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American Gothic: 1935
... October 1935. "Rural rehabilitation clients. Boone County, Arkansas." 35mm negative by Ben Shahn for the Resettlement Administration. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/05/2009 - 2:01am -

October 1935. "Rural rehabilitation clients. Boone County, Arkansas." 35mm negative by Ben Shahn for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Between the LinesShe: I am so mad at him! I told him to bring home some hay for the cow He: I think I'll go fishing The Old MathOne and one makes three! Touching PortraitThis is a really touching portrait. They are looking directly at the camera. This is who we are. God bless 'em, I hope everything turned out ok. Old Before Her TimeThe lady's bangs are graying. She has probably never saw running water in a house or a washing machine or a vacuum sweeper. Chances are good she never sat in a bathtub, only in a No.2 galvanized metal tub that was filled with water hauled up from the creek. (The Gallery, Ben Shahn, Great Depression, Rural America)
Paper, Mister?
... in about 1928 or 29 on the square of small town Piggott, Arkansas. About 30 years later they would make the movie "A Face in the Crowd" ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/10/2010 - 11:38am
Walk Your Horse: 1910
Little Rock, Arkansas, circa 1910. "View from the Free Bridge." The sign: YOU MUST WALK YOUR ... The Fones building that was renovated as the Central Arkansas library is farther east (at 100 S. Rock Street). This one would have ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 7:13pm -

Little Rock, Arkansas, circa 1910. "View from the Free Bridge." The sign: YOU MUST WALK YOUR HORSE OVER BRIDGE. View full size. High waterThe stairs down to the diving platform have been washed out, and further to the right of the floating dock, there is some trash on the bank. Hmm.What if I don't have a horse -- how do I cross? Modern EquivalentWith the march of progress, we no longer have to worry about walking our horses across bridges. Today, we only have to walk our bicycles across them! Lower right cornerCheck out the 3-level diving platform, inboard speed boat and homemade sternwheeler. Fones Brothers HardwareMy dad worked for Fones Bros. for 44 years until 1981. They were one of the oldest and longest lasting businesses in Little Rock. They started in 1865 and finished in 1987. Their last location was built in 1921 and today has been totally revamped on the inside. It is now the main branch of the library system in Little Rock. The building was built so well and with so much reinforced concrete it was declared a Civil Defense fallout shelter in the 1950s. Fones buildingThe Fones building that was renovated as the Central Arkansas library is farther east (at 100 S. Rock Street). This one would have been a predecessor. You can see the upper facade of the Capital Hotel (still there, at 111 West Markham Street) rising over other buildings slightly to right. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Little Rock)
Follow the Finger: 1908
Hot Springs, Arkansas, circa 1908. "Army and Navy General Hospital." Closer to the camera on ... replaced in the 1950s by a V.A. facility that became the Arkansas Rehabilitation Center. I spent three months there in 1972 after ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 11:19am -

Hot Springs, Arkansas, circa 1908. "Army and Navy General Hospital." Closer to the camera on Reserve Avenue we have the Imperial Bath House and some helpful signage. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. On a firm footing (not)Nothing like a firm foundation. Is it just me ordoes it seem like there were a lot of businesses in the early 20th century which were both architecturally extreme and simultaneously named "Imperial"? The style of this bath house appears to be influenced by the Moorish/Empire Winchester Mystery school, a contemporary and bitter rival of the more popular and enduring Romanesque Rococo Curlicue Baroque style. Turkish blendThese two sets of buildings are so different but each has their own appeal. The bath house really has that Turkish flavour about it although the stand alone structure with the lattice sidings seems to compete with the theme. Maybe the fence signage was put there to take advantage of traffic coming up from that side street on your right. The RingInteresting variation on those maypole-style telephone distribution rings we see so often in these pictures. Note the shadow on the roof. Looks familiarThe hospital was, I think, replaced in the 1950s by a V.A. facility that became the Arkansas Rehabilitation Center. I spent three months there in 1972 after becoming confined to a wheelchair. I was right out of the hospital. Lifted weights, learned to get into and out of cars, bathtubs, etc. Also learned to drive with hand controls. Then I went back to high school and finished. They had all sorts of vocational programs. I can't say I had a great time there, but it was a big turning point in my life. It's always interestinglooking at a man down a hole! (The Gallery, DPC, Hot Springs)
Road Tripping: 1952
... before our previous photo was made at Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Where are we now? 35mm Kodachrome by Hubert Tuttle; paint by Dr. ... then, the way to get from Minnesota to Eureka Springs, Arkansas was along Highway 65. Given that people in 1952 didn't travel as far ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/02/2014 - 3:09pm -

"6 Oct 1952. Clara & Grace at chenille & souvenir shop south of _______ ." We're back with Hubert and Grace on their road trip from Minnesota, the day before our previous photo was made at Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Where are we now? 35mm Kodachrome by Hubert Tuttle; paint by Dr. Seuss. View full size. JCT ASince the Missouri DOT doesn't have money to pave roads anymore, they have lots of time to do things like scan all of the old state highway maps. The '48/'49 and '53 maps confirm that there was never a Route T near Phillipsburg. In '49, Route T went all the way from Montreal (Missouri) to Route 66, but by '53, part of it was replaced by Missouri 35. The south end of that Route T being in Laclede County precludes there being another Route T in Laclede County that isn't connected to it. My further guess would be that this is between Phillipsburg and Lebanon, because 1) the shadows say we are looking more or less north and 2) we can see the *backs* of signs that are advertising the wonders to be found to the south. I spent a little time with Google Street View looking for that hill, but nothing jumped out at me. It's possible that the hill was eased when I-44 went through - the interstate would be pretty much right where Clara and Grace are standing. How About This?Back then, the way to get from Minnesota to Eureka Springs, Arkansas was along Highway 65. Given that people in 1952 didn't travel as far in a day as we do, I'm going to guess this is around Sedalia, Missouri. Not as rare a name as I thoughtI had thought that Wiltfong was a very rare name that might provide a location clue, but an online search shows well over 100 people with that surname. While they're located all over the place, there are a number in Missouri, which ties in with a prior comment. Someplace to the north of Eureka Springs also would make sense given the way the trees have turned more in this picture. [What about "O. Wiltfong" -- are there hundreds of them? -Dave] [Edit: No O's that I could find. Probably wouldn't matter, as the O in this picture has likely been long since gathered to his/her ancestors.] [It does matter, if you're trying to figure out where this is. - Dave] Country Roads Back when I was a lad, American highway lanes were separated by a white line (broken or solid as appropriate), as shown here. Somewhere along the line, the white of those lines was replaced with yellow, and white was retained only for separating same-direction lanes on multiple-lane roads. Apparently this was a change I completely slept through, because I can't place the time when it took place. I wonder if anyone out there can pinpoint when this change occurred. The reason I'd like to know is that I find it irksome when "period" movies show yellow lines on putatively vintage roads (much like showing red/blue mailboxes in an era when they should be green), and I'd like to know at what portrayed period I can relax in this regard and, therefore, not feel an oppressing need to get a life. [That bugs me in period movies, too. The change from white to yellow began in 1971 when the Federal Highway Administration assumed responsibility for the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Everything you ever wanted to know about it is in this document. -tterrace] I know where they are. Just outside of Hooterville. Oliver!Oliver Wiltfong, born in 1900, was living in Blue Springs, Missouri, in 1920. In 1940, he was in St. Louis. Perhaps Ollie ended up at this roadside oddity by the time this pic was taken. Route 66 Novelty MerchantThis is probably the home/business of Novelty Merchant Oliver U. Wiltfong in rural Lebanon area of Missouri. Oliver (and wife Jessie) lived in rural Lebanon, Laclede County, Missouri, for about 2 years prior to Oliver's death from brain cancer on May 6, 1949. They resided near Phillipsburg, a village of about 200 population southwest of Lebanon along U.S. Route 66 (now I-44). Postal address: Phillipsburg Rt I. Assuming Jessie remained living in Phillipsburg after Oliver's death, at the time this photo was taken in 1952 I would venture to say this is probably the family home on Route 66 near Phillipsburg. During the 1940/50s is was customary for folks living along Route 66 to sell novelties from their yards to passing travelers. [The old Route 66, now State Highway W, parallels I-44 near Lebanon, Missouri, the town whose name fills in the blank in our caption. Below is Oliver's death certificate; click to enlarge. His address is given as Phillipsburg Route T, presumably State Highway T in the vicinity of Phillipsburg. - Dave] [Dave - *Missouri T* is north of Lebanon. It runs south from Stoutland, MO to old Route 66 where it ends. Hence my conclusion the address on the Death Certificate is a U.S. Post Office mailing address (not a highway route). It's doubtful *Missouri T* ever ran all the way down to Phillipsburg, MO (unless since the 1940/50s the State renamed all the highways). Common sense says to me that since Oliver sold novelties he would locate on old Route 66 for maximum traveler traffic. Few travelers ventured off of Route 66 particularly in rural areas (except to visit major attractions). The building in the photo appears to be an old barn or shed dressed up a bit as a novelty shop by adding a false front and roof over hang. Notice the arched front vs. the pitched metal roof on the building; and, the double swinging barn type doors at the front of the building. During the early to late 1950s my family traveled Route 66 annually from California to Missouri on vacations to visit family living in Missouri. The highway shown in the photo is what Route 66 was like most of the way from Chicago to California - a two lane concrete and/or asphalt highway. The mail box with the name *O. Wiltfong* on it leads me to believe this is the property where Oliver and Jessie lived on old Route 66; and, that they converted an out building to a novelty shop. All of this leads me to believe the photo was taken at the Wiltfong residence (and novelty shop) on old Route 66 in Phillipsburg, MO southwest of Lebanon, MO. - SilverfoxCo ] (Minnesota Kodachromes, Travel & Vacation)
Look Gives You Lemons: 1957
October 1957. "The Lemon family of Little Rock, Arkansas -- father Fred, mother Edith, daughters Virginia and Rosemary, and son ... Interweb. I can locate only one obit for a Fred Lemon in Arkansas later than 1935, and this one seems to match up. Wife's name is right, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/22/2014 - 1:48pm -

