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A Paler Shade of White: 1959
... and white Galaxie that year which we made a trip to Arkansas and Missouri in. The lady's lovely legs make determining the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/02/2014 - 9:03pm -

January 1959. "Majority of photographs concern Dr. John O. Brown, Negro ophthalmologist, and his family, and depicts various forms of racial segregation and integration in Miami. Second part of the job shows Bud and Pat Boyett, with children Vic and Becky, vacationing in Florida." 35mm Kodachrome by Frank Bauman for the Look magazine assignments "Expanding Florida" and "The Negro in Florida: One Man's Progress and the Fight Ahead." View full size. Brand NewChevy and Ford convertibles sitting side by side, Impala and Galaxie 500. Ford outsold Chevy in 1959, just as in 1957, and the 59's received the World's Fair award at the Brussels World Fair. I always thought the '59s were beautiful, unlike either the '58 or '60 that bracketed them. My uncle sold Fords from 1925 to 1970 and had a beautiful geranium and white Galaxie that year which we made a trip to Arkansas and Missouri in. The lady's lovely legs make determining the engine size in the Chevy impossbile--no ornament in the hood center meant a six, a chrome V meant a 283 and the V with crossed flags meant a 348 or 409. Cars of 1959The sleek, white 1959 Chevrolet convertible sure looks modern compared to the gray (think it is an Oldsmobile) vehicle it is parked next to. Yet, that car is less than ten years old at this time. Today you can barely tell a ten year old car from a new one. Gray Plymouth SedanIt's anywhere from a 1950-1952 model; they didn't change too much between those years. They were good dependable cars whose conservative styling was particularly prized by the midwestern buyer. Many are still driven by 1950s car fanciers, along with their similarly styled cousins Chrysler, De Soto and Dodge. The Round Hood Medallionof the Plymouth reveals a 1952, the last year of that styling cycle which began in 1949--'53 and '54 would be greatly warmed over versions with a different "C" pillar. It was also the first year overdrive would be available on the Plymouths. (Kodachromes, Florida, LOOK, Miami, Swimming)
New Capital: 1910
Little Rock, Arkansas, circa 1910. "New Capital Hotel, Markham Street." A century later the ... photo was taken it likely had an unimpeded view of the Arkansas River from that second floor balcony. You can probably still see ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/20/2015 - 11:08am -

Little Rock, Arkansas, circa 1910. "New Capital Hotel, Markham Street." A century later the building looks much the same, although it's lost the "New." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The viewWhile the hotel now directly faces the much larger Marriott (née Excelsior) and convention center across the street, at the time this photo was taken it likely had an unimpeded view of the Arkansas River from that second floor balcony. You can probably still see some of the river over the convention center but it certainly isn't the view it once had. It's a Capital Idea This tells the rest of the story including a President Grant legend/lore. I have stayed there.Across the street from the Peabody (formerly The Excelsior), and a truly interesting building. The elevator sized for a horse is something to see! (The Gallery, DPC, Little Rock)
Slim and Slimmer: 1923
... above paragraph I read in the paper where the AA Arkansas Traveler ball club has a pitcher that is 7 ft 1. Not only is he the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/29/2014 - 4:45pm -

April 28, 1923. Washington, D.C. "McGrew of Nationals, Harriss of Athletics." Two tall pitchers -- Washington's Slim McGrew goes up against Philadelphia's Slim Harriss. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. See folks,Groom & Clean leaves your hair looking soft and natural, the other brand leaves it wet & greasy looking. A Battle of the MediocreNeither pitcher was terribly successful. Harriss (born William Jennings Bryan Harriss) was 10-16 with a 4.00 ERA in 1923, 95-135/4.25 lifetime) and McGrew (born Walter Howard McGrew) was 0-0/12.60 in 1923 and 0-1/6.60 lifetime. Neither team was very good in 1923 (Philadelphia in particular was pretty bad) so that didn't help either pitcher's record. There are no results for a game on Saturday April 28, 1923, so the game must have been rained out. They played to a 10-10 tie on the 27th (12 innings) and Philly won 3-2 on the 29th. No word on when the tie might have been completed. Statistics courtesy of BaseballReference.com Tall PitchersThis pic reminds me of the first of the very tall pitchers in the major leagues. Ewell Blackwell was 6 ft 6 and played for Cincinnati in the late 40's and early 50's. His best season was 1947 with 22 wins and only 7 losses. He came very close to pitching two consecutive no hitters once but Eddie Stankey broke it up in the ninth inning with a hit. After commenting above paragraph I read in the paper where the AA Arkansas Traveler ball club has a pitcher that is 7 ft 1. Not only is he the tallest pitcher, but he is the tallest professional baseball player to ever play the game of baseball. His name is Loek Van Mil and he is signed with the Los Angeles Angels. Cheek to cheekNo dancing involved. Love the pic! "Slim" McGrew?According to baseball-reference.com, Slim McGrew was 6'7" and 235. He couldn't have been that slim. It also says that Slim Harriss was 6'6". From the picture it would seem that Harriss was the taller man however. A year away from gloryThe '23 Nats finished 75-78 under Donie Bush, still good enough for fourth place behind the juggernaut Yankees. Second baseman Bucky Harris would take over as player-manager the following season. Fielding essentially the same starting lineup but with an improved bench, the Harris-led Nationals would win the 1924 AL pennant and go on to win the World Series in 7 games over the Giants - still the only baseball world championship in Washington to date. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Sports)
Big Brother: 1935
... Children of rehabilitation client, Maria Plantation, Arkansas. October 1935. View full size. Farm Security Administration ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/07/2011 - 7:47pm -

