottage in "The Cascades", as they called it, suggested that I go up there for a couple of days, stay in the cottage. So their two sons and I headed up in my MGB. The drive up was great (got lost somehow at least once), countryside was beautiful, we had a ball. And then it snowed on us. I was not ready for that. Made for interesting driving with in my MGB. Learned to really love a wood stove. Oh well. Nice memories. A place for everything and everything in its placeThis is the kind of orderly approach to life that I recommend to one and all. Anyone know where we can find it? Sidewalk- level advertisingJust as a tobacconist might have a wooden Indian, or a barber a spiral-striped pole, I see the beer hall has two kegs sitting on the sidewalk in front of the store. Or, more likely, they're there waiting to be swapped for two full kegs when the delivery truck comes around. The ChallengeNeed one of you car geeks to go down the line identifying all the cars by their headlamps. All That Neon!Wouldn't it be great to see this same scene lit up after dark? I miss street scenes like this. I'd wager that downtown Cascade doesn't look nearly as vibrant today. Paradise lostFood, coffee, drugs, beer, pool, cards, candy, tobacco, all within a couple hundred feet of street front. We traded Utopia for the mall, and now we don't even have those. How FunLooks like it would have been a wonderful street to visit. [You could get gas at either end! - Dave] My IdahomeIdaho is still a lovely, orderly place. It didn't change. (The Gallery, Russell Lee, Small Towns, Stores & Markets)
Green Acres: 1937
... Koochiching County, Minnesota." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Ned's ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/22/2018 - 12:57pm -

September 1937. "Cabin of Steve Flanders, cut-over farmer near Northome, Koochiching County, Minnesota." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Ned's Grandpa?Hens love roosters, geese love ganders: Everyone else loves Ned Flanders! What's the R value of tarpaper?Looks like it could be mighty cold in that cabin in February. Tough Pioneer StockThin wood tar paper shack for a home in a place that nearly every winter gets down to 35-40 below zero! Lace Curtain... Belgian? Dutch? Radio Antenna?That single glass insulator attached to the roof peak is more likely a one wire telephone, ground being used for the return part of the circuit. It does not appear that they have electric service. Telephone was likely dry cell battery powered. The birch trees in the background are about a decade old, the 200 foot white pine virgin forest having clearcut. What is the older girl's uniform -- CCC? Northolm Northome weather today? A balmy high of 27 F. How they kept warmAt this point in time, many homeowners actually used newspaper to insulate their homes--a guy I used to work with was fascinated as he pulled old insulation/newspapers out of his 1930s era home in suburban Minneapolis. You will also hear stories of not heating the 2nd story of a home (frost on the blankets, yes), and even today, owners of older homes will put bales of straw around the base of their homes to avoid pipes freezing in the basement. I am guessing these guys did about the same. Worked 70 hours Last WeekAccording to the 1940 US Census, Steve was 59 at the time of this photograph. He had worked 52 weeks in the past year and 70 hours in the week before the census enumeration. His wife Lottie was 53, Richard was 27, Leonard was 15, Opal was 12 and Ilene 10. I'm guessing that we see Opal and Ilene. Steve owned his farm and valued his home at $150. Not an easy life to say the least. Where's Steve?He must be plowing the back 40 on the ol' Hoyt-Clagwell Opal Only Lived to Age 25Opal Irene Flanders 1924–1950 BIRTH 15 JUL 1924 • Rollag, Minnesota, USA DEATH 12 APR 1950 • Bemidji, Minnesota, USA That old patched up rowboatmust have brought fish home for dinner from Bartlett Lake. (The Gallery, Cats, Kids, Russell Lee)
Practice Makes Perfect: 1940
... listening to the radio . Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the FSA. View full size. (The Gallery, Kids, Rural America, Russell Lee) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 12:05pm -