October 1957. "The Lemon family of Little Rock, Arkansas -- father Fred, mother Edith, daughters Virginia and Rosemary, and son Gary -- at home; in front of state capitol building; on streets of Little Rock." From photos by John Vachon for the Look magazine assignment "Members of the Mob." View full size. The things you can findon the Interweb. I can locate only one obit for a Fred Lemon in Arkansas later than 1935, and this one seems to match up. Wife's name is right, and the cemetery is outside Little Rock. 1957? Little Rock?I assume this pictoral in Look had something to do with the events at Central High School. Were the sour Lemons possibly on the wrong side of history? Mr. LemonI get the feeling that Mr. Lemon runs a very tight ship! About this photoI'd like more information about this photo. Was father Fred here one of the "Members of the Mob"? [The article "Members of the Mob" appeared in the "National Scene" section of the November 12, 1957 issue of LOOK, along with the article "The Real Little Rock Story," by Fletcher Knebel. -tterrace] The SonLater went in to the small roadside motel business. He's very Hitchcocky. September 5, 1957Beatcomber - I'm sure you are correct. It was a terrible time. My own mother was in that mob. (John Vachon, LOOK, TV)
Porch of Plenty: 1957
... nurse for 20 years in Iowa, continuing after a move to Arkansas in 1984. After that she got her real estate license and worked for a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/02/2019 - 1:52am -

September 1957. "The Willis Cooper family on the front porch of their farmhouse near Radcliffe, Iowa, surrounded by animals and foods." 35mm color transparency from photos by Jim Hansen for the Look magazine assignment "Iowa family." View full size. What the heckLooks like moving day. American GothicRedux. Interesting ladyhttp://www.funeralmation.com/index.cfm/obituary/4148225?browse_on=deskto... Looks just like WilburCute little shoat he's holding there, and should be ready for slaughter this time next year. Can we notI hate to be the one to say it but this family took staged photos to the same insane levels they took canning and preserving. It didn't suffice that every surface in the kitchen was covered with production results, and new surfaces had to be created, only to be covered like the others. Now the jars are hanging on the front of the house. Enough is enough already, folks. Start eating it. [This is the vision of some magazine art director (or “producer,” as they were called at Look). The compliant Coopers, along with their Mason jars, are mere props. - Dave] The producer needed to sit down and have a cookie. There's no accounting for tasteMy hat is off to the Look producer who set all this up. He gave us two fantastic photos. American AgrarianBeautiful home, beautiful crops, beautiful livestock, beautiful family. Jefferson would have loved this. Makes me wonder what is down the cellar steps. Over-produced (and I don't mean the food)I can remember, growing up, how often LOOK photos struck me as so obvious, set up and posed, that they shouted fake. Sophisticated older me realizes that ALL photos are set up, but the LOOK ones still shout at me. The cat!If this were my family, I'd be the little guy holding the cat. I don't see any dogs, that's good. [Why does that cat quack? - Dave] An interesting couple and a good lifeEveryone should read the obituary of Mrs. Cooper that was linked by robstercraws. Most people would think that the Coopers simply farmed and stayed in one place, eventually moving into town or into a retirement home. But the Coopers farmed in four different communities in Iowa. Mrs. Cooper was a registered nurse, which I'm sure was helpful with kids in the home, and a farmer husband; she also worked as a hospital nurse for 20 years in Iowa, continuing after a move to Arkansas in 1984. After that she got her real estate license and worked for a broker. Then in retirement, the Coopers ran a quilting business. They also managed to get their private pilot's licenses during the 1970s, and flew a Cessna 172 for ten years. There's not as much information about Willis Cooper, but we do know from Mrs. Cooper's obit that the Coopers' first home after marriage was at Childress Army Airfield in Childress, Texas, where bombardiers and navigators were trained during World War II. All in all, a good long life. Children of the CornI’ve been waiting for someone to say it. I mean, those unblinking twins. They’re sitting right under the corn, for goodness sake. (Kodachromes, Agriculture, LOOK)
Hotel Pullman: 1900
Hot Springs, Arkansas, circa 1900. "The Hotel Pullman." HELP WANTED: Sidewalk jockey with ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/17/2014 - 11:42pm -

Hot Springs, Arkansas, circa 1900. "The Hotel Pullman." HELP WANTED: Sidewalk jockey with a good head on his shoulders. Not to mention arms. Hands a plus. Apply within. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Pullman?So did the hotel's beds fold down out of the ceiling? Not shown: "Bathhouse Row"Of course, Hot Springs was and is known as "Spa City" for its eponymous springs. According to this source, across the street from the Pullman and the Parlor Drug Store was the famous Bathhouse Row. Newspaper Rack?The "box" on the corner in Summerville, South Carolina, https://www.shorpy.com/node/12627, looks identical to the box on the corner here, down to the legs. Newspaper rack is a possibility; however, in the '40s & '50s when I was a kid in the deep south the newpaper racks were open wire grid with a coin tube attached on one side. I never saw anything that looked like these. Get Your Shoes ShinedI remember these shoe shine stands in railroad stations, airports, and hotel lobbies. The 'shoeshine boy' (just a name since many were adults) usually put on a show with syncopated buffing and using a whisk-broom to remove dust from your clothes after the polishing job. Talk about the silent treatmentThat little headless statue on the sidewalk is cool! (The Gallery, DPC, Hot Springs)
Hill House: 1936
... the Southern Tenants Farmers Union were evicted from the Arkansas plantation of C.H. Dibble. Aside from the violence met by the ... 
 