Children of rehabilitation client, Maria Plantation, Arkansas. October 1935. View full size. Farm Security Administration photograph by Ben Shahn. What beautiful children!This picture haunts me for some reason..... HauntedFor me, it's the look of beautiful children that I know led a hard life. If they lived to be my age they probably didn't look so content. (The Gallery, Ben Shahn, Great Depression, Kids)
Progressive Farmer: 1939
... 1939. "Housewife reading in living room. Chicot Farms, Arkansas." A peek behind the porch seen in the previous post. 35mm nitrate ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/24/2012 - 9:50pm -

January 1939. "Housewife reading in living room. Chicot Farms, Arkansas." A peek behind the porch seen in the previous post. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Conservation was the gameMy parents, both of whom grew up on such farms, often talked about "radio days" and how they had to conserve their use of the radio so they could hear their most favored programs. Batteries were not rechargeable nor cheap so they tried to save their use as power diminished till they could get into town to get a new one. My dad told me how he and his neighbor (who later married my dad's sister, ultimately becoming my uncle) were both off to get batteries one Saturday. JL had set out in the model T and gotten bogged down firmly in the rural mud, but my dad had the good sense to make the trip by horse. Wind GeneratorsThere were small wind generators available that were specifically for charging radio batteries. My neighbor has one for an Airline radio. Old WaveIf I remember correctly, "farm radios" powered by storage batteries were still in the Emerson Radio Catalogues well into the 1960s. WirelessRural electrification took a long time. Radios such as this that looked like ordinary AC sets yet operated on battery current are known as "farm sets" for exactly that reason. It's a Setchell-Carlson, model number TBD. Rechargeable batteries?Were the batteries rechargeable? If so, what did folks do, take them to town for recharging? If not, weren't batteries expensive? Off the gridHurricane lamps on the reading table, and a flashlight on the shelf below. Suspended halfway between 1850 and 1950, metaphorically speaking. By 1950 I bet the hurricane lamps were kept in the storm cellar just for emergencies. I wonder if they had a tractor yet? Maybe for the "Gentlemen Farmers"My parents talked about those generators for charging the radio batteries. Amid those depression years, Dad's family couldn't afford one. They mentioned once that they borrowed the battery out of my great uncle's car to listen to one much anticipated program (Grand Ol' Opry, one Saturday night, if I recall correctly). By the time I came along, Mom's family had built a new farmhouse with electricity and all, but the old log-and-timber homestead quite like the one my dad grew up in remained intact and fully furnished, much as it had always been, so I was able to see where and how they'd lived in those days. It was very homey and comfortable even without all our conveniences. (The old dugout house where they'd lived even before the log home was still intact, too.) I have the old windup mantle clock that had sat on their mantle for more than 100 years now on mine. It still works properly. (The Gallery, Russell Lee)
Ride This Train: 1968
Johnny Cash in 1968, near the Arkansas farm where he grew up. Going to Memphis, no doubt. From photos by Joel ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/12/2014 - 10:56pm -

Johnny Cash in 1968, near the Arkansas farm where he grew up. Going to Memphis, no doubt. From photos by Joel Baldwin for the Look magazine assignment "The Restless Ballad of Johnny Cash." View full size. I've never understoodwhy someone who "shot a man in Reno" would be doing time in a California state prison. Gritty is rightIt's so perfect that I almost can't believe Johnny never used this photo as an album cover. Maybe he and his producers weren't even aware of it? Hard lifeJohn looks old beyond his years considering he was in his mid thirties. Great Pic! GrittyThis would have made an excellent album cover. The man in blackIn black and white. "I hear that train a coming...." Great pic, Dave. (The Gallery, LOOK, Music, Railroads)
Railroad Crossing: 1906
... 200 feet to the north, and in 1949 by the Memphis & Arkansas highway bridge about the same distance to the south. The three huge ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/01/2013 - 10:50am -

