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Richwood Depot: 1942
September 1942. Richwood, West Virginia. "Baltimore & Ohio train will take 300 men and ... of Agriculture in day coaches to harvest crops in New York State." Photo by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/02/2023 - 4:49pm -

September 1942. Richwood, West Virginia. "Baltimore & Ohio train will take 300 men and women recruited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in day coaches to harvest crops in New York State." Photo by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Extra Room on Top or in the TenderWith a single coach assigned to this train, (even with rotating seats and scratchy upholstery seen in a related photo) for comfort, let's hope additional trains were assigned to move 300 people!
[Why would you think there's only one coach? - Dave]
(The Gallery, John Collier, Railroads)

Peas Train: 1942
... "Special train carrying agricultural workers to upper New York state to work in the harvest." Our second look at the high schoolers ... amid a wartime labor shortage to travel from Richwood, West Virginia, to Batavia, New York, to help bring in the fruit crop. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/01/2023 - 4:45pm -

Sept. 1942. "Special train carrying agricultural workers to upper New York state to work in the harvest." Our second look at the high schoolers recruited by the Farm Security Administration amid a wartime labor shortage to travel from Richwood, West Virginia, to Batavia, New York, to help bring in the fruit crop. Acetate negative  by John Collier. View full size.
DeKalb DetasselersI remember back in the '70s there was a ready job every summer for high school and college students detasseling corn in the fields around DeKalb, Illinois. The kids would go to DeKalb Ag HQ before dawn and board buses to be hauled to the next field needing detasseling. They often didn't get back until after dark.
Mountaineer Farmers


New York Times, September 5, 1942.

West Virginians Help Harvest Here


Mountaineers Are Being Moved by FSA to
Five Counties in Western New York


RICHWOOD, W. Va., Sept. 4 — A migration of mountaineer farmers to help harvest the tomato and peach and other crops of upper New York State began today. The first thirty-three of almost 300 volunteers in the food-for-victory drive left by bus for Rochester and 250 will go Tuesday, accompanied by their families, on a special train chartered by the Farm Security Administration.

Recruited from the farms and gardens of Nicholas and Clay Counties, the force includes men, women, girls and boys.

Leslie Atkins, representative of the migratory labor division of the FSA employment service, had certified the Nicholas-Clay County area of the Central West Virginia mountains as one in which the residents were in need of employment.

The workers will be sent to FSA camps or to certified dwellings in a five-county area in New York and will remain there through the harvest season for tomatoes, peaches, apples, carrots, onions and other crops.

The FSA will bring them back home, Mr. Atkins said, or they may go on to Florida to help with the Winter crops if they wish. Other contingents will move from areas in Virginia, Ohio and Tennessee.

While away from the mountains the farm helpers will have guarantee of three-fourths employment and will receive rations when they are not employed.
This Score Just InSeptember 14, 2013: The Beckley Registger-Herald reports that the Fayetteville Pirates "carved up" the Richwood Lumberjacks 61-0.
"Walk-over" SeatsThose seat backs were not very soft, nearly vertical, and weren't adjustable, they didn't recline.  But they were hinged in such a way that they could easily be reversed. The base of the seat never moved, only the back.  This made it easy to set up forward seating no matter how the car was pointed.  And it was easy to set up two seats anywhere for face-to-face seating of four people, as has been done with some in this photo.
There was little improvement in coach seating for a long time, probably at least 50 years.  The railroads weren't overly concerned about it, since uncomfortable coaches encouraged passengers to upgrade to first class.  When new seats that resemble what we're accustomed to today came along, they were such a vast improvement that passengers made travel plans based on avoiding the old style seats.  That's why, in timetables right up to the Amtrak era, you will almost always see "Reclining Seat Coaches" prominently printed in the schedules.
While passengers loved the new seats, they were an operational headache for the railroads, far beyond their initial high cost.  They were much more complicated to maintain, and it was no longer quick or easy to reverse seats at endpoints.  Like dining cars and sleepers, it was usually easier to turn the entire car around than it was to individually turn reclining seats.  Many passengers on long trips cannot--or will not--ride backwards.
And the new seats were so much more expensive to maintain, bulletins were frequently issued asking train personnel to watch for, and prohibit, the use of seats as footrests, as is being done in the foreground of this picture.
Times have changedThese young workers must have checked their baggage, since all likely had suitcases as they'd be staying through the harvest. There is almost no overhead stuff stored here.
Today, travelers would have two or more pieces jammed in the overhead area, and all would be concentrating on hand-held devices instead of looking out the windows -- and certainly not reading as a few riders are doing here.
RRCould be a coach from the DL&W.
(The Gallery, John Collier, Railroads)