November 1940. "Living room in farm home of John Frost, part owner of 135 acres of semi-marginal land in Tehama County, California. He raises turkeys, hogs and dairy cattle." We met the girl and her dad last week, listening to the radio. Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the FSA. View full size. (The Gallery, Kids, Rural America, Russell Lee)
And Their Little Dog, Too: 1936
... Marcus Miller and dog. Spencer, Iowa." 35mm negative by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Cute dog ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/17/2008 - 9:51am -

December 1936. "Mr. and Mrs. Marcus Miller and dog. Spencer, Iowa." 35mm negative by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Cute dogSomething has got his attention. (The Gallery, Dogs, Rural America, Russell Lee)
Soda Jerker: 1939
... into malted milk shakes." View full size. Photo by Russell Lee. And make mine a double. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Russell Lee) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2011 - 6:52pm -

February 1939. Corpus Christi, Texas. "Soda jerker flipping ice cream into malted milk shakes." View full size. Photo by Russell Lee. And make mine a double. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Russell Lee)
Big Mohair: 1940
... scouring plant in San Marcos, Texas." Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. (The Gallery, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/13/2021 - 6:05pm -

March 1940. "Water storage tank at wool and mohair scouring plant in San Marcos, Texas." Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. (The Gallery, Factories, Russell Lee)
Hines Pines: 1942
... Forest, Grant County, Oregon." Medium-format Kodachrome by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Loose Load I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/27/2018 - 11:23am -

July 1942. "Truckload of ponderosa pine, Edward Hines Lumber Co. operations in Malheur National Forest, Grant County, Oregon." Medium-format Kodachrome by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Loose LoadI hope he is stopping to put the wrappers on this load otherwise he will be picking up logs all the way down the mountain. Kind of ironic I had to "log in" to leave a comment. Pre-CuredThis was flooring a month later. Pines grow relatively fast, so this is still common. But we are in 2018 and still seeing these trucks roll by, but full of ancient Redwoods. I live on the East Coast, but when traveling in the Upper Northwest this is disheartening to see. Pfffft. Big deal.You want to see a REAL load of logs? (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Russell Lee)
School Days: 1938
... Printed from a 35mm nitrate negative by FSA photographer Russell Lee. View full size. Government Camps... Just found an interesting ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2011 - 6:53pm -

August 1938. "Child studying in school, Southeast Missouri Farms." Printed from a 35mm nitrate negative by FSA photographer Russell Lee. View full size. Government Camps...Just found an interesting site ... with great audio clips and MORE.. The Authentic History Center http://www.authentichistory.com/ (The Gallery, Education, Schools, Kids, Russell Lee)
His Brother's Trimmer: 1938
... hair. Caruthersville, Missouri." 35mm negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Mo. Memories ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/09/2008 - 12:48am -

August 1938. "Farmer cutting his brother's hair. Caruthersville, Missouri." 35mm negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Mo. MemoriesShorpy once again features a region I'm familiar with. I was born in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, which would be one point of a triangle that has Caruthersville and Sikeston [in the wrestling photo below] at the other two points. The southeastern corner of Missouri is a beautiful part of the Ozarks with lots of wooded rolling hills, pretty creeks and rivers. Although, as the photo shows, over by the river it flattens out into farming areas. Haven't been back in ages. Probably because I'm pretty happy living right where I am in San Diego. The young man getting his hair cut would be just about the same age as my father from Piedmont, MO, who joined the Navy to be a submariner in WWII. I imagine this youngster signed up, too. Great generation they were. (The Gallery, Rural America, Russell Lee)
Employee Parking: 1940
... have been big problems." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/19/2018 - 10:32am -

