MAY CONTAIN NUTS
HOME

Search Shorpy

SEARCH TIP: Click the tags above a photo to find more of same:
Mandatory field.

Search results -- 30 results per page


Southside Easter: 1941
... Southside Chicago." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. That is a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/17/2022 - 8:16am -

        Happy Easter from Chicago, and from Shorpy.
April 1941. "Negro boys on Easter morning, Southside Chicago." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
That is a great picWonderful ... the clothes, the car. Brilliant.
[I agree. There is definitely something to be said for dressing up. - Dave]
It's my favoriteIt's my favorite (Blue Thunder -Chicago)
Have these boys ever been recognized?Does anyone know who these boys are and whatever happened to them? 
On my wallThis great picture is one of the most prominent on my wall right now!
Love thisThis is definitely a classic picture. Love it :-)
I love it tooOne year ago I was wisiting in Stockholm and I see this picture in Old Picture store in very big print and I was amazing! At last weekend I go to the same store again, just to see this photo again...I looked it very long time, thinking about these boys, the time...wau! It tells more than thousand words! 
Peik Salonen/Finland
love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Got this picture for a steal framed (huge size, not sure of dimensions) for $30.00 in downtown Detroit at our farmer's market. I had walked by it monthes before and was sorry I didn't get it then.  Now it is in my home...I call them "my boys". 
MasterpieceThe boy in the center is a rebel and a leader. His coat is unbuttoned, the small boys know how to behave. What a style. I have a copy of this picture in my wall. 
Hats?!?Great! You don't even see grown men these days with classic hats and these kids have snappy fedoras... love this shot.
Southside Boys, Chicago 1941The boy in the center in Congressman Bobby Rush of Chicago.
[I don't think so. Bobby Rush was born in 1946, five years after this photo was taken. - Dave]
Chicago EasterI have this picture on my wall - and it tells a story of a million words, every time I look at this picture, I always have something different to say.  It melts my heart, this picture is truly a classic, I love it ... my whole living room is focused around this pic. I wish I knew what happened to these boys.
CarnationThe boy on the left, with the glasses: what is the wire that seems to be coming from his hat to his lapel, and what is that thing on his lapel?

Hat PreserverI believe it was called a hat preserver. I've seen pictures of Edwardian gents wearing roughly the same thing. It's a lanyard to catch your hat if it's blown off, thus keeping it from getting filthy in the street.
South Side BoysI fell in love with this picture as soon as I saw it.  I have it on my wall centered with a black and white of Miles Davis on one side and John Coltrane on the other (both back in the day)  I would love nothing more than to find out who these boys are.  Everytime someone comes into my home that is the first thing I am asked.  If anyone has information relating to the identity of these boys who are now MEN, please forward to thattallnsexy1@yahoo.com!  Thanks!
Southside EasterI saw this in a photo gallery this past weekend. It was with an article called "WVON Bronzeville Mystery Photo," referencing a contest by a radio station to identify the boys. I don't remember everything it said, but seems like it mentioned there is only one of them still alive.
Buttoning customI noticed the two boys with the patterned suits (No. 2 & 4 from the left) have buttoned their jackets right to left.  Did it simply matter less then as it should now but doesn't?
[There is no choice when it comes to suit-buttoning. It depends on how the suit is made -- whether the buttons are on the left or the right. - Dave]
Who are they?I loved this picture for years. My grandmother has hung this pic on her wall till her death and she used to always preach to her grandsons, make this pic an inspiration in your life and she used to tell her granddaughters to find men of this example. I just want to know who these men are and what are they doing.
Love at first sightI actually saw this picture at the Magic City Classic in Birmingham, Alabama in 2007. One of the vendors had it, but it was overpriced so I left it there. My husband bought it for me for  Christmas that same year. I fell in love with "my boys" (as I call them) as soon as I laid eyes on them. I would love to know their background.
That lanyard thingIt's called a "wind trolley" -- keeps your hat from flying down the street if the wind knocks it off your head. Attaches to your lapel somehow. The other thing looks like a flower.
Re. Buttoning customThe younger boy's button configuration is the same as women's buttoning, because young kids didn't dress themselves.  They had help.  Just like women of high status were dressed by a servant back in the day.  Anyway, I love the hip style of the kids in this great photo.
 MasterpieceI have the picture on my wall too. Second is Ansel Adams moonrise in  San Hernandez. Which one is better. Both are brilliant. Pekka Finland.
Bronzeville Mystery PhotoGo here for video
https://news.wttw.com/2015/11/25/ask-geoffrey-story-behind-iconic-1940s-...
The times, they are a-changing.Today, those boys would be told to keep six feet apart. Of course, they wouldn't be so nattily attired, but still. Easter 1941 was kind of the last hurrah for a whole generation of kids; depending on when Easter fell that year, the US would be at war in 8 or 9 months. They were too young to have served, but they might have had older brothers who did. They more than likely served in Korea a decade later.
Happy Easter, Shorpyites! I hope you had lots of chocolate, lots of ham, and most of all, I hope you remembered to keep them separate on the table.
Grow-in' clothingFor most of those guys the loose jackets and the cuffs on the trousers make their Sunday's best look to be set up for growth. 
I would also bet that most of those trousers had some spare cloth in the rear seam. 
Let-out-as-you-grow style. I had those when I was that age, and I'm not that old. But then, my parents were kind of conservative, too. 
Can't do that with jeans, though. 
And, dress maketh the man. 
Button anomalyTake a look at the gent in the middle. On the right side of his jacket (his right), there seems to be both a button and a buttonhole. I can't see the other side, so I don't know if the buttoning is actually reversible. 
1938 PontiacThose handsome young men are seated and standing on!  Alfred P. Sloan's identification cues are in full swing, just like the music, with the chrome stripes identifying the Pontiac brand -- they would last through 1956 in one version or another.  When there were two stripes, they were called suspenders.  It's further indicated to be a six cylinder at the bottom of the grille.
Cool guysFor straight-ahead, steely-eyed cool, the guy in the middle wins hands down (beautiful new brogues, too), but for pure styling, the lad on the left takes the cake.   He’s the only one with a pocket handkerchief, too.
Re: Button AnomalyDouble breasted jackets normally had a button on the inside (The young man's left) that buttoned into the buttonhole that you see, thus securing it in place.
I can't tie a tie eitherMaybe it's the angle but it seems like the guy in the middle ties his ties like me -- the fat part shorter than the narrow part.  Great photo.
Previously on Shorpy…The location is 47th Street and Grand Boulevard (later renamed South Parkway and now Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard). We are looking south.
On the left, with the folded awning, is the Savoy Ballroom.
Saturday Night: 1941
The Coasters: 1941
If we could pan farther left, we would see the Regal Theater directly across from the boys.
Showtime in Chicago: 1941
Philadelphia Story: 1941
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chicago, Easter, Kids, Russell Lee)

I Love a Parade: 1938
... Rice Festival. Crowley, Louisiana." 35mm negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. What a cute ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/02/2008 - 11:28pm -

October 1938. "Cajun girl at National Rice Festival. Crowley, Louisiana." 35mm negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
What a cute smile She looks so happy! I bet it was a great afternoon. 
Family ResemblanceThe girl on the right looks so much like my grandmother it's spooky.  She would have been 18 at the time.  She and her family, however, are all from Virginia.  I wonder if it's some distant cousin or something.  I've heard it said that everyone has a double, and I believe I just found hers, or at least a photo of hers.  
Family Resemblance IIThe reason I clicked on the photo is the girl on the right could be my mother's sister. Mom was also 18 at the time, but in Massachusetts ... uncanny. Can't wait to show my sister.
Pretty girl Does anyone else think the pretty girl in the middle looks like Scarlett Johansen? 
[Or maybe Scarlett Johansson. - Dave]
Curler giveawaySomeone needed to tell this pretty girl that you need to brush and style out, out the very obvious curler hair after you take out the curlers.
LookismI love all the "helpful" advice from the trendy commenters of today. However, if they were suddenly plunked back into those old photos, they'd be the ones quite out of place, and themselves the recipients of all kinds of helpful advice on how out to become fashionable and trendy...for then. 
Take-away point...if you see a "look" in a photo, that was pretty much what everyone wanted to look like at the time. 
Crowley, La.I love all these photos of Crowley. My family lived there long ago. 
(The Gallery, Russell Lee, Small Towns)

Miracle Ham: 1941
... 47th Street (Bronzeville) ." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Pretty New ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/25/2018 - 10:29am -

April 1941. "South Side Chicago, 47th Street (Bronzeville)." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Pretty New CarsFacing us far left is a 1940 Mercury (first year); closer behind the truck is '40 Chevrolet; at the curb on the opposite side is a '39 Ford Tudor behind a '37 or '38 Buick; farther down that side ahead of the coupe at an angle is another '39 Ford.
Always surprises me how often the '38, '39, '40 Fords show up in these pics.
Spiritual Parochial school luncheonA Miracle Ham sandwich with Miracle Whip on Wonder Bread and for dessert, Heavenly Hash with Angelfood cake.  Of course, if it is on a Friday, the sandwich would be Holy Mackerel.  (no meat on Fridays for Catholics in 1941) and don't forget to say Grace before your meal. 
47th St & Indiana AveIn the novel "Native Son," this corner was the location of Ernie's Kitchen Shack, where Bigger takes Mary and Jan, who want to see an authentic place "where colored people eat".
The book (released in the spring of 1940) revolves around the neighborhood where Russell Lee was photographing in 1941.
If we continue walking towards the L, we will find the shoeshine we met a while ago on Shorpy.
Miracle on 47th StreetI wonder what is "Miracle" about the ham.
That it was pre-cooked?
Inspector Of Radios?The sign in the lower left has aroused my curiosity - RADIOS INSPECTED FREE.
I was born in 1943 and I have never before seen such a sign.
Why, in 1941, would a radio have a need to become inspected?
[It's broken and doesn't work is why. That's a radio repair shop. - Dave]
CarsThe coupe in front of the '37-'38 Buick is a '37 or '38 Chevy and the Mercury on the far left is a 1939, the first year for the marque.
Shiny Nash?I believe the very shiny car, either new or freshly waxed, parked at the curb facing the camera in the bottom of the frame is a 1939 Nash sedan. The squared-off headlights seemed to be a trend for a couple of car manufacturers that year.
I am struck by how much the scene resembles the area in the movie "The Sting" where Robert Redford's character Johnny Hooker rented a room, right down to the lunch counter on the corner. 
Not much left of this viewYou can see 119 on a sign across 47th, and the street crossing appears to be Indiana (better seen on the LOC image), today the view on E 47th looking east toward South Indiana looks like this:

In both viewsIn the modern street view, the old building a block away just to the left of the light pole can be seen - just the top of it - in the old view, but it is quite apparently the same building still there. Amazing how much is gone from the new view - I wonder when it was torn down.
Old buildingsThough extensively changed, the row of stores across the street (where is now a vacant lot) was still there until at least 2014; the Packing Town Market building with its entry columns is still identifiable from them.
Also on Shorpy ...The photo was taken from the roof above William Green's Electrical Appliances shop as seen at Mr. Radio: 1942 and Tommy Dorsey: 1942.
(The Gallery, Chicago, Russell Lee, Stores & Markets, Streetcars)

Cheers: 1937
... "Saturday night in a saloon." Medium format negative by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration. View full size. White gas ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/19/2012 - 10:17pm -