The Mississippi River circa 1906. "Kansas City & Memphis Railway bridge at Memphis, Tennessee." Where you'll find the Mary Bell. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The scale of that!That is a very beautiful photo, but what really caught my eye was the sheer size of the bridge, compared to the tiny barge and the even smaller boats moored next to it. It's amazing! How wide is that river? And how deep? Solitary splendorIt's neat to see the bridge in solitary splendor. It was joined in 1917 by the Harahan railroad bridge 200 feet to the north, and in 1949 by the Memphis & Arkansas highway bridge about the same distance to the south. The three huge cantilever truss bridges make an impressive sight together, like a steampunk mountain range. Middle bridge nowI have driven across the I-55 bridge next door to this one many times. The lower Mississippi River is over a mile wide in many locations. At this point it is 2400 feet from bank to bank. The three bridges at this crossing are all about a mile long each. Corner HeadI'm wondering what sort of trade the Mary Bell was in. Is she a powered boat or a barge? A private houseboat or some sort of commercial floating market? What's the cupola for? The rectangular structure in the aft port corner looks to be the head (outhouse). Re: Corner HeadIt looks like a shantyboat. Cheaply built, non-powered houseboats for rivermen, lumbermen, millworkers. Usually made from whatever lumber could be found or scrounged. Shantyboat communities were common in river towns from the mid 19th to mid 20th centuries. The Mississippi RiverAt times during the spring, the width of the River can be over a mile. There was a town just on the west side of Memphis in the 1800s that kept flooding that it just became uninhabitable. During the hot summer days, we would go down to the river to catch a cool river breeze. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Memphis, Railroads)
Working Girl: 1913
... events. We also pronounced other places Ell doh-RAY-doh Arkansas, MON-row LOO-zee-anna, and lah-FAY-et County Mississippi. [Named ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/25/2012 - 10:47am -

November 1913. Kosciusko, Mississippi. "One of the workers (not the youngest) in the Kosciusko cotton mills. The superintendent objected to my photographing them." Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. I was born in this townOctober 1960. Oprah was born there too Modern Photography almosttterrace is correct that films and plate were fast enough for short fraction of a second exposures in bright sunlight. Still, they were still painfully slow by 21st century standards and required rather wide apertures to accomplish the feat. Note how shallow the depth of field is in this picture. The "wide" aperture (probably in the f/3.5-4.5 range) and the large format conspire to yield a very shallow depth of field. The architectural images we see from the same time period generally show significant motion blurs when people are walking (ghosts anyone?) since those photographers would have chosen to stop the lens down to a small aperture to achieve deep depth of field and optimum sharpness. It's pronounced KAH-zee-esk-ohI think the name is Eastern European, but that's how we (Mississippi Delta folk) pronounced it when we ventured up there for sporting events. We also pronounced other places Ell doh-RAY-doh Arkansas, MON-row LOO-zee-anna, and lah-FAY-et County Mississippi. [Named after Polish patriot and American Revolutionary War hero Tadeusz Kościuszko. - tterrace] Modern Photography?The girl is walking (moving) and yet there is no ghosting or blur. In other photo movement didn't seem to be photographed as well, with most photos taken of people standing still. Had photographic processes changed by the time this was taken? [Daylight exposures of a fraction of a second had long been the norm by this time. - tterrace] Kosciuszko and kielbasaPolish families like mine, at least in the northeast, often dined on Kosciuszko brand mustard with their frequent kielbasa and rye bread or kaiser rolls, great with saurkraut. The spicy brown mustard had a photo of Tadeusz and a blue and gold label. It made your eyes light up and your stomach say "howdy". Yum. It is not available where I live now, (in the southwest) as I believe it may be a regional item. For most of my childhood, that was all I knew about George Washington's right hand man, until we studied the Revolutionary War. Imagine my surprise when I found out he was a real and heroic person and not just a mustard. (The Gallery, Lewis Hine)
West Memphis: 1935
... 1935. "Street musicians. Blind fiddler. West Memphis, Arkansas." 35mm negative by Ben Shahn for the Farm Security Administration. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/29/2008 - 7:01am -

October 1935. "Street musicians. Blind fiddler. West Memphis, Arkansas." 35mm negative by Ben Shahn for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Blind MusicianIt's a bitter irony that the blind street fiddler would have had to drink from public fountains marked "Colored," even though he didn't know what skin color was. All people would have been the same to him. Justice may have been blindfolded, but not blind. (The Gallery, Ben Shahn, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Music)
Low Noon: 1936
... heard in today's America. Dust Bowl We lived in Arkansas on the river across from Oklahoma and even though Texas and Oklahoma ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/18/2008 - 3:41pm -

March 1936. "Heavy black clouds of dust rising over the Texas Panhandle." 35mm nitrate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the FSA. View full size. Dust StormsThis photo brings back memories. Our schoolhouse in Tulia, Texas, had no electric lights (or indoor plumbing), so we were dismissed when a duster rolled into town and made everything as dark as night. To avoid breathing the dust, we tied handkerchiefs over our noses while walking home from school. The storms left a coating of dust about a quarter of an inch deep on everything inside our closed-up houses. The cleanup afterward was quite a chore. Gene Howe, a writer for the Amarillo Globe News, claimed that the dust storms were healthy and invigorating and maybe he was right. The dust storms and the effects of the Depression left us with backbone to spare. I don't recall anybody in those days complaining about how tough times were as opposed to all the whining heard in today's America. Dust BowlWe lived in Arkansas on the river across from Oklahoma and even though Texas and Oklahoma were the worst hit, my folks got plenty of the dust. It certainly gave us backbone for years to come. This generation shouldn't wonder why great and great-great grandparents died so young. They worked themselves to death way too early. It would be hard to visualize today's teenager cleaning up the mess with a straw broom, bar of lye soap, and old rags. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Dust Bowl, Landscapes)
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: 1940
... might have been "How to keep your soil from ending up in Arkansas and Missouri." Scatter-Brain Written by Khan Keene, Carl Bean, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/02/2010 - 10:35am -

