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Halloween Party: 1938
... for migratory agricultural workers." Acetate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration, and Happy Halloween from Shorpy. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/31/2022 - 12:10pm -

October 1938. "Shafter, Kern County, California. Halloween party at FSA camp for migratory agricultural workers." Acetate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration, and Happy Halloween from Shorpy. View full size. Piercing MildredThe girl in second row looks -- scarily -- like Joan Crawford. Good to the last drop!So the kids back in the late '30s got a cup of coffee for Halloween. How novel! I bet they also slipped them a couple of smokes to go with their cup o' Joe. Fortune TellerThat costume would never fly today. Joan Crawford ComebackWell, at least lil' Joan sports enough makeup to match the role. The little girl in frontis absolutely precious. The expression on her face and those little hands make me hope she got a nice treat for Halloween. Not Many TreatsMaybe those cups were to hold whatever tiny treats they might have gotten, but most don't have cups. Maybe for party punch? Not many treats in sight. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Dorothea Lange, Halloween, Kids)
Party of Four: 1956
... disagree. I love the family pics. Sometimes I find the Dorothea Lange types depressing. Also, Did Billie Holiday sing "The Thrill Is Gone"? ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/25/2021 - 5:10pm -

As a follow-up to yesterday's Pastel Princesses we present a retinue of possible Princes, or maybe court jesters, at what looks like the same event. Live it up while you can, boys. 35mm Kodachrome from the "Linda" slides. View full size. Ma!Have you seen my red socks? I'm late for the dance!!! The Cast of "Diner"The Early Years. The charm and uniquenessof Shorpy is, in my opinion, somewhat diminished by the inclusion of family Kodachrome snapshots. I still make my daily visits, but—as Billie used to sing—the thrill is gone. Am I alone in thinking so? A little dab'll do yaCheck out the hair tonic stain on the walls. You may not be aloneIn your finding your viewing pleasure diminished, but I'm sure that you are outnumbered 1000 to 1. I think these two last dance photos show the old saying to be true. Girls mature faster than boys. And not just physically. Wider visionI am one of the many who finds that "the charm and uniqueness of Shorpy" is in no way diminished by the inclusion of photos from family collections of the past 50 years. Considering Shorpy as the place of photos only a century old, or exclusively black and white, is an unnecessary limitation. It's much easier to see it as repository of so much more. Broaden the vision, Chris Albertson, and let yourself settle comfortably into the range and variety of what Shorpy has to offer. It won't hurt a bit. Pocket squareIf only we could see what those blue and white ticket/program things are in both of these pictures. At first I thought it was the same guy but they have different ties (and ears!). I love these candid snapshots. [He might be the boy with his back to the camera in the other photo. - Dave] Love It AllI love seeing these smiling boys who seemed to have left their dance dates to wonder where they went. I'm a fan of every genre of Shorpy pic. Yes, I'm partial to ones showing old houses because we're restoring a Victorian and become enthused over clapboard, millwork, and knob and tube wiring, but I like the other pictures, too. You're alone, ChrisViewing glimpses of the past, whether 100 years or 50, is fascinating. My wife would tan my hide!Red socks, especially with blue slacks? I would never live that down. As for the inclusion of family Kodachrome slides, I enjoy them. The reason I like Shorpy is because it gives a glimpse of times past. Sometimes the family photos do a better job than some of the sterile professional photos. The enrichment of ShorpyChris Albertson, a couple of years ago, I had the same opinion that you have now. I became annoyed by the postings of tterrance, but still maintained my daily visits. I am just 3 years younger than you, and have slowly realized that these more modern pictures are part of Shorpy's growth and our own past. Let's hope that some viewers will put names to some of these eBay finds. Respectfully, Urcunina Interesting comment Chris, Hi Chris, As a genealogist and family historian, I found over the last few years that Shorpy was an invaluable historic resource for my research. Sure, i would "surf" anonymously but that was that; got my info and off I went. But some days I would just look 'into' places. Literally, zoom up and into the lives of the residents of the cities and neighborhoods featured here. I just couldn't believe where these images would lead me. The most interesting stories and facts and especially the comments. Regular folks, not necessarily experts, just interesting folks. It was these "folks" who drew my attention more and more. I agree that historic and/or "slices in time or life" images seem to be the most engaging, but these Kodachromes are most definitely part of photographic history. They are indeed unique imagery. They are historic AND deteriorating very quickly in drawers, closet shelves, carousels buried in garages and scattered in boxes in attics around the world. When one of these gorgeous images is posted and you begin to read the story and see the real living color of a time gone-by and the comments pour in and you peek at the numbers and see thousands (!!) of "reads", well you gotta feel some excitement and thrill of the "get". Just figuring out the puzzle of a time and day just out of memory or reach for many of us, or the makeup of an interesting family from New England, well it's like a treasure hunt. And aren't those so much fun? It is admittedly a great and grand waste of time I suppose, but most certainly, the best fun since Facebook launched 9 years ago, and quite possibly new beginnings for these images and their owners. For me and my extended family, sharing our Kodachromes is a tribute to the family members (many already gone) who took the time to lug a bulky, clunky, camera around and set up and snap a pic for us all to enjoy just a couple of times on the dining room wall. Now we are really enjoying them again, along with a surprisingly large number of people. It just feels wonderful. I hope you will continue to enjoy the historic quality of these beautiful images as well as the amazing resources from the LOC and Detroit Publishing etc... But please most of all, I hope that you also appreciate the men and women that are working literally 24/7 on Shorpy.com (not to mention all those folks sitting at home, eyes glued to the screen, mouse at the ready) bringing these images to us all day and all night. They ARE Shorpy. Regards, Deborah CharmingI actually do enjoy the family snapshots. It's great fun to look at what people were doing in their everyday lives. Shorpy has it all! re: charm and uniquenessI have to disagree. I love the family pics. Sometimes I find the Dorothea Lange types depressing. Also, Did Billie Holiday sing "The Thrill Is Gone"? I always thought it was BB King's song, didn't realize it was a cover. Diminished? Not at all.I think these Kodachromes are as valuable to Shorpy as all the other historical pictures. Where else do you see unknown people, photographed by unknown photographers, in unknown places, and hope that there will be the one comment: "OMG that's me taken by my uncle Bill at our junior sock hop." It will happen. 100 years from nowthese sort of photos will be just as fascinating to people as any of the older, more "serious" examples on Shorpy. Every moment is history as soon as it passes. How lucky we are that occasionally, someone catches it on film, or video, even digitally. It's all wonderful and so is Shorpy! I can see what Chris is sayingI think the Kodachromes are either hit or miss. Some I enjoy while others (the majority) I could do without. But I don't run the site and I can't complain if I don't find a particular image interesting because there are more than enough images on here to keep my occupied. The site as a whole is really unique. And one should keep in mind that "beauty" is in the eye of the beholder. Ergo, an image that might delight one viewer is sure to bore another. No Smoking?But there appears to be a pack of smokes on the ledge of that little window. Also, count me in as one who really enjoys this type of photograph, then again I collect other peoples old home movies so I'm biased. These are every bit as interesting as the LOC type of photo and probably a more realistic slice of Vintage American life since many of the LOC pictures are staged to some extent. The overwhelming response to my postis appreciated, but it also made me sort of analyze my own expressed opinion. I think it boils down to the fact that I have so many family Kodachromes of my own and such snapshots are readily found on the internet. Shorpy's more regular fare, those wonderful old photos and the remarkable clarity achieved by tterrance and crew are not as easily Googled and rarely presented with such sharp details. Then, too, I am 81 and a jazz historian, jaded by having hundreds of photos around the apartment.candid shots from the 50s on up bring back memories to me, but not the discovery that makes Shorpy so speciale. So, I guess I have been spoiled by the delights of Shorpy. I still love this site and recommend it (one of my two blogs has had a Shorpy link for three years). Thank you all for the comments and thank you tterrance for the site and this forum. I hope I haven't been too disruptive. P.S. Yes, AuntieVi, BB King certainly made "The Thrill is Gone" his own and turned it into a hit. I heard Billie sing it in person, but I don't think she recorded it. RegardlessOf the photo, black and white or superb color, recent or ancient, they are glimpses into our past and help us visualize, if only for a moment, what life was like back then. And in some cases, see ourselves as we were. Love to know where those stairs went up to, obviously some sort of service stair based on appearance, why was the access open to them. This band of merry makers look like they'd be just the ones to sneak up and create a ruckus. AshtrayUnderneath guy on right, with smoldering cigarette. (Hey, they're not in the main hall but in the shenanigans room. There's one in every building when you're a teenager.) Charming and uniqueThat's what the guy third from left believes about his choice in socks. Is That a Ceiling on the Wall?I guess the tin fits everywhere kind of like this mix of photos fits throughout Shorpy. I enjoy all the ages presented especially if you can see that other generations were just as squirrelly as mine no matter what the social norm. Re: Lincrusta. Thanks Mattie, that's interesting and makes sense. Cheaper than wood molding and less fragile than formed plaster. I think it does need a paint adhesion inspection if possible. As per Chris AlbertsonNot to jump on the wagon or anything, but I have just now joined the site after a year or so of browsing to offer the following comment: not all of your viewers are camera aficionados steeped in the history of photography or, dare I say it, of an older generation. I am no spring chicken, having been born in the late 1970s, but almost every single photograph on here predates me and I learn from and enjoy seeing all of them, family Kodachrome snapshots included. Not diminished at allI love this site and don't see the inclusion of Kodachromes as diminishing it at all! Keep up the great work! No spring chicken?Orange56, I sincerely hope you don't feel "over the hill" at mid-30's! Chris Albertson has a little fewer years on me, than I do on you; you've got a long way to go, youngster! Everybody and their uncles"The thrill is gone" was recorded by mostly every pop and jazz singer in that era. Julie London, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme and on and on. (I don't think Michael Bolton has recorded it yet but he probably will...I'm kidding about M.B.) Critics like to give him a hard time, so I'm piling on too. These old KodachromesI like that they've been included. My parents would have been approximately this age in the early fifties and I enjoy seeing what life was like in a unrehearsed kind of way. Ceiling on the wallIt's a heavily-textured wallpaper known as Lincrusta or Anaglypta. It's sturdy stuff and can hold up well under layers of paint. If we knew where this building is located, we might learn how well it holds up under layers of hair tonic. More color Kodachromes!!!I love the 100 year old b/w photos, but the color Kodachromes make Shorpy a much more "thrilling" site for so many more people. Keep them coming...even up to the 70's & 80's. They are necessary to keep Shorpy relevant to a larger population of internet users. Fuggedaboutit!My first (and second) thought on this photo is that it looks like some of the gang from "The Sopranos". It's a little before their time, but I still see it every time I look at this photo. Farked!https://www.fark.com/comments/11937855 (Farked, Linda Kodachromes)
Route 99: 1939
... he once lived there.'" Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Tough ... 
 