September 1937. Craigville, Minnesota. "Saturday night in a saloon." Medium format negative by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration. View full size.
White gasKerosene lanterns had just an open flame. These pictured were fueled by white gas and the tank had to be pressurized with a hand pump.
Hands-Off policyInteresting that the "Cheers" folks removed the fellow's hand from the lady's shoulder.
Indoor campingPretty rustic. The lights are kerosene lanterns.
Slim pickin'sA James M. Cain novel is written all over that woman's face.
P.A.Do you have Prince Albert in a sign?
Cheers...... it ain't....
Cheers!Hey!  Doesn't the guy holding glass appear in the old lead-in for "Cheers"?
Cheers to you too!Oh my gawd it's the folks from the "Cheers!" intro. I must have seen their colorized faces a thousand times (thanks to reruns), and now I know where they're from.
It's like running into long-lost family members. Thanks Dave!
Where everybody knows your nameThis photo was used in the opening sequence of "Cheers." As I remember, it was cropped, to highlight the couple in the center.
0:43Character actorsCentral Casting, eat your heart out!
Cheers!Remember the opening titles to the TV show "Cheers"? It shows old photos of people at bars. One of the "Cheers" photos is THIS photo; they did a close-up of the guy on the left. And yes, I watch too much TV.
Casting?  Sure ...That's Howard Hughes, Patricia Neal, and G.W. Bailey on the right. Can't quite make out the lady on the far left, though.
A certain dignity.Even though these people have seen more than their fair share of hard times, there is a kind of dignity in the way the hold their drinks. Serious drinkers for sure. The guy on the right looks kind of like George Clooney. They all exhibit character with a capital C. The guy on the left is giving a major superiority pose to the guy taking a nip. 
The lantern in the back corneris a Coleman. I have one just like it. Still works very well.
A rose is a rose is a rose.A barfly is a barfly is a barfly.  Nice hat on the alcoholic on the extreme right, looks like he stole it from a horse.  Not politically correct but my opinion.
GaslightNotice the fixture in the upper left of the photo is providing light via gas, not electricity. 
[As noted below, that's a kerosene lantern. The tank holds the fuel. - Dave]
CamelsAnd I'm thinking that's a Camel cigarette pack on the bar.  Recognize the "pillars" from my father's smokes.
That's where I've seem him!Thanks everyone for restoring my sanity. I saw the guy on the left and immediately thought "were have I seen him before?"
I am a child of the 80's so that's why his face was burned into my brain.
Camels for sureI used to smoke them before Pall Mall.  Cigarettes didn't have filters in those days.  Maybe it was the "Hits or Cracks" game that made me switch from Camels to Pall Mall.  As I remember, you guessed if it was the letter H or C under the stamp.  If you picked wrong you got slugged on the upper arm.
Alternate casting suggestionsLeft to right: Rosie O'Donnell, Robert Ryan, Margaret Hamilton, Walter Huston. Whatever is transpiring, it's interesting enough for the Missus to delay her request to "light me."
SimplicityThe beer looks great.
Camel Caravan"Camel" was the first nationally advertised and distributed brand of American cigarettes, beginning in about 1914. My dad's first real job was with their NY Distributor, Metropolitan Tobacco, back in 1921. He smoked Camels and only Camels for the nexr 65 years, and never had so much as a cough ("Not a Cough in a Carload"). Back in my time, if I ran out of my favorite, Lucky Strike, I'm bum a Camel from him. Without any exception, they were the strongest, looseest and hottest burning American cigarette that ever existed. They would have killed me after a year! And yes, I do also remember the H and C thing from under the revenue stamp on the packages. 
LanternsActually both lanterns are probably Colemans. The one over the bar is an indoor table lamp, which would have originally come with a shade, much like an electric table lamp. The other one is an outdoor type lantern. Both are missing their globes, a rather alarming fact, as the furring strips on the ceiling suggest that it is made of combustible fiberboard, a cheap and popular building material at that time.
Like most Colemans, these burned "white gas," which I believe is actually naphtha, but kerosene models were also available. More common kerosene lanterns have wicks, but pressurized ones do exist. They can be distinguished from the white gas version by the primer cup below the mantle. You fill this cup with alcohol to preheat the kerosene; otherwise, it does not vaporize properly.
BTW, "not a cough in a carload" was the slogan of Lucky Strike, not Camel. And I don't believe for a second that anyone smoked any brand for 65 years without coughing. 
Lumberjack TownSome history on this town, and this saloon can be found here:
http://www.lakesnwoods.com/Craig.htm
This place was evidently both a saloon and a barbershop. There are some photos here of other customers, as well as another shot of these folks. 
Another image in original Cheers Theme SequenceThe original Cheers Theme Sequence has a picture of my Great-Grandfather W.T. Price II in the Horseshoe Saloon in Junction City, Kansas taken in 1905 by a photographer named Pennell!
(The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Russell Lee)

San Leandro: 1942
... Estudillo Avenue at 14th Street. Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Foreign Information Service of the U.S. Office of Coordinator of ... photo archive. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Russell Lee, Stores & Markets) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/23/2023 - 10:53am -

April 1942. "Portuguese-American communities in California. Main street in San Leandro." Estudillo Avenue at 14th Street. Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Foreign Information Service of the U.S. Office of Coordinator of Information. View full size.
Seven-fingered Danielhttps://patch.com/california/sanleandro/san-leandro-s-forgotten-industri...
Name on BuildingWho was Daniel Best?
Palace theater? Gone.This is still there:

Banksy I’m so glad to see that the bank building is still there. Lovely architecture.
All the BestAccording to HMdb.org (Historical Marker Database), the Best Building is a significant example of commercial architecture in San Leandro and the only San Leandro Plaza building remaining from the early decades of the 20th century. As a manufacturer and inventor, Daniel Best had already contributed much to San Leandro’s growth before he retired from Daniel Best Agricultural Works and began a banking career in this building.
Constructed in 1910, the Best Building opened in 1911 housing the San Leandro State Bank. The building featured classical Beaux Arts detail and ornamentation. The architect used white terracotta tiles on the exterior and imported marble for the wainscoting and stair entrances in the interior. The building was restored in 1973-1974 by the Best Building Partnership.
Best also constructed a theater next door to the bank. It opened showing silent films, but on July 19, 1913, Thomas Edison’s first moving and talking picture was shown at the Best Theater.
No longer a bank but still a beautyWhile it’s no longer a bank, it’s still there  and still a beautiful building. The Best Theater is technically still there as well, though it is just retail stores now and the facade, while still of matching stone, was massively changed at some point.
The City of San Leandro has a photo archive which contains a good number of photos of this building over the years from the turn of the century forward.
Most of the other buildings around the main square, which is really a triangle, we’re made of brick and build prior to this one, and so, one by one, they fell into disrepair. Across the way was the Estudillo House, which was a hotel and stopover for travelers going up and down the coast down to San Jose and the like, since that was a multi day trip back then between horse and wagon and primitive roads and trails.
Eventually the Hayward/San Leandro railroad would run directly in front of the Best building, electric rail ran through town for a while for commuters in the 1910s to 1930s, and then they were all ripped out by a evil consortium of companies, which ended up in court where the big companies lost… and then they made Roger Rabbit (which was about L.A., but the same story).
The Best Theater, as it wasAs you can see in Dave’s photo, the Best Theater, built next to the Best Building sometime around 1910(?), was no longer a theater by the 1940s.
While the building is still there today, the insides are entirely different, as two retail stores occupy the space. While it’s still the same stone as the Best Building, and you can recognize individual features of the stone work, the facing is reworked that it’s  unrecognizable. The reworked stone work seems to have been done with some real talent.
The image is from the City of San Leandro’s historic photo archive.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Russell Lee, Stores & Markets)

Grandfather of All: 1935
... full size. Standing in the way of progress John Russell "Russ" Nicholson , a landowner in the Shenandoah Valley, whose ... Nowadays, Grandpa Russ could clean up as a Robert E. Lee impersonator. Looks like a "Hickory Shirt." Worn by ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/06/2015 - 7:39pm -

October 1935. "Russ Nicholson, grandfather of all the Nicholsons in Nicholson Hollow. Shenandoah National Park, Virginia." Medium format nitrate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Standing in the way of progressJohn Russell "Russ" Nicholson, a landowner in the Shenandoah Valley, whose property would be taken for Shenandoah National Park, Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway.  He was granted the right to live out his life in the Nicholson Valley, but passed away just two months later, on Dec. 16, 1935.  The exodus of residents took place in 1937.
Casting CallNowadays, Grandpa Russ could clean up as a Robert E. Lee impersonator.
Looks like a "Hickory Shirt."Worn by railroad, logging, and farm workers across the country back then. So named because it was said to have been favored by Andrew Jackson.
(The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Portraits)

Three Trees: 1942
... Lumberjack on truckload of logs." Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Kindling ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/27/2022 - 12:56pm -

July 1942. "Grant County, Oregon. Malheur National Forest. Lumberjack on truckload of logs." Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
KindlingGood for medieval battering rams.
Three logsIs it possible they’re all parts of the same tree?  The length of each one on the truck is nowhere near the height of the tree.
Quality Old WoodOld wood = denser wood and the reason older homes have longer lifespans than newly constructed homes of today. These three trees were left to grow on their own for years and years as evidenced by the tightly packed rings. Modern, planted sustained forest are harvested once the trunk reaches a certain diameter after just a few years and thus have much denser rings. 
No longerBy coincidence, we spent several hours driving through Malheur N.F. yesterday on vacation. I was watching for old growth ponderosa pine like this. Plenty of trees, but nothing larger than about 2 feet in diameter. It will take a couple of hundred years or longer to get back what those logs represent. 
[These logs are Douglas fir. - Dave]
By the way ... in response to another comment, I'm sure those are all butt logs from different trees. By contrast, look at the load in the background. One suspects that they were all put on the same trailer for purposes of the photograph. Posed, as it were. 
[They were not. - Dave]
You are correct that they are Douglas-fir logsI should have looked at the bark more closely. But how do you know the load was not posed? Each of those logs had one or more smaller mates from the same tree, so it's a fair assumption that a three-log load didn't need to be that heavy. Hauling those babies down curvy mountain roads was not for the faint of heart.
[This is just one of hundreds of photos Russell Lee took while on assignment in Malheur -- almost 200 the day he spent with these loggers. The FSA did documentary photography. Multi-ton logs were not being "posed" for the sake of an interesting picture. - Dave]

(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Russell Lee)

Graham Hollywood: 1942
... quirkier cars -- parked at the curb. Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Foreign Information Service of the U.S. Office of Coordinator of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/24/2023 - 2:06pm -

April 1942. "Portuguese-American communities in California. Main street (East 14th at Callan) in San Leandro." Our title is in honor of that low-slung, supercharged  Graham Hollywood -- one of the decade's quirkier cars -- parked at the curb. Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Foreign Information Service of the U.S. Office of Coordinator of Information. View full size.
Asphalt's still theremaybe even the same we see here -- under several repavings - but that's about it ... even the park has been obliterated.
(It survived - at best - another two decades before being "improved"... into a traffic island. The bell, labeled "El Camino Real" (see above), dates from 1909, but as that actually ran up the Peninsula, twenty miles to the west, the designation is somewhat confusing.)


This is just 180 degrees from the earlier shot -- the photographer may have simply turned around -- but a without a landmark like the Best Building, a modern visitor would be hard pressed to locate himself.
By 1942, San Leandro was dependent on buses for public transporatation: the Key System streetcar line to Hayward had been cut back a decade previous, and the Southern Pacific's IER ("Big Red Train") service to  San Francisco had been ended a year earlier. (The Key concurrently extended its A-Train out E14th, but not all the way to San Leandro).
Twin Coach BusesThe earlier view of San Leandro showed a 1920s design Twin Coach bus that looked as boxy as the autos of that era. This view shows a circa 1937 Twin Coach that has a more streamlined appearance along with the cars of the time. After World War II Twin Coach merged with Fageol for a popular new bus design. Bringing up the rear is a GM Yellow Coach Silversides intercity bus. 
Hupmobile SkylarkI kept coming back to that nifty looking first sedan on the right and wondering if someone would ID it. I've learned a good deal on old things with wheels from posts and comments from the car guys over the years. 
Finally, after looking at that body yet again something told me to Google "late model Cord sedans". Up popped a 1941 Hupmobile Skylark. Perfect match, first try! 
[Um, no. What is the title of this post? What does the caption say? What are your eyes connected to? - Dave]

Cord impostorThe car represents the last effort by Hupmobile and Graham-Paige to stay afloat. Hup had purchased the body dies for the Cord 810/812, minus the coffin-nose hood assembly. John Tjaarda (1936 Lincoln Zephyr) was assigned the chore of designing the front end. The body rested on a Hup chassis with rear wheel drive and Hup running gear. It was to be called the Skylark. Hup was so broke they had to make an agreement with Graham to begin production of the bodies, with the provision that Graham could make its own version, the Hollywood. Graham used its own running gear. To the best of my knowledge the only exterior difference was the upper grille. Hup’s was painted, Graham’s was chrome. 
I've often wondered what Gordon Buehrig thought of them fiddling with his Cord design. 
Car IDsL-R  1938 Dodge, Late 1920s Willys Knight.  1933 Continental Beacon model,  1940 Chevrolet, Graham.
That lovely  Graham Hollywood Some interesting history of the Graham company and their evolution, from glass-making to autos, to Graham-Paige to Kaiser-Frazer to ... Madison Square Garden Corporation(?!)
https://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z12064/graham-hollywood-custom.aspx
Some things remain the same …This triangle has been present since the very start of San Leandro and can be seen in one of the earliest known photos of the city, looking to the north west, rather than the north east. (Hopefully attached to this comment.)
Notcom notes that there’s nothing in this photo is still standing, except perhaps the pavement, though even that would’ve been at least partially torn up to remove the rail tracks that went through this intersection. 
But there are a few things still the same.
First, in the top left, between the bank sign and the second to closest telephone pole, there is a Chevron station. That spot is still a Chevron station to this day and will be for a long time as it is, as I understand it, the most profitable gas station in Northern California.
Second, the bell on a tall rod stand is still in approximately the same location. That’s a marker for El Camino Real, the historic route that connected the missions of California, from San Francisco down to San Diego (some of these bells have been removed due to their association with a time when the natives were treated inhumanly).
Lastly, where that bank sign hangs is a different building, but it’s its location is still the home of a bank.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Russell Lee, Stores & Markets)

Playscape: 1941
... the South Side. Children playing in vacant lot." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Front and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/20/2023 - 12:36pm -

April 1941. "Chicago, Illinois. Housing available to Negroes on the South Side. Children playing in vacant lot." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Front and almost centerThat whole building is one huge triple-dog-dare. Notice no kids are too close to it. 
A burning questionafter several hours of puzzlement as to why the best-looking building in the shot - that garage on the left - was a trashed ruin, I concluded it wasn't: it's a burned-out ruin (that seems to be debris in the street and a fireman looking it over).  It may be our best chance at locating this scene more specifically; all we need is a list of all Chicago fires in the March and April of 1941. Yep, that's all we need.