Dancing Queen: 1942
September 1942. "Local dance hall in Richwood, Nicholas County, West Virginia. Photos document U.S. Department of ... farm labor to relieve manpower shortage for harvesting New York State crops." 4x5 inch acetate negative by John Collier for the Farm ... their fellow foot stompers from their mountain home, 'cuz Richwood is home to the longest continuously running festival celebrating ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/28/2022 - 1:47pm -

September 1942. "Local dance hall in Richwood, Nicholas County, West Virginia. Photos document U.S. Department of Agriculture efforts to recruit adolescents and adults as farm labor to relieve manpower shortage for harvesting New York State crops." 4x5 inch acetate negative by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
"Leeks are for geeks"... might have been a good slogan for the USDA to lure Wallace, Ferrell and Josephine or their fellow foot stompers from their mountain home, 'cuz Richwood is home to  the longest continuously running festival celebrating America's native wild leek, the ramp. (As if you didn't know!) The Festival seems to be a Spring affair,  so they might just be looking for something new anyway. (We know the juke box never left town...much to its eventual regret)
That look --Her song just came on!
If not rockSince rock 'n' roll would not become a thing for more than 10 years, I am wondering what those teenagers were dancing to. Bebop? Swing?
Swing Out SisterI would guess that her biggest problem is catching her breath between dances. I can't imagine her sitting out many numbers. 
p.s., It's easy to dance to swing music, just about impossible to dance to bebop. 
1941 Wurlitzer 850 PeacockIt appears that this 78 rpm jukebox was one of the most technically advanced of its time, according to this collector.
Save the last dance for meFrank and Joe Hardy taking turns with Callie Shaw.  Iola Morton, the pleasantly plump sister of Chet Morton, is not a happy camper.
Only song title I can make outFirst row, bottom: "The Nickel Serenade" by Les Brown (misspelled as "Less", I think).

Amazing Images From Our PastI have been a member of the Shorpy community for many years.  During this time I have been amazed of the variety and quality of photos that came from the Depression years. This collection of photographs exist because several US Government agencies actually paid photographers to document the country during that time.  What we now have is an incredible and diverse collection of photos that record our country during the most difficult economic times in our history. Some of these photos have become quite famous, but  the rest which Dave has shown us I find endlessly fascinating.  I am thankful the politicians at the time had the vision to fund this, and most of all the photographers who brought them to us.
[Also the Library of Congress, repository for this vast collection, whose contractors and employees are still busy scanning the negatives. The ones we've been seeing on Shorpy were digitized and uploaded only days or weeks before being posted here. - Dave]
Selections #2, 6, 7 and 8The second one down is "Midsummer Matinee" by Russ Morgan.
No. 6 is "Ev'ry Night About This Time" by The Ink Spots.
No. 7 is most likely "Abraham" by Freddy Martin
No. 8 is "I Threw a Kiss in the Ocean" by Benny Goodman (Peggy Lee vocal)
Famous companyWurliTzer of course not only made iconic juke boxes but also their mighty theater organs, some of which are still in operation.
(The Gallery, Agriculture, John Collier, Music, Pretty Girls)

Small-Town Newsman: 1942
Sept. 1942. Richwood, West Virginia. "B.E. Thompson, editor of the Nicholas Republican , let his own son go to New York state to work in the harvest but feels the recruiting has interfered too ... tab model. - Dave] The West Virginia Hillbilly Richwood was also the home of The West Virginia Hillbilly, a weekly (or ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/01/2023 - 5:01pm -

Sept. 1942. Richwood, West Virginia. "B.E. Thompson, editor of the Nicholas Republican, let his own son go to New York state to work in the harvest but feels the recruiting has interfered too much with schooling, and that the break in education for many of the boys and girls will be permanent." Photo by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Twig twistWisteria is my guess.  Ben probably got tired of trying to control it on his front porch at home.  Now an office windowsill ornament.
Stick FigureThat tin featuring a stick figure on the back window caught my eye ... it seems like a modern design.  Anyone know what it is?
[Carter's Ink Eraser, aka "Inky Racer." - Dave]