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)
Migrant Mother colorized, 1937
This is the coloration of Dorothea Lange's iconic 'Migrant Mother' photo. The stark reality of Dorothea's original photograph is actuated by the addition of color, which I ... 
 
Posted by Kenny - 04/11/2017 - 2:30pm -

This is the coloration of Dorothea Lange's iconic 'Migrant Mother' photo. The stark reality of Dorothea's original photograph is actuated by the addition of color, which I think brings out detail not apparent in the black & white original. View full size. Just not the sameVery good job, I like it. Just not the same feeling to it as in the B&W. Awful. Leave it alone.This is sacrilege. How about I come over to your house and spraypaint your white car purple? If you have any respect for the artist--keep your hands off. If you want to express yourself creatively, create your own work. Doesn't do it for me.This is why some photographers still use B/W. Colour dilutes the drama. Fantastic. Keep it up.Oh how I love the over-the-top expressions of outrage! Kenny, this one is very cool. I would really have trouble identifying this as a colorized photo. I enjoy the highly stylized colorizations that hint at tinting or the idiosyncrasies of early color film. But this one really stands out for its stunning realism. Thanks. I AgreeI do agree that some images lend themselves to colourising & some do not. This one falls into the "do not" category. As for colourising in general, the skintones in particular are very flat - for a more natural result, have you thought about using a gradient map adjustment layer? In conjunction with painting in subtle colour graduation, I use them for skintones, hair, etc when colouring b&w images. It removes that flatness & artificiality. I also find that your skintones are often too saturated & peachy. La belleza de la tristezaQue tristeza en su mirada perdida, que foto mas significativa, toda la pena del mundo , su hambre y necesidad a cuestas, con sus niñas siempre a su lado ¿alguien sabe que le ocurriò a ella y sus niñas?. Miles de Doroteas circulan cada dìa por Sudamerica y USA, y nunca las vemos, son invisibles a nuestra mirada, y aun asi Ds nos pedira cuentas de todas ellas, de las miradas que no quisimos ver, del hambre que no mitigamos, del pan o la moneda que negamos, de la puerta que cerramos en las narices, de todas las faltas de oportunidad que negamos. Actualmente la crisis hace aparecer Doroteas, desempleadas, que deben alimentar a sus hijos. Ojala nos sirva de leccion esto y seamos mas sensibles al dolor humano. "Dorothea"Here an "o", put it where you want. Sometimes your fingers get ahead of your thoughts and you miss your mistakes. Hey You are Pretty Good!Shame about the "artistic" overtures. As long as the orginals are intact I fail to see a problem with your "talent" being exhibited here. I've seen both, and both pieces of work have merit. I like it. NiceI like it in color. It makes you realize those people are just like us - not from another world where everything is b/w. Missing the messageSomething about putting this in color takes away from how I've always seen it. Technically, the coloration is alright, but it shouldn't be done on this photograph. It's like if Picasso had painted the Old Guitarist with something other than blue. It's just not the same. So much more impactful in B&WThis is a prime example of why things shouldn't be colorized. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Colorized Photos)
Paging Edward Hopper: 1940
... and legendary photographers. Walker Evans. Lewis Hine. Dorothea Lange. Ben Shahn. Russell Lee. Look them up. The photos are so detailed ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/07/2011 - 2:43pm -

Children in the tenement district, Brockton, Massachusetts. December 1940. Photograph by Jack Delano. View full size. These duplexes must have been fairly grand when they were new, probably around the turn of the century. They look like the house where Granny and Tweety Bird lived. Are they still there? I'll get it running some dayEver since there have been cars somebody has put them on blocks and abandoned them. Are you sure that picture isn't a model?Look at the people. They just don't look real. And neither does the car or the big tree limb in front of it all. They are still there...I can't promise you that these exact ones are still around, but there are many that look just like this in Brockton. Some have been restored, some are still run down. Sure it isn't a model?The people don't look real. The car looks like a toy, and the tree limb in front of it all is huge. Tree limb??That's a telephone pole. Click here. Another version is here. Telephone pole?Actually it is a power pole, there are no telephone lines on it. If you look real close you can see the telephone pole and lines in the back. ever wonder?Ever wonder what the people's thoughts were at the moment the photo was taken? A. Moore Re: Sure it isn't a model?I haven't poked around this site a lot, so maybe this info is here somewhere (yeah, yeah, I read the explanation of the Shorpy name) -- but maybe you should explain more background to a lot of these photos from the 30s and 40s. Of course they're real. These are by documented, well-known, and legendary photographers. Walker Evans. Lewis Hine. Dorothea Lange. Ben Shahn. Russell Lee. Look them up. The photos are so detailed because they used large format cameras with honking big negatives. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG97/fsa/welcome.html Read the book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Get a hardcover copy that really shows off Walker Evan's photos. And keep looking back here for more leads on great documentary photography. Looks real to me.I'm loving those roofs. The shape is wonderful. How pretty these homes must have looked when new. This, and "American Gothic".I don't know if it's of any use, but if you look at the "American Gothic" image (another from this shoot), the number 22 is chalked onto the left door on the porch. Maybe somebody who knows Brockton (Dianne Cantara, where are you?) can track down this locale and tell us what's there now. FantasticThese houses are fantastic. Are they duplexes or quads? That's an amazing amount of house for a duplex! Mansard RoofThere are many examples of this style of house where I live, I grew up in one very similar that had 4 single family homes in it, each of which is now at least 5 apartments. The roof style is a Mansard roof if I'm not mistaken and is fairly common in the Northeastern US and Canada, it stands up well to a heavy snowload. Mansard RoofThe mansard roofs and style of these houses is called the French Second Empire style. In the last half of the 19th century, it was common to have roofs with dormers. It provided an extra residential floor, but tax assessments did not count the top floor in the market appraisals, so owners were, in effect, adding a floor to the building without being taxed for it. This was explained to me by a historian who recently gave a wonderful two-hour walking tour of houses and mills along the Quinebaug River in Putnam, Connecticut. You can see some interesting information about this at: http://www.americanlandmarks.com/french.htm They are there!I grew up in Brockton and those places are still there! Brockton, Mass.Would anyone please post the address of the location this shot was taken? I am working on a photogray project where I am shooting with a similar vision as Edward Hopper paintings. These Mansard Roof homes would be perfect subject matter at sunrise/sunset. Oh, please forward the address to my e-mail at sternedwards@aol.com Thanks In Advance, Charles Roland 1932 Ford Standard TudorThe car is a 1932 Ford Standard Tudor and the color is Washington Blue. I have one just like it. Look at the detailsI see details such as the fading wreaths in the windows, the rain downspouts that have a "Y" connectors from the second floor roof to the bay window roofs, then to the next level and then down to the ground; the corbels in the entry way. So many homes had them as trim items and so many are removed today. A lot of architectural character is missing in today's homes. Is it totally genuine?The power pole looks fake at the base, and its shadow is narrower than the pole itself. And take a look at the shadow of the child in black: different angle. The dog ... oh well ... no shadow at all. Maybe not totally fake, but surely retouched. [The shadow of the pole would be the same width as its base if you could see where two the came together behind the where the dirt has built up along the pavement. The shadow on the ground next to the kid is cast by whatever he's holding; his own shadow is much smaller, like the dog's. - Dave] (The Gallery, Brockton, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Dogs, Jack Delano, Kids)
Family Trip: 1939
... View full size. Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. Can we assume... the young ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/02/2012 - 10:41pm -