And here is the steepleI wish I knew the South Side better. I love pinpointing locales from clues in Shorpy photos. I predict someone will identify the church on the left of the picture.
As different as white is from blackWhat a stark and disturbing contrast this "Playscape"  photo makes with the previous "Sidewalk Squadron" image. White, seemingly middle class, kids in their nice, neat-neighborhood surroundings. Black American children in a scene similar to those from rundown neighborhoods in war-devastated cities of Europe and the Asia-Pacific theaters in World War II. "Housing available to Negroes." Housing available to those blighted with the stigmas attached to their dark skin and  poverty.
The good news is that it's likely grandchildren of the black children in this "Playscape" image are probably living in and raising their children in much better surroundings and circumstances. 
Rear WindowWhy am I thinking of a Hitchcock film when I look at this photo?
Sad indictment On a society that deemed this suitable accommodation for a particular section of society.
Beauty in fragilityI rarely felt such a giddy excitement by any structure that I've ever seen as with the the building in this photo.
Dressed to the ninesSays something about the human spirit that, in the middle of all this urban decay, those kids are dressed to the nines and looking fine.
Future leaderAt first I was going to write and say that the building itself was probably okay and that it’s only the wooden railings and balconies that were rickety and scary, but then I figured, nah, the building was probably crappy, too.  What I find I can’t take my eyes off is that chunky kid in the middle with the white shirt and suspenders and puffy pants.  He likely became somebody, that kid.  There’s a dynamic glow to him.
(The Gallery, Chicago, Kids, Russell Lee)

Tomato Salad: 1941
... olive oil on each other. View full size. Photograph by Russell Lee. Bathing beauties Now I remember why I started smoking. It looks so ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 8:21pm -

Sunbathers at the city park swimming pool in Caldwell, Idaho. July 1941. The girls are rubbing olive oil on each other. View full size. Photograph by Russell Lee.
Bathing beautiesNow I remember why I started smoking.  It looks so glamorous.
[The girl is eating a Popsicle. What looks like a cigarette is actually sunlight on the boy's leg.  - Dave]
Bathing beautiesHow did the little guy get that job?
olive oilReminds me of an episode of Scrubs where JD uses Crisco instead of sunblock on his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend. The punchline was: "Do you smell bacon?"
I was curious so I looked it up. It seems that olive oil doesn't really work as a sunblock. It's not without purpose, though -- it acts as a moisturizer, which you need after being in the sun for a while. And it makes you dream of Italy...
Innuendo?It really looks like the girl bending over is putting oil on the brunette's chest. She's actually dipping her hand in the oil though. Still......hot.
Scarlett Johansson's grandmotherIs that Scarlett Johansson's grandmother on the left?
Why yesIt is Scarlett Johansson's grandmother on the left and she is SMOKING!
And that brunette is HOT. 
Popsicle?I still can't see the popsicle, but the girl on the right appears to be holding her hair in place as she uses her teeth to spread open a bobbi pin to place in the waiting hair.
PopsicleLook harder ...

Nose ClipsAnyone else notice the dorky noseclips on the boy in the back?
Not a Popsicle, precisely . . .Actually, that looks much more like being a Fudgsicle, but hey, who's drooling?
Olive oil?!?That'sa spicy meataballa!
One morehttps://www.shorpy.com/node/1829
The photo is of the same kids when someone started handing out the Popsicles.
No sunblock back thenWhen I was a teen in the 70's we used baby oil instead of olive oil, but the intent wasn't to block the sun, it was to intensify it and get the maximum tanning we could, while forestalling any peeling. We didn't know about sun damage and melanoma. It was considered healthy-looking to have a nice, dark tan. Yikes! 
And the title of this one made me laugh. Naughty naughty! But so funny! 
BurnedI was born in 1954. I grew up in places like Southern California, North Carolina, and Hawaii, where we spent many days at the beach and got sunburned on a regular basis! Sunblocks didn't come along until the mid to late 70s. Before that, the manufacturers of suntan lotions claimed that it prevented sunburn, but it really just helped keep the skin from drying out as fast. I also remember people mixing baby oil and iodine, which supposedly helped the skin tan faster. I found that the main thing oil of any kind did was make the sand stick better. Yuck!
Oh, and I am sure the treat the girl is eating is indeed a fudgesicle!
(The Gallery, Pretty Girls, Russell Lee, Small Towns)

Hoes Before Bros: 1942
... as provided for in the Smith-Hughes bill." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. An actual ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/11/2022 - 3:39pm -

February 1942. "Eleven Mile Corner, Arizona. FSA farmworkers' community. Boys learning to garden in the vocational training class. This is vocational training as provided for in the Smith-Hughes bill." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
An actual cornerHere it is at the corner of AZ 287 and 11 Mile Road in Pinal County, 11 miles from Casa Grande, Eloy, and Coolidge. Cotton was the main crop.

The boy with the aviator goggles and helmet looks a little old to be strapping on a toy pistol though.
Eight Boys, One Pair of GlovesWhen you're learning to garden, an early lesson is that gloves prevent blisters. By lunchtime, seven will have learned that lesson and the kid on the left will be the only one still hoeing. 
I triple dog dare ya!Flick’s aviator cap is worn by a boy who might give you a lickin’ if you make fun of him.

Re: An actual cornerMaybe it's not a toy gun?
Hybrid hoerWe've all heard of the ideal of the citizen-statesman; here's an aviator-cowboy from the forties. A real-life Buckaroo Banzai.
I Can Name Three -- Guess which "Bros" they are.John Wayne, Slip Mahoney, and Smilin' Jack!   (Hint, Saturday afternoon movies  and Sunday comics, the 1940s)
Biggest guyGets to rake.
Not for longThis charming photo actually represents something that anti-New Deal conservatives hated -- farmers in communities, working together under expert guidance to improve their lot. The Farm Security Administration and its photo unit were under attack from their formation in 1937.
In February 1942 all was in transition. The unit's head, Roy Stryker, was encouraging his photographers to supplement their documentary mission with positive and patriotic American images. With these eight boys, Russell Lee found a way to combine the emphases.
Eight months after this, the photo unit was moved into the Office of War Information. The next year it was disbanded.
Thought bubbles?This would be a fun photo to add thought bubbles to! I won't take the time to do them all, but I can imagine one thinking, Jeez my sis gets to do Home Ec (and he grows up to be a trans woman), another wishing he was on a horse, another wants to be a preacher, one a soldier, etc. Great faces!
There's good money in ho'inLet's finish this up so we can meet the dames back at the ham shack!
Early versions of celebrity lookalikesLeft to Right:
Alfalfa, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Mickey Rooney, Joseph Gordon-Levitt , John Travolta, Steve McQueen and Jim Parsons.
Now appearing at the Dunes in Vegas
In the Top Five ...of the greatest all-time Shorpy titles from our Potentate of Puns.
Just the implementI have a hoe that my great-grandmother used. How many years she used it I have no idea but the blade is worn down to about the size of a large serving spoon and the handle is worn to about half its original diameter where her hands gripped it. A lasting memory is going to see Granny after church and there she would be in the garden with the hoe and wearing one of those old fashioned sun bonnets like the logo for Old Dutch Cleanser.
It's going to be a very long while… before you see another dude in a double breasted jacket hoeing a row. And a well-earned tip of the hat to Dave for yet another exemplary feat of lexical dexterity. 
Future ...Accountant, Baseball Player, Farmer, Actor, Homesteader, Outlaw, Mechanic, Lawyer.
There is such a flatness to this pictureAnd yet you can see for miles and miles.  If this weren't on Shorpy, I'd suspect these eight characters were photoshopped into that field.  Or they were placed in front of a stage backdrop for the original photograph.  Russell Lee took an interesting picture.
Knowledge is power These kids certainly know where all the bodies are buried. I hope they use it to their advantage.
Trust me I like them all -- a lot, especially the one with the aviator goggles and holster -- but the third young man from the left is everything.
Second from leftThat's one handsome rake there!
What's the DealWhat are the reasons that conservatives like to hate on the New Deal?
(The Gallery, Agriculture, Kids, Russell Lee)

Pie Town Homesteaders: 1940
... Pie Town from West Texas. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration. View full size. More on Pie Town ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 12:02pm -

September 1940. Jack Whinery, Pie Town, New Mexico, homesteader, with his wife and the youngest of his five children in their dirt-floor dugout home. Whinery homesteaded with no cash less than a year ago and does not have much equipment; consequently he and his family farm the slow, hard way, by hand. Main window of their dugout was made from the windshield of the worn-out car which brought this family to Pie Town from West Texas. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration. View full size.
More on Pie TownFrom Smithsonian.
WitnessKodachrome has such a richness and vibrancy, eh? This photo makes it seem like we're standing at the photographer's right shoulder, looking on, feeling the Whinery's discomfort in what must have been a very small space. Sixty-seven years on, and we're right there.  Thanks Mr. Lee.
Denny Gill
Chugiak, Alaska
Love the colorEvery time I look at one of these photos from the 40s, with that deep, rich color, I think we must have entered a color "dark age" of sorts in the 60s, 70s and 80s... 
Loudon The Second?Something about this guy's face reminds me of Loudon Wainwright III
DignityA sense of dignity is shown by this family. I think today's news media would tell them to "look defeated/miserable" before taking the photo.
Modern media?If a freelance photographer went to take pictures of a family in these circumstances today he wouldn't likely be able to sell the photos, because no newspaper would be interested in publishing them. If he had a good shot of Lindsay Lohan, he could make $400,000 at bare minimum.
So why again would he waste his time taking pictures of these people?
[Russell Lee wasn't freelance. He was employed by the Farm Security Administration. - Dave]
Hellooooooo handsome!I'm getting a time machine and moving to Pie Town.
Going back to Pie TownI Google Mapped Pie Town and zoomed in on the streets.  You can also "stand" on the hiway there as well. You can also go to Pietown's own website and see a few photos.  
Would like to know where his dugout house was and what happened to it. 
My brother said something profound about all these pictures.  He's only in his forties, but he said, "I wasn't even alive and I miss this stuff." 
I think of these photos as true Americans.  I miss it too, and I want it back!
>>---------> 
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Pie Town, Rural America, Russell Lee)

Freaks Museum: 1942
... Imperial County Fair." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Times change ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/08/2022 - 2:41pm -

March 1942. El Centro, California. "Carnival attraction at the Imperial County Fair." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Times changeThose may have been freaks in 1942 but a stroll down the sidewalk in 2022 will turn up better examples.
Look before you drinkI noticed the fellow at right seemed to be holding a refreshing drink in a glass jar until I noticed the goldfish swimming in it. Must have been a prize at one of the game concession booths. If I remember, you got five ping pong balls to throw at the little jars of fishies, and if one stayed in rather than ricocheting off the lip, you won the goldfish. 
I learned from hard experience the fish's life expectancy was only a few days before he took the inevitable trip down the commode.
One step furtherLess than two decades later, Diane Arbus took her camera inside the freak show. An early focus for her were the attractions of Hubert's Museum on West 42nd Street in Manhattan. She took a disreputable carnival attraction into high art institutions. Hubert's closed in 1969, but can be briefly glimpsed in a street scene in "Midnight Cowboy."
Have you "herd" of Ralph ??

Freaks?Judging by the hair (from behind), the audience is overwhelmingly female.  A notable exception is the fellow on the right who appears to be scrutinizing the two women with almost identical hairdos on his left.  And what’s freakish about a glass blower or a tattoo artist or a Native American or a woman in shiny shorts?  I used to stand in the crowd, listening to the spiels, but I never paid to go in.
Hurry, hurry, hurryAs I commented in a previous photo, the crowd at the 1942 Imperial County Fair in El Centro, California was nearly all female. Maybe because of WWII?
I'm guessing the woman in shiny shorts is a contortionist and the pitch is she can fit inside the box behind the announcer.  Few people in 1942 had tattoos, so did not realize the poster does not represent the way tattoo art is made (roll my eyes).  The Indian is wrong on many levels.  Aside from Native Americans not being freaks, he's holding a shrunken voodoo head, wearing a vest embroidered with a Mexican wearing a sombrero, and is generally dripping with Mardi Gras beads.  But his presence causes me to notice the blonde announcer in the white t-shirt has an Indian Chief profile tattooed on his left forearm.  Coincidence? 
The Sultan's DelightShe doesn't look particularly delighted. And that fellow's goldfish is gonna be dead as a doornail before too long. 
Time travelAnnouncer guy of the show can easily slip into any contemporary photograph and nobody would notice, despite eight decade time span.
Guess who won a goldfish I wonder if the little fish survived the trip home.
Goldfish BowlThe man on the right has definitely won the prize (you can spy the little fella in the glass jar he is holding), but may be miffed that his date seems more interested in the "freaks" than his achievement. One hopes that the goldfish avoided the fate of so many of its brethren and escaped the toilet bowl to live a long and happy life, peering at the wider world through a window of curved glass.
Announcer guyHe's is actually part of the show, the incredible 'Man from the 21st century'
Wally Is CorrectModern society has put these carny side shows out of business.
(The Gallery, Bizarre, Native Americans, Russell Lee)

Tombstone: 1940
... exciting days, attract many tourists." Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Only ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/07/2022 - 11:34am -

May 1940. "Shells of old buildings on the main street of Tombstone, Arizona. The near ghost town quality, as well as the reminders of more glamorous and exciting days, attract many tourists." Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Only "near" ghost town quality?Those Tombstonians have always been slackers. They could have been a Yuma!
The rotting remains Russell Lee photographed are long gone.  Here's a good shot of the mountains that match what you can see in his photo.  If you grab your partner and swing to your left, you can promenade through the rest of the town and watch a gunfight reenactment.  It's good clean entertainment.

