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Texas Bodega: 1939
... San Antonio, Texas." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Old ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/16/2022 - 7:23pm -

March 1939. "Small Mexican grocery store. San Antonio, Texas." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Old Anheuser-Busch productI love looking at pics of old stores like this. I noted the A-B Table Syrup 4th shelf all the way to the right. I wonder when that item stopped being marketed. [It was advertised in newspapers as late as 1945. - Dave] SaxetAs every Texan knows, that's Texas spelled backwards. Best known today as the name of a never-ending gun show, and don't you dare call it "dainty". (I mean, personally I don't mind if you call it dainty, but other people might.) Staples, not convenience foods, but noteworthy also the number of kerosene lamp chimneys. Granted, these items are easily broken, but San Antonio was and is a major city, and major cities had electricity long before 1939. An ill-served non-electrified enclave? Emergency lighting? Or just dead stock? Let me have one of those cans of Chuck Wagon… a ballpoint pen, and one of those Kiltie Pops there, a pint of Old Harper, a couple of flashlight batteries and some beef jerky. CornucopiaI'll have one of everything, por favor. The more things change --What strikes me most about this photo is how little many brands and labels have changed over 82+ years! Don't make me come over that counterI don't see price stickers on anything and remember the days when a cashier simply knew the price of most items. Customers would let them know if a price seemed out of line. On each vertical divider is a paper clip, each holding a different type of paper. One looks like a receipt. Does anyone know what those were for? I give this cashier a B+ on stacking merchandise. But it offends my anal retentive sensibilities that the cans of PET Milk are not all facing forward, and the one can of K C 5 Baking Powder turned backwards is driving me crazy. Don't even get me started on the salt. So cows are now pets?The cans of milk in the upper right corner of the shelf might make one think so. IconsAunt Jemima's makeovers didn't take, so she was retired (image, name, and brand) in 2021. The Argo corn starch maiden has been diminished and her American Indian identity downplayed. The Quaker, looking a bit smug, no longer greets us with open arms. Brer Rabbit has been pushing syrup since 1907, but competitors Teddy and Mary Jane have given up. The Pet milk cow continues to peek out of her can. Our Mother is enjoying retirement, though she worries about what Texas Girl gets up to. Is this store in Mexico or Texas, or is this before the Alamo?How is this a "Mexican grocery store?" The products are US products and the labeling is in English. [It's in the Mexican section of San Antonio and is owned by a Mexican. - Dave] Responding to a comment. Yes, the clerk and the clients may know all the prices, but we wouldn't put up with such a limited selection. We may have too many choices now, but I'm not ready to go back to beans, rice and white bread. Couldn't find out why the name "Pet." Wikipedia and the Pet website provided no explanation. [In 1923, the Helvetia Milk Condensing Company was renamed the Pet Milk Company after its signature product, "Our Pet" Evaporated Cream. - Dave] Mr. Monk would not approveThere are many things in this photo that bother the OCD in me. What would be... inside those small tied up packages on the bottom shelf? Post Toasties Corn Flakes...in Reverse!On the top shelf, it appears the Corn Flakes boxes were turned around, with the back showing the awesome crafts and giveaways, being promoted by Walt Disney! Product DesignMy eye was immediately drawn to the glass jars, each shaped beautifully in their own way. Texas GirlWhat a fantastic catalogue of extraordinary words contained within the array of products on these shelves: Chuck Wagon, Ole Reliable, Saxet, Our Mother’s, Argo, Aunt Jemima, Popeye the Sailor, Apex, Mary Jane, Brer Rabbit, Jefferson Island, Excelo, Teddy Bear, Lamo Lye, Rinso, Lux. My favorite is Texas Girl. Anything and everything in a canExcept lettuce. If you pleaseI will have a Derby Sugar Shaker Jar and one of those unmarked brown paper packages tied up with string. Then I will offer to, free of charge, organize all of the cans and boxes so that nothing is upside down. Drives me crazy. Right the Rinso already! Calling all artistsThis is just *screaming* for colorizing. Any takers? Almost eponymousIt was my desire to devise a clever jape over the possibility that Mr. Russell Lee had purchased a can of R. Lee's Special Sauer Kraut at this emporium, but alas, after downloading the full-size tiff from the LOC, I found my hope dashed by a vagrant reflection. A.R. Lee's Special Sauer KrautFor TTerrace, here is an actual label, that would have been on the can. Sure enough, one had sold on eBay! Must be a Texas thing.Anybody know what "Kiltie Pops" are? It seems that the box has been up there for awhile. Quite a selectionLots of beans, lots of crackers. What surprised me is the mentholated tobacco. Kool's ancestor? A-B SyrupThe photo was taken some five years after Prohibition ended. Perhaps it was one of the products made by the brewer to get by until the Volstead Act was abolished. That product might have been on the shelf for five years? [A-B Syrup was being sold well into the 1940s. Branding notwithstanding, it was a product of the Southern Syrup Co. of New Orleans. - Dave] Dippin' SnuffSeeing those tins of Garrett's Snuff on the shelf in front of the match boxes reminds me of an old fellow who ran a small engine repair shop in my East Texas hometown. He fixed lawnmowers and tillers and chainsaws and such out of a barn behind his house on the outskirts of town, just a couple miles from the Red River bottoms north of Texarkana. I cannot recall the gentleman's name, but he had to be nearing 80 years in the 1970s. He dipped that Garrett snuff and would stand at his workbench while sharpening a mower blade and kept a Coke bottle at his feet and would spit a long string of brown tobacco juice right into the bottle without any spittle running down the outside of it. Every time. He never missed. It was pure poetry. He'd stop mid-sentence and "ssspt" into the bottle and resume his soliloquy without missing a beat. He kept little screws and washers and nuts and carburetor parts in those snuff tins up on a shelf above his workbench. I don't think I've seen one of those snuff tins since, but this photo took me right back there in that old man's barn. Goober Pea (The Gallery, Russell Lee, Stores & Markets)
Grade B Dirties: 1942
... here are cartons marked "Large Grade B Dirties." Photo by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration. View full size. Brings back some ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/30/2022 - 3:58pm -

January 1942. "Petaluma, Sonoma County, California. Candling eggs in an egg packing plant." In contrast to the Grade AA Specials seen previously, what we have here are cartons marked "Large Grade B Dirties." Photo by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration. View full size. Brings back some memoriesI grew up in a small town in Indiana. There was a poulterer in town, and we kids would go there with our mother. They had an egg sorting booth completely covered in canvas to keep out the light. If they were sorting eggs we kids would pull aside the canvas and go into the booth, where one of the owner's teenage daughters would be candling the eggs just like the photo above. She was real nice and showed us how to candle the eggs. You could also go in to the back room and watch them kill and clean chickens. I don't suppose they let kids do that anymore. Grade B DirtiesNewspaper ad from 1955: Farm market report from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat (1950): Lighting!Russell Lee went all out here. The hidden key light shows up her concentration and perfect complexion, all while making it look like the glow from the candling light. In reality, that is hidden inside the cylinder with the small hole in the side. Tough love"Look, this is gonna hurt me more than it's gonna hurt you!" Great EggspectationsAll these egg pictures lately make me think of a vegan guy I know who actually eats a single egg about once a year, to remind himself, he says, that it’s food. Don't complain about egg pricesUsing an inflation calculator, the large Grade AA eggs at 58 cents a dozen would go for $6.22 a dozen today. Not all eggs are equalA "dirty" egg -- i.e. one that hasn't been washed -- will actually last longer and without refrigeration than a "clean" one. Also if you are intending to water glass your eggs to preserve them (which would have been more important in 1942 than now), you have to start with "dirty" eggs. [What makes eggs "dirty" are the stains that washing can't remove. - Dave] (The Gallery, Agriculture, Russell Lee)
Quality Store: 1940
... gold mining town on the side of a mountain." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Feline mien ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/06/2021 - 2:41pm -

September 1940. "General store. Ophir, Colorado, a small gold mining town on the side of a mountain." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Feline mienOlder gentleman seated in front of the store reminds me of cats in pictures who look toward the photographer as if knowing that they're the main subject. There must be a catBehind the gas pump, because that beautiful little boy in the window is surely captivated by something. Ruff TimesAccording to the town's website -- Population: 180 humans, 51 dogs CrackerjackTwo boxes, please. Cat tracks?? No: train tracks...Tho not apparent here, this store actually fronts on a railroad line https://ngtrainpics.photoshelter.com/img/pixel.gif High, low or middling?"Quality store", sure, but where on the scale from great to not so? It's the stanceI recognized Sailor Jack on the Cracker Jack boxes right away. Then again, I ate so much of the stuff, I was once dubbed the Cracker Jack Kid by a local Five and Dime store owner. No, we live like this all the timeThe owner of the Ophir general store must have received notice Russell Lee was coming to take a picture. The store has a new coat of paint and the stairs and boardwalk are in tiptop shape. Rock guardianBeautiful, up to date fuel pump situated in a very vulnerable and awkward to access location. Underground tank filler pipe "protection" is a couple of strategically placed rocks. "Ophir there," as they sayon the other side of the San Juan Mountains. I've been to Ophir--it's fairly remote and quite inaccessible. It always amazes me to see photos like this from 80 years ago, and to imagine how people carted supplies (and themselves, for that matter) to such a place with limited means of transportation and communication. [Someday they may invent vehicles which can finally make use of that gasoline pump. -tterrace] (The Gallery, Frontier Life, Gas Stations, Russell Lee, Small Towns, Stores & Markets)
Road Flair: 1941
... Wilder, Idaho." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Such a narrow ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/08/2022 - 6:27pm -