August 1939. Agricultural migrants. "Family who traveled by freight train. Toppenish, Washington. Yakima Valley." View full size. Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. Can we assume...the young child on the right is the "feeling low" Ms. Toppenish captured by Dorothea before or after this photo? Denny Gill Chugiak, Alaska Migrant FamilyI was born in the month and year this photo was taken. While my family was by no means affluent, we had it good compared to this family and countless others across the country. We had a roof over our heads, coal to heat, and food on the table. It's humbling to see photos like this. Despite the hard times this family is evidently experiencing, the little boy seems perfectly content. He's found a stick to play with, like little boys do. His mother, on the other hand, seems to be thinking, "What will we feed these children tonight?" Re: My GrandfatherGood for your grandfather! If I had been running the train, I would have stopped the engine to allow a family like this to climb aboard. Why not? It's not like the railroads were losing any money by hauling people in an otherwise empty boxcar. Liability issues, no doubt. But would any of these people have been likely to hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit? Look at the trains in India: wall-to-wall people, sitting atop the cars, hanging out the windows and off the sides. "May I see your ticket, please?" No way. I was also born in 1939, andI was also born in 1939, and raised by an almost-illiterate widow. She made good use of her "widow's mite' however, so that we had a modest house, an old car, food at mealtimes, and heat (one of my chores as an adolescent and teen was fire-tender). While we had no books, magazines, or newspapers in the house, I was nevertheless encouraged constantly to go to school and get as much out of it as I could. While she might be disappointed that I never quite got the bachelor's degree, she would be delighted if she could know the level of affluence I have reached today. How does this relate? Well, one wonders to what extent this picture shows the result of bad luck or whether it is due to poor choices. Shoes Don't MatchLook at Dad's shoes - a mixed pair, I think. They may not have been a good fit; he's letting his dogs breathe without them. RE: "poor choices" - the U. S. unemployment rate in 1939 was 17.3%, compared to about 5% today. Maybe their "poor choice" wasn't a choice at all, but simply because they were part of that unfortunate 17.3%. It would take almost two years from the day this photo was taken for the wartime economy and the draft brought the U.S. economy to almost full employment. [Below, a comparison of styles then and now. - Dave] My GrandfatherWas a migrant farm worker when he was in his teens in the early 30's. He (somehow) convinced the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad to hire him on as a fireman in 1936 on his 18th birthday. He always refused to throw hobos off the train and during the cold winters of Illinois and Missouri he'd let women and children have his seatbox in the cab, he often received demerits for his humane treatment of those he only recently rose above. Optical IllusionI think I was mistaken. Dad's shoes are a pair. I guess it's all a matter or perspective. Goober Pea The KidWhile it can be a tough call, the child on the right appears to be a boy, no? And the wingtips in Feeling Low do not match the plain shoes in Family Trip, fwiw... MotherI think that generally mother here is the only person that's not content with the situation. I also think she was the only person here who didn't want this photo to be taken. MoralsThe father at least didn't abandon the family and set off on his own. Could we say the same for families today. No, I think either the mother would dump the guy and go on welfare or the guy would run off to start a new life. This shows how family morals have changed over the last 75 years. I'd stop the engineMy Father-in-law came from a "RR" family and from the way he described it you would not stop if you wanted to keep your job. It took 30 years of service to earn a pension, you could get 26/28 years no problem, it was the last 3or4 that were very hard. He said they watched you like a hawk any misstep and you were fired ,so no I don't think you would stop. Riding the rails...My grandfather was part of an obscure local railroad -- Indianapolis Union Belt, which eventually became part of Conrail. Back in those days, jobs were hard to come by and they followed the rulebook quite seriously. The "bulls," as he called the railroad police, were notoriously cruel to hobos and to people who had a soft spot for them. They were a clique that didn't hang out with the rest of the workers. Hard Travellin': The Hobo and His HistoryI recently read "Hard Travellin': The Hobo and His History" by Kenneth Allsop. Anyone interested in the story of homelessness, migrant workers, hoboing, the roots of the labour movements, etc., should read it. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, Railroads)
The Happy Camper: 1938
... Camp, California." Medium format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange. View full size. How proudly downtrodden It's interesting ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 7:14pm -

November 1938. "Migrant cotton picker's child who lives in a tent in the government camp instead of along the highway or in a ditch bank. Shafter Camp, California." Medium format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange. View full size. How proudly downtroddenIt's interesting how we all have the impulse to interpret the personalities and feelings of people in photographs. Of course, that the public would do this was essential to the thinking behind the Farm Security Administration project that these photos come from. On the other hand, there's a significant group of photographers today who believe that the only thing a portrait can truthfully show is what the person looks like. What we see in portraits is what we want, or hope, to see. ShirtThe kid's Three Little Pigs shirt is interesting -- I had no idea that shirt printings such as this one were available in the 1930s. The wikipedia article on T-shirts only mentions that T-shirt printing was done as early as the 1950s, which is more the date that I would have thought. Smiling kidThat picture could have been taken yesterday! The boy looks exactly like thousands of other kids, covered in mud after a days fun at camp. It's a shame his reality probably was a little different than todays kids. My Heart is Breaking...These depression-era photos are really taking us into the cruel, harsh reality of the hardships of poor families in those days...this sweet child has wrinkles and very old eyes, despite the smile for the camera...and he STILL might be with us today at age 75. In our current high-tech, super-gadgeted society, when even the "poor" have their basic needs met (in most cases), and places to get some help, it seems inhumane that children, especially, endured extreme deprivation in every area of life. Does anyone still wonder why our wasteful way of living with all things "disposable" does not please the older generation and makes them question the decadence in which we live. I thought I was an "under-privileged" kid growing up, but compared to these babies, I had everything. Very sad to comprehend their suffering. SuspicionHe has a gleam in his eye and the demeanor of a 'Dennis the Menace'! If there's a Wilson family in Shafter Camp, we could be onto somethin'! Great looking kid! Smile!Look at that mug. No doom and gloom here. Despite appearances I think this kid did all right for himself. Tyke to TycoonI bet he grew up to be a successful and wealthy businessman. Smiling reminderIf that isn't a reminder of how resilient childern can be, what is? ShirtThe more I look at Shorpy and read up on the 20th century the more I realize stuff I thought began with my generation is actually some twenty to sixty years older. This kid's shirt is a style I would've thought only emerged after WW2. One Thing's For SureHe's all boy! Good BetHe's probably still among us. He's my age and the picture shows he wasn't going to disappear so fast. I hope I'm right and would love to see him make an appearance on Shorpy, so we can all see and appreciate him once again. I think that it's due to a "socialist" campthat this kid could have at least a moment of smiling. The government-run camps for migrants were paradise compared to living (as the caption states) in a ditch on at the roadside. The camps were spartan, but had clean water, latrines, protection from miscreants, and (I think) mess halls. I'm sure that they provoked a lot of complaints about the "welfare state." Three Little PigsDisney's "Three Little Pigs" dates from 1932/33, so this boy's shirt could be a hand-me-down in 1938. Check Wiki for info on the history of the story and recent British attempts to change the story and characters in order to not offend certain groups. Who's Afraid?I've read how Disney's Three Little Pigs cartoon from 1933 set a spirit of resolve for people enduring the depression. With "the wolf" at the door, folks asked, "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?" This little guy doesn't look like he has much, but he has that shirt and the spirit of resistance the pigs represent to keep the wolf away from the door. USDA camp at ShafterEleanor Roosevelt visited the Shafter camp in April 1940: "I saw two government camps, one at Shafter and one at Visalia. For migratory workers, these camps indicate possible standards for decent existence. There is a nursery school for the youngsters, there are playing grounds for the elders, there are clinincs and, in Shafter, a cooperative store. Above all, they are run by the people themselves so that democracy may be seen in action." http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/myday/displaydoc.cfm?_y=1940&_f=md055546 If you've ever seen "The Grapes of Wrath" you know what the difference was between living in a USDA migrant camp and living along the road or in a ranch camp. I think he did OK, too...In fact, I bet he did Just Fine. I love this pic! "The Big Bad Wolf" indeedIf only one photo could be used to demonstrate youthful resilience, defiance and courage in the face of the Great Depression, this would have to be it. That there......is the very definition of "cutie patootie." Disney T-ShirtsRoy Disney cut the first licensing deal for his company in the early 1930s. It allowed Mickey to be put on a school tablet. Buddy Ebsen wears a Mickey Mouse T-shirt in an MGM musical about 1936. He later said Walt remembered that scene and hired Ebsen for "Davy Crockett" partly because of the T-shirt. So this kid in a 3 Little Pigs shirt (probably a hand-me-down by this time) may have been typical of his era. Disney was still making sequels to the "3 Little Pigs" film in the late '30s, so the shirt might've been only a year or 2 old when this boy got to wear it. WAOTBBW?This was one of the most popular Depression Era songs, and many popular dance bands and radio orchestras in the United States, England and Europe all recorded it in 1933 and later. One of the best recordings, by Henry Hall and his BBC Dance Orchestra, was released in England soon after the cartoon was shown there in 1933. That Face!Such a contrast to the other photos of the other children on this site. Looks like a happy little goofball. I think he is older than he looks here though. His front teeth are missing. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, Kids)
Short Term Parking: 1936
... Some houses have plumbing." 4x5 nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Car ID ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/18/2022 - 1:57pm -