Not a Regular TypewriterCan anybody offer information about the typewriter?
[It's a Remington decimal tab model. - Dave]
The West Virginia HillbillyRichwood was also the home of The West Virginia Hillbilly, a weekly (or "weakly," as it said in the banner) newspaper originally published and edited by Jim Comstock, who also did the legit News-Leader.  A collection of Mr. Comstock's columns for the Hillbilly was published in the late 1960s.  The paper ran for more than forty years, until 2000.
Type CastI have a similar looking typewriter inherited from a relative. It is a Corona ca early to mid 1930s.
An uncle of mine ran a Greek language newspaper in Australia, in the 1970s, single-handedly, editor, printer, and distributor.
In a single fronted shop he had a massive Heidelberg press that took up all the space with only enough room to squeeze around the edges to pass or work the thing. It often malfunctioned and the room was knee deep in torn and crushed paper that my uncle in fits of rage would fling about. I used to be employed for free, manually collating the broad sheets.
(The Gallery, Agriculture, John Collier, The Office)

Woo Woo: 1942
September 1942. "Boy and girl from Richwood, West Virginia, en route to upper New York state to work in the harvest." The young man last seen here. And ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/21/2023 - 12:53pm -

September 1942. "Boy and girl from Richwood, West Virginia, en route to upper New York state to work in the harvest." The young man last seen here. And here. Acetate negative (colorized by Shorpy) by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Guessing gameWhy did you feel the need to "colorize" it?
[It wasn't a need, it was a want. It pleases me to do so. - Dave]
Train of ThoughtEach time i see this young man I wonder why, in 1942, he's not on a troop train somewhere in the US or England instead of working a harvest.
[He's a high school student, and the draft age when this photo was taken was 21. Out of the 34 million American men registered for military service in WW2, only around 10 million ended up being inducted. - Dave]
Very Well DoneDave ... one of the best I have seen ... you expertly captured the look of aging Kodachrome.
[The credit goes to Photoshop's "neural filters." - Dave]
Nice Job DaveGood skin tone as well. Adds dynamic to the whole scene. 
Well done mate!
Didn't KnowI wouldn't have known it was colorized. it looks like a vintage color photo to me. Well done. Boy, he looks tired, and she obviously is. 
(The Gallery, Agriculture, John Collier, Railroads)

Night Riders: 1942
... "Boys sleeping as best they can on special train from Richwood, West Virginia, to upper New York state to work in the harvest." 4x5 inch acetate negative by John Collier ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/02/2023 - 4:23pm -

September 1942. "Boys sleeping as best they can on special train from Richwood, West Virginia, to upper New York state to work in the harvest." 4x5 inch acetate negative by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Unconscious, but conscientious?I was friends with a man who was a conscientious objector in WW2. He was sent to a farm in New York to work the harvest. I wonder if that's what has the lads leaving the almost heaven land of West Virginia.
[Um, no.  These are boys not men. - Dave]
PretzellyI bet those teens woke up, stretched once, and got on with their day. If I slept like that now, I wouldn't be able to move for a week!
(The Gallery, Agriculture, John Collier, Kids, Railroads)

Tomato Express: 1942
September 1942. Richwood, West Virginia. "Trainload of migratory workers (mostly high school ... members) in day coach bound for the harvest fields in New York state." Photo by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/01/2023 - 6:43pm -

September 1942. Richwood, West Virginia. "Trainload of migratory workers (mostly high school students, many accompanied by family members) in day coach bound for the harvest fields in New York state." Photo by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Answer the call to farms, high schoolers!See your principal about joining the Victory Farm Corps, because Farm Work is War Work.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8hHBf7tYDw
(The Gallery, Agriculture, John Collier, Kids, Railroads, Small Towns)

Northward Bound: 1942
September 1942. "Richwood, W. Va. Station scene at departure of men to help in the harvest in upstate New York." Photo by John Collier. View full size. Travellin' Shorpy ... -tterrace] Clothes Pins Ditto on the watermark. Richwood is a neat little town in the West Virginia mountains which was at one ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/06/2014 - 3:07pm -