November 1941. "Trinkets in migrant agricultural worker's automobile. Wilder, Idaho." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Such a narrow windshield... would drive me up a wall. CalculatingSeeing this collection up close, now I'm wondering how many girlfriends our dear boy had. Or hoped to have. [No telling what the back seat was like! - Dave] No telling indeed. I hope if it was tricked out with pillows, the girls were armed with hatpins. Trinkets, schminketsHas anyone identified the car yet? Those controls on the steering wheel have to be a clue. Car guessA Buick; about 1930 or so? When Better Automobiles Are BuiltBuick Will Build Them. It's a 1930 model. Identity crisisWhat ever that big box is (heater?) it has a Chevy emblem on it, so it may not be a Buick. Looking at the interior, cars were absolutely medieval back then. [The radio is an in-dash unit from a Chevrolet. The car is a Buick from 1930, six years before General Motors began selling cars with factory-installed radios. - Dave] Alternate titleShould be entitled "Distracted Driving" I'm jealous!... but I do have a pine tree air freshener hangin' from the rearview. Toilet flapperIs what I thought I saw hanging from the rearview mirror. Upon reflection, maybe an upside-down miniature cowboy hat. Knobs & LeversWhat are the two knobs to the right of the fuel gauge? The ones next to the radio. Also, on the steering wheel, I would guess the left lever is for spark advance, but what is the right lever for? [Righthand steering wheel lever is throttle position, which could be used as a kind of cruise control. Righthand knobs are wipers and interior lights. Lefthand knob is the choke. - Dave] And a carburetor heat control! I could have used one of those on my 1964 Sunbeam Alpine. Driving in cold, damp Vermont I regularly had to get out and spray ether into the carb as the ice started to block the throat. Shaggin' Wagon"Wilder, Idaho Edition" Display at your own riskI hope Buick and the other auto manufacturers considered the headliner strength needed to hold up with displays such as this. Oh my gosh mannmade! Access to your user profile is blocked now, but when you insulted me in an earlier post I remember your profile included a pic of D-Day from 'Animal House' in the homemade tank. You want to be a cool guy, but slinging insults and anger the way you do is not cool. The secret to belonging is to belong -- think about that. I honestly hope you find a way to not be so angry and insulting; if not for you, then for everyone who crosses your path. Union 76The decal on the windshield lower right: Re: lolThat’s pretty darn crude, mannmade. Yes, the comments are moderated on this site, specifically to keep away garbage like this. I imagine Dave has included this comment of yours just to show he’s not blocking you utterly, as well as to show the rest of us what he has to deal with. On THAT commentQ: What do mannmade and Kramer have in common? A: Both banned from the fruit store. Junk then, junk nowI believe that the match books are worth more now than most of the other stuff he has hanging. Left til now ...I thought the sharp-eyed viewers would have every trinket, accessory and add on identified by now. So far nobody has mentioned the ash tray mounted near to the radio. Near enough that blowing ash probably ends in the radio as much as anywhere else. I had one of those in a Model A and it sometimes shocked riders to find that the gas tank was directly ahead of it. Inches away. I don't want to see that stuff here.I thought I was seeing things and question why you would include that post from mannmade. It's offensive just being there. I think we would all be better off if that one disappeared. Claptrap and bric-a-bracAnd to think I got into a mild dispute with my parents in 1957 for hanging a pair of fuzzy dice on the rearview mirror! Car carb heatI’ve flown small airplanes for over 45 years and am well acquainted with carburetor heat. Never heard of it in cars before. Shorpy is a constant education! Potentially Lethal ProjectilesIn the era before seat belts and airbags, collapsible steering columns and steering wheels and laminated windscreens, driving around in cars had the potential, in a front end collision, to project the steering column into your face neck or chest and/or shards of razor sharp glass to pepper over the injuries that haven't killed you. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Russell Lee)
Harrowed Ground: 1941
... Perce County, Idaho." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Excellent ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/28/2022 - 12:02pm -

July 1941. "Harrowing summer fallow (wheat land). Nez Perce County, Idaho." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Excellent title!Driving on that slope might be a harrowing experience! I don't see a church nearby or a graveyard, and it is impolite to make fun of certain accents ... so what else can I say? Herro? Goombye. Not a harrow fallsI am trying to figure out where Russell Lee was perched in order to get this fabulous shot. Looks mysterious and oddly compelling ... like a great whale surfacing to have a look around. Not, I'm sure, what the harrower was thinking as he harrowed. Easy now, but later --The set of harrows offer a low center of gravity. Imagine pulling a combine on those sidehills, especially when it wants to track downhill behind the tractor. My maternal grandfatherA man so loathsome neither my mother nor her sisters ever spoke of him, and whose name doesn't appear in the obits of his widow or four daughters, died doing just what this guy is attempting, navigating a tractor on a steep embankment. In my grandfather's case it was a weedy hillside on his central Pennsylvania property. The tractor overturned and crushed him to death. I never met the guy and the only photo any of us have came from the news article in the Mifflin county paper following his accident. It shows the tractor on it's side with his feet stuck out from under it, a death not unlike that of the Wicked Witch of the East of Oz fame. My grandmother, who I don't believe I ever met either, and who spoke not a word of English, managed to raise four pretty remarkable women on the money she earned taking in laundry and doing clothes alterations and repairs. God rest all their souls. I'm hoping the driver of the tractor in Russell Lee's photo never met a similar fate. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Landscapes, Rural America, Russell Lee)
Fall Colors: 1942
... Butte, Montana." 4x5 inch Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Like a Walker ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/27/2022 - 5:32pm -

October 1942. "Scrap and salvage depot, Butte, Montana." 4x5 inch Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Like a Walker EvansI wonder if Lee was aware of/paying homage to Walker Evans' famous FA photo of Bethlehem, PA, with the cemetery in the foreground and the town in the distance. Taylor Tot Strollerfor little kids slightly left of front and center in the image. I have a photo of me in one of those a few years later than this image. Healthiest spot in town ??That wouldn't be true in most places, of course, but in one of America's most contaminated cities, this location on the southern outskirts of the city (note the MILW Station tower), well removed from the "The Hill" - and presumably out of the direction of the winds that blow therefrom - may be eligible for consideration. All metalToday that heap would be 90% plastic. One man's junk ...The site now is probably an upscale housing development. The owners are warned to drink bottled water instead of the 'glowing' tap water. Stroller/walkerI recognize that stroller/walker with the rattan back and wooden handle. There was a removable handle to allow it to be pushed like a stroller, and with the handle removed, it was a walker. I had one as a tot in the early '50s, and it hung around for quite a while. PoisonvilleDashiell Hammett based 'Red Harvest' on events in Butte, which he renamed Personville, aka 'Poisonville'. He had a different sort of contamination in mind, however. So many car partsMiddle right is the firewall and cowl of a car. It has an integral gas tank. Model T? Beyond that and to the right is the rear of a sedan. To the left in front of the tree is a stainless steel radiator surround. At the left edge, orange with surface rust and sporting some chrome trim, is a hood or door or ... ? Below that looks kinda like a black fender. Probably more parts to find. Still available?Dang! I see just what I need to get that old Plymouth running again. I had one 11 years later ...Me in my Taylor stroller, 1953. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Russell Lee, WW2)
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)
Cranked: 1937
... if there ever was one. Medium-format nitrate negative by Russell Lee. View full size. Way "Up North" As a native ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/11/2012 - 4:45pm -