December 1940. "San Diego, California. Workers' automobiles parked near the airplane factories. Providing parking space for automobiles and getting the cars in and out at shift changing time have been big problems." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Something's lackingColor would be amazing! GreyhoundsThis photo has a heavy concentration of 1935-36 Ford Coupes. There are at least two with the greyhound radiator cap/hood ornament. And, for some reason, the two parked side by side in the second row have their spare tire mounts removed. That shiny '34 didn't escape my view, either. Nice photo. Newer carsI count about three cars that are more than five years old. The Depression caused 25 percent of the workforce to lose their jobs, but 75 percentr were able to keep working and buying. Around this time, cars had useful lives of about six years before being junked. Shrine Auto CourtShrine Auto Court was at 3338 Kettener Boulevard. The building has recently been remodeled and sold for $2.4 million. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Russell Lee)
Kids at Play: 1940
... school in Hobbs, New Mexico." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Recess the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/18/2018 - 11:30am -

May 1940. "Recess time at grade school in Hobbs, New Mexico." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Recess the way I remember it!Where to begin? Boys wrasslin' and roughhousing, too many kids on the seesaw and slide, rocks everywhere - and I see London, I see France, I see some girl's underpants! BTW, I live only about 45 miles from Hobbs, NM. Bullying.This is when bullying was just part of play time. Fights in progress, fights finishing and fights about to begin. Playground equipment... must have been quite a novelty in 1940. MoonscapeThat's a pretty rough playground for little ones. I imagine there were a few bloody knees when the bell finally rang. Fun playgroundsThe playground at my elementary school in the '50s at least had grass, minimal rocks. But the boys were very much like the boys here. Lots of roughhousing. Games were tough, all were a tackle game of some sort. Don't know what the girls did, we weren't interested. They certainly did not play any of the "boy" games. But that was all overseas. In 1961, we went on vacation to the US. My mom stuck me in a 5th grade class in a public school in Santa Ana CA. Playground was sanitized then. No roughhousing, no tackle games, etc. My thought was that the kids were a bunch of wimps. They weren't. I did get in trouble with a new found friend when I found out he like to roughhouse as much as I did. We both got detention. Of course it wasn't the kids' fault that there were no rough and tumble games, they did not make the rules. It was the parents and the school administration. Recess was boring. I couldn't wait to go back home where it was fun. Soft surfaceI remember when the debate at my kids’ school for the playground surface was wood chips or rubberized. How about lots of rocks? With regard to the merry-go-round on the far right: Word was, when I was a kid, that if you fell underneath while it was spinning, certain death would result. No adult supervisionThis wild "playtime" would never be tolerated today by parents who demand that there be only organized games, safety patrol observers and several teachers on playground duty whenever they release the kids from their classrooms. Not only are most of the boys in this picture pummeling each other or getting prepped to pick a fight, I even see a girl on the left (climbing the stairs of the big slide) about to push another girl off of a seesaw. I don't know if kids were tougher then or if parents just let their children deal with the consequences of their own behavior. I do think that most of these kids got their clothes dirty and also came home each day with a new bruise or two. Rough playgroundLooking at that playground surface, my first thought was: "I'll bet the school nurse had Mercurochrome by the quart." Child's play It just shows you that no matter what the circumstances -- blazing sun, grassless play yard that looks like the edge of a gravel pit -- the total enjoyment on these children's faces says it all. Rodeo BoysI would say one of the two boys that are on the ground, the one with the cowboy boot must live on a cattle ranch. Prosperous CommunityAll the kids have shoes, unlike many other Shorpy pics. (The Gallery, Education, Schools, Kids, Russell Lee)
Casa Siete: 1939
... Corpus Christi, Texas." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee. View full size. I love this photo for many reasons, But The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/26/2018 - 11:37pm -