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)
Pure and Simple: 1958
Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1958, in the midst of that city's school integration crisis. No ... Everything is not as it seems My father was in the Arkansas National Guard during this, and my Aunt was a student at Central High ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/10/2013 - 6:59pm -

Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1958, in the midst of that city's school integration crisis. No caption or photographer credit, but the picture tells the story. View full size. Now with cheerleaderIronic that this is in black AND white. MercuryI believe the car is a low-end 1957 Mercury. As for the politics, no comment necessary. Very, very cute...the MG A, that is. Everything is not as it seemsMy father was in the Arkansas National Guard during this, and my Aunt was a student at Central High School while this was going on. They both commented that while the basic facts of the situation were mostly as stated, most of the media accounts, pictures, film, were exaggerated, setups, or outright fakes. The media paid people to make banners like the ones above, among many other frauds. Not that they weren't willing but what actually showed up on TV or in the newspaper was not really the way it was. [To suggest that "most of" the many thousands of news photos documenting the events of the late 1950s in Little Rock were set up or fake, or that these people were paid (by whom -- CBS News? Life magazine? The New York Times?) to make their signs, is ridiculous. - Dave] British witnessIn the background, witness to this dismaying display, is an MG MGA sports car. Its distinctive front end is visible through the windscreen of the car festooned with the odd notion of what education should all be about. MGAThat MGA sure would stand out in Little Rock in 1958! Could not have been very many of them around there. Agree with your comment Dave - could that be revisionist history? (Cars, Trucks, Buses, Little Rock)
Pioneer Press: 1904
... Walter Sanborn (visiting while riding the Circuit from Arkansas to the Dakotas to the Rockies). The Sanborns bridged the Civil War and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/26/2014 - 1:17pm -

1904. "Robert Street and Pioneer Press -- St. Paul, Minnesota." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. Pacific Postal Telegraph CablePostal Telegraph Cable, down the street, was trying to break the Western Union monopoly. Lots of court cases. It's surprisingly hard to find out anything about. Telegraph morse isn't nearly as musical as modern morse in any case. The Sanborns What I would give to have walked two flights up the stairwell of the German National German-American Bank Building about 1900, knocked on the doors of rooms 66 to 69, and thereby encountered former Civil War Adj. Gen. John B. Sanborn, his nephew (and alderman) Edward Sanborn, his law-student son (and future Eighth Circuit judge) John B. Sanborn Jr, and perhaps his other nephew, Eighth Circuit Judge Walter Sanborn (visiting while riding the Circuit from Arkansas to the Dakotas to the Rockies). The Sanborns bridged the Civil War and the civil rights movements of the mid-20th century; John Sr. led troops into battle in Iuka, Corinth, and Vicksburg, while John Jr. played an important role in upholding the orders desegregating Central High and the rest of Little Rock's public schools. John Sr. died on May 6, 1904. Judging from the dates on the "Horse Show" banner, this photo was taken shortly thereafter. The Streetcar ReturnsShorpy is looking north on Robert Street at Fourth. The Pioneer Press building is still standing, as are the next two on the right. Both streetcar lines were abandoned in 1954, but in 2014 a new streetcar line, dubbed "light rail" but it's still a streetcar line, was reopened on Fourth Street after a 60-year absence. Cigars and HorsesIn most of these photos from the early 20th century, there seem to be multiple cigar stores on every block. Also, the $8,000 in prizes at the horse show would now be $205,000 in 2014 dollars. 1904 vs. 2014: What's Different?Apparently, Americans in 1904 weren't fat. +110Now known as the Pioneer-Endicott building, it is being converted into a residential property. The streetcars are long gone from Robert Street, but light rail now passes by on 4th. +104Below is the same view from September of 2008. timeandagainphotoSorry if this has been addressed in previous posts but please share what camera you use. I ask because your parallax correction is always wonderful as your photos. 12/29 add: Thanks t&ap! You gave me guidance to jump into architectural photography again. Time to upgrade from "instamatic" digital without the huge cost of digitizing my medium format or 4x5. Please keep your great +photos coming! Re: MePaul A - Thank you very much for your kind words. The camera I used in most of the photos posted on Shorpy is a Nikon D90. Some of those dated earlier were taken with either a Nikon D80 or a Nikon D70 (I've upgraded through the years but have stayed with the D90 - it's a great camera). Some of the much earlier shots were taken with Nikon N90 and Nikon N70 film cameras where I scanned the slides. What makes many of the shots is actually the lens I use - it's a Nikon 18-200 VR. It's a great lens. Regarding the perspective correction, the 18-200 lens often makes further correction unnecessary (depending on the distance to the subject). However, in many cases (such as the shot above), I use Photoshop to correct the perspective (such as when the view forces the camera to be at an inclined angle which makes the buildings look as if they are leaning in toward one another). I do have two Nikon shift lenses that I have used which correct for perspective when the shot is taken, but it's been a while since I've used them. They are fixed focal lengths, not very wide (less so when used on my D90), and not as crisp as my 18-200. I hope this helps. Re: The SanbornsAmazing what you can learn just from reading the comments! Even learn some history about your own town of Corinth, Mississippi while reading a post about St. Paul, Minnesota. Gotta love Shorpy! (The Gallery, DPC, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Streetcars)
Nurse Needles: 1942
... but the needles generally needed a touchup on the arkansas stone. Not every orderly had good honing skills. Sweet Sue I'm ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/16/2014 - 10:48am -