February 1940. Vernon, Oklahoma. "Song director conducting singing of spiritual at soil conservation meeting." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. If pianos could talkthat old beater could tell many stories I'm sure. Post "Dust Bowl" yearsMain topic of the meeting might have been "How to keep your soil from ending up in Arkansas and Missouri." Scatter-BrainWritten by Khan Keene, Carl Bean, Frankie Masters and Johnny Burke. The sheet music shows Frankie Masters. Covered by by Benny Goodman and Django Reinhardt, Guy Lombardo, Lawrence Welk, and many more. My favorite lyric: I know I'll end up apoplectic But there's nothing I can do It's just the same as being in a hurricane And though my life will be too hectic I'm so much in love with you Nothing else can matter You're my darling scatterbrain. Scatter BrainHere's a link to Guy Lombardo's rendition of Scatter Brain. It's one of those songs we've heard many times but can't name that tune. EarthySpirituals at a soil conservation meeting? Huh. What strikes me is that the landscape outside looks pretty darned barren -- probably need those spirituals. (The Gallery, Music, Russell Lee)
Beet Train: 1943
... north. "Mexican workers recruited and brought to the Arkansas valley, Colorado, Nebraska and Minnesota by the FSA to harvest sugar ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/11/2008 - 11:18am -

May 1943. More Mexican sugar-beet pickers headed north. "Mexican workers recruited and brought to the Arkansas valley, Colorado, Nebraska and Minnesota by the FSA to harvest sugar beets." View full size. Office of War Information. Shiny Happy PeopleSure are a cheerful bunch. Must be thinking about the good things to come. Happy, Yes --- But......I see all sorts of emotions and attitudes in this train car packed with hard-working men, all in the prime of life. (Be sure to "View full size," because there's a lot to see here.) The magnificent smile on the older man in the lower left corner somehow reminds me of my father, though the two have no resemblance other than a palpable love of life. By contrast, the younger man in the right front corner looks wistful and distant. Perhaps he's thinking of the young wife and infant he left behind in some dusty village to come north and follow the harvest ... missing his family as though his heart was torn. My gaze comes back again and again to the man in the bib overalls at slightly left of center, with his arms and legs crossed, gazing straight into the lens. His is a frank look of...what? Defiance for the photographer who stole this moment on a crowded train 55 years ago, and disdain for the invasion of his scrap of privacy? Boredom? Fatigue? Annoyance at a nap interrupted? We can never know, of course ... but that's not a smile. The seventh man from the front on the right looks frightened, though he may simply have been startled by the flash. The seventeenth man from the front on the right --- sitting on the aisle much of the way back, in a light-colored checked shirt, hatless, his handsome face impassive, could almost be Emilio Zapata (though he'd need a much thicker moustache). He has enough dignity and bearing for the entire car. I'm a hard-rock Republican and a firm opponent of illegal immigration --- and only illegal immigration. That said, all of these men look like they'd make good neighbors --- and some of their descendants may well be just that. A favorite of mine is the earnest-looking gent at farthest right in the foreground, with an honest, closed mouth-grin, a thin, perfectly groomed moustache, an impeccable white shirt beneath his jacket and what appears to be a fisherman's cap, seldom seen in the beet fields. I've seen that face in old newsreels and Ellis Island photos a thousand times. His smile makes me smile. God bless them all, here or in the hereafter! (The Gallery, Railroads, WW2)
Bathhouse Row: 1910
Hot Springs, Arkansas, circa 1910. "Bathhouse Row." At right we have the Horse Shoe, which ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/15/2012 - 3:07pm -

Hot Springs, Arkansas, circa 1910. "Bathhouse Row." At right we have the Horse Shoe, which boasts "solid porcelain tubs." 8x10 glass negative. View full size. Replaced by the Quapaw - 1922The Quapaw Bathhouse was built in 1922 on two lots that were previously used for two Victorian style bathhouses (the Horseshoe and the Magnesia). Designed by George Mann and Eugene John Stern, the building was originally to be named the Platt Bathhouse after one of the owners. However, when a tufa cavity was discovered during excavation, the owners decided to promote the cavity as an Indian cave, and the bathhouse was renamed Quapaw Bathhouse in honor of a local Native American tribe that briefly held the surrounding territory after the Louisiana Purchase was made. Good shot!With most of the frame in focus this is a tribute to the photographer. Current BathhousesI've spent quite a bit of time working inside (and under) the various bathhouses as part of a NPS renovation/stabilization project in the past several years. The photo posted is totally changed today -- the oldest bathhouse still standing is the Maurice from 1911, which doesn't appear in this photo. Most of these pictured wood framed structures were replaced by concrete structures. (The Gallery, DPC, Hot Springs)
The Music Man: 1935
... October 1935. "Blind street musician. West Memphis, Arkansas." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Ben Shahn for the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/01/2008 - 12:22am -

October 1935. "Blind street musician. West Memphis, Arkansas." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Ben Shahn for the Resettlement Administration. Blind FiddlerAmazing documentation of that moment in time. And what an incredible composition. As seen on CDBen Shahn displayed his social sensitivity and compositional skills not only in his paintings, but also in his photography. This picture has been used by French record label Saga for a CD compilation: (The Gallery, Ben Shahn, Music, Small Towns)
Hotel Marion: 1908
Little Rock, Arkansas, circa 1908. "Hotel Marion." Demolished in 1980. 8x10 inch dry plate ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 7:25pm -