Popular AttractionBoot Hill: Everyone was just dying to get in.
Lead poisoningfrom all that crumbling paint is likely what many see when viewing a pictue like this, tho of course the town was known for "lead poisoning" of a different sort.
Brings to mind a grabber real estate blurbPotemkin village with retro charm, wide-open creative potential! 
They turned the town into a tourist trapSome forward thinking people made firewood out of those old buildings and rebuilt the main street into shops and attractions that would be familiar to any tourist of the desert Southwest.  In addition to the new stuff there still exists the OK Corral (famous gunfight in 1881), the opera house, the old Western newspaper (Tombstone Epitaph), Fly's photography shop and Boot Hill.
I haven't been down there in years but they also used to have "the world's oldest/largest rose bush".  I saw it back in the 1950s and it was indeed huge!
[The old City Hall has an interesting exhibit of antique barbed wire. But really, keep driving until you get to Bisbee. - Dave] 
Not very energy efficient I'd be inclined to focus on insulation...like lots of it.  Spring can still be cold in Tombstone.  And maybe adding double pane windows.  I'm also thinking maybe a roof, but that's just eye candy and could be added later.  I'm not sayin' any of this is necessary, but it's what I would do.
(The Gallery, Frontier Life, Russell Lee)

Crooked House: 1941
... of Chicago, Illinois." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Service ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/24/2022 - 9:54am -

April 1941. "House and children in Negro section (South Side) of Chicago, Illinois." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Service SatisfiedIs painted on the building across the street and reflected in the window.  But it did not pertain to this house.  That lean no doubt affected the plumbing, gas line, and probably electricity.  It must have been a miserable house to be in during a Chicago winter.
I wonder what the temperature was on this April day.  The woman in the second-floor apartment has her windows open as if it's warm while the woman on the sidewalk is wearing a long coat.  Most of the kids are wearing coats but the girl carrying a book and the boys in shorts at center and far right are dressed as if more layers aren't needed.
82 degreesSometime in April 1941, the temperature reached 82 degrees.  I don't think it was this day, but there was obviously an unseasonably warm period during that month.
[It was chilly on the way to school. That afternoon, not so much. - Dave]
A Sign Unto You ... in the window. It's a storefront church.

There's a lien on that houseSaith the process server.
If you tilt your head a little --Actually, the "crooked house" is the one on the left. Its foundation has probably sunk on the side out of view of the camera. If you use the school building on the right for perspective, you'll notice that the subject house is not too bad. Part of the first floor does lean to the right (makes me wonder if the street is on a hill). But the second floor seems altogether straight up.
[Untilt your head! Straight lines in red. - Dave]

(The Gallery, Chicago, Kids, Russell Lee)

The House Jack Built: 1940
... below. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee. Re: Dancing Africans? Not Africans. Injuns. There's ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 12:02pm -

Sept. 1940. The Jack Whinery family in their Pie Town dugout. Homesteader Whinery, a licensed preacher, donates his services to the local church. More on the family below. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee.
Re: Dancing Africans?Not Africans. Injuns.

There's such a thing as aThere's such a thing as a "licensed preacher"?
Stupid comment hereThe girl second from the right seems to be channeling Napoleon Dynamite.  Sorry to ruin it.  Juvenile.  Sorry.
[Gyaaah! - Dave]
Dancing Africans?I'm a bit intrigued by the pattern on the boy's shirt.
so youngi'm more intrigued with how young they look and how many kiddos they have. wow. looks like the 2 girls on the left are twins.
Sad eyesIn so many pics of poor families in the 30s/40s, I notice how sad (maybe just tired) the mothers look while the dads somehow show some kind of dignity or at least of being alive.
PIE TOWN I just talked to some friends who went there this summer. There are still people who bake pies and have a very rural lifestyle. They said it was a great place!
Licensed preacherSure there's such a thing as a licensed preacher.  In many states, there are 2 distinctions: licensed and ordained.  A licensed minister is recognized by the state and can perform weddings, funerals and the like.  It kind of depends on the church you attend, but ordination is usually church recognition of a minister's credentials.
Sunday best....wonderful how they managed to step up to the plate and present themselves in their "finest'...an amazing and poignant photograph...
me again1940 = year I was born in Norfolk VA..... :-)
Velva MaeIf my research is correct, the Mrs. is Laura Edith, née Evans, and Jack’s full name is Abrim Jack Whinery. The eldest daughter, the camera-shy one on the right, is Velva Mae.  If she’s still alive today, she’ll turn 76 on August 29th.
Denny Gill
Chugiak, Alaska
There's a Velva M. Kosakowski who may be the oneHere's her obituary. She's the only Velva in the SSDI born on that date with the middle initial M, and the obit says she's Jack and Edith Whinery's daughter.
It looks like the same Velva Whinery you mention, Denny, but whether she's one of the girls in the photo I don't know. The girl on the right looks far too old to me to be nine (she is almost as tall as her father when sitting plus she has breasts - I'd suggest she was about 12-13), but the girl on the left looks nineish.
Charlene...thank you for the information! I think you're right: the camera-shy girl on the right is likely well beyond nine, now that I look at her again. The obituary you linked us to shows that Velva certainly came a long way from this Pie Town dugout, eh?
Denny Gill
Chugiak, Alaska
The girl on the rightI think that girl is Wanda Whinery. She's mentioned in the obit as being Velva's deceased sister; a Wanda Whinery shows up in the SSDI from the Grand Junction/Clifton, CO area (where they all seem to have ended up). She was born in 1929, so she'd have been 11 in this photo, an age at which most girls are shy, awkward, and uncomfortable.
You're right about it being a long way; a little girl sitting beside her mother to a great-grandmother in her own right.
SadHow old was that mother when she married?  She doesn't look that much older than her eldest child.  Sad.
namesInteresting how first name fashions come and go. Here we have Jack and Edith (basic early 20th C names) with a Velva and a Wanda, surely exotic names for the time -- though the 30's, when they were born, was a time of experiment in many things... What were the other children called? Bet the boys got more ordinary names. 
One boy's name was Lawrence,One boy's name was Lawrence, apparently. 
And if the Obit for Velva is right, Wanda Whinery never married - no married name is listed.
They may have been dirt poor, but the kids look healthy and cared for.  
young mothers>>>"i'm more intrigued with how young they look and how many kiddos they have. wow."
My paternal grandmother was 15 when she married my grandpa 1932 (in Lovington, New Mexico), and they started a family right away. My grandmother preferred to say that she was "almost 16". 
They were actually residing at that time around Brownfield, TX, but they drove all day and night (accompanied by the father of the bride) to the nearest courthouse in NM, because at that time, 16 was the legal age for girls to marry in TX. 
Apparently, there was nothing shameful or even unusual for girls to marry at 15 in that place and time, though perhaps 14 might have been pushing it. 
Both families were fairly strict and god-fearing people-- poor but not destitute. Grandpa's whole family were members of the Primitive Baptist Church. 
Scott, in Taiwan
distichum2@yahoo.com
They are all so thin. NotThey are all so thin. Not starved thin as much as built thin.
Thanks for all the comments on who they might have been!
They are interesting reads.
clothingThe fabric the clothes are made from has to be flour/feed sacks.  Perhaps not the father's but the rest of them surely are.  
The parents do look so young.  Not more then 30.  And yet they must have led a hard life up to this point.  Amazing the family
resemblance.  
Feed Sack FabricIn the late 1800's cotton sacks gradually replaced barrels as food containers.  Flour and sugar were among the first foods available in cotton sacks, and women quickly figured out that these bags could be used as fabric for quilts and other needs.  Manufacturers also began using cotton sacks for poultry and dairy feeds.
The earliest of these bags were plain unbleached cotton with product brands printed on them.  In order for women to use these bags they first had to somehow remove the label, or to make sure that the part of the cloth with the label was not normally visible.
It did take some time for the feed and flour sack manufacturers to realize how popular these sacks had become with women, but finally they saw that this was an opportunity for promoting the use of fabric feedsacks.  Their first change was to start selling them in colors, and then in the 1920's began making them with colorful patterns for making dresses, aprons, shirts and children’s clothing.  They also began pasting on paper labels that were much easier to remove than the labels printed direstly on the fabric.
By the 1930's competition had developed to produce the most attractive and desireable patterns.  This turned out to be a great marketing ploy as women picked out flour, sugar, beans, rice, cornmeal and even the feed for the family farm based on which fabrics and pattern they wanted.  I can remember that if my mother was not able to go along when my father went to buy feed, she would often send a scrap of material of the fabric design she needed so that he would be sure to buy the right one.  This was during the 1950's.
By the 1950's paper bags cost much less than cotton sacks, so companies began to switch over to this less expensive packaging.  The fabric feedsack industry actively promoted the use of feedsacks in advertising campaigns and produced even a television special encouraging the use of feed sacks for sewing, but by the end of the 1960's the patterned feedsack fabrics were no more.
Pink feed sacks...The girls' clothing is actually relatively new cotton muslin, and in quite good shape. Dad and the baby are wearing the most worn-out clothing of all of them.
I doubt feed sacks came dyed with pink flowers or other feminine designs. The ones I own are just plain off-white.
As an aside, I just noticed that all the kids look just like Mom except the oldest daughter, who looks just like Dad.
The Sack DressFeed sacks came in every design imaginable. I have a friend who collects and lectures on them and she has seen literally thousands of different prints. Andover Fabrics out of New York will be doing a line or reproduction fabric based on her collection soon. I've even seen feed sacks printed to look like toile. The variety is astounding.
Information about the Whinery childrenI was in Pie Town a few days ago and managed to find the name of all the Whinery children. The oldest girl is Laura; Velva (middle name "Mae") is in pink, and Wanda is in white. The eldest boy is A.J, and the baby boy's name is Lawrence.
I know for certain that Wanda, Velva, and Lawrence have died. Wanda was born in Adrin, Texas on August 29, 1931 and died on May 27, 2007 at the age of 75. She was married twice, to Clifford Miller on Nov 4, 1956, and she had four children, two boys and two girls, and Chester Kosakowski, age 81, on Oct 31, 2005. In her obituary it says that Wanda and Lawrence preceded her in death, Wanda likely unmarried as they referred to her as Wanda Whinery instead of with a married name. It also said that Laura and A.J. survived her, so unless they have passed away in the meantime, Laura is living in Clifton, Colorado, with the married name Murray, and A.J is living in Dayton (it doesn't say which of the 23 Daytons in the US, so I'm guessing it is Dayton, TX)
I talked to a man who lived in Pie town for all of his life, and he said that he doesn't think the Whinery home is still there. Neither is the Farm Bureau building that the children went to school in. On the other hand, one of the other school buildings is still there and being re-stuccoed and made into a residential home. Their current public schools are in Datil and Quemado, none in Pie Town. The current population of Pie Town is approximately 60 people, and the Pie-O-Neer has better pie than The Daily Pie.
The Farm Bureau buildingThe Farm Bureau building still exists.  It is now used as the "Community Center" and is the property of the Pie Town Community Council.  A porch has been added along the front, and an additon on the side for a kitchen and restrooms, but otherwise it looks pretty much as it did in the Russle Lee photos from 1940.  
Gyaaah! Unbelievable! 
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Pie Town, Rural America, Russell Lee)

Lumber Numberer: 1942
... Forest. Measuring logs to determine board-feet." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Bad joke time ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/31/2022 - 4:26pm -

July 1942. "Grant County, Oregon. Malheur National Forest. Measuring logs to determine board-feet." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Bad joke timeHoney, do these rings make my trunk look fat?
"A Day in the Life of a Log"Mr. Lee seems to have followed the same three logs, from grading to lading, to shipping out.
Log rhythmMeasuring logs to determine board-feet is called scaling. The person scaling is a scaler and they use a special stick.
Maxed OutI think we need a bigger ruler.
Kon-Tiki?This photo reminds me of one when Thor Heyerdahl and crew were building the balsa log raft Kon-Tiki back in 1947.
(The Gallery, Russell Lee)