November 1942. "Nurses in training. Babies' Hospital, New York. A graduate nurse (right) watches student Susan Petty prepare a hypodermic for a patient. Strict adherence to doctors' orders is something every probationer must learn." Photo by Fritz Henle for the Office of War Information. View full size. A nurse is a nurse --Back in the day, you could always tell a registered nurse from a practical nurse from a nurse's assistant by their uniforms, and the stripe pattern on their caps. Today, all that is gone, and with everyone from doctors to dish washers (no offense meant) wearing multi-color "scrubs", who knows who is who? Candy StriperThe nursing trainee is wearing the Candy Striper uniform. While I do not know what school the nurses hat represents, from the 1920's to the 1970's Babies Hospital did major recruitment of nurses from Great Britain, Canada, and the British Empire. In the old days you saw many obscure nurses caps from many different countries. Hope it was sharpThis was in the days before single use needles and syringes. After Ms. Petty has given the injection, the needle and syringe would go into the autoclave. The syringes were ready to go again after they were unwrapped but the needles generally needed a touchup on the arkansas stone. Not every orderly had good honing skills. Sweet SueI'm guessing that getting a shot from this lovely nurse somehow would not have been as painful as normally expected. Of course, it looks like only infants were involved in her job. Love the old school uniforms! For 'Candy Striper'They look awfully close to what my mother used to wear so I'd say they trained at 'Columbia Presbyterian'. Hospital UniformsAll three of my sisters work in our hometown's hospital; one is an RN, one works in admitting and the other works in the admin office. About a month ago the hospital changed the dress policy and now only staff directly involved in patient care can wear scrubs, everyone else has to wear something else. The sister who worked in admitting was ticked off by this as she had to go out and purchase new clothes for work. I can understand the need for change though, my wife has had multiple hospitalizations in the past year and it is easier on everyone if patients/family can identify the patient care staff from houskeeping or maintenance. Needles really hurt back thenMy mother told me that when she gave birth to me by caesarian section so long ago that the needles felt like she was being stabbed by a Parker ball point pen. Made me realize what mothers have to endure from the start. Definitely not a "Candy Striper"Candy Stripers were never, ever involved in direct patient care in such a manner. Regardless of what kind of stripes they wore. In fact, this uniform is a nursing student uniform for a school training RNs. The pattern is even completely opposite of what Candy Stripers wore. Candy Stripers' uniforms were a striped pinafore ~ either red or pink and white stripes ~ over a white blouse. Some earned a striped cap with a white cuff after having achieved a certain number of volunteer hours; others didnt have a cap, and earned pins for volunteer hour goals. You'll see that this uniform is a plain white bib apron style pinafore over the striped dress underneath. Every nursing school designed and required their students to wear the school uniform, and each had their own required manner in which it would be worn. Some wore the apron over a striped dress ~ the stripe color could vary, but was usually blue of some shade; others green or lavender, and I have also seen small checks instead of stripes; others were a solid color. Some had long sleeves, others short. The color of hosiery and shoes could vary as well. Some probationers were required to wear black hose and leather nurse's shoes, until passing their basic courses, then they could switch to white hose and shoes. Others wore the black ones all the way through; others the white from beginning to end. You can see how much variability was involved! Some schools even had different caps for students from what they would wear as graduate nurses. Some added a black stripe to the cap as Senior level students; others not until achieving their RN status by passing state board exams. Some schools didn't add any stripes at all, and the cap remained plain white. Every school was different in this respect, but all of them required that probationers pass basic preliminary science and beginning nursing care courses successfully before being awarded their cap in a "Capping Ceremony" that was usually held with some degree of Pomp and Splendor. Some included the addition of the bib part of the apron to the uniform as well. The Students who did not succeed in passing those courses did not win their caps, or advance through the rest of the program. They went home. It took several months to get through the Probationer period ~ some schools took 3 months, others 6, or even 9. It depended on the school and how their program was structured. In any case, a student nurse in full student uniform, and the coveted cap, was past the beginning portion of the program, and was advancing through more complicated nursing care courses. Pharmacology courses were usually required before, or at very least, in conjunction with, giving injections and "passing meds" of other kinds to patients. Thorough supervision was always provided by a Graduate level RN at all times. All nurses on patient care units were expected to help supervise student nurses on their wards, because the instructors couldn't be everywhere at the same time. Nurses were also trained in the care of the equipment they used, in the days before specialized departments such as Central Supply, and disposable equipment and supplies. When Central Supply departments were added to hospitals, most were initially run by RNs. Now, it's a completely separate profession, with its own training and certification, including continuing education requirements. Processing hypodermic syringes and needle care was a big part of it, as well as reusable IV tubing and supplies. Needles had to be thoroughly cleaned and well honed (sharp points, no burrs) before being wrapped and run through the autoclave. And technique in giving injections was just as important as the condition of the needle. If the angle of insertion and the skill of insertion is wrong in conjunction with the angle of the point, then it's going to hurt no matter what. It's a shame in many ways that the hospital schools of nursing have gone by the wayside. Their educational approach in several ways was superior in how nurses were taught hands-on patient care. They spent a lot of time teaching how to take care of and educate the patient, and much less time in how to fill out paperwork. But the medical industry across the board has undergone so many changes ~ some for the better, of course. I'm not going to get started on that. I know many nurses are frustrated with the way they must devote so much time to the computer in getting their charting done. I was in nursing school myself back in the 70s, when things were really making great strides and creating massive changes, and have paid a great deal of attention to the nursing profession most of my life. I spent 15 plus years working in the ORs until I became disabled from a combination of work injuries and issues I was born to have. My daughter has her BSN, and is working in the profession now. So, I feel like I can speak from experience and knowledge gained from a great deal of research, on both ends of the spectrum. The Candy Striper models her uniformThis photo is of a young lady, around 13 or so, who is modeling her new Candy Striper's uniform. Striped pinafore, red and white stripes which account for the "candy stripe" reference, over a plain white blouse. The traditional uniform of such young ladies, who frequently took on such volunteer work, usually weekends and some evenings during the school year, and during the weekdays in Summer during summer break. They could work in several different areas, but went through short training periods to learn what they could and could not do, and how to safely go about their work. Many took on this part time unpaid volunteer work to get some direct exposure to hospital work, and to see how well suited they may be for future careers in nursing and other medical fields. (The Gallery, Fritz Henle, Medicine, NYC)
Icing on the Coke: 1938
... a Farm Security Administration project near Altheimer, Arkansas." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the FSA. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/09/2018 - 4:00pm -

October 1938. "Icing soft drink refrigerator in general store of the Lake Dick cooperation association, a Farm Security Administration project near Altheimer, Arkansas." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the FSA. View full size. Bugler TobaccoMy father-in-law still smokes Bugler tobacco in a pipe. It looks like the packaging hasn't changed much! BuglerI had one of those Bugler cigarette rolling kit 50 years ago. Never could roll a decent smoke with it. A lot to look at in this photo. Wooden wonderI wonder what modern day's USPH would make of that wood framed display being used for apparently loose food items. Whatever those things are on the left side. Number of The BeastThere's a product on the shelves, upper right, labeled "666," and it's a pretty big red flag when it comes to all things scriptural and eschatological. Turns out it's a cold medication, and I've seen it before in old photographs, mostly advertisements. It's still being made, but hard to find in stores. ShinolaThat's the brand some people don't know you know what from. Dueling icepicks.There's a spare for the clerk on the top shelf. With all respect to the Farm Security Administration's (presumably) late vice-director for photo captioning, I don't think it's properly a refrigerator if you have to put ice in it. It's a cooler or icebox. Don't give me FLOPI'm a Dapper Dan man What the devil?!I'll take a bottle of that 666 on the ten cent shelf. OCBThose black OCB boxes at the lower left are cigarette rolling papers. I bought an identical looking box when I was in high school because I played the oboe and the absorbent OCB papers had no glue on them, so you could swab condensation from the keys without getting them all glued up. I gave some packets to my oboe teacher, an older man playing in the Cleveland Orchestra, and he thanked me, commenting that it was embarrassing to have to ask for them at the drug store. Plough, Inc.Founded by Abe Plough (1892-1984) from Memphis, Tennessee, who mixed Plough's Antiseptic Healing Oil which he sold off a horse-drawn buggy. He eventually acquired St. Joseph Aspirin, Maybelline, and Coppertone. Merged with Schering Corp. to become Schering-Plough in 1971, taken over by Merck & Co. in 2001. Gay BlackAnyone else notice the gay black? No no you fool, it’s in the shelf next to the Shinola. (The Gallery, Russell Lee, Stores & Markets)
Black and White: 1958
... via television during the period that the Little Rock (Arkansas) schools were closed to avoid integration." September 1958. View ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/26/2008 - 8:28pm -