February 1936. "Mexican quarter of Los Angeles, California. Houses condemned to make space for the new Union Station. Average rental eight dollars. Some houses have plumbing." 4x5 nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Car ID suggestionsLeft row front to back: Buick, Buick (29-31 era); 1932 Ford V8; 1933 Chevrolet Master; 1934 Ford V8 and 1924 Chrysler. Middle row: 1927 Chevrolet in front and unknown in back. Next row: 1934 Ford deluxe V8 and hidden last is a Model A Ford Tudor. Nicely maintained collection in a tidy lot. Plumbing optional, rats freeHard to imagine living in a place like this today, but back in the '30s the rats were friendly. Of course, I'm confusedEight dollars in 1936 is about $120 today. Was that per week or month? [Per month. - Dave] I hate to think of what the tenants who didn't have plumbing did with the water they needed to dispose of. I'm pretty sure there were times this parking lot did not smell good. And why was a parking lot that's filled with fairly new cars needed here, next to these slums? The part of the flag I can read says, Hoegee. I found a Wm H. Hoegee Sporting Goods Co. in Los Angeles in 1908 and they occupied a three-story building; but their address at 138 S Main Street put them a little over half a mile away from the new Union Station site. I'm surprised dwellings this dilapidated have such sturdy looking stairs. Old ChinatownThis area was one of several Chinatowns in the DTLA area, and was in fact the oldest. By the '30s it became more diverse with an influx of Latinos. Here's a super-duper well done story about it. Yep, a little off there, I'd sayMr. Floor Plan has presented just enough intrigue for me to go down this rabbit hole. I found the same reference to the Wm. H. Hoegee company at 138 S. Main, and further, found this photo, which purports to be taken "from about the intersection of Los Angeles and 2nd streets looking northwest". Note the Wm. H. Hoegee Co. building, lower left and center. If accurate, this would indeed be where you'd expect to find 138 S. Main St. NOW, compare that building to the one in Lange's photo ... appears to be the same height, w/ same window style and parapet roofline. Which might also explain the presence of fine automobiles, being in a fancy downtown commercial district rather than the, er, more "modest" neighborhood to the north. I believe in Ms. Lange's likely extensive Los Angeles travels that day, she may have gotten a bit confused about precise locations by the time these came out of the darkroom. [Perhaps she's not the one who's confused? The city's "Mexican quarter," aka Sonoratown, was in downtown LA. - Dave] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Dorothea Lange, Los Angeles, Railroads)
Dead Ox Flat: 1939
... Malheur County, Oregon." Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Been there ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2012 - 2:44pm -

October 1939. "Mr. and Mrs. Wardlaw at entrance to their dugout basement home. Dead Ox Flat, Malheur County, Oregon." Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Been thereMy grandparents used to take my brother and me on road trips out into the Oregon desert in the '70s. Can't say I've seen this particular house, but I can say it's spectacular but forbidding land -- what a place to eke out a living in those days! I almost stepped on a rattlesnake curled up on the sunny front porch of a cabin we stayed in. White lightningNote the whiskey jug with the cork in it. More appropriate in this context than, say, a case of Dom Perignon, right? I'd give anything...please tell me you have a photo of the inside of that thing!....Thanks Dave..Um, I hope you didn't take me seriously about the "I'd give anything" bit. [Click here. - Dave] TwinsI guess it's true what they say: the longer you're married the more you start to look alike. StrengthThis is an outstanding photograph. It shows the strength, cheerfulness, and determination of our ancesters that settled this country. Great it is that this photo was taken in 1939. Doug Santo Pasadena, CA Color Their WorldThis is one of those few old-timey pics that would look better in color. It couldn't look worse. Waste not want notEven that worn out tire has been cut up and used for something. banderboy: I almost had an original thought. Optimism neededTo live in a place named like that ... Dead Ox : no explanation needed there Malheur : french word for misfortune or tragedy Oregon : comes from the french word "ouragan" (hurricane) Waste notI wonder what he did with the rest of the old tire behind the milk cans. ps: Geezer- great minds and all that...I swear there were no comments up when I wrote that! Previously on Shorpy ...Also seen here and here. With an interesting note from Scott Wardlaw in the comments. Motel 6I believe this humble home may have been the inspiration for the Motel 6 franchise. And as Mrs. Wardlaw used to say, "we'll leave the light on for you". Small worldAs soon as I saw the caption of this picture I thought, "I wonder if my Internet friend Scott Wardlaw is related to them." And lo ... Glenn WardlawIn the photo in the comments, the boy at the table is the Wardlaw's son, Glenn. There is a 2006 photo of him here: http://www.hereandnow.org/2009/03/looking-at-dorothea-lange/ The DugoutThe photo seems to show an albeit flimsy ground level building or buildings trailing off to the rear. Is there a reason that folks like them would prefer living underground vs fixing up those sheds as living space? [The structure to the rear is the top of the dugout. Pit houses were at one time common in the West and Southwest. - Dave] The rest of the storyThis photo says so much with so little. More here in a comment from Noel Wardlaw. Little House In the PrairieMy father grew up in such a basement house in Indiana in the 1940s and 50s. He had 10 brothers and sisters, so 13 of them lived there. He left the day he turned 18. Oregon OriginFYI, the real origin of the name "Oregon" is unknown. It's first known use was in 1765 - http://www.oregonlink.com/namingoforegon.html , quite some time before French Canadian Trappers were in the area to get the meaning from there. There is some speculation that the word was gotten from Indians living around the mouth of the Columbia River during that time, but if so the tribe and their dialect were gone by the time Lewis and Clark showed up. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression)
Society of Friends: 1939
... Flat, Malheur County, Oregon. View full size. Photo: Dorothea Lange. Dugout Why is the church underground? The Facilities Check ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2011 - 2:21pm -

October 1939. "All the members of the congregation. Friends church (Quaker)." Mrs. Wardlow and Mrs. Hull are over to the left of the entrance to the dugout. Dead Ox Flat, Malheur County, Oregon. View full size. Photo: Dorothea Lange. DugoutWhy is the church underground? The FacilitiesCheck out those outhouses! I can never see an outhouse without thinking of the spiders and creepy crawlies that lurk inside, waiting to drop down some unsuspecting victim's blouse. Twister ProtectionClearly one can see the advantage of that in the event of a tornado. I don't think they have too many of those in Oregon, though. Society of FriendsSociety of Friends is the formal name of the Quaker religion. Most of these people, Mrs. Wardlow and Mrs. Hull included, lived in dugout structures similar to the church. Mrs. Hull!She's lovely. Seems strange that folksSeems strange that folks would go down below to go to church as opposed to going up to church. I'm just kidding I think I saw a show aboutI think I saw a show about that town on The History Channel or PBS - or rather about the man who made all of those photographs. I can't recall why the town was made that way though. ["The man who made all of those photographs" was a lady named Dorothea Lange. - Dave] Ancestors in this PhotoSix of my ancestors are in this photo. They misspelled our last name as Wardlow, it's Wardlaw. Both of my fathers grandparents are pictured here as well as my great aunt and uncle. My father's father's parents (great-grandparents) Everett and Eva Wardlaw are on the left. She is the short lady with white hat and coat. Her husband is directly behind her. My father's mother's parents (again my great-grandparents) are the second couple from the right, Truman and Esther White. She is wearing the long black coat holding the Bible. Their son (my grandmother's brother) Leroy White is just right of the door. His sister (my grandmother's sister) is the lady wearing the black coat on the far left. My grandparents are not in this picture. My father was raised in this area of Oregon and we still have family there. This picture is in a collection in the Library of Congress. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Rural America)
Pop Kola, Kolorized: 1939
... Brother of store owner stands in doorway." 4x5 negative by Dorothea Lange. Click here for the original B&W photo. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Hille - 09/20/2011 - 8:27am -

July 1939. Gordonton, North Carolina. "Country store on dirt road. Sunday afternoon. Note kerosene pump on the right and the gasoline pump on the left. Rough, unfinished timber posts have been used as supports for porch roof. Negro men sitting on the porch. Brother of store owner stands in doorway." 4x5 negative by Dorothea Lange. Click here for the original B&W photo. View full size. Fact or fiction?Do I now look at this photo with a different eye, I'm sure some of the colours are spot on, but I would think it a bit of a stretch on those fellow's shirts. [I don't think that verisimilitude was the goal here. One reason why it's so striking. - Dave] Danger in ColorSomehow I never took note of the men smoking in such close proximity to the gas and kerosene pumps, but it really stands out to me in color. Of course, if you escaped harm from any potential explosion, there was always the abundance of tobacco, one of the primary industries of NC. It looks like they were going to have to build a bigger store just to support the competition in advertising for tobacco in its various forms. I also like the way the mimosa branches in the upper left corner frame the picture in. Thanks, DaveAnother trip to the olde Funk & Wagnall's to check the meaning of a word. "verisimilitude" indeed. This photo is extraordinary colourized. Thank you, Hille, well done. Big difference.That is truly awesome seeing all those signs color! That would be a sign collector's dream to stumble upon a cache like this. Great job Hille. Rock Solid?What really jumps out at me with the addition of color are the "supporting" rocks that are holding up the front deck. Seems like one or two rocks could easily slide out and send that peaceful bunch flying. Ouch!I made deliveries to this store in the late 60's and this is just wrong. Striking, but wrong. If verisimilitude wasn't the goal, there should be a lot more pinks, purples and chartreuses in there -- it wouldn't look much more unreal than this does, but a lot more striking. [Talk is cheap! - Dave] Don't I know it. Like the Wizard of OzI've always enjoyed looking at these colorized photos. It helps me visualize how the world would have actually appeared to the photographer. I ran across a similar photo and colorized it a while back and am blown away how mine looks similar in color selection as this picture. See attached. Summer of '39Wouldn't y'all love to have lazed along with this carefree group on that idle July afternoon listening to the neighborly conversation, the humor, the owner's dialogue, feeling the heat of a North Carolina summer, maybe hearing the cicadas buzzing, drinking cold soda, smoking cigs and best of all, NO technology, iPhones, texting, or headphones. People actually exchanging ideas, jokes, gossip, talking about their mates, perhaps discussing news about the Depression and the simmering war in Germany. Maybe some '30s music with some static emanating from a radio back inside the store somewhere, "watching the Fords go by," as my Daddy used to say. This was real leisure, my idea of the best kind of hanging out, an era gone forever. Pure ArtI remember about half of the signage attached to the front wall. I can also remember the gas wars of the 50's when I pumped gasoline at 15.9 cents a gallon. Beautiful job of coloring this photo, it's a shame the negative wasn't larger. [The original is gigantic -- and even that's been downsized. - Dave] Re: "Like the Wizard of Oz" submitted by skizmal"Like the Wizard of Oz" submitted by skizmal looks much more realistic to me. Those Chesterfield signs are just as I remember them, a very dark red, almost brown color. I'd love to see this photo larger. What a difference colour makesI find that when I look at monochrome photos that were taken before colour photography was developed (pun intended!), after a while one gets to think of the pre-colour years as being totally colourless. Silly, I know, but that's the way the mind works. So to see something like this -- and all the other colourizations presented here on Shorpy -- is really great. Thank you. Re: Danger in ColorBased on my estimate (which probably isn't terribly accurate), I'd guess the guy on the left is about 6 feet away from the gasoline pump; and the guy on the right is about 3 feet away from the Kerosene pump. Due to the explosive quality of gas vapors, I'd be more worried about the guy on the left. Strangely enough, I still see people today; standing at a gas pump, puffing away. And even worse, they put the pump handle back in the cradle, and screw the gas cap back on with the same hand that's holding the lit cigarette. I figure that sooner or later, I'll be able to personally witness the next Darwin Award winner. Uncriticisable!You have my utmost admiration! Truly a task of incredible patience and attention to detail! Thanks for sharing this beautiful work! Brown GasMy guess is that the color of the gas is too dark. Light amber would be more like it. Just EnjoyWhy criticize! Just enjoy the picture as it is. Colors are not the same to everyone. I can remember seeing scenes just like this in rural East Texas. Thank you for taking me back in time. Ahhhh, the memories. ColorGreat job on the color. The store reminds me of my grandparents' house in South Carolina. It was set on stones also. Pop Kola:KolorizedThe Pop Kola titled pic is dead on, including the gasoline - if you've ever seen a large volume of leaded regular, you'd know that it looks much darker in quantity; there are at least 20, perhaps 25 gallons in that glass enclosure. BTW, anyone notice the shoe underneath the kerosene pump? All those guys appear to have theirs on. (ShorpyBlog, Colorized Photos, Stores & Markets)
Shave and a Shower: 1940
... from New Mexico and as many Russell Lee and Dorothea Lange photos as you can find. 535-07-5248 I always wondered where the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/28/2020 - 1:19pm -