Family Time: 1939
... family in trailer home near Edinburg, Texas." Photo by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. White Migrant ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/23/2013 - 1:54pm -

February 1939. "White migrant family in trailer home near Edinburg, Texas." Photo by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.
White MigrantI'm just old enough that "white" and "negro," applied to "migrant" or "worker" or "family," don't strike me as odd at first. Then I realize what a silly distinction it is, and how silly we were to think it made a difference.
[Russell Lee took hundreds of photos documenting conditions in both black and white migrant camps. The captions let the various people handling these pictures know what's in them without having to remove the negatives from their sleeves. - Dave]
Love is the answerPoor Dad has evidently smashed his thumb, visible on his right hand and it looks serious.  This is a beautiful family, obviously very poor and downtrodden, but they still look hopeful and happy with a look of peace and gratitude to be together.  Money and success is absent but there is no mistaking that their hearts are full of love.   
They may be poor but . . .They don't have that down-and-out look that you often see in migrant workers of that era.  Instead, I see pride and determination in the parents' faces.  Despite the hard times and tough living conditions, they're wearing clean clothes and everyone in the family looks well fed and healthy - except for that nasty right thumb on Dad and the nicks on mom's hands.  The love radiates from this family.  They're going to make it!
Not as old as they used to beYears ago, when I would see such photos, the people in them looked so old to me.  Whether it's my own aging process or an understanding of what they were going through, they no longer look as aged...just worn.  Mom's hands are beat up too, looks like they were both hard workers.  Hope they were blessed in later years with an easier life.
KindnessThere's a kindness in these faces that touches my heart. I wish we knew more.
Maybe someone shouldask these people or their descendants just how they actually feel: Pride? Determination? Well fed? Healthy? Hopeful?  You can bet those feelings are far from the truth; they were penniless, homeless, alone, destitute, with very little to look forward to, just trying to survive a horrible situation. Many did make it, but it was no wonderful adventure as many seem to think, ask my mother.
Hand Rolled SmokesThat little string hanging from the man's pocket is from his tobacco pouch. It looks like he might have an extra bag in there too, maybe with his rolling papers or cash in it.
My grandfather's best friend, an old former cowboy named Emmett, used to give me his empty "tabaccy" bags. I never grew tired of watching him roll them one-handed, when he was showing off and telling stories. Otherwise, he'd roll a nice, even cigarette with both hands, never dropping a shred of tobacco.
He always proclaimed "ready-rolls" (smokes in a pack) were for women and sheepherders, the latter the ultimate cattleman insult. He also claimed that to be a Texas cowboy, "A feller haf' to roll his-self a smoke, one-handed, whilst ridin' a buckin' bronco in a wind storm."
Old Emmett died in 1968, at the age of 84... with his boots on, sitting on my aunt's patio, unlit hand-rolled between his fingers.
Look at their hands...They are the definition of "working your fingers to the bone." You can tell a lot by looking at someone's hands.
Dad's hands are strong, but puffy and damaged, knuckles swollen and probably arthritic from years of hard work.  Mom's hands are dry, blistered and scabbed and her nails worn down and dirty.  Even their sons' hands are blistered and have probably seen lots of field work.
(The Gallery, Kids, Russell Lee)

Negro Cabaret: 1941
... Side Chicago." The Boyd Atkins Band. Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Swept away ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/05/2012 - 7:07pm -

April 1941. "Negro cabaret, South Side Chicago." The Boyd Atkins Band. Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Swept awayHey, we're trying to make a classy photo up here. Someone get that broom and the thingamabob outta that little room there. What's folks gonna think in 2009?
Boyd AtkinsSaxophonist and bandleader.  Wrote "Heebie Jeebies," which as recorded by Louis Armstrong was one of the first hit songs to feature scat singing.
Probably PeoriaIf it's 1941, it's more than likely this is Boyd Atkins fronting the Society Swingsters in Peoria.
[This is a Chicago nightclub. Doesn't anyone read the captions? - Dave]
Various PatronsInteresting that most of the customers are white.  The zoot-suited hepcat on the balcony looks like one of Will Smith's ancestors.
Swanky JointMakes me want to go out and buy a suit and tie.  And start smoking.
Black and whiteJust about any nightclub on the South Side would have been considered "Negro" at the time -- the owner was probably black, it was in a famous black neighborhood, and most if not all of the name talent was black. Which isn't to say you wouldn't find lots of white folks there -- "slumming" had been considered fashionably adventurous well before the advent of swank watering holes like this.
Anyone got a time machine?I need to go back and meet the dancer in front on the right.
Cotton gin millHow very Cotton Club it all seems (except for the Caucasian people in the audience). The expressions on the faces of the dancers are very... distant. Many of these old timey dance pictures show girls with bright, lipsticked smiles. These expressions seem to range from concentration to disdain.
Dave's Cafe I think I found the place. This is absolutely the right area, the right era and the right aura. Lena Horne is leaning on a railing that matches the Shorpy photo and it looks like "show stopper" Claudie Oliver is the front dancer. Interesting that the Chicago Tribune had exactly zero references to band-leader Boyd Atkins from 1930 to 1960. The great South Side black paper, The Chicago Defender, had dozens.

The Chicago Defender, September 14, 1940 - Joe Johnson's Production Is Hot Harlem Done Up in 'Chi' Bronze
What Little Ziggy Johnson has done for Dave's Cafe a-la floor show is more than patrons expected, even more from Ziggy. Johnson has some names; lots of dance, fine singing and a beauty line you find worthy of a rave. But even better yet, my friends, Little Ziggie has surrounded himself with such well-known artists as: Ted Smith, a radio star with the silver toned voice; Maxine Johnson, sweet singing Canadian songbird; Leroy "Pork Chop" Patterson, three hundred pounds of mirth and melody; Spizzie and George, a pair of clever dancers that have everything that the public wants and then those nationally-known society dancers, Johnson and Grider, a mixed team of terpsichoreans that display art with every move.
Margie Smith, Bea Rhinehart, Arrabelle Martin, Ollie Dell Southern, Harriett "Hickey" Hickerson, Cecelia Jones, Mammie Morton and Claudie Oliver are the eight shapely line girls. one of the girls, Claudie Oliver, shows exceptional cleverness as she tags the finale "Tuxedo Junction." Boyd Atkins and his music master add the final touch to a show well worth seeing.
Salad of the Bad CafeI got food poisoning once from the shrimp salad at a place just like this!
Black and TanHow very Cotton Club it all seems (except for the Caucasian people in the audience).
Blacks were usually barred from the Cotton Club, except as performers.
Looking through the Defender archives, I ran into the term "black and tans" a lot, for black and white bars. Without black customers, I don't know if the Cotton club qualified. A mixed audience may have been progressive at the time, but notice who gets all the front seats, and who's restricted to the back rows and the balcony.
Cotton Club audienceIt was said: How very Cotton Club it all seems (except for the Caucasian people in the audience).
The audience at the Cotton Club was Caucasian.
Club GlumThere is not one person smiling as the photographer clicks the shutter. Not one. Not even the dancers.
This photo could hardly be used as an advertisement for having a fun night out!
South SiderThis photo predates me by a couple of years.   I was raised on the South Side of Chicago and would love to know where this photo was taken.
Clarification*SIGH!* I meant "except for the African Americans in the audience." Thanks to those who corrected me. I was surprised to see brown skin even at back tables and in the upstairs. As someone who wouldn't want to sit at a strip club, either, I find it VERY weird how many women are with the men watching the dancers. Wouldn't that feel just awkward, especially back then!? Apparently not.
[This is your standard mid-century nightclub floor show. Pretty much gone with the wind except maybe in Vegas. - Dave]
Lollipops?It seems, that there are lollipops on some tables. Were they popular at that time?
[More like little xylophone mallets. To tap out your applause or perhaps to stir your cocktail. - Dave]
"Lollipops"Those are noisemakers called knockers. There would be one for every patron at the table. They were struck against the table (if unclothed) or mostly on the glassware. It was used as an applause mechanism by the celebrants. At New Year's Eve events they were, like the funny hats, expected accoutrements. Usually embossed with the venue's name & address, they were taken home as souvenirs of a night out.
The beer that gave Milwaukee the Schlitz!Thanks for the close-up on the knockers because I see a bottle of Schlitz beer.  You know, it was brewed with just a kiss of the hops, not the harsh bitterness.  Just saying.
Boyd AtkinsAtkins (standing with sax) seems a rather obscure figure considering his illustrious associations -- playing in Fate Marable's legendary band steaming up and down the Mississippi at the end of the 1910s, then with Louis Armstrong in the 1920s, etc. in addition to leading his own bands. Trombonist Kid Ory, in a 1957 interview, recalled playing in Boyd Atkins band in Chicago in the 1920s when two rival gangs of Chicago gangsters opened fire on each other. I wonder if the venue was similar to this one.
SwinglandThis was at 343 E. 55th Street near Washington Park. Other names for the club were Swingland Cafe (1938 at least) and Rhumboogie (April 1942 to 1947). Building looks to be long gone.
(The Gallery, Chicago, Music, Pretty Girls, Russell Lee)

Boo Koo Burgers: 1939
... a dime, breakfast two bits, the 7up is real. Photo by Russell Lee. View full size. Where is the health inspector? "Health ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/17/2014 - 11:48pm -

February 1939. "Hamburger stand in Harlingen, Texas." Burgers 5 cents, chili a dime, breakfast two bits, the 7up is real. Photo by Russell Lee. View full size.
Where is the health inspector?"Health inspectors?  We don' need no steenking health inspectors!"
"REAL" 7upNone of that "FAKE" 7up sold here, and notice eight bubbles on the sign instead of seven.
Outside FacilitiesIf you need to use the restroom it's to your left and up about twenty feet on that pole.
Boo Koo means you get a lot!Boo Koo likely a play on the french sounding of beaucoup ... meaning a lot.
Most commonly heard in the phrase 'merci beaucoup' meaning 'thanks very much'.
Great NameAnd, nothing is ersatz.  
10 cent burgers a quarter century laterI remember getting bags of hamburgers at ten for a dollar.  They were tiny though, like the McDonald's original size hamburger that sells for a dollar now. I'll bet the burgers sold at this stand for five cents were the size of most of the ones in those bags put together. 
Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime SodaBy the time you finished ordering, the burger was already cold.  So they renamed it simply '7-Up'.
For amber wavesWhat in the WORLD film and light must he have been dealing with here? That's an incredibly grainy print for a Russell Lee.  Looks something like pushed Tri-X on a cloudy day.
[This is imaged from the negative, not a print, made during the early years of 35mm photography, long before there was 35mm Tri-X. -Dave]
[There was, however, 35mm Super-XX, introduced c.1938, rated as Weston 80, equivalent to 100 ASA (as opposed to the 400 of Tri-X). Also, note how the graininess is most apparent in the darker areas, typical of thin negatives. - tterrace]
Standing room onlyI suppose with such low overhead, only seven can sit down at once but there was still room for one more to sit at the time this was taken.  With the popularity of fried onion burgers in the Southwest, I'm sure the aroma of that particular dish was tantalizing to all who came near this alfresco eatery.  I have heard that when state fair vendors feel their food sales are slipping, they put chopped or sliced onions on the grill to lure people in. 
Good one!Sharp eye there, Ice gang. Or should I say, shorp eye?
Boo Koo now has "Additional Seating"!I notice that the stool on the far left seems to have been added to the counter at a later date.  The first six stools (from right to left) sit on a square post and run the length of the footrest.  The seventh stool is on an ornate post and the poor soul sitting there has place to rest weary feet! Business must of been booming for them to add additional seating!
Where is John Garfield?This is reminiscent of the shop where John ate a burger and got into a passionate, murderous relationship with Lana Turner in "The Postman Always Rings Twice." Didn't Preston Sturges also use it in "Sullivan's Travels"?
There use to be a small "burger grove" restaurant where my parents brought all of us five children for a cheap treat. The burgers were beefy and real, the french fries were the crispy-outside-melting-inside that you can't get anymore, and the fields around the stand were full of picnic tables and running children. 
All gone now, though there are  2 McDonald's and Burger Kings within a mile radius of the old spot (now occupied by a bank.)
Another Urban Legend shot downSo much for the idea that there were no obese people in the olden days.
Boo Koo I like youI always admired of Russel Lee's pictures, and "Boo Koo Burgers" is one of those which I like more...
(The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Russell Lee)

On the Range: 1942
... Madison County, Montana." Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee. View full size. beautiful dog. Really! beautiful dog. Really! ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/07/2017 - 11:17am -