February 1939. "Shack of war veteran with view along Nueces Bay. Corpus Christi, Texas." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee. View full size. I love this photo for many reasons, ButThe look on that child's face of sheer accomplishment is Why we try and capture moments. I hope. Oyster Shells?Is that a pile of oyster shells alongside the house? Resourcefulness!Not only the 7up posters to break the wind, but the door (and maybe some of the walls) appears to be recycled wood flooring. The tarpaper roof with no clear ventilation looks awfully warm, though. At least they have the breeze off the Gulf there. Veteran & family that enjoyed fishingNueces Bay is a shallow bay that is still to this day a great spot for catching Speckled Trout, Redfish, and Flounder. In present day Nueces Bay with it's close proximity to Corpus Christi, there are much nicer accommodations for Anglers. :-) Boats?Are these folks harvesting oysters? Must have been a miserable existence living out in the open on a beach. Not so sure ...Hi gang! This is my first comment, though I've been trolling Shorpy for years. Okay ... so I'm thinking these are work-shacks, not actual homes. Shrimpers maybe? See the brand new shack being delivered on the flatbed. The Gulf storms are so frequent and fierce that I doubt any of these would survive for long, so they were made cheaply and maintained with any old flotsom that washed up. That said, these folks were certainly not well-to-do and their actual homes were no doubt hardly glamorous, but they worked the waters out of these buildings -- I don't think they lived here. [The photographer's caption information for other photos in this series states that the veteran and his wife lived here. One of thousands of such pictures made for the Farm Security Administration during the Depression. - Dave] (The Gallery, Russell Lee, WWI)
Sunday Paper: 1936
... Life." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee. Beautiful Nitrates Seeing all these wonderful 35mm nitrate shots ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/16/2015 - 9:21pm -

December 1936. "Daughter reading Sunday paper at the Rustan Brothers farm near Dickens, Iowa. Two hundred forty acres, crop share lease, owned by Metropolitan Life." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee. Beautiful NitratesSeeing all these wonderful 35mm nitrate shots makes me hope they are being copied for archival purposes to current negative stock. [They are indeed being copied for archival purposes - but scanned digitally, not copied to film. - Dave] NewspaperIs there a way to rotate this picture? -- to see the newspaper and the watch. [Click here. - Dave] All WallisThis must be in the week or so just before or just after the abdication of Edward VIII (December 11, 1936). The newspaper pages that the daughter is reading are full of pictures of Wallis Warfield Simpson, examining various aspects of her face and supposed beauty (I never understood the assertion that she was beautiful or glamorous myself) complete with supposed Wallis lookalikes. In Britain and the Empire (including Canada) news about the relationship between the King and Mrs. Simpson was kept out of the newspapers so that only people who had been to the United States and read some of the more salacious of the big city papers even knew of her existence let alone just how close the relationship was until just a few days before the abdication. It's very likely that a newspaper in Iowa would have been just as much in th dark as a newspaper in Canada. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Russell Lee)
Pie Town Quilt II
... 1940. View full size. 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee. Quilty I like this photo so much more than the previous one. The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/07/2011 - 4:08pm -

Mrs. Stagg helps her husband in the field with plowing, planting, weeding corn and harvesting beans. She quilts while she rests during the noon hour. Pie Town, N.M. October 1940. View full size. 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee. QuiltyI like this photo so much more than the previous one. The quilt is an artwork and displayed in the artist arms looks much more lovely than hanging on a line! (The Gallery, Pie Town, Rural America, Russell Lee)
To Mary, With Love: 1939
... He is a world war veteran." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Old beyond ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/04/2018 - 5:27pm -

July 1939. "Woman living in camp near May Avenue, Oklahoma City. Her husband has been denied work relief. He is a world war veteran." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Old beyond yearsI'll bet this woman is in her 30s. Lots of sun and hard living. Weather-beaten and hopelessOne wonders how they kept on keeping on or how long they actually existed with nothing, not two nickels to rub together. In other areas of Oklahoma City at this time, there were young women preparing for their debut into high society Saturday night and oil wells gushing out barrels of black gold for the barons to pay for their bigger and grander lavish mansions. Who said life was fair? To Mary, With Love; Can This Be Dixie?To Mary, With Love; Can This Be Dixie? (The Gallery, Great Depression, OKC, Russell Lee)
Hubcap Heaven: 1939
... Welcome to Dad's. Medium-format nitrate negative by Russell Lee. View full size. Hubcap-O-Rama And every one dilligently policed ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/14/2013 - 10:20am -