"African American high school girl being educated via television during the period that the Little Rock (Arkansas) schools were closed to avoid integration." September 1958. View full size. Photograph by Thomas J. O'Halloran, USNWR. 1958 TelevisionThat is the PERFECT fifties TV set! Almost surreally cartoon-like. A wonderful strobe...flashing into a creepy-crawly, dank cellar corner of US sociological history. It's shots like this that will keep revisionists from doing to the Civil Rights era what they are trying to do for the Holocaust. (The Gallery, Education, Schools)
Family Porchrait: 1939
January 1939. Chicot Farms, Arkansas. "Husband and wife on porch of farm house." Photo by Russell Lee, Farm ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/24/2012 - 12:53pm -

January 1939. Chicot Farms, Arkansas. "Husband and wife on porch of farm house." Photo by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration. View full size. New Home OwnershipI can feel the pride they have showing off their new home; all white and pretty. Are those some kind of manufacturer stickers on the window panes? You know, like Minnie Pearl's hat with price tag still attached. Ma & Pa KettleAnd from the looks of that ax, Joan Crawford is probably lurking somewhere nearby. Christmas lights?Those "stickers" in the window look like Christmas lights (which would be somewhat appropriate since it's January). It's hard to tell if they're really lights or just stickers. Okay, I'm going with Christmas light stickers. Just mucking aroundBesides fishing, you'd need the boots when doing the chores such as feeding the hogs or mucking out the stable. You wouldn't want to be stepping in that stuff with regular shoes. Also, Ms Hen might not be ready to meet her demise. On family farms, it would be the poorest layers who'd meet their doom first. Uniroyal, Red Ball or LaCrosse?No signs of fishing equipment in the scene, so I wonder - why the hip boots? Ms. Hen in the left background may be the guest of honor for that chopping block. [I truly love old farm scenes.] ElectricityIf these folks didn't have power for a radio, they probably didn't have power for Christmas lights. Chopping blockBlock could most certainly be used on ms hen's neck, however, the block was most likely for chopping firewood. A hatchet for the hen, an ax for the wood. Hip BootsI have no idea why he's wearing those boots, but to SJBill's comment about fishing, it seems that Chicot Farms was/is located on Chicot Lake. Boots on the groundBoot are a must have on a farm. Animal muck everywhere. I wore mine all the time. No worries and when you are done you can spray them with the hose before you take them off. I tell young friends that my Mother didn't live in an electrified house until she was 20 and moved to Atlanta. They are dumb-founded. Rural electrification was a great thing. The electric company's would never have done it. To few customers to justify the lines. Also, great dog! Dawg on the left"I smell a cat around here somewhere..." (The Gallery, Cats, Dogs, Russell Lee)
My Party Dress: 1939
... after this photo. Her family was plenty poor in rural Arkansas, but did manage to stay home while her father left for out-of-state ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/26/2012 - 8:43pm -

February 1939. "Child of white migrant worker ironing in tent camp near Harlingen, Texas." 35mm negative by Russell Lee for the FSA. View full size. A thousand words won't do.There is an especially sad emotion sent by this photo because of the words "My Party Dress". My hope is that this little girl in fact was getting all prettied up to go to a party, where she would escape some of the harshness of her day-to-day life. But it is very difficult for me to imagine how overwhelmed she and her family must have felt in the circumstances they found themselves. Poor choices by Mom and Dad or poor luck, the penalty paid by innocent children was as terrible. God bless her. Ignorance is blissI agree that there is a sadness about the picture, but there is also hope. She HAS a pretty dress and an iron with an ironing board! Someone cares about her and has taught her to care about herself, thus the ironing. Her hair is fairly well kept, all things considered. The good news is that children who have never experienced anything else don't know there is another way or that they are lacking anything, especially if they know they are loved. It's Mom!I instantly thought this was my mother. Turns out she didn't come along for another 11 months after this photo. Her family was plenty poor in rural Arkansas, but did manage to stay home while her father left for out-of-state jobs, months at a time. Thinking of my MomMy mother wasn't the daughter of migrant workers - she grew up on a ranch in No. Calif. But she was a child of the Great Depression. She told me that back then she had one nice dress to wear to school. But, being fastidious, she wanted her dress cleaned and ironed each school morning. My grandmother, who was overwhelmed with the house and keeping food on the table (sometimes they had nothing to feed the dog but butter), told my mother that if she wanted her dress clean and ironed each day she'd have to do it herself. So my mother hand washed her dress when she got home, hung it to dry overnight, then ironed it first thing in the morning with a stove-heated iron like the one in this photo. My younger son once said, "Nobody can iron my shirt like Grandma." So true. Bet this little girl wielded a mean iron when she grew up. Thanks for the memory. Very touching.I hope this little girl ended up having a good life. (The Gallery, Great Depression, Kids, Russell Lee)
Route 99: 1939
... during the Depression too as a migrant worker in the Arkansas-Oklahoma-Texas border area. An interesting aside: In the late 1960s ... when they emigrated to California from Oklahoma and Arkansas. Particularly Sad There is something uniquely sad about this ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/21/2012 - 10:50pm -

February 1939. "On U.S. 99 near Brawley, Imperial County, California. Homeless mother and youngest child of seven walking the highway from Phoenix, Arizona, where they picked cotton. Bound for San Diego, where the father hopes to get on relief 'because he once lived there.'" Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Tough BeginningsThis baby would be somewhere between 73 and 75 today if she made it through those hardscrabble years and is still around. Hopefully life got better and she did experience more good times as the economy improved. I'd like to think there was sufficient joy in her life to bring about contentment and fulfillment as time went on. As for mom, as one elderly lady once told me "When your kids hurt, you hurt too." This mom's face does convey the pain of a struggle to take care of a family (as another child is visible in the extreme left margin) and reminds us that life is not always just a bowl of cherries. [As noted in the caption, this lady had seven kids. - Dave] Brawley=HotGood thing it's February, Brawley is nearly intolerable in the Summer. Worn outThe baby is lucky to have shoes. My mother didn't own a pair until 1940 when she was 11. She picked a lot of cotton during the Depression too as a migrant worker in the Arkansas-Oklahoma-Texas border area. An interesting aside: In the late 1960s Mother asked us kids what "soul food" was. We told her. Her reaction was, "Soul food! That's poor people food and I've eaten enough of that." Ummmm check on thisUS 99 never ran through Phoenix; it ran from the Mexican border in California to Blane, Washington. So she didn't walk US 99 from Phoenix as inferred in the note about the photograph. US 60 ran from the Arizona state line where it connected to US 70 to then connect to US 99. So she walked the highways, not highway. Ms. Lange's unique styleShe never fails to reveal the deepest pathos of her subjects. my heritageThis is what my grandparents endured as small children when they emigrated to California from Oklahoma and Arkansas. Particularly SadThere is something uniquely sad about this obviously very poor woman wearing a worn fur coat. Does the coat imply she was in better financial position in the past? Was it purchased in a worn used state? One can only wonder. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, Kids)
Oops: 1905
... SYLVANIA was towed out of the Frog Pond by the harbor tugs ARKANSAS and WYOMING. She was handed over to the tug OHIO for delivery to the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 10:50am -