Little Rock, Arkansas, circa 1908. "Hotel Marion." Demolished in 1980. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. This One Didn't Catch On Fire EitherIt was imploded in 1980. Three observations1. The life of this building was about the same as that expected of a human being, approximately three score and ten. 2. "Miss Jones, next time you contact our supplier, please order another 144 pairs of identical curtains." 3. Be our transitory window display simply by occupying a chair in the window and be looked at for as long or short a time as you wish. Double ImplosionI watched the implosion of the Marion Hotel and also the 14 story Grady Manning Hotel as they went off simultaneously. The hotels were on the same block and now the Peabody Hotel and Statehouse Convention Center occupy that space. And what a pity it's gone now.That mezzanine open patio looks very inviting. (The Gallery, DPC, Little Rock)
Street View: 1910
"West 2nd Street residences." Little Rock, Arkansas, circa 1910. Our second 2nd Street view, this being the first. The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/10/2012 - 12:13am -

"West 2nd Street residences." Little Rock, Arkansas, circa 1910. Our second 2nd Street view, this being the first. The era of mounting blocks and hitching posts is drawing to a close. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Izard & ChesterPossibly this area is between South Izard and South Chester? I went the whole length and this is the only thing I found close. One lonely old house and three Trees old enough to fit the bill. [There's another one across the street. - Dave] View Larger Map View Larger Map There are a few more further down on the right also, unfortunately things have changed so much it's impossible to identify them as being the houses in the old photo. It's too bad we can't click on the old photos and "Drive" around like we can now. The folks 100 years from now will be in for a treat if the Google archive still exists! Elementary"Horses come by here. Not long ago, Kemosabe." "Tonto, you're amazing! How do you do it?" All Gone?I traveled all of West 2nd and some of East 2nd and didn't find those grand homes. I suppose it's not just the old steppingstones and hitching posts that are just a memory. [The shadows indicate we're looking west. Perhaps toward South Gaines Street, which is at the crest of a hill. - Dave] (The Gallery, DPC, Kids, Little Rock)
Tuf Nut: 1940
July 1940. "Arkansas farmer now picking fruit in Berrien County, Michigan." Wearing Tuf-Nut ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/15/2011 - 2:58pm -

July 1940. "Arkansas farmer now picking fruit in Berrien County, Michigan." Wearing Tuf-Nut overalls. Photo by John Vachon for the FSA. View full size. 1929 Chevrolet truckBy the look and position of the hood louvers. Very interesting to see how these old vehicles with composite (wood and steel) bodies lasted that long! Classic faceAs I have commented before some of these photos just jump out at you with their depth of expression that reaches across time. This photo looks like it was taken from a Peter Breughel painting of a peasant from the 1400s. Pics like this oneStop me dead in my tracks. I can't place exactly what makes them so heartbreakingly intriguing, but it's almost like a personal memory of mine, which would be impossible. If only the camera had been invented a thousand or so years earlier -- wouldn't that have been amazing! Chopped OffThis is actually a 1929 or 1930 Chevrolet Car that has had the back end chopped off and a flatbed body added. There was no Chevy car made these two years that had such a short side panel behind the driver's seat. A 29/30 Chevy truck has different trim on the sides of the body with the door handles between two body lines. If you look at the body panels and trim on the back of the passenger area the body trim lines do not match up, and the seam between the top and lower half do not align to each other or the back post of the cab. Other photos in this series show the back of the cab and roof do not align with the sides of the body or the windshield. One of the photos showing the flatbed body is below along with a close up of the misaligned trim. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, John Vachon)
Hard Times: 1935
October 1935. "Destitute Ozark resident, Arkansas." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Ben Shahn for the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 1:54pm -

October 1935. "Destitute Ozark resident, Arkansas." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Ben Shahn for the Resettlement Administration. How SadPoor man. But all I can think of when I look at this guy is Ernest T. Bass. Don't Kill Me!!Funny, I look at this guy and see Ed Gein!! (The Gallery, Ben Shahn, Great Depression, Rural America)
Old Folks at Home: 1935
... region. The white communities such as the Dyess Project in Arkansas were the centers of the Ku Klux Klan. Here is a website that ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/05/2009 - 2:04am -