February 1939. "Auto parts store in Corpus Christi, Texas." Welcome to Dad's. Medium-format nitrate negative by Russell Lee. View full size. Hubcap-O-RamaAnd every one dilligently policed up from the side of the highway. The combination of cheap, pressed-steel wheels and high-pressure, bias-ply tires meant that hub caps were easily shed through excessive wheel deformation on encountering significant perturbations in the paving surface at speed -- short version, hit a pothole at 40 mph, lose a hubcap. "Re-purposers" frequently picked them up for sale to places like this, where people who belatedly discovered they'd lost a hubcap might go to get a cheap replacement. It's not unlikely that many people purchased the very hubcaps they'd lost a short time before. HubcapsGreat selection, no two match ! By any other nameYou can call it a parts store, or you can call it an automotive recycling facility, or you can call it what it is--a junkyard. Grille talkThat sidewalk grille reminded me of the time many years ago that I was scouting for parts for the 1933 Ford three-window coupe I had just bought for (drumroll) $200. In the dusty storage space above a small Bedford, Pennsylvania, Ford dealer's showroom (some showroom, I think it held two cars) I found a new still-in-the-brown-paper-factory-wrapping '33 grille, for which I paid all of $25. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Russell Lee)
Family Gathering: 1938
... from today's earlier post. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. (The Gallery, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 6:34pm -

August 1938. "Farm Security Administration client who will become owner- operator under tenant purchase program. Caruthersville, Missouri." This group shot includes the haircut brothers from today's earlier post. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. (The Gallery, Rural America, Russell Lee)
Free Air, Cash Meat: 1939
... grocery in Questa, New Mexico." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Signage I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/15/2018 - 9:01pm -

September 1939. "Market and grocery in Questa, New Mexico." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. SignageI shutter to think what a picker wold pay for all those signs. [It's "shudder." - Dave] Equal relief for men & ladiesIf the meat or vegetables are not all that fresh and end up causing digestive problems, thankfully there are two outhouses to run to at the back of the grocery shop. Fully equippedFully equipped with all the modern conveniences... including facilities for Men and Ladies out back. I wonder why they were called 'Cash Markets'?In the town where I grew up there was a small store a couple of blocks from us, called "Scotties' Cash Market". It was was pretty small, but it had a lot of stuff packed in that space. Did a good business in the 1960s, but died a slow death in the 1970s when two things happened: (a) the town turned the street it was on (the Main Street) from two lanes with parking into four lanes and banned parking, and (b) a 7-11 clone opened down the street with off-street parking. [It means you can't buy on credit or run up a tab. - Dave] AvalonYou’d never guess they cost you less. Everything a road traveler could need or wantOne very well stocked roadside market, cigarettes, tobacco, rolling papers, bags of flour, Coca Cola, free air and comfortable rest rooms. Those OuthousesI hope the meat coolers were on the other side of the store. Shorpy Parade of Pickups PastAbout a 1935 Dodle. If you go much earlier in the 30s, the Dodles I can find pictures of had rear-hinged "suicide" doors, at least on the driver's side. Of course, it's possible that Fiat Mercedes-Benz Chrysler Dodge Brothers built a pickup with a suicide driver's door and a regular passenger door, to clear the spare tire -- that would be a very Chrysler thing to do. (The Gallery, Russell Lee, Small Towns, Stores & Markets)
Telluride Tracks: 1940
... tank at Telluride, Colorado." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Aspen & ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/22/2019 - 9:34am -