August 1942. "Shepherd with his horse and dog on Gravelly Range, Madison County, Montana." Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee. View full size.
beautiful dog. Really!beautiful dog. Really!
Woof.My sister had a dog, Shannon, that looked just like this one. Memories ...
What a wonderful photo, lookWhat a wonderful photo, look at the depth of field, just a beautiful portrait.
Going back to filmWhat you said the other day is right- digital still can't touch an image like that. I'm getting my 35mm back out and buying some good transparency film.
Looking at this you can feel the starchy stiffness of those jeans, the soft suede of that lambskin coat, and you can hear that dog just whining a little bit. Incredible.
Hey, why's he wearing a big heavy coat in August anyway?
baaaaaahhhwhat is digital?  The photo is a masterpiece.  A digital camera is a paint by number. This is art.  
Shepherd, Horse and ManThe dog appears to be an English Shepherd--a common farm dog in the US through the 50's. This one is a Sable. The Black and Whites look like Border Collies and they are a sort of Collie, but vastly different in temperament. They are a very intelligent dog, often noted to be able to work on their own. They sort of take you over so you can't work without them too.
Many of us have English Shepherds today as all purpose farm dogs, but the numbers are small and this breed is going the way of farms. . . .
The picture really needs to read: Shepherd, his horse and man. Clint Eastwood will play the Man in an upcoming documentary. . . .
Film?!?!  I don't think so!!!!!Hey guys - You can stop your glotting over the "wonderful film" photo.  Get real!  This isn't a film photo!  It's digital.  The film print has been scanned in order to even show it on this website.  All the photos you see on the web are "digital" images.
Shazam!
"Glotting"Sometimes a person just can't help but glot.
Anonymous Tipster: have youAnonymous Tipster: have you ever been in the high country of Montana early in the day? You'd best have a pretty good coat available; because, my friend: it gets a little chilly there. Those people that live, farm, and ranch out there are nobody's fools.
A thousand wordsAwesome photo .. Sad to know it was so long ago.
Probably Shot With a 4 X 5The lack of grain in the original at such a huge size shows this picture wasn't shot even with anything as "small" as the old Kodak 620 film size, a bit larger than 120.  It probably was shot with a 4-inch by 5-inch camera — maybe even an 8 X 10 because the shot looks like it might be commercial. It could be a glass transparency. 
In 1942, the best (fastest) ASA (ISO) rating of color film would have been about 20, maybe 25, which would contribute to the photo's lack of grain.
Supporting this is the relatively short depth of field seen with the soft background focus. It wasn't shot at ƒ16, 11 or 8. Probably ƒ4.5 because of the slow film. ƒ2.8, if the lens could open that wide — which I doubt — likely would have thrown the background more out of focus.
But the foreground depth of field remains sharp. Because of that I think the print, even as it stands, is an enlargement, furthering my 4 X 5 lack-of-grain contention. The foreground is really hardly any further back than the subjects are. It's too sharp. The camera, I'd bet, is a Graflex.
No evidence of fill flash, which makes sense because the flashbulbs would have been white. Blue bulbs for proper color balance (if it was considered) would have been rare, if they existed.
A few large-format photography sites are on the web, so the era isn't dead yet.
Kodachrome 4x5Yes, this was a 4x5 Kodachrome transparency, scanned at 1800 dpi and then way downsized. I believe they also made 5x7 and 8x10 sizes at the time.

4 X 5Thanks for that info, Dave! It's full-frame, not enlarged. Love it!
The scan is digital, of course, as a previous poster said. But no 35mm negative, even a digital image, could be enlarged so beautifully. I dunno what the pixel count would have to be on a 4 X 5 studio camera to equal this. It might not be possible. 
4x5For what it's worth they say either EASTMAN -- SAFETY -- KODAK 62 or EASTMAN -- SAFETY -- KODAK 3 along one edge.
Horse, Dog and ManThe character in the man's face is so deep and quiet. He has seen hard life and probably served in WW1 but returned to finish his life in solitude with his solid horse and faithful dog.  Look how the dog is waiting for his master to move.
What an incredible photo! Thank you so much.
English ShepherdThey are great dogs.  I am a big fan.  There is one in the True Blood series.  It's the one who the shape-shifter (bar-owner) character turns into. 
Shepherd or Sheep HerderDon't ask me why but out Montana/Idaho way, all the locals call them "sheep herders" not "shepherds."  Many of them are of Basque heritage as this gent looks to be.
Late eighties I worked in the Forest Service and would run into these gents all the time, many spoke barely a word of English.  Alone out in the middle of nowhere for months at a time, looked pretty rough.
Short Range?Speaking of ranges, the rifle-in-scabbard is visible. I wonder if he was carrying a handgun as well.
To honor 3 noble creaturesSaw this some time ago in an earlier post and, for numerous reasons, this is likely the most beautiful picture you've ever published.  All 3 creatures had names - wish we knew those. They all moved on to greener pastures long ago.
Thank You AllOnly the Shorpy community could have responded with the range of inputs to this fabulous photo. I'm proud to think of myself as one of you.
Go west, old man...I haven't wanted to be a cowboy since I was 8, but now I do again.
It's Curly!This guy looks like Curly from City Slickers.
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Dogs, Horses, Russell Lee)

McGavock & Sons: 1941
... Negro section on the South Side.)" Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Rest in bits ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/23/2022 - 1:37pm -

April 1941. "Sign. Chicago, Illinois. (Children in the 'Black Belt,' Negro section on the South Side.)" Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Rest in bits and piecesIt's hard to believe, I know, but there was a point in history (not so long ago, really) when people were encouraged to (and did!) put away hard-earned money in dribs and drabs so as to have the means to bury their own dead with dignity when the time of dolor came, and in so doing, to protect their family "from embarrassment." Today, before the remains of a loved one even have a chance to assume room temperature, a family member has used their thousand-dollar smartphone to set up a cyber panhandling account for funeral expenses, and posted on their various social media platforms to advertise the fact. Prove you're sympathetic by showing us the money!
Burial insurance schemesForbes Advisor online has a revealing article about the pushing of burial insurance policies in Black communities, a practice going back into the nineteenth century. At base were policies providing fixed burial expenses but not passing on generational wealth, and relentless collecting of small amounts that added up quickly but often didn't increase the payout.
Quoting an contemporary insurance executive, "For decades, it was a standard practice at some insurance companies to charge Blacks more for products and offer them small face amount burial insurance that provided little value for the premium paid. These practices led to litigation and settlements that were resolved not that long ago." 
Two games in this photographThe first game is a scam.  The Lincoln (why Lincoln ... hmmm?) Funeral System Association protecting your family from embarrassment for premiums as little as 10-cents a week is disgraceful.  I wish I could say this kind of manipulative preying is a thing of the past; but it still flourishes.
The second game is the kids.  I can't figure out what they're doing.  My best guess is two guys are wrestling.  But that doesn't explain why the guy on the left is down on one knee.
Click to embiggen.

RIPTiny cemetery?

(The Gallery, Chicago, Kids, Russell Lee)

Sofa So Good: 1942
... at home. This man is a county commissioner." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. The Farm ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/16/2022 - 1:23pm -

July 1942. "Ola, Idaho. FSA Ola self-help cooperative, adjacent timber stand, sawmill and farms. A member of the cooperative and his family at home. This man is a county commissioner." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
The Farm Security Administration cooperative farms created in the late 1930s and early '40s under FDR's New Deal would surely be denounced today as "socialism" by many in Idaho, perhaps even by the descendants of this family.
https://livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_15.html
I'd love to know the family dynamics of this groupThe three adults on the left look related. I'd guess sister, brother, mom. And the unhappy looking woman at the end is perhaps the wife who is dealing with having to share quarters with her husband's family. Her little boy looks like he's a handful, too.
[Or do you mean on the right? This is the commissioner, his wife and their three kids. - Dave]
The roughest thing in this photographAre dad's hands.  Those hands have seen some seriously hard work.  But he's married to a good-looking woman and has two remarkably lovely daughters.  The view out his windows is so idealistic it looks like an old movie or TV backdrop.  And he's a county commissioner (someone should be able to identify him).  I hope he feels his hard work has been worth it.
BooksThe books on the shelf are interesting.  I can't make out all the titles but at least two of them are "Common Legal Principles." I'd guess that he was a humble man who took his work as a county commissioner seriously.
The Farmer's DaughterThat young lady on the left looks to be a real troublemaker.   
Meet the CarlocksIf my research worked this is Charles Henry Carlock (1902-66), his wife Esther, and children Shirley, Pat and Marilyn . Commissioner from 1940-46, and owner of the sawmill in Ola, he died - ironically - as the result of a forest fire.

Marilyn 5 years previously  (hey: if we can have a G-rated "Hoes before bros" we can have a SFW 'Beaver shot'!)
I wish I'd met Marilyn (the oldest daughter)She operated a cat, helped to run the timber mill, marched for civil rights, pushed for equal pay for women within a huge federal agency, and wrote bodice-rippers (many still available for purchase on Amazon), and ultimately returned to Idaho to be close to her family. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65541061/marilyn-june-cunningham
The Other DaughterThe young lady on the right looks liable to slap that smile right off your face as to look at you.  No wonder Dad looks careworn and weary; it's not the job, it's the daughters.
I Spya glass eye, owned by Dad.
Window ArtworkI love the scrub foothills scenery through the windows.  It almost looks like paintings.
The sistersThe two sisters remind me of the sisters from "A League Of Their Own."  Totally different personalities, but close in age.
Full of vinegarI love both of these sassy, beautiful daughters - so clearly full of life.
(The Gallery, Agriculture, Russell Lee)

Bell System: 1942
... telephone switchboard." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Bells Are ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/27/2022 - 5:14pm -

July 1942. "Oakridge, Oregon. Population 520. Town telephone switchboard." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Bells Are RingingIf you've seen a switchboard operator in action, it was probably in the movies -- most prominently, "Bells Are Ringing" (1960), starring the great Judy Holliday.
PBXHome-built, from the look of it; neat and careful carpentry, but no frills.
Thanks to Starrleo, this is not home-built, but W.E. The nice finger joinery on the cabniet should have been a clue...
A massive array of 16 8 bells, with room for expansion (?) to serve 520 residents! (clapper's clappers between the bells and hits both when it rings, I suspect)
I counted 34 subscribers, starting with City Hall, City Marshal ...
Clark's Garage, along with Clark, Dale, Mrs. Cramer's got two, the Drug Store and the Highway Store; must be profitable!
Samantha here (doesn't she look like Elizabeth?!?) might be all of 20, and probably bored witless, without a screen to be had ...
I'll pay you later, Thelma!I find the NO CREDIT sign interesting. I would guess the town operator had some leeway somehow to give credit. Would only be on a pay phone I suppose?
Also, interesting that there is cash in the drawer. 
Your call cannot be completed...anymore to #26.  Burned in 2000.
(which building had the phone ??  We may never know)

A Nod to Bryant Pond, MaineBryant Pond had the last crank telephone system in America, finally surrendering to Touch-Tone phones in 1983. To call my friend in Bryant Pond, I had to dial O and explain to the Operator that I wanted to call Bryant Pond 33. Most Operators had no idea what I was talking about and needed to hunt down an old-timer to handle the job. 
Her name is operatorSince Oakridge was a small town, I looked in the 1940 census for anyone listing their occupation as operator for a telephone service (there are various operators for the railroad and lumber mill).  No one showed up.  Either our young switchboard technician wasn't working there in 1940, or she lived outside Oakridge. 
[Just because you can work a switchboard doesn't mean you'd list that as your occupation. - Dave]
Point taken, but I'd list it before anything else.  She's a young person on the cutting edge of technology.  I've been on the cutting edge of technology only once, remember Lotus123? Ever since I just stand in Best Buy and stare at the sales associate, wondering what they're talking about.
One man in Oakridge listed his occupation as proprietor of a fix-it shop.  No, his name wasn't Emmett.
Multi Tasking Job PositionI suspect that "Samantha's" job was more than just the phone operator. 
The "No Credit" and "Coca-Cola" signs behind her head in the adjacent room combined with the cash in the drawer make it appear to be some kind of a store. She was probably responsible for both the store operation as well as the phone operator duties.
The tape on the one side of a double bell pair would have given that particular bell an early version of a what we now call a "Distinctive Ring Tone".
Western Electric type 1012Is the make and type of this switchboard, made some 30 years before this photo was taken.