October 1935. Brown County, Indiana. Prospective Resettlement Administration clients whose property has been optioned by the government. View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Theodor Jung for the Farm Security Administration. Resettlement?Can someone decode what the caption means? Resettlement clients? Property optioned? It sounds like their farm dustbowled up and the Roosevelt government is buying them out, but I'd like the official word... Thanks! [Wikipedia article on the Resettlement Administration. - Dave] Brown County INBrown County has the largest Indiana state park and part of the Hoosier National Forest. Brown County has by far the highest concentration of forested land of any of Indiana's 92 counties with nearly 90% coverage and almost no large farms at all. I think these people we relocated to help create these great parks. http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hoosier/docs/history/history.htm Resettlement AdministrationThe resettlement of tens of thousands of people occurred through government action in the 1930s. In some cases it was for projects like the Tennessee Valley Authority where vast areas of bottom lands were flooded and the owners of the land, many of them having families that dated to the Revolutionary War period, were "resettled". In other cases, people lived on what the government determined to be submarginal lands and they were bought out and given the option of settling in a "homestead project" such as the ones developed by the FSA and, earlier, the Resettlement Administration. I don't know the particular history of Brown County, Indiana, where clients were "optioned", but it appears to fit that pattern. However, in Louisiana at Transylvania Plantation just south of Lake Providence, blacks who had lived on the plantation since the Civil War were evicted by the FSA and white farmers were brought onto the land. The only evidence of this is determined by the photographs made by Russell Lee. There is no reliable history, at this point, that tells us exactly what took place and why (except for the photographic evidence). The result of the removal of hundreds of black tenants, their houses turned over to the new arrivals as well as their churches and community center, was an embittered and angry black population. They formed the nucleus of a particularly militant civil rights group based in Lake Providence. It appears that throughout the south the projects set up by the FSA had very long lasting implications. The government had determined that FSA projects would be segregated, at the instigation of politicians, which was a profoundly different pattern for sharecroppers in particular who lived in racially mixed arrangements on the land. the result, time and again of this "resettlement" in the south was that whites and blacks were separated and concentrated in isolated communities. the black communities were often the font of civil rights work in their region. The white communities such as the Dyess Project in Arkansas were the centers of the Ku Klux Klan. Here is a website that outlines some of our research: http://www.siu.edu/%7ejadams/fsa/ (The Gallery, Great Depression, Rural America, Theodor Jung)
In the Pines: 1905
Hot Springs, Arkansas, circa 1905. "Roadway through the pines." 8x10 inch dry plate glass ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/29/2012 - 1:31pm -

Hot Springs, Arkansas, circa 1905. "Roadway through the pines." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Not much has changedThis is either one of two hills in Hot Springs. North Mountain or West Mountain both are close to downtown and the Hot Springs National Park. These hairpin curves are the same as they were in this pic except they are now asphalt surfaced and landscaped with proper drainage infrastructure. A gentle trip homeafter Ma'am and the Gentleman had taken in the waters. Leadbelly WroteMy girl, my girl, don't lie to me Tell me where did you sleep last night? In the pines, in the pines Where the sun don't ever shine I would shiver the whole night through My girl, my girl, where will you go I'm going where the cold wind blows In the pines, in the pines Her husband was a hard working man Just about a mile from here His head was found in a driving wheel But his body never was found My girl, my girl, don't lie to me Tell me where did you sleep last night? In the pines, in the pines. Tower RoadThat's not just any ole dirt road, y'know. That's the road to the tower on Hot Springs mountain in Hot Springs National Park. The benches were the giveaway. Still have 'em today. Good place to sit a spell and catch your breath on the way up. Here's the same road a few years later. (The Gallery, DPC, Horses, Hot Springs)
Ozark Boy: 1935
... October 1935. Son of destitute Ozark family on the road in Arkansas. 35mm nitrate negative by Ben Shahn, Farm Security Administration. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2011 - 6:11pm -

October 1935. Son of destitute Ozark family on the road in Arkansas. 35mm nitrate negative by Ben Shahn, Farm Security Administration. View full size. air breather or hungry?Catching flies, I reckon. air breather or hungry?Most likely starved, poor kid. (The Gallery, Ben Shahn, Great Depression, Kids, On the Road)
Whirlpool: 1939
... January 1939. "Housewife boiling clothes -- Chicot Farms, Arkansas." Note the primitive nature of this washer -- it doesn't even have a ... But my paternal grandmother, who lived for some years in Arkansas, was not. I had to look twice to make sure this wasn't her. I can't ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/25/2012 - 12:16pm -

January 1939. "Housewife boiling clothes -- Chicot Farms, Arkansas." Note the primitive nature of this washer -- it doesn't even have a "simmer" setting. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration. View full size. Maybe the Maytag wringer's on the fritzMy maternal grandmother had a Maytag wringer, (originally gasoline-engined, but converted to electric). We spent a summer with her when I was six. Once when the Maytag blinked, we washed in her identical pot and wrung by hand. I remember adding "bluing" to the rinse to de-yellow the whites. She was a little more fashionable than this woman. But my paternal grandmother, who lived for some years in Arkansas, was not. I had to look twice to make sure this wasn't her. I can't say definitively not. (The Gallery, Russell Lee)
Fresh Cut: 1939
... Canal Point, Florida. Some of them are from Missouri and Arkansas. No water, no light, no sanitary facilities." Photo by Marion Post ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/20/2012 - 12:09pm -