September 1940. "Narrow gauge railway yards, train and water tank at Telluride, Colorado." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Aspen & DepotThe photo is taken from near the present location of the Cosmopolitan restaurant, looking west along what is now Depot Avenue. Most of the houses and sheds just to the right of frame are still there and in great condition. Here's a more recent photo (at night) looking west along Depot Avenue toward the original Telluride depot: Victim of the scrapyardBaldwin built #453 and fourteen of her sisters in the 125 class (later reclassed as K-27 and nicknamed “Mudhens”) in 1903 for the Denver & Rio Grande. 453 was used in her later years as a switcher in the Durango, Colorado yard, finally meeting the scrapper’s torch in 1954. The last two K-27s built are preserved and still in operation: #463 on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad running between Antonito, CO and Chama, NM, and #464 on the Huckleberry Railroad near Flint, MI. (The Gallery, Frontier Life, Railroads, Russell Lee)
Sweet Cherries: 1941
... in San Diego. View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. Familiar My great aunt and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 11:26am -

June 1941. Shopping for fruit and vegetables in San Diego. View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. FamiliarMy great aunt and uncle had a place like this except no Fountain Lunch! "Farmade" is a great name. The price of cherriesI've got my wife's great-grandmother's hand-written recipe book from this era, and throughout whenever it mentions cherries, it specifies a certain value amount, such as five cents' worth. I could never figure out what that actually meant in a meaningful measurement. Now I know! It's a quarter-pound! (The Gallery, Russell Lee, Stores & Markets)
Missouri: 1938
... bottoms." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. Relative? Her face has the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2011 - 9:46pm -

May 1938. New Madrid County, Missouri. "Wife and child of sharecropper, cut-over farmer of Mississippi bottoms." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. Relative?Her face has the same look as my (deceased) grandmother. Something about the eyes - it's haunting me. I wish we knew who she was. MissouriNotice the houseflies on the lady's hand. Hate those flies. (The Gallery, Great Depression, Russell Lee)
Meet the Gerlings: 1937
... her arm four years ago." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. About the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/24/2018 - 4:03pm -

September 1937. "The Herman Gerling family near Wheelock, North Dakota. The daughter lost her arm four years ago." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. About the GerlingsIt seems someone dug into the Gerling family history and wrote about it: Gerling Family history At Least Someone CaresThe 1940 US Census finds them in Truax, ND. Herman is then 59, his wife Tirazah is 39, Gertrude is 14 and John is 3. Herman owns the farm and values it at $200 but claims that it provided no income that year but he had income from other sources. Their 19 year old son James seems to have moved out, he's last seen in the 1930 Census. Gertrude died in 2001 and appears never to have been married. I can't find a public family tree, but it looks like someone is doing research on them and correcting transcription errors in documents. Fingerprints on the public record left by amateur genealogists are too often the only indication that there are people left who care. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Dogs, Kids, Russell Lee)
Teeter Tot: 1937
... near Long Lake, Wisconsin." Medium format negative by Russell Lee. View full size. Life before computer games When I was a kid in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/11/2015 - 2:32pm -

May 1937. "One of Max Sparks' children playing on homemade teeter-totter near Long Lake, Wisconsin." Medium format negative by Russell Lee. View full size. Life before computer gamesWhen I was a kid in the early 70s, our teeter-totter was a 55 gallon drum with a 1 x 6 board. It worked great until the barrel, or board, or both, started moving. Still good clean fun for kids in the country. And if we got tired of that, we would take the board off and see how long we could "walk" the drum, log-rolling style. What's in a name?In my part of the world we know this apparatus as a SEESAW. However I am familiar with Tetter Tot thanks to an episode of the Brady bunch. Was it not Cindy that wished to set a tetter tot record? [Cindy was tetter, but Marcia was tettest. - Dave] Ready for launchDrop the boulder!! Ouch!Cherry bumps* would really hurt on that teeter-totter. * The effect produced when the tot going down hits the ground hard, causing a shock wave to bounce the kid on the high end rather violently. Been there 50+ years agoMy Grampa and my Dad built a cottage on Long Lake back in the '30s. As a youngster, we'd be packed off to visit with the grandparents a few kids at a time. Wonder how they put up with us monsters at their age. Always sweeping sand out of the kitchen and dining area and off the porch. They must have been saints. tom (The Gallery, Kids, Russell Lee)
A Wet Heat: 1940
... pool at desert dude ranch." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Admin. View full size. On the road Looks ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2018 - 3:40pm -