Paid ExtraThe Grade School and High School are on a 2 party line, many other customers have more parties sharing their lines.  See list at left edge of board. While that list shows 10 lines, the 10 position switchboard has only 8 pairs of bells installed.
FlashThis link tells about message precedence on radio, etc., and ranks "Flash" messages at the top of the list:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Message_precedence
The card instructs the operator to tell Long Distance "Army Flash", probably to expedite getting a connection.  An example of such an important message in July 1942 might be "The Japs have landed"!
From a conversation with my father, circa 1954"No, son, that's not why it's called 'Bell Telephone.'"
Too many for meBack in the late 1960s, I tried to operate one of those multi-plugged PBX boards at the Cove Inn in Naples, Florida. The night clerk needed to go somewhere for an hour or so, and he gave me (a bellman) a cursory explanation of how the board worked and what I needed to do.
I didn't do well and never tried it again. Not intuitive.
Army Flash?Anyone want to 'splain the "Army Flash" sign at the bottom right?  
Army FlashThe "Army Flash" instruction card seems to relate to the Aircraft Warning Service (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_Warning_Service), where locally-organized volunteers were trained to spot enemy airplanes along the east and west coast. 
Per this account of legal testimony by one Mr. James Tully, in a 1945 NY Supreme Court Case (https://books.google.com/books?id=bBAMmaBa6LEC&lpg=RA6-PA457&ots=Vyogrc8...):
"Q. Briefly, will you tell us … just what was the Airplane Warning Service was?
A. Well, they had Posts located within about approximately eight miles of one another, and each post was supposed to take care of that eight mile area distance. You are supposed to see that far. As soon as a plane come into sight, you notice where it was going, the type plane it was, how many motors it had on it, and how many planes there were, whether one or more than one, and then you take off the telephone and you’d call the operator, say, ‘Army flash,’ and give your code number. They would hook you up with New York and you would tell the girl down there how many planes, how high they were, how far from your obgservation post and which way they were going and, that’s all." 
Hope somebody might have more info, or a personal recollection to share!
SwitchboardingI ran a switchboard that size during 1970-71 while working my way through college.  The board was at the front desk, mounted flush into a wall.  All the wiring doodah was behind the wall, in a very small room, out in the open.  There were wires hanging everywhere, and you had to be careful.  I answered incoming calls and directed them to the right people.  I also placed long-distance calls.  It was a thankless job, and I left as soon as I could.  I just Googled, and I see that the company went out of business in 1990.  Well, that's fine with me.
Army Flash The Army Flash card was instructions for handling military traffic. The card is specific to the local Army unit.
(Technology, The Gallery, Pretty Girls, Russell Lee, Small Towns)

The Big House: 1937
... Street View the place, assuming it still stands. Photo by Russell Lee. View full size. UPDATE: Astute commenters ID this as the Palmer ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/10/2012 - 11:30pm -

April 1937. "House in Ottawa, Illinois." Bonus points to anyone who can Street View the place, assuming it still stands. Photo by Russell Lee. View full size.
UPDATE: Astute commenters ID this as the Palmer house at 1236 Ottawa Ave.
WOW!That right corner with the chimney is so cool.  It is great that no one, over the years, thought to paint the masonry to match the house proper.  Such an interesting detail.
Walter B. Palmer HouseGoogle doesn't cover much of Ottawa but I did find out this is "The Walter B. Palmer House, completed around 1896. An example of design from the periodical American Homes. George F. Barber, architect."
It was standing as of 2008 but looks a bit beat.
[Good work! It's on Street View at 1236 Ottawa Avenue. Click below to enlarge. - Dave]

Flickr of interestI did find a recent picture. It's badly in need of a paint job. 
What a shameA beautiful home that deserves much more attention than it's getting.
[My first thought was "needs paint," but then I noticed that almost all of the siding above the first floor is shingles. -Dave]
Could be worseAll things considered, it's pretty intact. Usually you see homes of that era that have been completely butchered. I imagine the upkeep alone must have been a full time job. 
Story TimeLooks like there might be a fourth story at the far end, which would make five levels counting the basement.
Well Known HorsemanWalter B. Palmer, born 1863, killed in a riding accident in 1932.
I think this is the placeright here.
It still standsHere is the link to Street View for this old gem.
Awaiting my bonus ...
[Your bonus points: !!!!!!!!!! (of the exclamation variety). Hats off to you and all the other Shorpians who located the house with lightning speed! - Dave]
1236 Ottawa AvenueIt's the Walter Palmer house, at 1236 Ottawa Avenue!
 Needs some work!Now it's quite a fixer-upper.  I count what look like three elaborate stained glass windows in the 1937 picture.  Sadly they are now gone.
Oh, Just One More Thing, PleaseThe original porch was much better; too bad it was modified.
Hey, Little BuddyThe big brother of a chimney looks like it has an arm draped around the shoulders of the window, as if to say, "Whatcha looking at?"
I've never seen chimney masonry extended quite like that before.  It's very appealing, and lends weight to the design gracefully.  It makes the porte-cochere look spindly and out of place.
Fire in the fireplaceI see some comments about the chimney so let me be the first to point out that there is a fire below since you can see the heat waves leaving the top.
Design No. 27That would be a "George Barber House" built from his Design #27. (Below).
 I know because my great-grandfather built an identical house from the same plans at 123 Central Street in Salinas, California. (Also below.) No longer standing, alas.
[Good heavens. I'll wager there's a kitchen sink somewhere in there. -Dave]
Update: Full-size drawings at http://www.pbase.com/jamartini/barberhouse
The bottomless money pitQueen Annes are groovy to look at from the street but you'd had better have an awesome set of tools and skills in the garage if you're gonna own one. My brother and wife lived in one like this and they were ALWAYS fixing, repairing, or replacing something on the exterior. Twas a never ending battle.
Linsay House in IowaHere's a beautifully preserved #27. Interesting to see some of the custom details different buyers would opt for (such as the bargeboard in the large gable and railed upper porch)

Floor PlanHistry2, is there any way you can post that floor plan larger? I'm intrigued by old house plans. 
Bloom County Linsay HouseWell I'll be gobsmacked, it is!
Floor plansHi tinytortoise. I posted four Barber sheets (Including two for #27) at http://www.pbase.com/jamartini/barberhouse
Barber design bookThis posting led me to Google Books, where I found one of George Barber's design books, available for free here. Unfortunately this book does not contain this exact design, but it's a good place to get lost if you appreciate 1890s architecture.
Santa Claus: Keep OutUtterly stunning, especially that chimney. Do enough of the plans still exist that one could build these again with more modern materials, or only the exterior and floor plan so you would have to hire an architect to fill in the rest?
If only I won a multi state lottery so I could go buy one and afford to restore it.
Finding Grandmother's HouseWith help from a former colleague, I located the house where my grandmother grew up at the turn of the 20th Century this way. Click here.
Bloom CountyToday while researching Berke Breathed's comic strip Bloom County I came across a Wiki entry that states that the Linsay House, already pictured in a comment below, was Breathed's model for the Bloom County boarding house!
This very dayHere is a photo taken today, 12 Dec 2012. Friend lives in Ottawa and took this photo. Much excitement in town due to photo being up on Shorpy. A friend's grandfather knew the photographer as he lived in Ottawa for awhile back in the day and rented a house from the grandfather.
Before and AfterI love that chimney, I've seen it on several old house photos. This one in particular is mesmerizing so I put together a little before and after animation.
Re: This Very DayLooks like the current owners or occupants are slowly chipping away at some exterior sprucing up since the street view was taken! Quite the job they have ahead of them.
Too bad they lost their little round porch--that might be my favorite feature on the original house. Looks like they gained the upper porch at least.
My heart criesAs a restoration carpenter and lover of American architecture and homes built from early 1800's to early to mid 1940's when I see this I cry. Tears literally fill my eyes as these homes that gave definition to the landscape fall to disrepair and neglect. I watch as these homes some left and abandoned are reclaimed by old mother earth. I tears a hole in my stomach as I see pictures of these "homes" where as roof fails, it is only a matter of time before the often all solid oak floors or some even walnut woodwork with incredible 10 foot ceiling. The internet is loaded with this photography and brings to light the failure of our country to revive these beautiful homes that took hands to build. Hand built, hand crafted and often had milled woodwork before electricity was even an option. I hope this country wakes up and begins to revive these beauties. Once inside they are nothing short of incredible if you knew what it took to join, match and assemble this beautiful woodwork. where not one piece of plastic was ever used.       
(The Gallery, Russell Lee)

Two-Banana Lunch: 1942
... California. Workmen." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Merchandising ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/23/2022 - 10:02pm -

June 1942. "Shasta Dam, Shasta County, California. Workmen." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size.
MerchandisingI love the new merchandise.  When will it be available for general sale?
Frayed jeansI work a job where we wreck a couple of pairs of gloves per week. Not a surprise. How did they fray their pants?
No CuffsThat's a really good photo. It captures physical rest from dirty, hard work really well. It's the state of being when food tastes really good, just for the calories. (Those two bananas will be next, and greatly appreciated.)
I'm struck by both men (son and father?) wearing "cutoffs." All four legs of their jeans are shorn of their hems. What's that all about?
Also: Good work on the dam, fellas. Your hard work has served the state for 80 years now.
Merchandising!Shorpy the lunchbox!
Something Beyond StarchedPants have a rather short life expectancy in large concrete pour projects.  One might try to roll up the cuffs to minimize exposure to the wet pour.  Or one beats the dried material off the leg bottoms, in hopes some flexibility may be restored.  But inevitably an impasse is encountered--you've got the concrete bell bottom blues.  The only solution (short of buying the next replacement pair) is to cut off the rigid material.
“You know what, son?Hard to believe, but in 80 years, folks will be paying $140 for a pair of jeans like these.”
Workers’ pant legsThey're not short, about ankle length when standing. Working in those conditions, muddy dirty, cloth tends to soak up any moisture so you don't want them too long.
Metal workers maybe?The young guy on the left has goggles but his face and arms are too clean to be the lead worker.  The big guy on the right has a very dirty face but you can see that he had goggles on by the white around his eyes, so he must have been up very close to whatever it was he was working on.  I read that the full face welders shield or helmet came about in 1937.  I think they could be involved with cutting metal either with a grinder or torch just before their lunch break and this photo.  That would also explain the pant legs being cut off.  You don't want to catch molten metal from welding or cutting and you don't want to catch flying sparks when grinding in the cuff of your pants.  
They'll make a box of Twinkies nervousAnd never gain an ounce. 
That's not a TwinkieLike pennsylvaniaproud, I assume hardworking men like these wolf down large quantities of food.  I know I did.  I first thought the man on the right was smoking a hand-rolled cigarette, before eating his bananas, because of the way he's holding it.  But he's not smoking.  He's holding a tiny piece of food and appears to be taking very small bites.  Either he's savoring every morsal or, less likely, forcing himself to eat something he doesn't like. 
I want my Shorpy lunchbox in lime green, so no one can steal it.
John Wayne's buddyThe guy on the right reminds me of Ward Bond.
Powerful flash?That's an amazing photo.  Part of why it's amazing is the detail in their faces, which is hard to photograph in direct sun.  You would assume that there would be deep shadows on their faces, from their helmets... but there are no such shadows, and you can see every bit of dirt.
So there must have been a flash powerful enough to complete with the direct sunlight.  Would that have a flashbulb?  Did they make really big ones? 
[The dirty details come to us courtesy of Photoshop 2022, and Dave 1958. - Dave]



Bananas and Genetic DiversityIt's likely that those bananas are of the Gros Michel variety. It was the most common banana in America, until it was wiped out by a fungus in the 1950s. Their lack of genetic diversity made bananas highly susceptible. Today, we eat Cavendish  bananas, which are resistant to that fungus. The lack of genetic diversity remains, however, so some other fungus may wipe out the current population. Eat 'em if you got 'em.
CablewayBesides being of fantastic human interest, this photo shows an interesting engineering detail of the construction methods of the day.  Behind the workers is one of the 4 massive "cars" supporting one of the aerial cableway towers, as seen in https://www.shorpy.com/node/26703, and many other big construction projects. The workers are sitting under the tower.  There is one of these "cars" supporting each of the 4 tower legs. This shows that at least some of the cableway towers could be moved, to allow positioning materials and concrete wherever needed.  The car sits on a pair of swiveling 6-wheel trucks, either to allow for minor misalignment, or to permit following curved track.  Additionally, it looks like there is a heavy bar going down from the corner of the car to just above the far rail, as a backup.  The visible track is very steeply angled, to withstand the immense pull of the long cableway spans.  The tower leg rests on a swivel joint to allow for rotation of the car relative to the tower leg.  Looking at the previous photo, it appears likely that the center tower in that photo doesn't move, but the multiple towers along the banks each move.  There are 3 cableways visible going out in either direction from the center tower, thus 3 movable towers on each landside bank.  There would need to be coordination to keep all of the cableways productive without conflict between the movable towers. For maintenance purposes, the draw works for each cableway are probably on the movable towers, and the center tower is just a strongback. Materials and cement would also be delivered from the landside.
Heat exhaustionShasta Dam is located just outside Redding, well-known as the epicenter of hot weather in Northern California.  These workers could at least try to find a spot of shade for their lunch break.
At this point in time, if they weren't employed here, they would likely have  found themselves on a troopship headed for Guadalcanal, or North Africa, or some equally hot place. Or perhaps building the Alaska Highway, amid swarms of mosquitoes.
Not just a pretty faceI love Shorpy's photos but I also love all the engaging and informative comments! Keep it up Shorpyites.
Stagged PantsLoggers and foresters know all about "stagging" pants cuffs.  If you catch a hemmed cuff on something while walking through the woods, you are likely to take a very painful fall.  If the pants are stagged, they'll more likely rip and you won't be as likely to fall.  This is even covered in the Weyerhauser safety manual published in 1968:
"Pants shall be stagged off to prevent hangups from brush and limbs. Pant length is recommended at about four inched below top of “corks”. Pants shall be supported with suspenders while working on the rigging crew or cutting crew."
"Corks" are a type of working boot.
Mark (former forester wannabe who ended up in the nuclear biz)
(The Gallery, Industry & Public Works, Russell Lee)