February 1939. "Packinghouse workers in migrant labor camp near Canal Point, Florida. Some of them are from Missouri and Arkansas. No water, no light, no sanitary facilities." Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size. Not BadI've seen worse from "Professional" Barbers, Halfway to nowhereThis picture was taken along the eastern edge of Lake Okeechobee, almost due west of Palm Beach, with a whole lot of swamp in between. At one time the state had a minimum security facility for bad boys on the north edge of the lake because there was nowhere to go if you escaped. At one time Florida was second only to Texas in cattle raising (there are still an amazing number around) and the term "Cracker" came from horsemen snapping bullwhips to move the cattle. Much of this area was cattle country. Back in the day, I used to drive this area when going back and forth to college. No doubt there is a bit more there now, but -- Thanks, PhaedrusAs a former Floridian, I wondered where Canal Point might be. I also drove through that area in my college days, going from Boca Raton to Naples and back a couple of times a month. I took a friend from New Jersey with me one weekend and he remarked, "I never knew that Florida was hollow in the middle!" That about sums it up! A dollar saved My Mom cut my hair till I was 11 or so, as did all my friends moms trim their own. The thrill of my first 'grown-up' haircut, still resonates with me today. The smell of the Barbacide and the Clubman cologne was something I had experienced for years while waiting for 'Frenchie' to finish my dad's shave and haircut once a month. To sit in that huge mechanical wonder of a chair and have 'Frenchie' lather up my ears to finish shave around the edges was such a 'Grown-up' experience, I still relish an old fashioned cut today. (The Gallery, Florida, M.P. Wolcott)
Family Guy: 1939
... migrant agricultural worker and his family encamped on the Arkansas River." Our third look at this grizzled laborer ( One , Two ). ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/02/2012 - 8:36pm -

June 1939. "Wagoner County, Oklahoma. Veteran migrant agricultural worker and his family encamped on the Arkansas River." Our third look at this grizzled laborer (One, Two). 35mm negative by Russell Lee for the FSA. View full size. The DepressionYou didn't have to be an Okie to live in a tent during the Depression. I live in the Pennsylvania Dutch farm country now, a little over a hundred miles from New York City, and one of my neighbors here lived in a tent in those Depression days. NearbyThat's in the next county over from here; would love to know exact location of this photo. He reminds me of my grandfather who settled over on the other side of the state in Beckham County circa 1910. (The Gallery, Great Depression, Russell Lee)
We Ate the Chickens: 1939
... and his wife sitting in front of their shack home on the Arkansas River near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma. This man said that last year he ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/27/2018 - 12:13am -

June 1939. "Works Progress Administration worker and his wife sitting in front of their shack home on the Arkansas River near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma. This man said that last year he thought maybe he would be a little better off when he got the WPA work and had a small amount of cash coming in but that he was worse off now. 'Last year I had a cow and some chickens and I had to sell my cow and eat my chickens. I get worse off every year'." Photo by Russell Lee. View full size. Where are they now?I wish there was a way to find out what ever happened to the people who are "down on their luck" that are in all of these Shorpy pics. I would love to find out what the future held for these poor folks that helped build America. Sunday BestI love that even though they don't have much, they both put on their nicest clothes, including for her, a cute dress, stockings, and white dress shoes, to get their picture taken. They may not be the richest people in the world, but that's no reason not to look your best for company. My grandmother always told me that. She said that I could be living in a cave in the woods -- if someone is coming to see you, brush your hair and put on your church clothes. Poor doesn't have to mean dirty or unkempt. I hope their years progressively got better after this. The Depression.My dad, born 1922, used to tell us kids about the poor family that lived in a palmetto shack near a lake in Louisiana during this time frame. Sometimes all they had to eat was some molasses on bread. My sister and I never really believed that kind of poverty existed. This photo proves it. Same Great Depression story here My mother born 1921. Would say times were so hard that supper was bread with mustard. She quit school in 5th grade when her mother died. But she could read speak and write Russian. It always amazed me when her sisters came to visit and they spoke Russian. (The Gallery, Great Depression, Russell Lee)
Near Earle: 1936
July 1936. "Negro women near Earle, Arkansas." Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/15/2012 - 7:28pm -

July 1936. "Negro women near Earle, Arkansas." Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Very Interesting PhotographOther than I believe it to be some sort of hair treatment: I have no idea what it actually does. It is also interesting that there was an entire cosmetic industry especially for blacks. To me it's odd that her hair stays braided even though this product is being applied. Yes, what does it do? Great photo by the way. RelaxingThe product in use here is manufactured by Proline (whose name you can see on the jar). The company was later known for its commercialization of the lye-based hair relaxer, a process that had already been in use in the African American community for decades. I had difficulty finding information about Proline's earlier products - this appears to be a pomade or softener. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange)
Portsmouth Wharves: 1907
... the Mississippi River. The third, Little Rock, is on the Arkansas River. So I always feel a kinship with the long-gone denizens of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/12/2019 - 2:29pm -