June 1940. "Barber shop at gold mining community of Mogollon, New Mexico." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Dusty roadThis town must be the very definition of rural. According to Google Maps it takes almost 5 hours from Truth or Consequences airport, just off I-25, via state roads 52 / 57 / 59 & 159 to Mogollon, and even the "streetview" car has been there only once in 2008. This building sports the fake stone-like facade , too, but the Bath & Beyond shown above is probably long gone. I've been thereMogollon is a quaint little town, difficult to reach but worth the drive. There aren't but about 10 people who actually live there any longer - most of the buildings are falling down, and there really isn't much to see there any more. NICE photo. Please post more pictures from New Mexico and as many Russell Lee and Dorothea Lange photos as you can find. 535-07-5248I always wondered where the handsome devil from this post got to. He seems to have wandered out of the Dorothea Lange photo and into a Russell Lee photo. (The Gallery, Mining, Russell Lee, Small Towns, Stores & Markets)
L.A. Alley: 1936
... rent is eight dollars." 4x5 inch nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Mysteries ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/20/2022 - 9:07pm -

February 1936. "Mexican quarter of Los Angeles. One-quarter mile from City Hall. Area has been condemned and will be torn down shortly to make space for the new Union Railroad station. Average rent is eight dollars." 4x5 inch nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. MysteriesI’m trying to figure why the bottom of the board-and-batten outer wall falls short of the ground to the right of the girl and boulder compared with the left side. (And what’s that rock doing there, anyways?) Furthermore, the bottoms of the boards look degraded and rotten but the vertical post looks worn away or even chewed by something. What would that something have been? I wouldn’t crawl into that space even if you offered me a shiny new dime. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Kids, Los Angeles, Railroads)
El Tango: 1936
... will be torn down shortly." 4x5 inch nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Planning ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/19/2022 - 5:40pm -

February 1936. "Mexican quarter of Los Angeles. One-quarter mile from the City Hall. Average rent eight dollars monthly. Area has been condemned and will be torn down shortly." 4x5 inch nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. PlanningIt is rare for a large public project to affect only the land upon which it sits. Urban planners consider a certain radius or city block when creating something on the scale of a Union Station, etc. It is poor planning to have your shiny new station directly across from the slums. Also, keep in mind what the City was dealing with in the context of the times. Today's lens shows only the results. Therein lies the power of SHORPY. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Los Angeles)
Traveling Light: 1936
... en route and was abandoned." Medium-format negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Wow, this ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/26/2012 - 12:27am -

August 1936. "Example of self-resettlement in California. Oklahoma farm family on highway between Blythe and Indio. Forced by the drought of 1936 to abandon their farm, they set out with their children to drive to California. Picking cotton in Arizona for a day or two at a time gave them enough for food and gas to continue. On this day they were within a day's travel of their destination, Bakersfield. Their car had broken down en route and was abandoned." Medium-format negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Wow, this one is haunting!I love the look of this photo, the Father in profile, his face unseen but his expression clearly one of fear and apprehension. Their long shadows, cast in front of them like their uncertain future. This looks like an early morning shot, before it got too hot, Indio and points East are hell in the Summer, 115 is not uncommon. This was California in its prime, before the hordes of people and cars, when it could still be called Paradise (Not Indio perhaps), I wish I could visit this place, but not under their circumstances. I'm sure they did okay, some kind person or persons surely gave them a ride. Stranded with childrenI love the fact that you post so many pictures that remind us of some of the struggles our ancestors faced, and how nice we have things, now. Being a mother, I can imagine what a fearful experience it would be to have little ones and not know where your next meal would come from, or where you would find a safe place to lay them down to sleep. I sure hope they got where they were going and that they were able to find work and a reasonably comfortable place to live. Next to the side of the road, a tent with a water faucet and outhouse nearby would have seemed like a nice place! August in IndioTemperatures must have been in the triple digits, with the wind blowing like crazy! And that poor little boy standing on the gravel in bare feet--I hope to God someone gave them some water and a ride. A puzzling photoDad seems to have a fresh haircut, all seem to have clean - or new - clothes. But the young lad stands there on the gravel berm without shoes. Perhaps they are still in a shoebox in the paper sack, or are stowed in the suitcase. Hard TimesThat is one of the more tragic photos from the Great Depression that I have seen. It is in many ways emblematic of a dreadful time for so many people. I wonder what became of them. Hope everything turned out all right for them.Looking at that little barefoot boy with his cap is touching. Tough TimesBy itself the photograph is not much, but add the description and it is very powerful. Present difficulties pale in comparison. Powerful photoI can only hope this family made it safely to their destination and that life turned out alright for them!! What hopelessness they must have felt. PerspectiveI am fortunate to have lunch frequently with two guys at work who are also regular Shorpy followers, and we always return in conversation to the topic of the difficulties of the past seen from the perspective of the present. While we would never dare to minimize the sufferings of the poor in past decades or centuries, we can't help feeling that it's wrong or somehow ill-conceived to expect that the folks back then would have experienced things as we would today. If our privileged children were forced suddenly to become newsies, for instance, or even to work in the mines like Shorpy himself, they would no doubt collapse in grief and terror. But did those kids back then manage to endure their own lives? Yes. And did they hate their lives? No. Everything is so very relative. And we today are so very cushioned and spoiled. And War came 5 years laterDorothea Lange was a brilliant photographer. They look like a young couple, perhaps in the mid to late 20's. For America, WWII began in December 1941. Odds are this young man was among the 10 million inducted into the U.S. military. If so did his wife and children stay in California or go back to family in Oklahoma? We can only hope he made it home. View thisAnother "View this photo" if you think you had a bad day. Really puts some things into perspective. Relative/ShmelativeI don't care if it is 1929, 1936 or 2012, if you are at the side of the road, with a wife and two kids and all your possessions in a suitcase and paper bag, your terrified!!! You question every decision you have made about moving west, not to mention life itself. This is the most tragic photo Shorpy has published. Depression-era childrenDavidk, you are absolutely right. My parents grew up during the depression. Mom was born in 1934, and her siblings spread from 1926, to 1942. My uncle Billy once told me how hungry he always remembers being when he was a young lad. When he was 9, he said he had really bad sores on his tongue because all he had to eat for a week were walnuts off of the neighbors tree. After the shoe factory in Mexico, MO closed down, my grandfather lost his job, but was fortunate enough to find work on a nearby farm. His pay? $6 a month, and a 4 room house (he and grandma had 5 kids at that time) with electricity. Webmaster Dave, this sure is one powerful picture. I can really feel the desperation, as well as the determination of these folks. Imagine the coping skills one would have to muster up every day just to keep from breaking down. HeartbreakingI know that little boy is now probably living comfortably somewhere as a great-grandfather but he still brings tears to my eyes. Such a sweet trusting little face. I'm guessing the photographer gave them a lift after taking the picture. This picture should be shown to every high school History class with the words,"So, you think YOU'RE deprived because you didn't get the latest iPhone....?" Being barefootwas often the case for children in the Depression era. My mother has her first-grade class picture from 1936. It's only a guess, but that young boy looks to be about 6 years old and would have been a first-grader in that same year - if he ever was able to go to school. In mom's picture many of the boys were dressed in over-alls but were barefoot. Mom said that they most likely had a pair of shoes back home; they would not wear them in warm weather, however, so as to make them last. Then they would be able, perhaps, to hand then down to a younger sibling when the outgrew them. But if this boy had a pair or shoes or not we will never know. re:Being BarefootWe adults may wince at seeing the little boy standing barefoot in the gravel, but I remember well going barefoot most of the summer as a kid in the 1960s, by choice, not necessity. By July, our feet were pretty tough. We didn't think twice about standing on hot pavement or gravel. This is not to take away from the poignancy of the photo or the desperate situation this family was in, just an observation about little boys and bare feet. Haunting.... My parents would have been the same ages of this couple...and not much better off. I ache for them... my guess is that the boy was out-growing shoes regularly. (Might this be in Amboy, CA looking toward Blythe?) AmboyI doubt it, Amboy isn't really between Indio and Blythe, too far North. I'm not sure what Highway ran West to East through Indio back then but I think it was Highway 99 (replaced the 10) but I could be wrong about that too. It's a hard early fall afternoon for this familyThe caption says they're between Indio and Blythe. This is roughly the route of current I10, which I seem to vaguely remember is the route of old US 60. About the only place between them is Desert Center (Amboy is 60 or 70 miles north on the route of old US 66). We know it's fall because they've been picking cotton in AZ, and about the earliest cotton harvesting starts anywhere in the US is mid-to-late September. More likely it's mid October or later. Note that the sun is to our left rear. As the sun is always south of us, especially so late in the year, we must be facing roughly north. Since the sun's also to our left and quite low, it must be late afternoon. All of which means Ms Lange posed the shot on the wrong side of the road for going to Bakersfield, probably because of the light. I did consider the possibility that the negative was reversed, but I don't think so because I *think* I can just make out a wedding band on the lady's hand when I blow the picture up a lot. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression)
Shoofly Hangers: 1939
... up strung tobacco inside the barn." Nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Dirty Jobs ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/19/2022 - 3:38pm -