April 1940. Coolidge, Arizona. "Swimming pool at desert dude ranch." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Admin. View full size. On the roadLooks like Jack Kerouac second from the right. Daily DudsThe tan lines indicate that after the swim, the ladies dressed in skirts with hems that fell just below the knee -- a casual look when paired with crew socks. Stray currentsThis would be a couple of years before engineer Herb Ufer was hired by the Army to design a reliable electrical grounding system for ammunition depots in dry desert conditions. His concrete-encased grounding method was not required by code for swimming pools until 1965. And then, over on our right, less than ten feet from the edge of the pool, you have a live-chassis five-tube radio, a wet-storage Coke fridge, and bare light strings controlled by a surface-mount rotary switch, all within reach of wet bare hands and feet. There's a lot of electrical wiring on Shorpy that makes me cringe, but I'm really hoping everyone survived this swim. I just learned yesterday what a "snood" was... and here one is! (The Gallery, Russell Lee, Swimming)
Leatherman Jr.: 1940
... in a burro-drawn cart in Pie Town, New Mexico. Photo by Russell Lee, June, 1940. View full size. Kids so skinny, kids now are obese ... 
 
Posted by Ken - 09/08/2011 - 8:44pm -

Sons of Mr. Leatherman ride in a burro-drawn cart in Pie Town, New Mexico. Photo by Russell Lee, June, 1940. View full size. Kidsso skinny, kids now are obese [Hm. Six hours 40 minutes. - Dave] (The Gallery, Kids, Pie Town, Rural America, Russell Lee)
Jailbirds: 1940
... the nicest place I ever saw'." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Admini. View full size. In your face Gotta ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/21/2018 - 12:43pm -

March 1940. "Hays County Jail, San Marcos, Texas. Living quarters for the Deputy Sheriff, who is the jailer, and his family, are downstairs. Jail cells are on second floor. Maid who came to the door said, 'It's the nicest place I ever saw'." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Admini. View full size. In your faceGotta love the guy in chains. The Old Ball And ChainNothing like a little truth in advertising South Texas. Not thereThis building was erected on Guadalupe Street in 1937 and served until the new correctional center was opened in 1989; it was demolished in the 1990s and a fried chicken restaurant now occupies the site. The fate of the sign isn't easily determinable. In 1977, Texas Monthly magazine gave the sign a Bum Steer award for its insensitivity (obvious even then); the county argued the sign was historically significant because it had once been in Ripley's Believe It or Not. (The Gallery, Russell Lee)
Million Dollar Highway: 1940
... years. View full size. 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee. Ouray Activities The creek you see at the bottom of the photo flows ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/23/2008 - 9:39am -