April 1937. "Bureau in the bedroom of the house occupied by the Ingrahams and the Smallwoods near Nelma, Wisconsin." A cryptic tableau if there ever was one. Medium-format nitrate negative by Russell Lee. View full size. Way "Up North"As a native Wisconsinite, I can honestly say that I have never heard of Nelma, WI, which appears to be a speck on the map. Nelma is about as far "up north" (a term used by natives to refer to the northern lakes and forest areas of the state where many have summer homes/cabins and where the deer hunting culture is king) as a Wisconsin town can be. And, it should be pointed out, that the Ingrahams's and Smallwood's home is only "near" Nelma, which makes it even further removed from civilization. The paper on the bedroom walls gives new meaning to the term "wall paper". (Let's hope that there is some insulation under it somewhere as the subzero temperatures in this neck of the woods can be extreme.) The artwork on the wall appears to be Dutch, but is not Vermeer. The bottles under the dresser could have contained liquor or liniment, both of which would have been necessary to survive life in Nelma. I don't want to think about the possibilities of why the hammer was lying side-by-side with a pair of boy's shoes. In addition, one can only hope that the two families were able to survive the seven years' bad luck that may have come as a result of the breaking of the mirror. As Dave stated, this indeed is a cryptic tableau. Old-school audioIn strictly temporal terms, playing a cylinder in 1937 would be like today sticking one of those round, silvery things - what are they called again? Oh yeah, CDs - into a machine rather than downloading or streaming an mp3 to your mobile device. Unless I'm MistakenThis tableau is one of the sets for Edison's lost 1909 version of The Shining. Functionality of wallpaperIn response to LilyPondLane's submittal: In our modern times, wallpaper is merely a form of wall decoration. Formerly, wallpaper had a utilitarian function to seal the interior space of the house, and prevent drafts. Many houses did not use sheetrock or plaster on the walls, and cold air could seep in past the wood siding and planking. Copyright InfringementI'd say this is a crime scene photo -- of a cylinder bootlegging operation! Why?My question is, why is there even a photo of this scene? It may be interesting to look at 75 years later but I doubt in 1937 it was that impressive. [It is one of the many thousands of pictures taken by Russell Lee and his colleagues documenting housing conditions for the Farm Security and Resettlement Administrations. - Dave] This is so wrong to sayJudging by those empties and what else is scattered on that floor, I'd say someone got hammered last night. Well, I did say it was so wrong to say. WallpaperAs an illustration for the utility of wallpaper as described by MaxCohoon, I have attached two photographs from the same series that show the house from the outside. It is constructed of logs. The caption for the detail photograph reads in part: "Note the earth fill around base to keep in warmth in the winter. The space between the logs is usually filled with cement or mud. The windows are removed when a house is abandoned; people cannot build glass." Old AudioEdison actually made cylinders until 1929. From a Victrola collectorThe mechanism looks like an Edison Amberola 30, but that cabinet is spartan. I'm not sure what the model number is without the ornate oak cabinet. Edison Amberola 30Agree with Michael that the machine is an Edison Amberola 30. The "-ola" suffix referred to an internal horn machine [Victor = Victrola, Columbia = Grafonola, etc.], and the cylinders made for use on the Edison machines were known as "Blue Amberols". Regarding sstucky's comment, Edison did make cylinders until the fall of 1929, by which point they were recorded using the electrical, rather than acoustical, recording process. Although cylinders had long since fallen out of favor with the record-buying public at large, Edison continued to produce them on the basis of many rural folks still having the older machines--this photo is a good indication of that marketing strategy. Ola!Victor claimed they chose the suffix -ola for their new internal horn machine because it had "a sound suggestive of music". Suggestive of music, perhaps, in that it was quite suggestive of another company's product: Aeolian's brand of player piano, the Pianola. Swiping other people's suffixes isn't without its poetic justice, and soon other phonograph companies began coming out with their own "olas" (actually the "o" was part of the word "piano"). Eventually an auto parts company, which had never manufactured pianos or phonographs, would appropriate it as a name for their new car radio, a name that's still around today. (Technology, The Gallery, Russell Lee)
Comic-Con: 1942
... on their weekly visit to town." Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Not at our ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/01/2022 - 10:13am -

July 1942. "Nyssa, Oregon. Japanese-American boys at the newsstand on their weekly visit to town." Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Not at our hometown newsstand --As soon as we kids grabbed a comic book, Margaret the Miserable would swoop in on her broom and out the door we went. There was NO reading without buying. You Learn Something New Every DayOK, I've never heard of Napoleon and Uncle Elby, but apparently it was popular in newspapers and comic books of that era. In fact that is issue No. 1 in the rack. Hey, look!The August issue of Railroad Magazine is out! Back in the dayI remember "looking through" Sixteen magazine and all the others on the rack, when we were allowed to browse. Just as these fellows are doing. Today magazines are enclosed in wrap to prevent this. I miss the slower times. Home of the Wapato WolvesLess than 1,000 students for three grades today. Colors are blue & gold. It appears they use two wolf images for their mascot. The scary version on the young man's t-shirt, and a more regal image for when they're not trying to be an animal and rip the other team apart. I sold what was left of my comic book collection a little over a decade ago. I had lots of the action heroes, plus Archie and Mad Magazine. I was surprised the comic that brought the highest amount was Rocky the Flying Squirrell and Bullwinkle ... $25. As with so many things I've purged, I'm glad they found a good new home. The closet they were stored in recently flooded. Somber ReadingIt would have been hard for those Japanese-American kids to view some of the racist depictions of our Pacific enemies that were so prevalent in comics of the war years. It may have seemed right to most at the time, but it still must have hurt those young minds. So Few Comics?Leaving aside all the pulp fiction, detective and romance magazines, and general magazines, I only see three comic books: -- Captain Aero #8 September 1942 “Keep ‘em Flyin!” Introduces the Red Cross. -- Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories Vol. 2 #11 August 1942 (#23) -- Napoleon and Uncle Elby #1 1942 If only the kids knew. Current values in mint condition, respectively: over $1,000 over $2,050 over $700 ... not bad for a 10 cent investment. Freedom from fearRe: Nyssa, Oregon detention facility for Japanese-Americans see https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Nyssa,_Oregon_%28detention_facility%29/ Napoleon and Uncle Elby comic books consisted of reprints of the newspaper strip. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_and_Uncle_Elby Issue #1 (pictured) was published in 1942 So that's where they went.My grandfather owned and operated an apple ranch in Wapato, Washington, near Yakima, 300 miles from Nyssa. He often told us that his best orchard workers had been people of Japanese ancestry. These people suddenly disappeared in the spring of 1942, and never returned to the Yakima Valley. (The Gallery, Kids, Relocation Camps, Russell Lee, Stores & Markets)
Any Thing Store: 1940
... City, Oklahoma." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Cats rule, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/03/2022 - 11:55pm -

