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Biloxi Shrimps: 1911
... March 1911. Biloxi, Mississippi. "View of the Gorenflo Canning Co., taken at 7 a.m. Many tiny workers here, some of whom began to ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/17/2009 - 3:47am -

March 1911. Biloxi, Mississippi. "View of the Gorenflo Canning Co., taken at 7 a.m. Many tiny workers here, some of whom began to arrive at the factory as early as 5 o'clock, an hour before they were allowed to begin work, and long before daylight on a damp foggy day. The whistle had blown and they came and stood around merely to hold their places. When the shrimp 'catch' has been good, they begin work early, but today it was not good so they were waiting for daylight. In this group I ascertained the ages of a few, as follows. One child of 6 years, one of 7, two of 8, one of 10 and there were many more." (Lewis Wickes Hine.) View full size. May swear off shrimpWow! I might be upset at the sight of 2 dogs in a food preparation facility if it were not for the condition of the whole area. Looks like the workers had to bring their own buckets and bowls. And look at the piles of, uh, debris on the floor and everywhere. What a charming fragrance this place must have had! HosedThere appears to be a watering hose, not unlike a fire-hose, the nozzle of which, is hanging on the first wooden post. It snakes to the right. Is it a fire-hose or used to wash the tables? Shrimp boats are a-comin'Peeling fresh whole shrimp is unpleasant work. There are lots of sharp pointy edges that make your fingers bleed. And eww - eyeballs, too! I know this was a lot less dangerous than some of the other jobs Hine photographed, but I certainly don't envy them having to stand around and peel shrimp all day long. And yet they look happy and grateful, for the most part. I'll have to remember this next time I grumble on a Monday morning. Free dog IIILove the dog, among other thing a very efficient means of assuring that any shrimps that get dropped on the floor will never get returned to the tables. (Anyone who thinks dogs won't eat shellfish can visit my house.) ToppersThis image from the past has a magnificent variety of headwear including a fedora, straw hats, caps, bonnets and scarves. Hard, cold workEven Mississippi is cold in March, and that barefoot kid with the worried look was surely numb from the cold and the wet before the day was half over, and they all must have had numb, sore, and torn up hands by day's end. It looks like an integrated work force, and I spied what looked to me like a half-pint of whiskey, or a similar bottle, near a woman's shoe. Got shrimp?It makes me think of Bubba in Forrest Gump. "They knows all there is to know about the shrimping business." Still shrimpin'Gorenflos is still in the seafood industry, mainly the retail side.I would imagine the dogs kept the rats and cats away.The canneries do have a gut wrenching odor especially in the heat of summer. Hard WorkUnlike most of these types of photos, you can make out more than a few smiles, and people seem to be conversing with one another. It must have been awfully stinky, but they seem to be rather content. (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)
Baby Vegetables: 1940
July 1940. "Canning beans in farm kitchen near Bristol, Vermont." Photo by Louise Rosskam ... and join the action! It brings back lots of memories of canning various fruits and veggies, with my mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 4:54am -

July 1940. "Canning beans in farm kitchen near Bristol, Vermont." Photo by Louise Rosskam for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. All growed up - and then someOur cheerful baby would now be 73 years old. It would be nice to see a photo of her (him?) today. Google People View? Old things!Oilcloth and enamel pots and pans. Two neat old things you just don't see anymore. May I join you?This is one of those pictures I sure wish I could walk into and join the action! It brings back lots of memories of canning various fruits and veggies, with my mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, and various friends. It's a big job, but a lot of fun, if there is good company, during it. Not much is so gratifying as seeing rows of filled jars, from the Summer and Fall bounty, knowing that one's family will benefit from it when there is snow on the ground! 1940?The calendar on the wall reads "1937." [Being used for decor. Below, a shot a few frames away on the same roll. - tterrace] BabyThat's about the most gleefully happy baby I've seen in one of these pictures. Must be thinking about eating those beans. Let's see that calendarCan you zoom in on that calendar? It almost looks like it says "C. A. Donah" on it. [Alas, it's not clear on the the full-size original. - tterrace] Well-ShodMom and Grandma wearing some nifty shoes. (The Gallery, Kids, Kitchens etc., Louise Rosskam)
The Apprentice: 1911
... of Mrs. Cora Croslen, of Baltimore. Both work at Barataria Canning Co. (shucking oysters). The mother said, 'I'm learnin' her the trade.'" ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/26/2009 - 6:23pm -