October 1940. "Million Dollar Highway is cut through massive rocks in Ouray County, Colorado." U.S. 550 between Silverton and Ouray. Now a paved modern highway, this is a spectacular mountain route that I've driven many times over the years. View full size. 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee. Ouray ActivitiesThe creek you see at the bottom of the photo flows into Ouray and is diverted through perforated pipes set along the canyon rim in the winter. The sheets of ice formed by the water trickling over the rocks create a perfect ice climbing venue, with competitions every January and February. The creek flows into the Uncompaghre River (Native American name meaning "no cell service"). The hot springs in town are a great way to take the chill off your bones after a day on the ice. [My favorite summer activity: Jeeping the Alpine Loop and exploring the ghost towns along the way. Especially Animas Forks. The Western Hotel in Ouray is a good place to stay. Or the Beaumont if you want fancy. - Dave] Red Mountain Pass If I am not mistaken this section of road climbs over Red Mountain Pass. A few years back I rode my bicycle over this pass, with 750 other riders,on the way to Durango. While it is now a "modern paved highway" it still has no guardrails as they would be an impairment to clearing the many feet of snow they get each year. The drop off right next to the edge of the road(first on the right side then the left) made some want to hug the center line, but the car traffic was not conducive to this. The night before we left for the ride a shop owner in Ouray gave bikers this advice. "For the first 12 miles lean left. For the next 12 miles lean right." Bus ride anyone?This is truly one of the greatest last frontier drives ever. We used to drive up from New Mexico to play basketball with Ouray and Silverton. This road made bus trips very interesting. Great photo. HistoryThe Million Dollar Highway got its start in the 1880s as a 12-mile toll road between Ironton and Ouray, a remarkable feat considering it was before the age of the internal combustion engine and done by men with picks and shovels, working in snow and very low temperatures. Drive thru in the winter to appreciate. I've jeeped this area extensively... see pics at www.fotki.com/tbill and www.fotki.com/tbilmelms 550I remember riding over this highway during WW2 when I was a very small child. It wasn't paved yet and was just barely passable for two vehicles going in opposite directions. The driver always had to honk when approaching a blind curve, and the car on the outside had to move over and stop for the inside vehicle. I was terrified and spent much of the trip huddled down in the back seat with my eyes closed. We lived in Pagosa Springs at the time, and I am a Colorado native, so mountain roads were nothing new to me. But this one was the worst. I was between 3 and 4 at the time. Eek!I have driven this during the summer and even then I wanted to hug the centerline. I can't imagine driving this during the winter. Golden RuleWhen I was a kid in the 40's, we were taught that the name for the Million Dollar Highway comes from the value of the ore-bearing fill that was used to construct it. As kids, we would gather mill tailings from the road sides in the mountains and take them home to extract gold by crushing and panning. We would alway get a few flakes of gold. I'm sure that there are few or none of these piles of tailings left because the price of gold now makes it profitable to use the very low grade ore. (The Gallery, On the Road, Russell Lee)
Bottlecap Blowup: 1939
... . Quemado, Texas." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Better call ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/21/2019 - 2:59pm -

March 1939. "Detail of bottle caps decorating abandoned theater. Quemado, Texas." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Better call SaulOuch, the sharp edge is facing out, today that would be inviting a lawsuit. Who Knew?Quemado, Texas was the birthplace of "pop" art?!? Seriously, though, this is a very "cap"-tivating photo! Growing up, I seem to recall cork being used in bottle caps well into the 1970s. I still prefer glass-bottled pop (or soda) to the plastic bottles or aluminum cans used today. Somehow, it just tastes better. Advancing yearsI’d forgotten about the cork inside bottle caps. Cork!I have a memory of being at my grandparents' house back in the late '50s and seeing cork lined Coke bottle caps there. I can’t remember seeing them anywhere else or if cork had been replaced by then but I well remember being maybe 5-ish and using my fingernails to try to dig out the cork. More on corkI definitely remember cork inside Coke/Pepsi/7-Up bottlecaps at least into the '70s -- I used to try to dig the cork out as a kid too! Who's got the corkOne of the largest manufacturers of bottle caps at that time was the Crown Cork and Seal Company. Wearing a Pepsi badgeMore fun than a kid should have: 1. Carefully dig the cork out of the cap. Don’t break the cork or the fun won’t happen. 2. Position the cap carefully on your t-shirt. Right side up. Not too high or low. Sort of like a sheriff’s badge. 3. Reach up inside the shirt and press the cork back into the cap. 4. Wear it proudly! Yes, it does taste differentSoft drinks (like Coca-Cola, etc.) do taste different when bottled in glass as compared to aluminum or plastic. As it was explained to me at a Dr. Pepper convention, the difference has to do with how quickly the product cools to room temperature after being bottled. And a huge tip-of-the-hat to those bottlers who have returned to producing relatively small batches of their products using cane sugar in recent years. The industry switched to corn syrup decades ago simply because it is cheaper. (The Gallery, Bizarre, Russell Lee, Small Towns)
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