Circa 1907. "Coal wharves at Portsmouth, New Hampshire." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. ContinuityThe three cities I've lived in over the course of 67 years are all on rivers. Two of them, Hickman, Kentucky, and Memphis, are on the Mississippi River. The third, Little Rock, is on the Arkansas River. So I always feel a kinship with the long-gone denizens of places such as this 1907 city of Portsmouth, NH. Most of the time rivers seem so placid and inviting. On occasion, tides of flood waters roll down their channels, cascading onto the surrounding land because there simply isn't enough room in the normal channel of the river for all the water to flow. In such times the rivers don't seem so peaceful. The Piscataqua River is, I assume, the one we see in this photograph. I learned from the all-knowing Internet that this is a "tidal river" and is 12 miles long from source to sea. I also learned that there has been flooding several times this decade along its shores. So, as peaceful as it appeared on this day in 1907, it would probably sometimes become a ravening mass of floodwaters, even back then. Knowing that, I still find these river photos fascinating, and peaceful. But in looking at this 1907 photograph the thing that caught my eye in the enlarged version sits on the left edge of the frame. A doorway with these words painted above it: "Antique Furniture." And here I thought that was a trend that developed in the 1970s! From years of following this pictorial blog I should have known that nothing is all that new. Even those of us who can clearly recall adult years spent without any personal computer existing at all should know that to those born since the turn of this century, even PCs seem old-fashioned. What Shorpy.com reminds me of could be summed up as: With change comes continuity. Thanks to Dave and all the Shorpy followers who make my days better. Not so scenic any moreI just came to think that the major commercial ports are not so scenic any more. All you get to see, most of the time, are container ships in varying sizes, plus the respective shore installations, with the odd cruise ship thrown in. Impressive no doubt. But so boring. TugboatsThey still keep them in the same place. The cams on the news always show them tied to the dock like in this picture. PostcardThis shot was also used for a ca. 1910 Post card. Same place?In response to jondapicam's comment, here is a contemporary shot by Larry Richardson -- "Tugboats In Portsmouth - Portsmouth NH early in the morning, tugboats sitting patiently, waiting for there next ship to guide through the harbor." https://pixels.com/featured/tugboats-in-portsmouth-larry-richardson.html (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Railroads)
Pulaski County Courthouse: 1905
Little Rock, Arkansas, circa 1905. "Pulaski County Court House." 8x10 inch dry plate glass ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2012 - 4:37pm -

Little Rock, Arkansas, circa 1905. "Pulaski County Court House." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. This beauty is still thereView Larger Map Thanks Edvado. So cool toThanks Edvado. So cool to see that building is still there. A stunning piece of architecture. (The Gallery, DPC, Little Rock)
"Mother at her Desk"
... the same thrift store shows Bellefonte Spring, Bellefonte, Arkansas. On the back, in the same handwriting as "Mother at her Desk," it ... back of one as "Kay Knouse, 10 months old, Nevada County, Arkansas, 1925." There are a number of other photos which are also likely from ... 
 
Posted by esn36 - 08/05/2009 - 6:32am -

I picked up this photo with a number of other old family photos at a thrift store in Albany, California in the 1980s. Handwritten on the back it says: "Mother at her Desk, U.S. Civil Service Commission - Wash. D.C. (1930s?)" A postcard from the same thrift store shows Bellefonte Spring, Bellefonte, Arkansas. On the back, in the same handwriting as "Mother at her Desk," it says: "Mother lived here for a while as a kid. Bellefonte, Ark. - near Harrison." In different handwriting on the front it says: "Where I watered Topsy at noons near Blacksmiths." Two other photos, likely from the same family, show a baby identified on the back of one as "Kay Knouse, 10 months old, Nevada County, Arkansas, 1925." There are a number of other photos which are also likely from this same family. I would be happy to return them to any living relative who wants them. I know Shorpy doesn't exist for this purpose but I thought the "Mother at her Desk" photo was interesting enough by Shorpy standards (despite not being up to Shorpy quality standards) to give it a try. Thanks for a great blog site. View full size. 1934 TelephoneWhen I saw this picture and the caption, I thought 1930s??? I remember that telephone from the fifties. But some googling made clear that this model indeed was first designed in the 1930s. First designed by Ericsson in 1932, this became the GPO standard (332) phone largely produced in the 1940s and 1950s. A great design! (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Wednesday's Child: 1939
June 1939. "Son of day laborer living in Arkansas River bottom at Webbers Falls, Muskogee County, Oklahoma. The father ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/24/2018 - 1:10pm -

June 1939. "Son of day laborer living in Arkansas River bottom at Webbers Falls, Muskogee County, Oklahoma. The father is a former tenant farmer, now on WPA." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the FSA. View full size. So you think you're poorPeople back then had dignity, but "poor" is putting it mildly for those of us who may think we are poor or know someone we perceive to be poor. Hard TimesWhen you have to peel off the labels on oil cans to side your shack, you're not poor, you're broke. But the people in the Depression photos on Shorpy seem, if not happy, at least not despairing. And the Government actually did try to help them. Good on these people for not giving up. I wonder how today's generation will deal with crushing adversity. And how tomorrow's government will help, if at all. Given the recent reaction to the hurricane in Puerto Rico, my hopes aren't high. To quote Nero Wolfe "To be broke is not a disgrace; it is only a catastrophe." Wednesday’s Child is Full of WoeWednesday children are associated with emotional empathy. They feel the weight of the world, with a caring and compassionate outlook, often to the point of sadness for others. Grim and gloomy Wednesday Addams from the Addams Family Television Series optimizes a Wednesday’s child. Modern uses associate with the term with children in foster care and from broken homes. Reported by famlii. As a foreigner, I did not know the meaning of the expression. (The Gallery, Great Depression, Kids, Russell Lee)
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