February 1940. "Secondhand store. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Cats rule, Dogs droolAdmittedly I am more of a feline fancier than a dog lover, possibly why I didn't notice the chair-mutt until jamax commented on its presence. Spurred on by all of the eclectic merchandise on offer, it seemed appropriate to look for any signs of a cat, on or near the premises. Much to my delight my search was rewarded! Nobody can tell me that isn't Felix watching the universe unfold below him from his lordly vantage point. Observe the Mighty Ruler surveying his kingdom from the lofty branch situated between the two main tree trunks on the right! [That "cat" has more bark than bite. - Dave] Going, Going ... Gone?We can only wonder how many of the "treasures" here were collected for the scrap drives a few years later. Photo ShoppingThis one grabbed my attention. I see several things to buy. The woman is eying the crib. Maybe the gentleman watching doesn't know why. He'll get the lunchbox. Ab's Picker's HeavenAllan Thomas Abston (1892-1976) is seen standing in front of his Used Furniture Store at 609 W. Reno Avenue in Oklahoma City. He and his wife, Ova B. Page, came from Tennessee in about 1930. Selling used furniture was a lot easier than working in the coal mines. They had three sons and two daughters, to help them sell their "gently used" goods during the Great Depression. Kettle Store?If Ma and Pa Kettle owned a store, this is what it would look like. Garbage In, Garbage Out"One man's trash is another man's treasure," goes the old saying. However, after years spent "antiquing", thrift shopping, Craigslisting, eBaying, and even "dumpster diving", I've come to the conclusion that, often, "one man's trash" is just "your trash" waiting to happen. Signs4sale: $0 OBOBet the same hand that did that masterpiece atop the porch roof had no part in those ransom-note-like scrawlings off to the right. What do I bet?? How 'bout a washboard, slightly used. Come to my estate sale; you won't be sorryBelow is 609 West Reno Avenue today. Given the condition of the old house in 1940 there was little doubt it would not be there today. I am spending a good part of my retirement years on the same treasure hunt as Dezi Beck, only substitute Estate Sales for Dumpster Diving (most of the dumpsters around me are in locked enclosures). I tell people I should be ashamed at how much art on my walls came from thrift stores. I have about a dozen pieces on the walls worth over $1,000 each for which I paid less than $100. I suspect most of it was from the kids cleaning out their parents' houses and just wanting the houses emptied. I've also developed a list of search words for Craigslist, which include divorce and downsizing. I have bought some amazing things that people in those situations just want to get rid of. The end result is I told a friend I am purging my house of things I don't need while filling up my house with things I don't need ... but of better quality. Things ChangeClearly, the items in the front yard likely don't come back inside each evening for safekeeping when business is done for the day. No Ring cameras or high tech survellaince back then. Junkyard dog on duty? Coming out of the Great Depression, were people in general just more trusting of their neighbors? Maybe a rhetorical question. NOT ON MY WATCH Wow that proprietor is keeping a close eye on those two old gray would be thieves Wow! Wow!The very original recycling. I mean, springs for a mattress for sale? Man, we honestly have it good in these modern times with disposable everything merchandise. So ...Why is there a sawhorse on the roof? Guard dog on dutyI wonder if the dog is for sale? Suddenly …the Sanford and Son theme is playing in my head String bean treeOn the left of the photo. Northern catalpa is the correct name. Yes, I Googled it. It's complicatedIt makes my brain hurt to look at this but I'll make a quick stop and pick up one of those charming little drop-leaf tables far left beside the bedsprings, and a couple of the Windsor chairs. I will probably paint them all chartreuse. Firmware for SaleThe modern version (in the 70s) was surplus electronics catalogs, like ROMs for sale, "many useful patterns." Left behindI suspect that most of the items came from the homes of folks who migrated to a supposedly better life in the Far West in the 1930s to escape the ruin of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Families had to sell at giveaway prices what they could not take with them, and often their household possessions literally were given away. Kindred spiritWe actually had one of those Windsor chairs in my basement when I was little, and during her "antiquing" phase, Mom did indeed stain it chartreuse. Sewing MachineTo the right there is a sewing machine with a manual foot pedal. My Great Aunt Flossie used to make patchwork quilts with one of those. She sewed well into her 90s. She passed back in the early '80s. The Dog's name must be WaldoAfter much searching I finally found him! "Waldo" appears to be relaxing under the table with a couple of early Home Depot 5 gallon buckets sitting on it. Mattress springswere a cheaper alternative to store bought harrowers. If you needed loose soil smoothed out you would drag one or two mattress springs (weighted down a bit) behind your tractor. We did this when we landscaped around our new house in the early 1970s. More bark than bite ...Yep, you're right Dave, should have looked up there with binoculars. I am overdue for my cataract surgery also. Keep up the fantastic work! Catalpa TreesIn the South these trees were planted not for beautification but for fish bait. A specific type of moth lade their eggs on catalpa trees so their larvae (or worm) could feed on the catalpa leaves. These worms were used for fishing. (The Gallery, Dogs, OKC, Russell Lee, Stores & Markets)
Sins of Passion: 1937
... Tower, Minnesota." Medium format nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. I want that ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/01/2010 - 2:21am -

August 1937. "Early morning scene. Tower, Minnesota." Medium format nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. I want that Phillip Morris sign.Is this Lee Harvey Oswald's dad? Still standing on Main.View Larger Map Opera singers!Not only does Lucky Strike have Madeleine Carroll selling tits wares, but also Metropolitan Opera singer Helen Jepson. Even better than a doctor! The resemblance to Oswald is spooky! So that's where all those Norwegian bachelor farmers wound up on a Saturday night! "Sins of Passion" does not show up on IMDB. Were there second rate theaters that sidestepped the Hayes Office, showing this kind of film without getting arrested? [The Hayes Office was an arm of the motion picture industry. Which of course didn't have the power to arrest anyone. - Dave] It's HIM!! Wow, I was thinking the same thing! Suspicious cigarette he has there. B.V.Ralph Fiennes, Before (Lord) Voldemort. Saturated MarketInexplicably, I have the desire to use tobacco products. CALLING...PHIIIIIIIIILLLLIIIIIIIP MOOOOOORRRRRIIIIIIISSSSSS!!!!! Time traveling tterraceWhere'd tterrace get the time machine? And if he could go back in time, why'd he pick this bar to hang around? "Sins of Passion"A "sex hygiene" short produced by Maurice Copeland. Generally classed as an exploitation film with the ostensible topic of venereal disease. As if we needed itEven more proof that LHO had been in some unexpected places. People's BeerFrom Oshkosh. First black-owned brewery in the U.S. http://www.mainstreetoshkosh.com/2008/02/peoples-beer.html Lucky Opera SingerHelen Jepson chose Lucky Strikes because of her voice. Her arias must have been something, punctuated, as they must have been, by coughing fits. On the Sunny Side of the StreetThis place does not appear to be there any longer. The building below in the Google Street View is on the south side of the street facing north. The shadow of the time-traveling tterrace shows him to be on the north side of the street facing south. Helen Jepson saysHelen Jepson sang lead soprano with the Metropolitan Opera from 1935 to 1941. She was also popular on radio shows and had a brief film careen. Do you suppose she REALLY smoked Luckies "because of her voice"? SundayReminds me of Edward Hopper's "Sunday" from 1926. Beautiful downtown TowerI've been to Tower -- on business, believe it or not. Can you say "middle of nowhere"? SmokesWe see ads for Lucky Strikes (before Lucky Strike green went to war and didn't come back) featuring actress Madeleine Carroll and soprano Helen Jepson; Chesterfields (whose theme song contains a line "while your Chesterfield burns" that was highly alarming in Canada where chesterfield is another name for a sofa); Philip Morris (featuring Johnny, the Bell Boy), Camels, as well as Van Dyck and White Owl Cigars, and "Model" which looks to me to be some sort of pipe tobacco or tobacco pouch. In fact, besides the ad for the movie, the only non-tobacco things I can see here are a sign pained onto the glass for Peoples Beer (a small brewery out of Oshkosh) and a small sign telling people that this place "serves" "we have Wrigley's" Spearmint gum. JohnnyThe "Call For Philip Morris" Bellman was Johnny Roventini, a 4-foot-7 actor who was a national celebrity in his time. More Doctors Smoke CamelsDid you know? Censorship, Mad City styleA November 1937 edition of the Wisconsin State Journal reports that the City of Madison's censorship committee (led by its acting mayor) concluded that "Sins of Passion" could not be shown in the Capitol Theatre - but instead could be shown only "as an educational film in a school auditorium or some other public place." The Mayor's last name was Gill, not Quimby. The sun is in the morning. The sun is in the morning. In Minnesota, the sun rises in the northeast in the summer. So I believe the google picture could be correct. This ain't Florida. In summer you have 18 hour days or longer. [Back to school for you. The sun doesn't rise in the northeast anywhere north of the Tropic of Cancer.* - Dave] *Actually, back to school for me. The sun will never pass directly overhead north of the Tropic of Cancer, but it can rise north of due east, and therefore can shine from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere. I think. - Dave North and SouthIt's not astrophysics, but the sidewalk is sloping downhill to the left in the Lee photo. The Google Street View below seems to show the sidewalk sloping in the opposite direction. From what I can tell, most or all of Main Street in Tower slopes downhill east to west. The two stores are probably on the opposite sides of the street, the Street View store on the south side and the Lee photo on the north. On the other hand, step down the street to the old building next to Hardware Hanks on the north side of Main Street. View Larger Map I think this is probably your old store, or at least a better candidate. The sidewalk has been raised (as wasn't too uncommon in many midwest towns as the roads were improved and built up) but the short step inside the alcove seems to still be there. The photo isn't very good and someone parked a silly trailer home partially in the way of our better view!! Sunrise[Back to school for you. The sun doesn't rise in the northeast anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. - Dave] Oh, yeah — just like a rocket can't work in a vacuum, I suppose. I suggest that you go back to school. In the northern hemisphere, for instance, after the autumn equinox and before the spring equinox, the sun rises south of east — and between the spring equinox and the autumn equinox, it rises north of east, the number of degrees north dependent on the latitude and date. In extreme cases, such as just south of the Arctic Circle (which one might note is in the northern hemisphere), on the day of the summer solstice, say, the sun will rise just east of due north, and set (24 hours less a bit later) just west of due north. Thus, there certainly are dates and (north) latitudes where on those days and at those locations the Sun will rise exactly in the northeast. (Similar arguments might be made about southern latitudes, but that wasn't what you tried erroneously to dismiss.) [Back to school for me indeed! - Dave] This Post's PopularityCourtesy of Instapundit. (The Gallery, Movies, Russell Lee, Stores & Markets)
Fair Game: 1942
... Imperial County Fair." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Ahead of their ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/25/2022 - 4:51pm -