July 1939. Shoofly, North Carolina. "Son of tenant farmer hanging up strung tobacco inside the barn." Nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Dirty Jobs 1939 style,Dirty Jobs 1939 style, somebody get Mike Rowe a time machine! overallsMy husband hung tobacco like this in the mid 70s. He says that temps got upwards of 120 degrees in the barns. He'd take off his shoes to grip the beams better. The white on the boy's overalls are salt stains from dried sweat. Actually, there's TWO people up there...There's another pair of feet above the son's, so there's at least two people up there doing that. You can see the feet of theYou can see the feet of the hanger above in this great photo. It took two hangers working together to fill these tall barns. Top guy had the best job as he only hung his racks and did not have to pass the sticks up. white on pants legsSee those slanted wide white marks on the lower legs of his pants? Bet they are from being bleached by the sun where they were hung over a clothes line. 1984We were still doing it this way in Martin County, NC in 1984. There was usually a boy on the ground as well, taking the sticks from the pallet and bringing them in to poke up to the first guy. I seem to recall the sticks with bundled leaves of green tobacco weighed about 30 pounds each. The tobacco was very wet in the morning and it rained water and tobacco juice down on everyone in the barn until about 10:30 am. The "beams" they are standing on are called "tier poles." The highest one in the barn is called the "wind tier." Contrary to this picture, the man on the lower tier poles usually faced the opposite direction of the man on the upper tier poles to make poking the stick up easier. Once the higher tiers were hung, the lower man would come down on the ground, and things would speed up. The man up top was usually the senior man, because hanging the sticks correctly with proper spacing for equal curing was critical to the farmer. Also, he wouldn't get "rained on" as much up there. As a white teenager in the 1980s, I "helped" a local farmer every weekday, from 7am to 6pm, July through August, for $26/day. A black man, named Ralph, was the senior man in the barn, and he was the descendant of a tenant farming family that had lived on the same farm generations before. His son and nephew worked on the ground and the lower tier poles with me. At night, Ralph worked as a guard at a local prison, and I went to football practice from 7:30-9:30pm. Then we would get up and do it all over again. We road in the back of a pickup truck to and from the farm each day. It was grueling work. Some farmers used more modern "bulk barns," but many farmers believed the pole barns cured a better product. The sticks were much lighter, but much much dirtier, when they were pulled back out of the barn after curing. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Rural America)
Five Plus Pup: 1936
... two to seventeen years." Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Ah, I love ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/30/2009 - 10:52am -

November 1936. "American River camp, Sacramento, California. Destitute family. Five children, aged two to seventeen years." Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Ah, I love it.Genuine smiles on those faces, and the pup looks like he wouldn't want to be anywhere else. And yetthere is always love. NonjudgmentalUnconditional love is one of the virtues that make dogs so appealing. They care not about your social standing, wealth, education or profession, they just adore you if you respond to their craving for friendly companionship. This destitute family appreciated the dog in the photo who had no opinion on their poverty, unwashed clothes and lack of material abundance. (In fact, a friend has told me that dogs love you even better when you have NOT had a shower). The troubles facing this smiling group have been forgotten, at least temporarily, as they share the joy of being alive with their grateful canine friend. Destitute, but not forlorn.Somehow this picture just makes me happy. I hope things worked out for them. Money can't buy love There is still happiness and love among the destitute. Thank youWhat a wonderful picture. Is it love that makes the world go round or what? Preciosa fotografía.Preciosa fotografía. Gracias por su trabajo. I keep coming back to this oneThe amount of sheer happiness going on here is just endless. What a moment captured. It's the kind of photo every photographer lives for. (The Gallery, Dogs, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, Kids)
Minivan: 1937
... family near Hazlehurst, Georgia." Nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. No ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2012 - 2:44pm -

July 1937. "Sharecropper family near Hazlehurst, Georgia." Nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. No cupholdersObviously not needed! Baby camouflageSurprised no one has spotted the feeding baby yet, its camouflage is working well. [Somebody did. See the first comment below. - Dave] Good mileage, but......what if the horse has gas? Public BreastfeedingConsidering what a hot-button issue public breastfeeding is these days, when modesty standards are presumed to be looser, I find it interesting to see this mother willingly and happily breastfeeding her child in a photograph. Granted, she is being what most would call "discreet," (and the baby's bonnet is rather amusingly functioning as camouflage), but interesting nonetheless. Maybe she's wearyWomen do get weary, wearing the same shabby dress. This is one of those photos that speak a thousand words or more. Dire poverty, aged before their time, babies like steps, deprivation in every material thing. Yet they manage to smile for the photo (perhaps some coinage was in it for them)? Where does one begin to speculate on their needs? The kids appear to be freckled redheads but maybe not. How old do you suppose the parents really are? The children here may still be with us, but in a picture like this, one cannot help but be full of curiosity as to the austere circumstances and hopefully better outcome soon. Very thought-provoking photo Shorpy and makes everyone realize they were not so hard-up as previously thought. Live HardCould that be Bruce Willis' grandfather? Because I sure see a resemblance. Also, nice camouflage idea, making baby's bonnet out of the same material as Mama's dress. What's with these Depression-era women, anyway? They're always flashing us. Matching Baby BonnetThe patterned bonnet that matches the dress makes the breast feeding infant almost imperceptible. Dad's teeth help with the visual distraction, too. Not Completely RagsI would guess this couple isn't much older than in their mid 30's. You age quickly in hard working conditions. I grew up on the farm with not many luxuries. These people aren't exactly in rags for clothes. Who knows, they may have their best clothes on for this photo shoot. I've worn much worse when laboring as a kid. That board as a seat sure doesn't look to comfortable though. People:This is real. Feed SacksThe dress and sun bonnet were probably made out of feed sack fabric. I suspect she had a bit of scrap material left and decided to make the baby a matching hat. Feed sack fashions were VERY common during these times. Every girl had a dress made of them, nearly every boy had a shirt with at least some part of it sewn from them and everyone had a quilt made of the scraps. And we think WE recycle? Longevity Petty good bet the parents are in their early thirties. I imagine they were sharecroppers. Unfortunately, they aged too quickly. I hope the kids did better. PoignantOld before their time for sure. You can't tell, but her teeth are probably as bad or worse than his. They are doing a good job with their kids, they look well fed, as does their ox, but theirs was a hard life. Look at his nails. Great photo. Tobacco RoadI finished reading the book recently. This is a stark reminder of life for the poor in our country in the 1920-30's. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression)
Big Brother: 1939
... Valley, Washington. View full size. Photograph by Dorothea Lange. Trash At first I thought these kids were playing in trash but ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2012 - 2:39pm -

August 1939. Migratory children living in "Ramblers Park." They have lived on the road for three years. Nine children in the family. Yakima Valley, Washington. View full size. Photograph by Dorothea Lange. TrashAt first I thought these kids were playing in trash but when I looked again I realized it was a truck with their stuff on it. TouchingA very protective stance. [Indeed. Get away from us, Dorothea Lange! - Dave] (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression)
Grace in Color: 1920
... of the brilliant photos by many documentary photographers (Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee et al) later came to be seen as high art, and rightly so. As ... 
 