September 1942. "Richwood, W. Va. Station scene at departure of men to help in the harvest in upstate New York." Photo by John Collier. View full size.
Travellin' ShorpyNice placement of logo on suitcase.
The Shorpy BrandI'm not sure if watermark is the correct term, but your positioning of the Shorpy watermark within the picture made me laugh. Very clever.
ShadesReally ratty looking window shades in that station.
[There are no shades in the widows. -tterrace]
Clothes PinsDitto on the watermark. Richwood is a neat little town in the West Virginia mountains which was at one time the home of the world's largest clothes pin factory as well as some large sawmills and other wood product factories. The last time I was through town there was still at least one mill, but the town is not what used to be. It was also the home of the Comstock Lode, a well known newspaper ran by a West Virginia favorite son, humorist/editor Jim Comstock.
Both AvailableI noticed that Western Union offers both telegraph AND cable service.
What is the distinction between the two?
[The term "cable" referred to messages transmitted via a submarine telegraph cable. -tterrace]
(The Gallery, John Collier, Railroads)

Field Trip: 1942
... the Farm Security Administration to travel to Upstate New York for the fall harvest of peaches, apples, tomatoes and other crops, part of ... "High school boys and girls going by special train from Richwood, West Virginia, to upper New York state to help bring in the harvest." ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/17/2013 - 10:27am -

      Two of some 300 West Virginians recruited by the Farm Security Administration to travel to Upstate New York for the fall harvest of peaches, apples, tomatoes and other crops, part of a "Food for Victory" campaign occasioned by the wartime manpower shortage.
September 1942. "High school boys and girls going by special train from Richwood, West Virginia, to upper New York state to help bring in the harvest." Photo by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Head startIt looks like our boy has already gotten one tomato.
Woo WooMaybe if I act nonchalant, she won't notice my hand on her knee.
Or, maybe if I play deadHe'll get up and leave.
Back in the day-when the old coaches went clickedy-clack, clickedy-clack.
Should photo be:Feel Trip: 1942
My two centsIf that dimple were any deeper, he could use that chin for a coin purse.
(The Gallery, John Collier, Railroads)

Little Feet: 1942
September 1942. "Richwood, West Virginia. Hazel Friend and her son, Darriell, in front of their home. The family is traveling to Batavia, New York, to work in the harvest." Photo by John Collier, Office of War ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/27/2017 - 9:50pm -

September 1942. "Richwood, West Virginia. Hazel Friend and her son, Darriell, in front of their home. The family is traveling to Batavia, New York, to work in the harvest." Photo by John Collier, Office of War Information. View full size.
Breaking in the new shoesI remember those blisters.  Didn't get new shoes very often so mom always bought them large enough for us to grow in to. Of course they made blisters, but by the time we wore them out they were really worn out.  We used to laugh at our "talking shoes" when the stitching was all gone and the soles slapped as we walked.
Brand new shoes for both of them for the trip.  It looks like the boy's tootsies didn't quite get along with his footwear.
Shining dignityDespite the horrific living conditions, despair and poverty this mother has not lost her dignity.  She and her little boy are wearing clean clothes and their shoes are polished and ready to show the world.
New ShoesThe Friend family perhaps just got paid and splurged on new shoes. One more example of the respectability of the poor; Darriell is in clean clothes with neatly combed hair and mom's clothes look store-brought, which is quite a splurge. As is usual for women of the time, she's gone to great trouble to arrange an elaborate hair-do, despite the unpredictable and unsettled life she and her family live.
Hazel died at 54Hazel was born on November 19, 1918, and died on April 13, 1973. Her husband Bryant lived 1909 - 1986. The Find A Grave page for Hazel is interesting and contains more photos by Collier.
(The Gallery, John Collier, Kids)

Our Excellent Adventure: 1942
September 1942. "Richwood, West Virginia. Young men on train leaving for New York state, where they will help in the harvest of tomatoes, apples and other ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/12/2014 - 11:07am -

September 1942. "Richwood, West Virginia. Young men on train leaving for New York state, where they will help in the harvest of tomatoes, apples and other crops." Photo by John Collier for the Office of War Information. View full size.
The Sweet SpotYou're old enough to make a buck, but too young to go to war. Enjoy it while it lasts boys.
Left sleeve, perhaps?Where's the pack of Camels been tucked?
(The Gallery, John Collier, Railroads)
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