March 1942. El Centro, California. "Boys at carnival attraction. Imperial County Fair." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Ahead of their timeThe most interesting part of this photograph is the ethnic mix. In addition to some generic Caucasians (okay, maybe one of Italian heritage), there’s a guy who looks distinctly Hispanic and a couple of Blacks. Nobody seems especially concerned about the differences. It would be fascinating to know whether they served with each other as WWII progressed. Finally, putting geometry to use!I guess if you can shoot the plane down, it's yours. I wonder what they used for ammo and who got the job of collecting it after being shot? Everybody's a winner!Everybody standing inside the booth, that is. Pricey ammoIt looks as though the ammo may be coins, perhaps pennies. (The Gallery, Russell Lee)
Pie Filling: 1940
... Pie Town, New Mexico." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Pie-O-Neer No ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/08/2021 - 12:33pm -

June 1940. "The gasoline pumps at Pie Town, New Mexico." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Pie-O-Neer No MoSadly, the famous pie source in Pie Town, the Pie-O-Neer Cafe, closed its doors for good after the coronavirus hit early last year. Café is still openAlthough not in the same location, I would guess. Acute accentThat is some accent over the E of CAFÉ. It almost functions as an exclamation point. Make mine minceBecause as I always say: mince pie, not words. Also because no one else ever wants any and I can have the whole thing. Good newsThe Pie-O-Neer Cafe has reopened! The retired owners sold it and helped the new owner (an experienced pie baker) with their recipes. The new owner has introduced one innovation - a pie bar. Like a salad bar, only pie! Possible future "Seinfeld" settingBinge watching "Seinfeld," this would fits right in maybe as a location for Kramer to retire to. Make sure the glass is full before starting fill-upI remember those pumps. Wow! I seem to have suddenly become old. I dare you ...to order anything but pie and see what happens. That reminds me of a story...Uncle Ronnie spent his childhood in the Kentucky hills. Once he was old enough, he joined the military as a way to gain job skills and see the world. One evening the guys in the barracks said, "Let's go into town and get us a pie." Sounded good to Ronnie--he had a sweet tooth, and didn't much care if it was apple, cherry, molasses--his mouth was already watering. Imagine his disgust when faced with his first pizza. He remained bitter about that till the day he died. He'd have viewed Pietown with the gravest suspicion. Back to the picture, I hope Cowboy Carl there doesn't get startled or hiccup--he's apt to hurt himself. What good news!Glad to hear that the Pie-O-Neer cafe is reopening. We stopped there a few years ago on the way from Colorado to California, and it is certainly worth travelling the back roads instead of the Interstates. Plus, the Very Large Array of radio telescopes is on the way there, if you leave I-25 in Socorro, NM. Ambidextrous pumpsRemember when hoses on gas pumps were so long you could stretch them across your car like that? Now you always have to remember on which side of the pump you need to park. A simpler timeBack when gasoline was sold by the whole cent, without that messy 9/10 tacked on. Pie CrustyI think this might be the old gas station. It's on US-60 in Pie Town. But the modern road is now where the row of buildings once stood across the street. Shy PieFor some reason it feels like the word "pie" doesn't work well as a brand. Like someone else remarked, it's Seinfeldian. No one would seriously build a brand whose most common uses consisted of "American as Apple Pie", "Shut your pie hole", or "cutie pie". It's a nice word, though, and I love pie,(except mincemeat pie, oddly). But somehow the word struggles as a moniker with any meaningful legs in polite society. As seen on "CBS Sunday Morning"Bill Geist visited Pie Town in 2014. You can watch his segment on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJYaTG72b2c Not just pies but chile too!You can get great pies, and a great bowl of green chile stew also! And yes I spelled "chile" correctly! 64-425Hard ridden 1935 Ford three-window "standard" coupe. Wartime rubber in high demand, automotive tires in very short supply, bald tires the norm. I recall seeing some snake-wave thread pattern tires on cars during the very early 1950s but don't remember the tire manufacturer's name or logo. Gas Wasn't CheapTwenty cents a gallon for gas may seem cheap, but it's equivalent to about $3.70 a gallon today, about what I paid the last time I filled up. I wonder how many pieces of pie I could buy for 20 cents back in 1940 Pie Town. CORONADO CUARTO CENTENNIALhttp://www.worldlicenseplates.com/jpglps/US_NMXX_GI2.jpg https://www.jstor.org/stable/2507507 Car ID1935 Ford coupe (standard one tail light) 1928 Ford model A sedan. The coupe has had a rough life so far, but the Model A is looking well. Reminds me of Jett RinkProbably not Jett Rink but I bet he knew him. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Gas Stations, Pie Town, Russell Lee, Small Towns)
Between Jobs: 1941
... Service office to open in the morning." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Picking or ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/15/2022 - 12:27pm -

September 1941. Yakima, Washington. "Migratory agricultural workers in shack towns, tents, and trailers. Boys looking for work wait for the Washington State Employment Service office to open in the morning." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Picking or picking-offOh how bright with the enthusiasm of youth!! In a few months work wouldn't be hard to find. Have PatienceDon't worry fellas---Uncle Sam wants you! FootwearAnd you'll get new boots too. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Russell Lee)
Shasta Dam: 1942
... Dam under construction." Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Finished product ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/07/2022 - 3:16pm -

June 1942. Redding, California (vicinity). "Shasta Dam under construction." Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Finished productThe 1942 photo is beautiful. Here's a look at Shasta Dam today, courtesy of Google Earth. WowBeautiful pic! "Peaking" through.The dam and its reservoir are named for Mount Shasta, elevation 14,179 feet, about 50 miles away, which you can see peeking through the gap. Thanks to the drought, there is a lot less water now than what appears in the Google Earth photo. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Industry & Public Works, Russell Lee)
The Informed Farmer: 1941
... on that "Silver Screen" in the magazine rack is for a Lee Wagner, not "Wagoner." November 1941. "Lee Wagoner, Black Canyon ... at home. Canyon County, Idaho." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Hmmm, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/09/2022 - 10:37am -

        UPDATE: The address label on that "Silver Screen" in the magazine rack is for a Lee Wagner, not "Wagoner." November 1941. "Lee Wagoner, Black Canyon Project farmer, at home. Canyon County, Idaho." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Hmmm, I wonder ...if those X-ray specs advertised in the back of the magazine really work. And just like that …… there he is in the 1940 Census, along with wife Elva and sons Orville, 13, Ronald, 8, and Edwin, 7. All have since died. Here's my dimeI would have picked up that edition of Silver Screen with Dorothy Lamour on the cover (December 1941) to read about The Foibles of the Fabulous Cary Grant. https://www.bagbagsydvintage.com/listing/683815720/silver-screen-magazin... This photo reminds meI have adopted the Asian custom of removing my shoes as soon as I enter my house and when entering the home of someone who observes the same custom. It makes a positive difference. I also know nurses who will not wear the shoes they wear at the hospital outside the hospital. Of course, today we are better informed about disease transmission. Using a link provided by jimboylan, I calculate Lee Wagner was 43 when Russell Lee took these photographs. His wife, Elva, was 34, nine years his junior. They married when she was 19 and their eldest son, Orville was born when she was 21 and Lee was 30. Elva died at the age of 68, four years before Lee died at the age of 80 (according to another link by jimboylan). The Real LeeLinks to Lee's biography: 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 Annoying scrunchI bet it annoyed his wife that he scrunched up that rug by pushing the hassock forward with his feet right before this photo was taken. It's nice and flat in the previous photo of this guy, in which his wife was also seen. Shoes in the houseThere are many ways to divide up or classify people: like to shake hands / don’t like to shake hands, wear a hat in the winter / don’t wear a hat, drink beer / don’t drink beer, believe in God / don’t believe in God, and, wear shoes in the house / don’t wear shoes in the house. I prefer to leave my shoes in the foyer, and I’ve harangued my fellow householders into compliance on the basis of the argument that what’s on the sidewalk comes into the house on the soles of the shoes, and don’t make me describe what’s on the sidewalk. I make exceptions for guests who prefer to leave their shoes on. Some even detail the reason I wouldn’t want them taking off their shoes. Yes, it has to do with smelly socks. [When you're a farmer, the boots are on till bedtime. - Dave] Rocking chairJust noticed that the chair he’s in has been transformed into a rocking chair. The Flapper WifeInvented by Beatrice Burton Morgan, author of romance novels set in the 20's which used the slang and cultural references of the day. We see a photo of Lee's flapper wife Elva May, born in 1907, wearing her sporty bob from about 1928. Hi-Ho, the Derry-O!... and Bill Pullman as Lee Wagner in this week's episode of Farmer in the Dell. Maybe no one else sees it, but the resemblance jumped off the screen at me and I can't let it go! A rug on top of a rugA well-worn chair and hassock. I wonder why the hassock required a special rug underneath it. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Russell Lee)
Golden Years: 1941
... bathers at the park swimming pool." Yet another shot by Russell Lee of the ladies of Caldwell, Idaho. 35mm nitrate negative. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 8:19pm -