Circa 1905. "Chicago Ship Building Co. Repairing a lake carrier after a collision." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. "Confused passing signals"The SYLVANIA was christened and launched on March 18, 1905 for the Duluth Steamship Co. of Duluth, MN and entered service in April, 1905. The SYLVANIA was involved in a collision with the SIR HENRY BESSEMER on June 12, 1905 off of Whitefish Point on Lake Superior as a result of confused passing signals. Pardon me, sir, your capstan is showing.Wow, one of those ship cutaway illustrations, in real life! I love the Lakes and the ships which sail them.This is one way to get to see the innards of a Great Lakes steamship. Another, less destructive way is to visit the Valley Camp museum ship at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The Valley Camp is a rare example of a typical freighter of the sort which plied the Great Lakes (such as the one in the picture above) starting in the early 20th Century. Valley Camp entered service in 1917 and sailed until the late 1960s. Great Lakes freighters are things of beauty. What we see is the resultof a mix-up in passing signals that occurred off a foggy Whitefish Point on Lake Superior during the early morning of June 13, 1905, between the Sylvania and the Sir Henry Bessemer. The Sylvania, loaded with ore, was approaching the Soo with the Bessemer light upbound. The Sylvania received $8,000 in damages. A subsequent admiralty case and its appeal found the masters of both vessels negligent. The Sylvania had entered service only two months before, having been launched at West Bay City, Michigan, on March 18; she returned to service in July. The yard is that of the Chicago Ship Building Company at 100th Street and the Calumet River at South Chicago, the plant that built the second Pere Marquette 18 in ninety days, previously discussed on this site. She had an interesting lifeSunk in June 1967, The SYLVANIA returned to service on October 12, 1967. She sank at the Peerless Cement Co. Dock at Port Huron, Michigan in June of that year after being struck by the Canada Steamship Lines package freight steamer RENVOYLE. she had a few more good years in her. On October 31, 1983, the SYLVANIA was towed out of the Frog Pond by the harbor tugs ARKANSAS and WYOMING. She was handed over to the tug OHIO for delivery to the Triad Salvage Co. at Ashtabula, Ohio arriving there on November 1st. Dismantling was completed there in 1984. Thus ended 78 years of service. Ironically the SYLVANIA, the first built of the 504 foot class bulkers, was the last survivor of that class. During her career with Columbia Transportation, the SYLVANIA had carried over 20 million tons and netted over $35 million. There is a picture of her on the bottom at one of the great lakes web sites. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Chicago, DPC, Railroads)
Tough Enough: 1936
... home and connections in South Texas, and hope to reach the Arkansas Delta for work in the cotton fields. Penniless people. No food and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/05/2012 - 6:22am -

August 1936. "Family between Dallas and Austin. The people have left their home and connections in South Texas, and hope to reach the Arkansas Delta for work in the cotton fields. Penniless people. No food and three gallons of gas in the tank. The father is trying to repair a tire. Three children. Father says, 'It's tough but life's tough anyway you take it.'" Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. DeterminationMy heart breaks to see such young people in trouble. The mother looks like a child herself. Her husband sounds like a strong man, not giving up but looking for work. I truly hope they found their way and lived a happy life. 'It's tough but life's tough anyway you take itTough folks doing the things they have to do without complaint. These are our collective forefathers and they mirror those from previous times. They make me proud to be an American. Artistic sensibilityThe juxtaposition of this photograph with "Pineapples on Parade" (https://www.shorpy.com/node/13835) is brilliant. face to faceLook close and you'll see that the oldest daughter is mirroring her mother's stern expression, giving it back in double measure. The mother's stockings are torn, but she's determined to get a little more use out of them? Who knows when or how she'll ever get another pair? (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, Kids)
Hot Springs: 1900
Circa 1900. "Central Avenue, Hot Springs, Arkansas." Note the flowing tap in the foreground. 8x10 inch glass negative, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 3:19pm -

Circa 1900. "Central Avenue, Hot Springs, Arkansas." Note the flowing tap in the foreground. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. "The Spa City"Hot Springs is 45 miles west of my house. You can still get thermal baths at the Buckstaff Bathhouse, which has been operating since 1912. However, the town was known for its thermal springs and baths since the early 1800s. Now it is more popular for lakes, racetrack and theme park. Gutter tapThat's it! The actual hot spring itself! Of course, the cold spring is on the other side of the street. Tapped outI visited Hot Springs for the first time in 1968. I made the mistake of taking water out of the wrong tap. As a northerner and a Caucasian, I and did not notice the "colored only" sign. A passerby angrily noted my mistake. I returned in the late eighties and found it a much friendlier place and the signs missing. Cold day in Hot SpringsObviously taken in winter, due to the bare trees and the steaming water. Oh, and nice touch with the St. Nicholas Hotel there too. Just in time for Christmas! Wide SidewalksFancy spas or bathouses are all along the left side of the street. The wide sidewalks are for the numerous wheelchairs used by the stove-up patrons who flocked to Hot Springs for the healing waters. If I remember correctly, there were several springs, each with different mineral properties, so one might soak in one in the morning and another in the afternoon. Bathhouse RowThe buildings on the left are bathhouses, not private homes. They were built by the springs, which catered to a steady stream of customers and tourists (a reason for those wide sidewalks, still there today, which invite strolling and looking about). Those in the photo were replaced in the early years of the 20th century, as the first commentator observed, referring to Buckstaff Bathhouse. Also note that there are in fact 47 springs, which spew some 1 million gallons of 143-degree water every day. The springs are in Hot Springs National Park (and even before getting national park status, the area was a national reserve--the first such national "park," being acquired in 1832). (The Gallery, DPC, Hot Springs, Streetcars)
Migrant Mother: 1940
... July 1940. Berrien County, Michigan. "Migrant woman from Arkansas in roadside camp of cherry pickers." 35mm nitrate negative by John ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/17/2011 - 8:09pm -

July 1940. Berrien County, Michigan. "Migrant woman from Arkansas in roadside camp of cherry pickers." 35mm nitrate negative by John Vachon. View full size. VachonI don't like all of John Vachon's photos, but I like this one. The women in the photo is struggling to survive. One or two bad breaks and she could be dead. It reminds me how comfortable I am. How comfortable we are as a country. How we are only one or two generations removed from this woman and the troubles she had. Yet many Americans have no idea what America was like in the 1930s and 1940s. Back then, many Americans were in a life and death struggle to survive. Boy how things change. But I keep thinking that, with all of our wealth and comfort, we are still one bad break away from the plight of this woman. God forbid. Doug Santo Pasadena, CA Her carShes sitting in a 1928 or 29 Ford Tudor. The Tudor sold in greater numbers than any other model. Fruitgrowers in Berrien CountyMy great grandfather John C. Jackson came from across the lake at Lake County in Illinois to Benton Harbor in Berrien County, Michigan, in the mid-1870s and was a small-acreage fruit grower there until he died in 1896, 40-some years before this photo was taken. I suspect that he probably did his own harvesting back in those days, perhaps assisted only by younger members of his wife's Yore family in-laws who held far more acreage in the same area. 1928 or '29 Ford TudorTheir lacquer paint didn't hold up well without maintenance, but many are still on the road today, more than 80 years later. I drove mine to the station today. A Better Life AheadA World War and full employment is just around the corner. When I say a better life ahead, I don't mean beyond. SurvivalShe might be "struggling to survive" but that face shows the determination and strength to carry on, despite the odds. Very inspiring. (The Gallery, Agriculture, John Vachon)
Holdouts: 1935
... 1935. "One of the few remaining inhabitants of Zinc, Arkansas, deserted mining town." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/04/2008 - 2:53am -