Posted by Fredric Falcon - 06/26/2009 - 4:09pm -

A colorized version of this 1920 photo of actress Grace Valentine by the Bain News Service. View full size. More in the Colorized Gallery. Color me impressedYes, great job. I still have my set of photo oils & pencils and have gotten good results from time to time. I've never really gotten the hang of getting the "right" look using photoshop. CuriousIt would be interesting if we can find out, from Akvis, how many hits they get today and how many they would normally get. I visited the site just to see how it works, but I don't have many black and white photos. A Fine JobA fine job of colorizing. It is interesting to compare the colorized photos in the gallery with the black & white counterparts. Would you share the name of the program you use for colorization? Color or B/W, it still hurts to look at her feet.Nice colorization work and Grace was a stunner, but it still causes me pain to look at her misshapen tootsies. Ouch!! My 50 year old male feet with 30 years spent in steel-toed boots look healthier. Akvis ColoriageThanks for all the compliments! I never expected my work would get such recognition here! The software I use is called Coloriage by Akvis. It comes as a standalone application and/or a plugin for Photoshop and many other photo-editing programs. The site has a short movie showing how easy it is to use. Coloriage has a selection of colors for complexions, hair, eyes, lips, etc., plus wood, sky, water, fabric, bricks, and so on. You can save your color strokes if you want to exit the program and resume the coloring later. When you're ready to color the photo, just click one button and the job is done. You can load another copy of the same black and white photo, reload the saved strokes, and then change the color of any of them very easily. And no, I'm not affiliated with the Akvis company at all nor am I being paid for these remarks. Miguel Chavez asked how I know what color to give each pixel. I just use my intuition. It's all guesswork. I put on a color and then view the results. If it doesn't look right, I select another one. Sooner or later I get realistic colors. It's fun. Was this photo taken...before the invention of the pedicure? That left foot looks like it needs a little TLC. I used to colorize my black and white photos with Marshall oils, a slow tedious process, using Q-Tips and patience. Photoshop has changed just about everything I suppose. Yet this photo looks to either be hand tinted or slightly off due to the green hue on the lower edge of the seat slab. The blue pottery job is very nice. Most impressive!I definitely must congratulate you on this fine job of colorizing these old pictures. It's amazing! they really look natural and unlike the hand-colorized photos I know, in these you don't see the underlying black and white pixels. How do you determine what color should be given to each pixel? How do you do this?? It's definitely impressive! Wonderful job! That is a great job Fredric. I would like to see a photo of Atlanta during the Civil War colorized if it is possible. I look at the old black and white photos and Atlanta looks so drab and it would be great to see it in true to life color. Robert Brock Akvis ColoriageFrederick, thank you for sharing the name of the program you use. I am webmaster for an historical society and have been instrumental in providing photograph displays for the society at a local library. I have applied for the Akvis free license program for the society. My plan is to use colorized versions of historic photos alongside the black and white versions. Best colourizing I've ever seenNice work Fredric. You avoided those awful tobacco and lilac-y colours often used. Very natural looking. You should run with this skill of yours. Tint CampIn anpther thread someone said the tones of this photo -- particularly skin -- were too bold. Quite right, if the goal were realism or an accurate reproduction of Ms. V. as she lived and breathed. OTOH, I find this colorization quite pleasing as it is; after all, she was allegedly an actress, and these tonal values sure look like a period movie poster! Travesty!Ok, very clever, but an abomination none the less. Colourisation has no place on this blog, or anywhere else in the known universe. Please post the original. [Somebody's not paying attention. Read the caption, click the link, see the original. - Dave] Innocent MerrimentOld documentary photos from the Library of Congress are not black and white "works of art" by Ansel Adams or Frank Capra, even though some of the brilliant photos by many documentary photographers (Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee et al) later came to be seen as high art, and rightly so. As Dave keeps saying, the originals are intact, and all have been seen here first in all their original panchromatic grayscale splendor. But the world that monochrome photos and newsreels recorded was not Dorothy Gale's Kansas, and many of us enjoy imagining the color-saturated world of our ancestors. Go for it, colorists! Get it right, or not -- who's to say, and who cares? It's simply another part of the fun, and you're getting pretty good at it. No photographers or their reputations were harmed in the making of these pictures, unlike, say, a dumb colorized version of the Kansas scenes in the Wizard of Oz. Fine looking lady.Someone's grandmother or great-grandmother was a fine looking lady. She also has a pleasant demeanor about her. I think I would have liked her! Colorization? Who cares I like it. Stop coloring these pictures!!!I must put in my two cents worth. Please stop coloring these pictures! To you it just seems like an interesting job, fun for a bit and then thrown away. To me, all you do is ruin the historical value of the pics you mess with. Please find another hobby, like pulling wings off birds, to play with.... [Might it be time for a switch to decaf? - Dave] Tempest in a polychrome teapotYes, I don't like colorized films. It does break up some fond memories of watching black-and-white vintage films. On the other hand I had to admire the way you reproduce the color scheme of most magazines of the period. The colors are that of some 1950's Playboy centerfold. Well done Dave. Photography is Art and always has been. [Thank you but -- let's note that this is Fredric's work, not Dave's. - Dave] What Pictures???"All you do is ruin the historical value of the pics you mess with." Now, waita minnit! The reaction of Tipster seems to assume, despite all reassurances, that actual historical photos, the for-real original prints or negatives, are being colored. Only that action could ruin their historical value. Descending to personal information beyond that on my member bio, I am a former museum curator with more than 35 years in art history and historical preservation and conservation behind me. Like my colleagues in many other museums and archives, a huge hunk of my life has been given to preserving "historical value" wherever I can. I mention this only to provide context when I say, "Honey-Lamb, lighten up!" What's being colored is DIGITAL SCANS of historical photos, a bunch of ones and zeros in a computer hard drive, not photos. This is Virtual Reality only. History is not being messed with or destroyed. What's happening here is that ideas about history are being presented and discussed. No "real" historical artifacts are involved except as a starting point of reference for the discussion. If some of these ideas are so unpleasant to you, Turn The Page. All the photos that have been colored are waiting for you in their original states (less some scratches and fading and ugly spots digitally removed for presentation), miraculously unharmed. Colourized vs the Original PhotoIf you prefer bright modern colour and do not really appreciate the older photos for just what they are, their depth, what they tell us and just how wonderful they are, you can always look at modern photos, no? Dave you colourize very well, the best I have ever seen, which is like being a charismatic cult leader. Get me? --what about a link to the original on the page when a colourized pic is posted or the other way around. [For each of the colorized photos, there already is a link to the original image. (Doesn't anyone read the captions?) Also I am not the colorizer of any of these pictures. The name of the poster is above each image. - Dave] Color Me GoneI always prefer seeing the pics in black-and-white and letting my imagination take over, but I do view the colorized versions. I don't like them, but I will take a glance. It's like driving by a nasty car accident or seeing your kindergarten teacher naked (just random theorizing). Don't like, but due to intrigue will take a peek. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Colorized Photos)
Hello: 1939
... View full size. Medium format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the FSA. Lovely Lovely picture. She's taking a little break ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/25/2008 - 10:00am -

October 1939. "Young migrant mother has just finished washing. Merrill Farm Security Administration camp, Klamath County, Oregon." View full size. Medium format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the FSA. LovelyLovely picture. She's taking a little break after all her hard work. So NiceSuch a lovely smile and pose....immediately like the lady. Creepy!That's a creepy photo. Looks like a Soviet work camp on a good day. Can't be in the US. [This is one of more than 50 photos taken by Dorothea Lange at the Farm Security Administration's migratory labor camp at Merrill, Oregon. Which is of course in the United States. A few more below. - Dave] (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Portraits, Rural America)
Chapel Hill: 1939
... in a baseball game." Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange. View full size. coke This is the first time I don't see a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2012 - 2:40pm -

Fourth of July 1939 near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. "Rural filling stations become community centers and general loafing grounds. Cedargrove Team members about to play in a baseball game." Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange. View full size. cokeThis is the first time I don't see a sign for Coca-Cola Gas PriceI wish the price of gas was still 21 cents! Look at the old gas pump. That gas is not that cheapDoth sayeth The Inflation Calculator: What cost 21 cents in 1939 would cost $2.91 in 2006. Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2006 and 1939, they would cost you 21 cents and 2 cents respectively. Where are the Volvos?Seriously... I thought they always existed in Chapel Hill Re: Coke Pepsi was inventedRe: Coke Pepsi was invented in New Bern, NC, so one doesn't see nearly as many Coke signs as Pepsi in NC. That said, I don't see a Pepsi sign, either. RC but no CheerwineAt least they sell RC. But no Cheerwine? What a shame. TK www.tk42one.com Where in Chapel Hill?Anybody have any idea where in Chapel Hill this is? Loafing soon to stop!They will be off to war soon. RE: Where in Chapel Hill?It says "near" Chapel Hill, but the baseball uniforms say "Cedar Grove" which is a tiny crossroads north of Chapel Hill in Orange County, NC--Closer to Hillsborough. Poor RC ColaRC cola is the third best cola on the market. Wonder why it doesn't have a bigger marker share. RC and a Moon pie!Yum...Yum HatsI wish these hats were still fashionable for men. Even though these fellas are scruffy, they still look sharper then guy in trucker hats, message tees and jeans. Howard & SheltonTom Howard and George Shelton (see leftmost poster) had a radio program sponsored by Royal Crown Cola. In this case, they seem to have been promoting chewing tobacco, though. Route 86I'm guessing this might be off Old Highway 86. One of my relatives had a station like this, but smaller about halfway between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Rural America, Stores & Markets)
The Simple Life: 1939
... western Washington. View full size. Photograph by Dorothea Lange. Fourth kid Looks like the 4th kid is looking out the window! ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2013 - 3:31pm -

August 1939. Three of the four Arnold children outside their farmhouse at Michigan Hill. The oldest boy earned the money to buy his bicycle. Thurston County, western Washington. View full size. Photograph by Dorothea Lange. Fourth kidLooks like the 4th kid is looking out the window! Thanks for all the hard work. I love this blog This is us!From the bike, cat, kids, bare feet on dirt and rustic looks - this could be my kids on our farm now, and since an even greater depression is looking likely . . . guess we'll already be ready! :-) No match!!during the great depression in my country 10 years ago, we sold our bike and ate the cat for dinner........am serious Save UpFor just a few dollars more, he coulda got the model with brakes. Spats?What are those chaps ( or spats) the big boy has on his shins? Bike guards? [Puttees. - Dave] (The Gallery, Bicycles, Cats, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, Kids)
Mother and Children in Tent Camp: 1936
... living in a tent camp in Nipomo, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, March 1936. View full size. The mother in this photo is the ... 
 