July 1941. "Sun bathers at the park swimming pool." Yet another shot by Russell Lee of the ladies of Caldwell, Idaho. 35mm nitrate negative. View full size. Olive OilNote the use of olive oil as tanning oil - Pompeian brand Ice cream!Note also how the dark haired girl with the medallion around her neck is eyeing the fudgecicle held by the girl getting her back oiled. Sure seems to want to finish it for her! Pompeian Brand Olive OilStill produced here in Baltimore, Maryland~~ OilI noticed the oil too--everyone seems completely fascinated by this! [Yes. We do seem to have a lot of cooking fans here at Shorpy. - Dave] Bikini in 1941?Bikinis in 1941? [Two-piece swimsuits go back thousands of years; having two pieces doesn't make a swimsuit a bikini. The "official" bikini, a two-part swimsuit with an abbreviated bottom section, was named after the Bikini Atoll, site of an atom-bomb test in 1946.- Dave] Boys to MenThe boys in the background had NO idea that, within a few months, America would be at war and they would be in it. This is the last carefree summer in their teenage years. [They had a very good idea. The war had been going on since 1939. After the Germans bombed London, Americans knew it wouldn't be long before this country entered the war. - Dave] Timing of the two photosI love the two shots of this group! It reminds me of the many days that my siblings, friends and I spent at swimming pools, in the mid-late 60s. It looks to me like there are two sets of sisters here. The three blond girls appear to be wearing identical bathing suits, and so do the two dark-haired girls. I also wonder if the fudgesicle is actually two different fudgesicles. The smallest of the blond girls has wet hair in one and dry hair in the other, yet the fudgesicle is about the same size in both pictures. I can't think of how the fudgesicle could have stayed the same size long enough for that to happen. I'm sure this attention to detail, in pictures that most people wouldn't spend two seconds looking at, could probably be diagnosed as some kind of mental disorder, but I see where others here pay attention to small details too, so I guess if I have a disorder I am in good company! I doubt that these boys would have been quite old enough to serve in WWII, which would have been over, four years later. Perhaps they did like my dad, who was a little too young to see action during the war, but enlisted soon after. There was still a tremendous amount of work for the military to do, and a lot of tragic things to see, for several years afterward. (The Gallery, Pretty Girls, Russell Lee, Small Towns)
Steel Erection: 1941
... of Shasta Dam. Shasta County, California." Photo by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration. View full size. Skilled workers ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/29/2022 - 3:42pm -

December 1941. "Bending reinforcing steel which will be used in construction of Shasta Dam. Shasta County, California." Photo by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration. View full size. Skilled workersThese were highly skilled workers to bend that steel with minimal tooling. Steel Erection?Ah, youth! NopeNot going to touch this. Going for an interviewI wonder what you needed to get a job there? Looks simple!Yeah of course. The guy in the middle stands there, and the two with hard hats back up, right? BulldogI always love to see the old chain-drive Macks. The 1938 GMC flatbed is cool, too. SquaresLarge size rebars were square in section until the mid 1950s, when large size round deformed bars became available. Smoking On The Job?Boy, things sure have changed since the good old fifties. These days, most guys would find it difficult working on a steel erection with a butt hanging out of their mouth. Square RebarLooks like at least #8 rebar. You pretty much only see square rebar in demo work nowadays. Double-deckerThat must be the new Pit River Bridge in the background, which was completed about the same time as the dam. It replaced lower level road and rail bridges which were inundated by Shasta Lake. Today it carries Interstate 5 on the upper deck and Union Pacific Railroad on the lower. As far as I know, it's the only such dual-purpose bridge in the western U.S. Something tells methat the contraption between the two guys on the left actually does the bending. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Industry & Public Works, Russell Lee)
V for Veggies: 1942
... stand in grocery store." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. I Spy With My ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/20/2022 - 9:39pm -

February 1942. "Porterville, California. Vegetable stand in grocery store." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. I Spy With My Little EyeGreen Beans Cabbage Red Cabbage (the dark one) Asparagus Artichoke Green Onions Red Onions Yellow Onions Sweet Potatoes Carrots Beets Leeks Squash Coffee the Charioteers loveSo good, it was served at all of the races! I wish we had a place to buy produce like that around here! Someone please colorize this!Would love to see this in color. The Green GrocerI'm expecting Joe Carcione to appear. Spam a LotEven after adjusting for inflation the prices are not that bad. Except for the Spam, which would equate to about $6.17 per can. Still in business.Smith's Complete Grocery, founded in 1927, is still there at 55 N. Hockett Street in Porterville. Graphics look familiarSeems unlikely, but those signs have a Theodore Geisel feel to them. (The Gallery, Russell Lee, Stores & Markets, WW2)
Just Add Water: 1942
... dam under construction." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Like an Egyptian ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/26/2022 - 10:16am -

June 1942. "Shasta Dam, Shasta County, California. The dam under construction." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Like an EgyptianSeeing photographs of projects like this are always amazing to look at. And then you go back and look at all the things built before power tools. Absolutely incredible what man can do. Dam dam damWe have almost forgotten how crucial dam-building was to the New Deal and how much it transformed America via resource management and rural electrification, as well as job creation. Dams became patriotic symbols, and rather sexy: it seems amazing that Life magazine chose a photo of Montana's Fort Peck Dam (by Margaret Bourke-White) for the cover of its first issue. Boulder (later Hoover) Dam, dedicated in 1935, became a major tourist attraction because U.S. Route 93 went across the dam's crest. (You can still drive across, but this has become much more complicated.) The Shasta Dam, which Lee photographed, had been envisioned for two decades, but it took the New Deal and the Bureau of Reclamation to get it built starting in 1937. Needs water now!Currently Shasta Lake is 37% full -- about half of what the average level in other years was this time of year. Only two guys workingI only see two guys working. They must have put in some major overtime to build such a dam. Just add colorhttps://www.shorpy.com/node/26703 Remember GuysIf you drop a tool, you get to climb down and bring it back. Oh, by the way, you're off the clock until you get back. Careful!I'm seeing a couple of OSHA violations here. Specifically, think the guy in the front of the picture on the edge of the dam, balancing on a narrow piece of wood, forgot to put on his safety harness. But he's probably wearing sure footed leather sole shoes. America in the time of war.Look at this. If anyone had doubts America was in danger of losing a war on two fronts look no further than to these awe inspiring historical pics of major construction projects, factories, or any other infrastructure all underway during a very troubling era. As Yamamoto mentioned: A sleeping giant was indeed awakened. Volume of concreteThis incredibly effective perspective relays the strength and the massive volume of concrete used on this dam: 15 Million tons! The dam flooded an old mining town, Kennett, under approximately 400 feet of water. (The Gallery, Industry & Public Works, Russell Lee)
Nifty Nook: 1940
... the street. Phoenix, Arizona." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Admin. View full size. Another view from 2017 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/26/2018 - 3:02pm -

May 1940. "High school students crossing the street. Phoenix, Arizona." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Admin. View full size. Another view from 2017I have no idea how the "TimeandAgainPhoto" post knew the location of this photo. I looked for some clue (i.e street signs) but could not find anything. But thanks to their information I was able to find this street view from about the same angle as the original with the aforementioned school on the opposite side of the street from their post. Same differenceThat 35-cent Spanish Dinner seems so inexpensive but it's the same as $6.40 today. +68Below is the same perspective from May of 2008. The view is looking southeast from the corner of what I believe was Sixth Street (which no longer intersects here) and East Van Buren Streets. The large building in the background on the right is the Monroe School at 215 N. 7th Street. Constructed in 1913, it remains but can no longer be seen from this vantage. Fill 'er upYou can have a hamburger, five different kinds of soft drinks, and ice cream - or you can splurge on a Spanish Dinner. Decisions, decisions. RC ColaI remember when i was a child in the 60s RC cola was the king of the marketplace in my hometown of Robbinsville N.C. It is kinda sad that the brand has been lost. The drink still exists, but the taste is gone. Scoping 'em outLove the guy in the road checking out the two chicks walking away. The stop sign seems like good advice. ImpactThanks for all the amazing gifts you Shorpy folks have presented over the years, Dave, but I need to tell you that never has a photo affected me like this one. I see these high-schoolers of 1940, and think of my late father, the second of seven kids born to Dutch immigrants in Grand Rapids, Michigan, whose eighteenth birthday fell on the very day the Nazis invaded The Netherlands: May 10, 1940. He'd recalled that GR's southwest side, populated at that time mostly by folks of Dutch heritage, was eerily hushed during those months — "way too quiet," as he described it. Frustration, anxiety and fear swirled through the community, with many Dutch-Americans unable to obtain any information on the well-being of friends and loved ones living in the "Old Country". I observe these young ladies crossing the street, and they don't seem to be the happy-go-lucky, carefree kids I'd expected to see. Like they know something's coming. Something dark. School crossingThe young man in the middle of the street is not admiring the young ladies walking away, he is the school crossing guard. He is operating the stop sign for a safe crossing for all his classmates. You can see the base of the unit between his feet. PUHSView is looking southeast from the northwast corner of 7th Street and Van Buren. Behind the camera is Phoenix Union High School. It is the high school which many in my family attended up to 1960 and which I attended briefly in 1964 before East [Phoenix] High School construction was completed. In the background is Monroe Elementary School which my grandma Callie B. Wilkins [nee Jones] claims she attended. It was briefly an AFEES (Armed Forces Entrance and Examination Station) in the 80-90's. The PUHS campus has been replaced by office buildings with some of the original classroom buildings serving as a University of Arizona extension. 600 Block of Van Buren, Not the 700 Block?A search of Newspapers.com reveals that the Nifty Nook was at 601 E. Van Buren (as of November 1939) and Sunnyland Bakery was at 605 E. Van Buren. This suggests that the cross street at the right is 6th Street, not 7th. The stop sign at the extreme left edge of the photograph is probably 7th Street. 6th Street does not exist at Van Buren any more, but the screenshot posted by TimeAndAgainPhoto, of the ASU downtown campus, is closer than the one from ceraurus of 7th Street. ["Ceraurus"? - Dave] Clarification: The screenshot that user "ceraurus" posted in a previous comment. "Arizona Highways" articleThis Russell Lee photo was recently the lead photo in the February 2022 issue of "Arizona Highways" It was spread across pages 28 & 29. The article featured photos of Phoenix by Russell Lee in the 1940s. I just received the April 2022 issue of "Arizona Highways" and the Editor's Letter on page 2 discusses a recent conversation he had with one of the girls crossing the street in this photo. Her name is Joyce Cambell-Wing, she is the girl in the white dress closest to the 7UP sign in the photo. Her conversation with the editor goes into a lot of detail about her memories of the early '40s. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Russell Lee)
Drink Dr. Pepper: 1939
... Double Line and Double Cola. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Hey, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/17/2014 - 11:47pm -