October 1935. "One of the few remaining inhabitants of Zinc, Arkansas, deserted mining town." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Ben Shahn. That DogI love that dog in the background, lying on the porch just behind his shoulder. So perfect. ZincOh my. Haunting. ArrestingAs arresting for its composition and artistic merits as it is for its historical documentation. Very, very good. My favouritesI have to say I am finding the photos from the 30's my favourites on this site. The portraits as just stunning and this is an outstanding example of this, at once touching and gritty. Please keep up the excellent work. Zinc PicYeah, what the "Arresting" comment said. Wow. All this great stuff, and nooooo Photoshop. I am continually humbled by these. Why can't our government fund anything worthwhile like this anymore? Can somebody please resurrect FDR for us? [Photoshop CS3, in particular the CS3 Shadows & Highlights filter, is used on all of these photos. - Dave] Native ZincanMy father was born in Zinc in 1938. (The Gallery, Ben Shahn, Dogs, Small Towns)
Crusty Schmidt: 1917
... father was an employee of Colonial Bakery in Fort Smith, Arkansas during WWII. The bakery provided bread for nearby Camp (later Fort, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/26/2012 - 11:43am -

"Camp Meade, Maryland, 1917." Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size. Mmm Crusty breadI'm guessing that "Crusty" is a good thing, back then anyway. BTW, put some air in those tires, will ya! Look at those tires!Dear Lord, look at the tire on the truck. It appears to be solid rubber. This means a bone-shaking jolt for the driver every time he runs over so much as a nickel. Worse: the wheels will frequently be out of contact with the pavement, making skids far more likely than with pneumatic tires. Having to lug 100-pound crates around may be the least of our nattily-dressed driver's issues. Truck's wheelsI'm fascinated by the fact that the truck appears to have no tires. I haven't seen many (if any) trucks from this period. It must have been a nightmare to drive. [The truck has solid rubber tires. - Dave] Camp to FortI spent the last 6 months of my Army service during the Vietnam War at what was had been upgraded to "Fort" Meade, and was discharged in July 1967. At the time I was living with my wife in Arlington, Va., and commuted daily 40 miles each direction in my Renault Dauphine to make early formation. Speed , not comfort I can't imagine the spine shattering ride on those tires. Civilian breadCivilian Bread being delivered to the cook? When I was in during the Korean mess, all of our bread was made at the Fort Jackson Army bakery and always seemed to be day old. Got pretty used to it until one happy day the camp bakery broke down and they supplied us with "civilian" bread. Man, that was real eating and I have never forgotten that day. Yummmm! Also, look at all those sacks of taters that some poor KPs are going to have to peel though I was never assigned to that detail. Fort Jackson (SC) used coal fired ranges while I was there that had to be cleaned once a week by rubbing them internally with brickbats so they would pass Saturday inspection. Schmidt'sThe Schmidt Bakery is still around, though they no longer hawk "crusty bread". Started in 1886 by German immigrants, it is still family owned (run by their great-grandson) and has bakeries in Baltimore and Fullerton. Schmidt's potato bread is, by the way, outstanding. Yum. Bread for the troopsBread for soldiers from civilian sources is, or was not unusual. My father was an employee of Colonial Bakery in Fort Smith, Arkansas during WWII. The bakery provided bread for nearby Camp (later Fort, now closed) Chaffee. The draft board (or other authority) declared his job as essential to the war effort. As a result, he could not quit his job, the bakery could not fire him, he could not be drafted, nor could he volunteer for the Armed Forces. He was to bake bread for the duration of the war. Since gas was rationed tightly, he sold our car and rode a bicycle to work until the end of the war. He stayed with the bakery for a 49-year career. Lift That BaleHere we have another guy in a necktie doing some heavy lifting. That crate looks like it's made of wood. His life could have been easier with some sort of cardboard or masonite container. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Harris + Ewing, WWI)
Show Boat: 1900
... Eclipse in 1916. Lost on a snag in 1925 at Osceola, Arkansas. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Memphis) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/02/2012 - 5:24pm -

The Mississippi River circa 1900. "The levee at Memphis. Sidewheeler James Lee." In addition to the sternwheelers Harry Lee and City of St. Joseph. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. James and his brother, HarryMust have named the closest paddle wheelers. Huck?Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I have to wonder if this was posted in light of the recent news regarding Huckleberry Finn. One DressThere is a lady walking away in this photo. She has a simple dress on so I'm assuming she would have been a worker? She is still fashionable enough to have the poofy sleeves of the era. Looks like the dress has buttons or some sort of detail all the way down her back. She is also wearing a black veil or shawl over her head and shoulders. Neat. Whatever floats your boatJames Lee: Built in 1898 at Jeffersonville, Indiana for the Lee Line of Memphis. 230-foot sidewheel packet. Converted to an excursion boat in 1917. Destroyed by ice, winter 1917-1918. Harry Lee: A split sternwheel packet boat built at Clarington, Ohio in 1899. 169 feet. Sank once and raised in 1911. Burned in 1914 at Memphis. City of St. Joseph: 162-foot sternwheeler built in 1901 at St. Joseph, Missouri. A boiler explosion in 1911 killed 18 crewmen. Renamed Eclipse in 1916. Lost on a snag in 1925 at Osceola, Arkansas. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Memphis)
Slice of Life: 1910
Continuing our tour of Little Rock, Arkansas, circa 1910. "West 2nd Street residences." 8x10 inch glass negative, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 2:29pm -

Continuing our tour of Little Rock, Arkansas, circa 1910. "West 2nd Street residences." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. RetouchingI'll bet the Detroit Publishing Co. must have had to employ a retoucher just to airbrush out the road apples that show up in every street scene! Whatzit? I'm wondering what that rope like thing is attached to the radiator cap. AN overflow hose perhaps? Or did it serve a function like letting steam or moisture drip into the calcium carbide to produce acetylene gas for the headlights. The Whatzit RopeThe mystery rope is of course attached to a horse hobble, an iron weight you set on the ground to keep your horse from wandering off. The radiator cap must be deemed equivalent to a halter. I know this from a Laurel and Hardy movie. Side crankThat Model F Buick is a two cylinder model with the crankshaft running across the frame. With that engine orientation the detachable crank fits into the end of the engine on the right side of the car, under the frame rail under the seat. A right side view of the car would tell if it's a 1908 or 1909. A very popular car in its day judging by the numbers one sees on Horseless Carriage tours these days. The car looks quite advanced for 1910No crank start means it probably had an electric starter, and it had headlights. [The hole for the crank is on the side. There were no electric starters until 1912. The headlights on this car, a circa 1908 Buick, use acetylene gas. The parking lights are kerosene lanterns. - Dave] 1908 BuickGreat photo. The car looks like a Buick, around 1908. Lots of hitching posts. I think those concrete "blocks" to the right of the car must be to help people get out of their carriage or car. [They're called mounting blocks. Good work identifying the car. The grille has been de-blinged. - Dave] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC, Little Rock)
Wel-Mart: 1940
... office in rear of country store. Faulkner County, Arkansas." Acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/10/2021 - 2:00pm -