Posted by Ken - 09/07/2011 - 8:24pm -

A migrant mother, 32, who has seven hungry children, living in a tent camp in Nipomo, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, March 1936. View full size. The mother in this photo is the famous subject of a Depression-era portrait known as "Migrant Mother." She came forward in the late 1970s and was revealed to be Florence Owens Thompson. She died in 1983. You can see the photo and read more here. Correct the caption, for Florence Owens Thompson's sakeReading the attached links info gave an incredible perspective to this womans life and make's me think of how one seemingly insignificant thing like your car breaking down can change one's life... She is not living in a tent camp (at least not when the picture was taken), i'm sure the kid's are hungry, but not b/c of the reason's one would think. Shorpy's reply: First, in defense of the poor overworked apostrophe, the plural of "kid" is kids, the plural of "reason" is reasons, it's "makes me think," not "make's me think." Second: It was a tent camp, according to Geoffrey Dunn's account of how Dorothea Lange came to take this picture: At Nipomo, "like a homing pigeon," she turns onto a muddy road and discovers a sprawling, squalid campsite of nearly 2,500 migrant farm workers battling starvation and the elements. They had been lured to the camp by newspaper advertisements promising work in the pea fields, only to be left stranded when protracted, late-winter rains destroyed the crop. Almost spontaneously, Lange zeros in on a woman and a handful of children huddled in a tattered, lean-to tent ... Even from that distance, theEven from that distance, the first thing I thought was "Is that the same woman from 'Migrant Mother'?" I'm glad we know who she is now. While we're at it ... the under-used apostropheThere is an apostrophe missing in the commentator's first line, in addition to the other apostrophe errors pointed out by Shorpy. The commentator writes "this womans life" which should, of course, be "this woman's life." Grammar aside, great thanks for giving this image and so many others a new life through this wonderful hundred year old blog. This is my new favorite site. I know I'll spend hours looking around in the corners here. Thank you. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, Rural America)
Country Store: 1939
... here and here . Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange. View full size. NC tobacco anyone? The influence of tobacco ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/16/2012 - 12:39pm -

July 1939. "Daughter of white tobacco sharecropper at country store. Person County, North Carolina." The rustic emporium seen earlier here and here. Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange. View full size. NC tobacco anyone?The influence of tobacco on the local NC economy is amazingly prevalent here. I count 14 different advertisements/placards for tobacco products on the building. As a North Carolinian, I am acutely aware of the impact of the golden leaf on our history and economy and this photo shows that rather vividly. Shorpy StoreNicely done! I read the rest of the signs as well Branding.Ah, but whose name do I see on that sign at the top? Ingenious! Bargain Gas?Interestingly, the .22/gallon gas inflation-adjusts to almost exactly today's price-per-gallon. And that, in cars that got 17 mpg and were worn out after 80-100,000 miles. No wonder they didn't drive much! Budding EnterpriseSo this is the type of business our young Shorpy went into? Whodathunk it? Where are the dogs?Shouldn't there be a couple of coon hounds hanging out beneath the porch? That's where they can usually be found. Also, I really like the two front pillars; they make the place look really rustic. The building is still standing 75 years later!The building in the photo is still standing and when I traveled to Gordonton to photograph it, I met the Great-Nephew of the man standing in the doorway. My story and other photos are here. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Gas Stations, Stores & Markets)
Mississippi Cotton Patch: 1936
... View full size. Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange. Living Doesn't look like he was making much of a living. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/05/2009 - 2:09am -

July 1936. "Old-time Negro living on a cotton patch near Vicksburg, Mississippi." View full size. Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange. LivingDoesn't look like he was making much of a living. Doesn't look like cottonDoesn't look like cotton either. [Dorothea Lange was describing where he lived, not necessarily where he was standing when the photo was taken. Although the field off to the right does look like it could be cotton. -Ken] "cotton patch"That is sure NOT a cotton patch! anyone who was raised pickin/chopping cotton knows what one looks like. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, Rural America)
Dilapidated: 1936
... Pennsylvania. "Old age." Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Jeeter ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/05/2009 - 2:00am -

July 1936. Washington, Pennsylvania. "Old age." Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Jeeter LesterThis gentleman reminds me of Jeeter Lester in Tobacco Road. Sister Bessie said to Cousin Jeeter when Dude smashed up the fender on his new car: "It don't hurt the runnin' of it none!" It looks like the dilapidated porch don't hurt the settin' on it none. Hm.I swear I used to own that chair. The houseThat gentlemen and his house both look like they had a long and hard life ... oh the stories they could tell! Close RaceLooks to be a close race between the life of the house and the life of its occupant. I wouldn't put my money on either one. A sad picture indeed. Healing...A catnap in the warm sun can heal a lot of ills. Great pic. Thanks for the reminderI just made an appointment with the termite inspector. My retirement planHow's your IRA doing? Mine looks like this. DialpidatedWho's dilapidated, the house or the man? [Both. - Dave] Bessie & DudeSister Bessie & Dude! - what great Erskine Caldwell characters - if you've never read Jeeter's story - you'll never really understand the South of the 1920s... And, of course, Caldwell would have seen many, many similar pictures - he was married to an equally talented New Deal photographer. Hats off for your great quote! A cautionary taleA reminder of what life was like before Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, rural electrification, unemployment insurance, road-, bridge- and dam-building projects, and all those other "job-killing" federal programs. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression)
Following the Cotton: 1937
... crop from Corpus Christi to the Panhandle." Photo by Dorothea Lange. View full size. So Thin Oh, I would just love to sit that ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/17/2013 - 9:11am -

June 1937. "Child of Texas migrant family who follow the cotton crop from Corpus Christi to the Panhandle." Photo by Dorothea Lange. View full size. So ThinOh, I would just love to sit that poor girl down some place out of the sun and fix her a good meal. Her hands are probably torn up from picking cotton. Her grandchildrenif she had any, no doubt spend a lot time in that pose! At first glance I thought she had a cellphone! Drove through Lubbock last weekAlready 100 degrees there, in early June. Not sure where the cotton crop would be between Corpus and the Panhandle in June 1937, but most likely uncomfortably warm, wherever. DepressionOf all the photos I've seen of the Depression Era, I think this one captures the angst that people felt. This poor girl looks completely sad, thin and exhausted from toiling away her days in the fields. EvocativeDorothea Lange's photos invariably evoke the dislocation, grinding poverty, and unremitting labor confronting migrant agricultural workers. All of this was a mere three generations ago. Yet these folks endured, survived - only to face a world war. Should put our problems into perspective. MomMy mother and her family made their way through Texas in '35, traveling in similar conditions. Seeing Lange's image ... just pulls at my heart and makes me want to cry. Adolescent angstIts hard enough being 12 years old (or so) even in the best of circumstances. This poor girl is growing faster than her family can afford to feed her. Her dress is likely remodeled from one of her mother's. Model TThe car looks like a Ford Model T Coupe circa 1926/1927. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression)
The Cat in the Hat: 1939
... out of the books." View full size. Photograph by Dorothea Lange. Today, the first installment of another selection of photos by ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/05/2009 - 2:41am -

August 1939. Yakima Valley near Wapato, Washington. Farm Security Administration client Chris Adolph. "My father made me work. That was his mistake, he made me work too hard. I learned about farming but nothing out of the books." View full size. Photograph by Dorothea Lange. Today, the first installment of another selection of photos by Dorothea Lange of Midwesterners en route from the drought-stricken farms of the 1930s Dust Bowl to California, Oregon, Washington and the South. The captions are hers. I love this picture. We haveI love this picture. We have a lot of pictures of my Grandpa and his brothers that look a lot like this. Always the hat... :) GutsRemarkable photo by Lange who witnessed the Great Depression. Her pictures are for the ages. I hope we never see an era like that again. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, Portraits)
Flat Broke: 1936
... tough anyway you take it." View full size. Photo by Dorothea Lange. Then and Now It's from the toughness of these hardy folks that ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/05/2012 - 6:19am -

August 1936. Family between Dallas and Austin, Texas. 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." View full size. Photo by Dorothea Lange. Then and NowIt's from the toughness of these hardy folks that America is what it is. I think we have become very soft. I love this blog. And to think it was a mere 71 years ago. There were no auto clubs orThere were no auto clubs or anyone to call these folks were on their own. [Actually this was the heyday of the auto club. Triple A started in 1902. - Dave] "I'm a girl!"The girl on the left is a dead ringer for Tatum O'Neal in "Paper Moon." C'mon Dave with threeC'mon Dave with three gallons of gas left at 25 cents per gallon do you think these folks had money for an auto club? Grapes of WrathThis is so Grapes of Wrath. This is the closest I've seen to Steinbeck's description of the Joads' car. Yikes!Is the baby playing with a shotgun shell? (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, On the Road)
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