November 1939. Waco, Texas. "Proprietor of small store in market square." Pop bottles on the cooler: Woosies, Double Line and Double Cola. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Hey, there's Shinola!Left hand side, third shelf down. I remember the old saying, "He doesn't know ---- from Shinola." Well, this man apparently does. @michaeljunkbox - Try Amazon. You may be able to get Baby Ruth bars. Slight Name ChangeThe dot in Dr. was removed in the 1950's so as to not have any connection with the medical profession. [That's an urban legend. At the end of this article at snopes.com it's explained that the period was dropped as a result of a typographical change to the logo in 1950. - tterrace] Yes-we have no bananas. (I know it's lame, but that was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw the photo!) Baby Ruth!My favourite chocolate bar - we can't get them here in Canada - must travel to the U.S. of A. Soda song"Dr. Pepper is the friendly pepper upper, Dr. Pepper never ever lets you down." From memory and someone will check that on Google and correct or add a line. Thanks, Tterrace. [If you follow the bouncing ball, there's a couple extra "nevers" in there. - tterrace] Now, where in tarnation Pop the Prop is trying to find room for the "Lotto Sold Here" sign. Also, might be a good time to consider deploying some flypaper. Judging by the mature look of those bananas, he might want to think about slashing their price a few cents. The grapes have been around a bit, too, it appears. Kind of a reminder of how we tend to take such things as fresh fruit for granted. Bananas, 15 cents a dozen.What a bargain. I remember buying bananas, circa 1964, 15 cents per pound or 3 bananas. That 15 cents, in 1939, got you 4 whole pounds of bananas! What are they?What are those things in the oval packages under and a bit to the left of the light bulb? It looks like the word is Slipxx? At first, I thought they were Easter chocolates. ["Slipknot Soles." - tterrace] Sales appealI wonder if that was the regular price for bananas or the "reduced for quick sale" price. They look like they're ready to be baked into banana-nut bread! Baby Ruth!Canadians have their own version: the Oh Henry! bar. There's much discussion over whether one or the other creators of these products stole the idea from the other. In the meantime, if you get really desperate for your Baby Ruth fix, drop me an email and I can airmail you a survival package. Old solesThey are indeed Slipknot Soles; shoe attachments to keep you OFF the floor and ON your feet. They also help keep you from hearing your friends utter those dreaded words: "Did you have a nice 'trip'?" and "See you next 'fall'!" Look out, Baby Ruth!Are those cigars being sold in amongst the "candy" at 3 for 5 cents? Perhaps they're chocolate cigars. Biggest SellerI bet he sold more candy, soda and smokes than he did fruit. The forbidden is much more alluring. Dr. Pepper sold hereand guess where it started out. Thanks for Slipknot infoI just couldn't figure out all of the letters. Baby Ruths are still around in the US, as are Oh Henry! bars. It's the Skybars that are hard to find. Waco, home of Dr PepperAnd home of the Dr Pepper museum.... No period in "Dr" (for only the last few decades): the favorite typo to loose points for in the Baylor journalism school. (Guess who sponsors the footbll team?) [How did you do at Baylor? - tterrace] Rather well... (The Gallery, Russell Lee, Stores & Markets)
Enemy Alien: 1942
... center at Salinas, California." Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. PEP Comics ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/21/2022 - 2:26pm -

May 1942. "Salinas, California. Tagged for evacuation. Removal of Japanese enemy aliens from San Juan Bautista and San Benito County to reception center at Salinas, California." Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. PEP ComicsThe poor boy does not seem very interested in the Captain Swastika story … AliensI have visited the US many times from Australia through my work in television, but have never failed to be insulted by US Immigration classifying me as an 'alien'. It is a simple thing that could easily be changed to say 'visitor' and would cease to offend non-US people. The magazines seem pretty all-American"Captain Swastika, the noose is the symbol of your fate." "Not this time, Hangman! You've met your master." [Those are comic books! - Dave] The two tags on his shirtOne reads: Yes, I'm an American citizen. But I'm just so suspicious looking and haven't assimilated into American culture the way Germans and Italians have. The other: Those in power decided to lock up me and my kind of American citizen up in a fenced camp in the desert and stand guard over us because you never know what we might do. The United States Supreme Court said that is the American way. (The Gallery, Kids, Relocation Camps, Russell Lee, WW2)
The Age Guesser: 1942
... Imperial County Fair." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Ladies get in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/24/2022 - 10:58am -

March 1942. El Centro, California. "Crowd at the Imperial County Fair." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Ladies get in free day?Looking from the bottom of this photo up to the Ferres wheel and Age Guesser booth, the crowd is nearly all female. Two farms' worthCovering 80 acres, the fair that year ran from March 7 to the 15th. It might seem rather early in the year -- it was actually billed as "America's only midwinter fair" -- but anyone who's been in Imperial County in the summer can tell you why. Flags GuesserI think the flags say CRAFTS. At far right, halfway up, is a truck with an open door that may say CRAFTS SHOWS. Guessing that the rides and shows were produced by that company. I find no Google references to that company, but I only looked for a couple minutes. [You guess correctly! - Dave] (The Gallery, Russell Lee)
Pie Town Rodeo: 1940
... the Pie Town Fair rodeo." 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Cowboy Style ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 10:11pm -

Sept. 1940. Pie Town, New Mexico. "Tying a ribbon on a calf's tail was one of the feature attractions at the Pie Town Fair rodeo." 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Cowboy StyleThe cowboy hats, the boots, the shirts and jeans--all the same--whether this picture was taken yesterday or 70 years ago from yesterday. Very nice and comforting. Is it chemistry or is it digital magic?Having just gone through a set of color photos I took in 1970, now dim and beige, I am again impressed with how terrific early Kodachrome looks on Shorpy. Is this Dave's digital magic, or was the process actually more stable early on? Or maybe the government took extraordinary care in storing these treasures - though I doubt that. [Kodachromes are rather famous for color stability. Ektachromes and Anscochromes, on the other hand, are noted for reddish or purplish color shifts over time. Prints, as opposed to transparencies, will also likely change color over time. - Dave] Dah dum dah dumCue the music from the "Marlboro Man" commercials. KodachromeThe color here blows my mind. It looks like something taken yesterday. Its sometimes hard to realize history was as colorful as it is today. Like YesterdayThis photo could have easily been taken yesterday or 70 years ago. Shorpy, I can't quit you.Every day is another surprise! An unchange of clothesI think the combination of color and the fact that "cowboy" attire has changed little over the last 80 years makes this photo seem like it was taken recently. The cowboy on the leftis hot! Are you on vacation?I've been with you since the very beginning and this is the first time I have to question what you were thinking...I mean really....who cares? The calf? Just imagineIf that calf is still alive today it would only be a few months over 70 years old. Calm calfIf I tried to tie a ribbon around my dog's tail there'd be hell to pay. That calf must have resigned itself to the fact that humans are crazy. Who cares? Well...[xx]-Years-Ago-But-Could-Have-Been-Taken-Today is one of my favorite sub-genres of Shorpy photos, On Vacation individual. CowboysI like how this guy on the left seems so manly -- I like it really anytime someone from the past lives up to our crazy expectations that we probably got from movies. I'm lovin' itI love Russell Lee's photos and especially from Pie Town. I'd like to visit this town if I had possibility. I know he had a lot of pictures from that place, please publish them! [Click the "Pie Town" tag above the photo. - Dave] (The Gallery, Animals, Pie Town, Russell Lee)
Fair Maiden: 1942
... stand. Imperial County Fair." Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Cute couple ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/25/2022 - 6:25pm -