May 1940. "Doctor's office in rear of country store. Faulkner County, Arkansas." Acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Dual purpose?The chair with the headrest resembles that of a dentist, which this doctor was also. But the shoe stretcher might have another use to hold the patient’s mouth open. This is all tongue in cheek of course. Bunion relief?In the shoe box behind the chair the white high heeled shoe has a shoe stretcher in it. I still use the one my father used in the '40s to stretch a spot for my hammer toe. It has moveable inserts to stretch a space for a bunion or just to widen the shoe a bit. PatternI don't know how far back, but I swear that pattern on the cloth at left we've seen in a photo in the last few months. And me, with my time machine brokenIf only I could travel to this "Wel-mart" to stock up on oilcloth (on the far left). Just try to find some real oilcloth today! Could You Imagine This Conversation?"Honey, I gotta run down to the store to get this boil lanced. Need anything while I'm there?!" I don't know why, but I've just got a sneaky suspicion that a lot of unpleasant things might've happened in that chair! Thorogood shoes (lower right corner)Made in the U.S. since 1892, and I've been wearing them solely for over twenty years. Cringe inducingA dentist from that era would have used one of these to remove teeth instead of forceps. Thank God for modern dentistry. (The Gallery, M.P. Wolcott, Medicine, Small Towns, Stores & Markets)
Hello, Internet: 1935
October 1935. Cotton picker in Pulaski County, Arkansas. View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Ben Shahn for the Farm ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/07/2008 - 12:42am -

October 1935. Cotton picker in Pulaski County, Arkansas. View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Ben Shahn for the Farm Security Administration. Pulaski Cotton PickerThanks Dave for your wonderful blog. This is a great photo. My grandmother has many stories of picking cotton as a child - this helps to visualize it. [You're welcome. For a fieldworker, this lady has class. Stylish hat, regal bearing. God knows what she thought of Ben Shahn and his funny little camera. So what did your grandma have to say about working in cotton? - Dave] This is a beautiful woman!This is a beautiful woman! Pulaski Cotton PickerOh the stories my grandmother can tell about growing up in the Cane River area of Natchitoches parish in Louisiana. She lived a rural life with no indoor plumbing, no electric or gas appliances, and no easy access to a doctor. According to her cotton was a horrible crop to harvest. The boll is thorny and rips up your hands. Cotton harvesters were paid by the pound - cotton being fairly light, you have to pick a lot of it to make some money. She told me that they would pack a sack with dry cotton at the bottom and top - with the middle soaking wet to increase the weight (but not soak through the bag). Cotton aside, she talks fondly about her dad's pecan grove, a mysterious fruit called a "ze-ze" that she said she has never seen outside of Cane River, and the rituals around butchering a steer, pig, or goat on special days. She was poor, but happy and never hungry. These are wonderful stories for me - I'm a city born and raised man here in Los Angeles. The photo illustrates much of what she has tried to convey. Thanks again Dave. Beautiful WomanHave to agree, very beautiful indeed. Lovely Woman!Class personified. Stylish woman with beautiful skin and great clothes. Looking good! (The Gallery, Agriculture, Ben Shahn, Rural America)
Royal Gorge: 1900
Colorado circa 1900. "In the Royal Gorge, Arkansas River, Rio Grande Southern Railway." 8x10 glass negative by William ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/12/2013 - 12:23pm -

Colorado circa 1900. "In the Royal Gorge, Arkansas River, Rio Grande Southern Railway." 8x10 glass negative by William Henry Jackson. View full size. Royal Gorge RouteRailroadToday's Royal Gorge Route Railroad operates through this canyon out of Canyon City, CO. The line is no longer dual-gauge. And that's the famous Hanging Bridge that still holds up the line today (scroll down quite a ways). At firstI thought those 2 beams were to prevent the mountain sides from collapsing, but they are one of a kind supports for one side of the steel trestle Telegraph ShackCurious about the little building with wires running to it. My guess would be a telegraph station. Any other thoughts?? D&RGW not Rio Grande SouthernThis was the Denver & Rio Grande Western not the Rio Grande Southern. I would guess that the line is still dual gauge (both standard gauge and 3 foot gauge) - i.e. that the third rail is not a guard rail. Telephone BoxMore likely it's a telephone box, to allow traincrews to talk to the dispatcher. You'd never see that on a prototype!Looks like a standard telegraph booth. Definitely dual guage gauge & not a guard rail. And if you were to build a model of that structure, you'd best have this photo on display too, otherwise nobody would believe it was for real! D&RG, not D&RGW; phone booth.The Denver & Rio Grande didn't become the D&RGW until the 1920's when they officially absorbed the western lines to Salt Lake City (Rio Grande Western.) The Rio Grande used "telegraphones" back in those days ... using the telegraph wires with phone superinmposed atop them. Skip Luke Retired Railroader (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Railroads, W.H. Jackson)
Farm to Table: 1939
... now to think back when I was a USDA poultry inspector in Arkansas for a couple of years. And where did we go for lunch more often than ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/27/2017 - 10:44am -

October 1939. Greeley, Colorado. "Mrs. Milton Robinson, wife of Farm Security Administration borrower, in the kitchen of her farm home." Medium format nitrate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the FSA. View full size. Looks familiarMy grandmother (mother's mother) had chickens, and my mom (born in 1919) used to tell me about the first time, as a child, she was sent out by Granny to kill a chicken. Her attempt to wring its neck failed, after which the prospective dinner chased her around the chicken yard. You know it's freshThis could be my immigrant grandmother. You got a live bird and would wring its neck, pluck it, take out the innards and into the pot it goes for dinner. This is real farm to table. Just like Grandma used to doThis takes me back to when I was 11 or 12 and "Nan", as we called her, would take the chicken she just killed from the coop at the back of the house and do this. You know I was fascinated with the dexterity and expertise that she used to wash, pluck and cook the bird. But I have to tell you , this lady looks just like her. Excuse while I wipe away a small wet space close to my eyes. Re-thinking McNuggetsSometimes I forget that my Chicken McNuggets start with an actual bird. Thanks for the reminder. HungryThis makes me hungry. You just know that Mrs. Robinson knew how to cook up a proper bird. Cluck cluckThis reminds me of the annual trip over to my grandparents to kill and butcher chickens on an industrial scale. My grandfather and grandmother would behead the bird; after it stopped flopping around, it was dipped in boiling water to loosen the feathers. Then it was out behind the shed with my grandfather to pluck the carcasses. Mounds of feathers blew around in the Kansas wind. Then the plucked birds went to the kitchen, where my grandmother and mother cut them up and wrapped them in paper. Finally, we went home and put our share in the freezer. Then we ate chicken until I was sick of it. Drumstick anybody?This lady looks like she knows her way around the chicken coop. feathersNothing will plug up a sink drain like a few handfuls of feathers. How cute, she's giving her pet chicken a bath!Oh wait - no she isn't. Those were the daysReminds me of when my sister and I would visit our grandparents on their big farm out in the flat lands of SW Oklahoma. The highlight of the trip would be to watch the macabre dance of the unfortunate headless hen that grandma had selected for our dinner. One time, there were so many guests for dinner that she beheaded two of them at the same time! What a mesmerizing sight to see them flopping around and even bouncing into each other in their finals throes. An unforgettable sight when you're 5 or 6 years old! Funny now to think back when I was a USDA poultry inspector in Arkansas for a couple of years. And where did we go for lunch more often than not? Why, KFC, of course! (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Kitchens etc.)
Snowbirds: 1900
Circa 1900. "Ostrich farm -- Hot Springs, Arkansas." Careful, these birds are "dangereous." 8x10 glass negative, Detroit ... Out of place I seriously doubt this photo was taken in Arkansas. My cousin told me those are actually Texas chickens. Ostriches ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/06/2013 - 12:12pm -

Circa 1900. "Ostrich farm -- Hot Springs, Arkansas." Careful, these birds are "dangereous." 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Soooooo- - -how do you like the snow? Out of placeI seriously doubt this photo was taken in Arkansas. My cousin told me those are actually Texas chickens. Ostriches kickMen wear your most protective athletic supporter when entering this pen. (The Gallery, Animals, DPC, Hot Springs)
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