Media Room: 1941
November 1941. "Mr. and Mrs. Lee Wagoner Wagner, who farm on the Black Canyon Project. Canyon County, Idaho." Photo by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration. View full size. Best of ... (The Gallery, Agriculture, Russell Lee) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/09/2022 - 10:38am -

November 1941. "Mr. and Mrs. Lee Wagoner Wagner, who farm on the Black Canyon Project. Canyon County, Idaho." Photo by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Best of ShorpyI love Shorpy.com, but these vignettes of middle-class home life in an America long ago and far away are my favorites. And I have to say, 1) that door must bang that chair every time it's opened, and 2) as someone who HATES ceiling lights, I can sympathize with whoever took that bulb out.
Photos of their Sons?I wonder if those pics on the shelf are their boys.  For Lee's sake, I hope they are.  If so, he'll be able to continue working his farm during the coming world storm.
Who plays the piano?On the extreme right of the photo there appears to be the edge of a piano keyboard and accompanying bench. 
NewsweekNovember 24, 1941.  (Why no visor on the hats?)
Don't look now butThere is an exceedingly creepy doll type thing doing an evil side-eye from the built-in cabinet in the foreground left. Speaking of left, I'm wondering if that is Mr. Wagoner himself, as a tyke, on the far left in the trio of siblings framed and hanging on the wall above his wife's head.
Nov. 24, 1941 NewsweekThe cover story: "Malay Troopers: A Link in Far Eastern Chain." You can pick up a vintage copy from the Bill Graham Estate's counterpart to Shorpy, if you've got $92. 
https://www.wolfgangs.com/vintage-magazines/newsweek/vintage-magazine/OM...
A DairymanWith a copy of Hoard's Dairyman in the magazine rack, one can assume that Wagoner was a milker.  And so this picture would have captured one of those small spaces of time when a dairy man wasn't prepping the milk parlor, milking, cleaning up afterward, or sleeping.
Hinge of fateCurious how the hinges are set on the door and on the cabinet on the left.  Kind of nonstandard to have the hinge plate set on the face of doors like that.
Life imitates artScene has a quality of Joseph Cornell's ready made box. Cluster of things, that should have some "meaning" - from previously mentioned doll in the forefront by the other poster, absence of a light bulb at the ceiling fixture, an oval framed photo of kids.
The guy looks like the type with short attention span when it comes to reading.
Did anyone notice ...Mr. Wagoner seems to be holding his reading material upside down?
[Um, no. His newspaper is folded in half, so the side facing us is upside down. - Dave]
No bulb in the socketOr any other source of illumination except for the reflection of the flash in the glass for this staged photo.
A well-lit roomYes, I know it is the photographer's lighting, but the room is well lit for having no bulb in the ceiling "fixture". The couple look surprisingly modern for some reason, Is it the hairstyles? The clothing?
The oddity that catches my eye is a very small one - the half-mortise hinges on both the door and the cabinet at the left.
ReadersNewsweek, possibly "Silver Screen", "Hoard's Dairyman", "Bible Readings for the Home Circle"... quite a variety.
Silver ScreenDecember 1941 issue.
Effie Klinker?With regard to those two dolls on the shelf of the cabinet on the left, is it possible that the top-hatted one is Charlie McCarthy and the other one might be Effie Klinker?  (Sure isn’t Mortimer Snerd.)  I wasn’t able to find a photo of Effie Klinker in a hat like that or without her spectacles.  Maybe it’s a doll of some other ventriloquist dummy not related to Edgar Bergen.
And one more...The "S" is McCall's magazine.
Black Canyon, SROThis looks like a stage set.  The front door, couch, and radio are all conveniently facing the audience.  The half-walls are where children or adults can sneak onstage and eavesdrop, unseen by the Wagoners, and behind which you can hide something from the audience.
Opening scene:
Lee to his wife, "Did you do anything interesting today, dear?"
Wife, " " [I'm having writer's block ... I'll get back to you.]
The Media Room is up to dateThe console radio is a Zenith of 1939 or 1940.  These were quality radios, and not inexpensive.
Just about a week laterThat radio will be announcing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor given she's reading the 11/24/1941 issue of Newsweek.
Answering davidkNo visors on the caps probably because the Koran forbids shielding the eyes from the sun. WWI Turkish troops and Spanish Civil War Moroccans both cut the visors off their German coal-skuttle helmets. Americans finally allowed Muslim members of the Philippine Scouts to pin the brims of their smokey bear hats up. 
The photo looks like any of the craftsman bungalows we’ve all seen in the US
Mystery of the sofaDespite the collapsed support system underneath (seen behind their shoes), the couple isn't sinking helplessly into old-sofa oblivion.  Wonder what's keeping them and those cushions afloat? 
[That's a sofa-bed with the mattress showing underneath. - Dave]
Lee?My search on Ancestry came up with zilch for a Lee Wagoner in Idaho.  However, I found a Fred Wagoner in Canyon whose family seems to fit:  in 1940 Fred is 39 and a farmer, wife Nellie is 33, and they have 4 boys ages 2-12. Another baby boy died in 1943.  I wonder if the caption is wrong, or perhaps Fred went by a middle name.
[Or their last name is Wagner. - Dave]
The Real LeeAll about Lee Wagner:
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wagner-15137
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LL3B-13B
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86529889/lee-ernst-wagner
(The Gallery, Agriculture, Russell Lee)

Pie Town Fair: 1940
... with rumble seat. What kind of car is this? Kodachrome by Russell Lee. View full size. hi These pictures from the 1940's are really ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/07/2011 - 3:58pm -

September 1940. "At the fair, Pie Town, New Mexico." An old coupe with rumble seat. What kind of car is this? Kodachrome by Russell Lee. View full size.
hiThese pictures from the 1940's are really interesting and so much history. I never knew that in New Mexico there was a town called Pie Town. Is that the real name or is that made up?
Jacqueline
Pie Town?Yes, Pie Town is real!
Pie TownCheck out the book Pie Town Woman, a recent follow-up to a family featured in those photos.
CarThe car could possibly be a Ford Model A Roadster, anywhere from 1927 to 1931.
Pie Town is real!It still has its festival, and looks as if it hasn't changed a whole lot. I so want to visit.
Car TypeLooks like a 33 Studebaker
Pie Town RoadsterThe left taillight is definitely a Chevrolet lamp, probably a 1930 roadster. Same goes for the wire wheels.
Yes Pie town is thereI work in Tucson and one of our MIS staff did a lot of motor homing and Pie Town is one of her favorite places to visit. She (and her husband) retired last year and made Pie Town their retirement home. And yes I placed an order (Pie Town delivers) for her favorite -- Apple-Jalapeno.
Love all the history of Pie Town.
Thanks
Pie TownIt really is a town, founded about 1922, extensively documented in 1940 by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. 
Pie Town still exists, still has pies for sale. It's about 40 miles west of Socorro on New Mexico Route 60.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Pie Town, Rural America, Russell Lee)

Pie Town Sitdown: 1940
... New Mexico. October 1940. 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee. View full size. Bandaged thumb Dad seems to have injured the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/07/2011 - 4:09pm -

The Faro Caudill family eating dinner in their dugout, Pie Town, New Mexico. October 1940. 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee. View full size.
Bandaged thumbDad seems to have injured the thumb on his left hand.
You can taste the butter inYou can taste the butter in those biscuits.
Nail polishIt's odd to see the two women wearing nail polish in this photo. They look to be too poor to afford that sort of luxury. But then again, maybe it's food coloring or something.
Nail polishThey had a car, so they could probably afford nail polish. The Pie Towners were all homesteaders. Most of them lived in dugouts with sod roofs. No electricity or running water. Near the end of her life Doris Caudill (the mom) remarked that she'd do it all over again if she had the chance, except she'd like hot and cold running water.
I know this is going to sound stupid......but this pic makes me hungry for Cracker Barrel.
I am not kidding.
The eventualities of Pie TownYou know you're doomed to be a domestic housewife in Pie Town 1940 when your whole right hand just gradually morphs into a big plate of biscuits.
meatdon't see any meat .. vegans  
Cracker Barrel Me too!  I guess back then this was a fairly "meager" meal but now it's nostalgic and people pay a fair amount for it at Cracker Barrel because so few people are cooking like this at home.  Still don't know if i would call it the "good ole days" though.
nail polish is normalNail polish costs about a dollar. Quite possibly, it was the only luxury item they could afford. 
YumBeans and biscuits look tasty. Karo syrup? Is that for the biscuits? 
In response to the "meat" comment, no they weren't vegans. Fresh meat wasn't readily available, as it is today. It wasn't as simple as going to Kroger and picking up a pack of steaks. According to my father, meat was a matter of the store having any, not neccesarily if you could afford it.
re: YumMy father grew up in the Depression (born in 1920) -- though he seldom speaks about it (he's 86-years old and going strong, thankfully), I can remember him say how his father would give him three or four shotgun shells and telling him that if his hunt was unsuccessful, they would have no meat for supper...    
nail polishyou can bet that they had that polish on because of the visiting photographer.  Maybe also wore it to church or the fair....one small bottle would last the two of them for a year or two.
Also, no electricity or running water.. think how hard it was to make that meal and clean up afterwards...we are sure spoiled today.
Nail polish was much cheaper than thatBack then it was something like twenty cents. Nowadays even the stuff at the loonie/dollar store costs more than $1, and it's so thin you'd need ten coats to cover.
Pie Town Sitdown 1940I like the Karo syrup bucket that seems to be holding up the platter of biscuits..The syrup and hot biscuits are better than anything that you can find on 98% of household tables today...
"You know you're doomed to"You know you're doomed to be a domestic housewife in Pie Town 1940 when your whole right hand just gradually morphs into a big plate of biscuits." -Anon Tip.
This is the best!!!
*laugh*
American foodKaro syrup is corn syrup- very very sweet. Probably something like Tate & Lyle, it too is golden in color.
I have never heard of a pikelet, but biscuits here are related to scones. They are a quickbread, made with flour, shortening, and baking powder, very flaky. Sort of like pie crust, but heavier. They are not sweet by themselves, but usually served with butter and jam or honey (or Karo syrup, perhaps!)
Karo SyrupIt's high fructose corn syrup, not quite as thick as golden syrup.
TerminologyForgive an englishman's ignorance, but what was Karo syrup - anything like our Tate & Lyle golden syrup (very sweet). Also the biscuits look terribly like what I would call scones or even pikelets - as you know a biscuit over here would be a cookie to you!
Milk JarI was just remembering the other day about how we kept our milk in the fridge in a big glass jar like this one.  Dad would milk and bring it in--we'd strain it and put it in the jars.  Later we skimmed off the cream that had risen to the top to make butter or just stirred it back in before we poured out what we drank or used on our cereal. 
Nail polish, etc.Yep, that family is spruced up for photos.  I love the little girl's hair with the ribbon!  Moms got a fresh dress and apron.  Boy's clothes clean, hair brushed nicely.  But perhaps Dad didn't want anything to do with this, or just came in from the fields.  Dad got his piece of pie early, kids probably had to wait til finished eatinc.  
That's linoleum on the table.  The old standby that covered nearly everything in the 30s. 
DinnerThis harks back to a simpler time, when "time with the family" was just that.
We've lost so much.
Faro CaudillFaro's life dates, according to the Social Security Death Index: Born June 18, 1908, died June 1976 in Albuquerque.
Shirt pocketIs that a pack of Camels in Dad's shirt pocket? Or maybe a plug of chewing tobacco? I magnified to 300, but can't tell what I see.
[Detail from the full-size scan. -tterrace]
(The Gallery, Pie Town, Rural America, Russell Lee)

Log Lading: 1942
... logs on truck for transport to railroad flatcar." Photo: Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration. View full size. Parbuckling These ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/31/2022 - 4:15pm -

July 1942. "Grant County, Oregon. Malheur National Forest. Loading large logs on truck for transport to railroad flatcar." Photo: Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration. View full size.
ParbucklingThese logs are apparently too much for that steam powered heel-boom loader to lift, so it is being used to roll the logs aboard by parbuckling, with the cable run under the log and attached to the truck frame, giving a mechanical advantage. The ramp timbers will then be repositioned to roll the third log on top of these two.
Note the CAT D8 at the far left beyond the Mack bulldog hood ornament. It probably made the very wide tracks in the center foreground. Air cleaner location makes it a D8, not a D7. Where it is positioned, it might have a cable attached to the truck trailer to counter the pull from parbuckling.
There is apparently no connection between this Edward Hines and the Detroit based Edward Hines, who did so much for paved highway development.
... and the hat on the guy at far right!
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Russell Lee)
Syndicate content  Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2024 Shorpy Inc.