March 1942. El Centro, California. "Boy and girl at hamburger stand. Imperial County Fair." Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Cute coupleI'm sure she loved his Jerry Lee Lewis hair. Nobody knew who "The Killer" was until 15 years later, but blond waves and curls always have had their allure. Time TravelSuch a pretty young woman. She looks uncannily like my high school girlfriend -- the curls, the eyes, the nose, the smile -- This young woman also has unusually perfect teeth for the time. As a longtime watchmaker who specialized in vintage watches, I'm straining to determine what the young man is wearing. But the box-stitched strap is very typical of the 1930s and 1940s. I'll have another bouble dourbon, pleaseA very attractive young woman. She would have preferred a photographer who was a half second quicker, or one who was a half second slower. I am not so fair-haired or fair-skinned, but I've been to El Centro. She will go up like tinder as soon as she steps outside. Damn that Dorothy Parker!They're a very nice-looking couple. I notice the young lady has a pair of eyeglasses in her shirt pocket. Since the glasses are so handy, I wonder if she might should wear them all the time. (The Gallery, Pretty Girls, Russell Lee)
Hermiston High: 1941
... Hermiston, Oregon." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Class switch ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/17/2022 - 12:23pm -

September 1941. "High school boys and girls. Hermiston, Oregon." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Class switch at the breakThat's what I think it is. In Europe the young go through high school in their edgy but most beautiful years of growing up in the one coherent classroom of about 25-30 students each. Four years of together and challenge of passing the same subjects create everlasting memory and has a deep meaning at the class reunions. Great moment caught, with that cool "what-textbooks?" boy relaxed and aware of the photographer but girls oblivious and eager to attend the class. Survival and ChangeWhen I see a photo like this, taken at that time, I wonder if everyone survived until 1946, and how they were changed. Couple of things missing.Not a backpack or cell phone seen! All healthy looking... and not an overweight person amongst them. Is He Coming?The frightened-looking kid hiding behind the far right corner must be hiding, trying to get away from somebody. And three other guys to the left are grinning 'cause they see what's coming. But who? The principal? Butch? The BlobCould they be running from the blob, down the hall, out of frame on the right? There are some terrified eyes looking that way, except for the bookless guy, who probably sees Steve McQueen (hence the broad grin). She's got classI'm rooting for the tall, confident, athletic but feminine filly in the white dress, who would have been about the age of my late mother-in-law, who was also a tall, confident, athletic but feminine girl. For some reason she reminds me not only of my m-i-l but of Katharine Hepburn from her eponymous role in Alice Adams (1935), though I doubt that this young lady's circumstances were quite that difficult. At any rate I hope there was a handsome Fred MacMurray/Arthur Russell waiting somewhere in the wings for her, with whom to share her life and rear a family in post-war America. My husband's mother certainly had that. OK serious question.Why do some folks here call young ladies "fillies." A young female horse? I don't get it why? ["Fille" is French for girl. When people call girls "chicks" or guys "studs," are they talking about birds and horses? Words can have more than one meaning. - Dave] The device on the desk is a puzzlementI suspect it is for displaying documents. There appears to one be on it now. [The U.S. Constitution, all four pages. That stand is on the floor behind the desk. - Dave] (The Gallery, Education, Schools, Kids, Russell Lee)
Summer Interned: 1942
... last seen here . Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. A name and a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/19/2022 - 7:09pm -

July 1942. "Rupert, Idaho. A Japanese-American farm worker at former CCC camp now under FSA management" -- the Minidoka War Relocation Center, last seen here. Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. A name and a numberI wonder to whom they belonged? seaelf, I also noticed the two clocks and different teeth cleaning products, and just thought it was odd. It wasn't until I read your comment that I realized those overlapping and other random items are there because this writing table is being shared by at least two people. Drawers would have been really helpful; but I cannot see a single drawer in this photo, or the other interior photo Dave posted. So far, it looks like all these relocated American citizens were given were cots, small tables, minimal shelving, and clothes hooks. I'll change my comment as soon as Dave posts a photo of a barracks where everyone has their own chest of drawers. Time and TeethKnowing the correct time and which tooth powder to use is very important. Pepsodent is for morning brushing and Dr. Lyon's is for the evening. Chest a suggestionShorpy needs a new Gallery category: Shirtless. The bare-torsoed Southern boys are easy to understand, but it seems to be spreading. Ahead of his timeComputer and phone interfaces today offer light and dark themes, but this man had his themed clocks 80 years ago. (The Gallery, Relocation Camps, Russell Lee, WW2)
Hotel Mikado: 1942
... Dr. C.K. Nagao, dentist. Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. +74 Below is ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/23/2022 - 4:43pm -

April 1942. "Los Angeles, California. Street scene in Little Tokyo." Businesses represented here on East First Street include the Hotel Mikado, Sho-Fu-Do confectionery, Ten-Gen restaurant, Sato Book Store, Hotel Empire, Sumida & Son hardware, Angel Cake Shop, Moon Fish Co., Eagle Employment Agency, Kawahara Co. and Dr. C.K. Nagao, dentist. Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. +74Below is the same view from November of 2016. Mikado pencilsI've always heard that the Mirado pencils we used in grade school in the '50s had previously been called Mikado pencils, but they changed their name after Pearl Harbor. Both trunks are emptyAnd his feet are a blur because he doesn't want to get a parking ticket. Kawahara Co.In the business of "agricultural minerals" since at least 1931. ChangesLooking at the street view picture from 2016, all three of these buildings still exist but with some changes. The two buildings that are center and to the right have lost the upper few feet of their facade (although still contain the same fire escapes in the 1942 picture) and the building on the left is missing it's its third floor. Why the third floor is missing is odd, fire or storm damage in the past maybe, we’re left to wonder. Re: street view pictureThis is not from Google streetview, Jeremybd, but one of a very unique series of photos taken by TimeAndAgainPhoto, who photographs the same scene many years after the original, using the same source photos as Shorpy, and sent in by TAAP to Shorpy when Dave posts the original for us. It is a cool project that spans America and many years. 1942 Dodge CoupeWhat I think is a 1942 Dodge coupe on the left is the shiniest car I've seen on Shorpy. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Los Angeles, Russell Lee, Stores & Markets, WW2)
The Gambler: 1941
... County, California." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. You Can Leave ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/28/2022 - 4:26pm -

December 1941. "Workman at Shasta Dam plays poker. Shasta County, California." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. You Can Leave Your Hat OnI'm reminded of guys in the pool rooms out West who always shoot while wearing their cowboy hats. His Friends' Favorite PartnerBecause of the reflections in his eyeglasses. A lot of money.Assuming about $10 in his pile, that's about $196 in today’s dollars. "Gambling has ruined my life -- -- I'm only 21 years old." TellsBetter watch the reflection off those eyeglasses. Raze, call or foldThe construction of the dam required the "relocation" -- it was moved to oblivion -- of the town of Kennett, home to what was billed as the "second longest bar in the state." (Who was first?? Were they maybe seeing double instead??) I'm not sure where in the landscape this gentleman was playing, but I picture ghosts from the backroom of the Diamond Saloon sitting in. Queens and ThreesThe legendary Working Man’s Hand. The TellHe better be careful to be sure the other players can't read his cards in the reflection of his glasses. Hmmm, not quite ...I was hoping to read his cards from the reflection in his glasses, but I can't. Hopefully everyone else can! Dead ringerHe resembles the late Max von Sydow. Hard hatBefore they became simply "hard hats" they were known as "hard boiled hats" because the early ones were made of steamed canvas coated with varnish or shellac. In the 1930's mesh-reinforced bakelite and, later, fiberglass appeared (the MSA "Skullgard") ... and that's what our man appears to be sporting. The first mandated wearing of hard hats on jobsites was at federal dam projects and on the Golden Gate bridge. Weenie KingHe looks like the guy who played the very weird self-described “Weenie King” in Preston Sturges’s 1942 screwball comedy “The Palm Beach Story” - the character who really sets the story in motion. (The Gallery, Industry & Public Works, Russell Lee)
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