February 1911. Biloxi, Miss. "Alma Croslen, 3, daughter of Mrs. Cora Croslen, of Baltimore. Both work at Barataria Canning Co. (shucking oysters). The mother said, 'I'm learnin' her the trade.'" Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. I know they are poor...but don't they ever wash their childrens' clothes? The Apprentice: 1911This is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. I just did two hours of searching every data source I could find. Cora and her husband, Henry, are listed in the 1910 census, living in Biloxi. He is a fisherman, she an "oyster opener." Their surname is spelled Croslen. But there is no Alma living with them. In fact, they are listed as never having had any children. Cora and Henry disappear into thin air after 1910. And Alma does not show up in a single data base, ever. Whatever happened to them? We may never know. A load of laundryI invite anyone to wash a week's worth of laundry by hand, with only washtubs and a scrubbing board and maybe a hand-cranked wringer, with what water you could carry from the pump two buckets at a time and heat on your wood stove, and with -- if you were lucky enough to afford it -- a bar of Octagon soap which you've flaked with a kitchen knife. Apprentice: 1911Joe Manning again. This is shaping up to be quite a story. Two days ago, I received an email from a Shorpy reader. “I looked at the 1910 census record for the Croslins and saw that a neighbor, age 3, was named Alma. Her mother was also an oyster opener. Parents given as Peter and Angelina Alvells. In the 1920 census, Peter and Angelina ALVES, with Alma, are still there. In 1930, Peter is gone but Alma Olier and her husband live with Angelina Alves. Alma and Angelina work for a seafood company. Hope this helps in your search. –Sharon” Boy, did it ever help! Within a few minutes, I had found Alma Alves Olier in the Social Security Death Index. She died in Biloxi in 1987. Before the day was over, I had tracked down Alma’s youngest son and talked to his wife for a few minutes. After I hung up, I went to my computer to print a copy of the photo, so I could mail it out to them. When I did, I accidentally found another photo of Alma, this time with some of her brothers and sisters, identified as the Peter Elvis (obviously Alves) family. Both photos went out in the mail this morning. So the woman in the first photo, Cora, was a neighbor, not Alma’s mother. It makes sense. From the moment I saw the photo, I wondered why she and Alma didn’t look the slightest bit alike. See the other photo and what I have posted so far at: www.sevensteeples.com/almaalves1.html A long lifeWow, Joe, that's great to learn! It sounds as though little Alma didn't have the easiest of lives -- but she had a family and lived into her eightieth year. We can hope she had her fair share of satisfaction as well as struggle. Rest in peace, Alma. Curious about the locationPerhaps Mr. Manning can help with this one (BTW, I adore Mr Hine's work. As a student at the University of Southern Mississippi, I worked some with Dr. Deanne Nuwer, who wrote a series of articles about Lewis Hine and his photographs of coastal seafood plants.) As a coast rat, I'm intensely curious: Is there any indication of the location of this photo (ie: street address)? The Barataria plant was at the foot of Reynoir Street, and many of the "barracks-style" houses were on Callivet. However, I don't think they had fences. Thanks for any info, and thanks for posting this one close to Katrina's anniversary. Re: The LocationThe 1910 census indicates that Alma lived in a labor camp on East Beach Street, no house number given. Alma Alves, The Apprentice: 1911“It was hard times back then. That house they were living in looks like a rundown shack. I’d seen some of those shacks down in Biloxi when I was a kid. You could see through the walls when you went in them.” –Joseph Olier, son of Alma Alves (not Croslen) This is Joe Manning again, of the Lewis Hine Project. I interviewed Alma's son and daughter-in-law. Alma's life was a struggle, but she raised a nice family who loved her, and she lived a long life. You can my story of Alma at: http://morningsonmaplestreet.com/2015/01/18/alma-alves/ Alma AlvesWell, I just read through the series of comments following the original photo. All I can say is what I've said before: Shorpy fans are the best! Thank you all and thank you, Dave, for giving us this forum.Happy holidays. Makes It WorthwhileThanks to Joe for this follow-up report. I appreciate his efforts and his keeping Shorpy informed. Learning about these folks is the payback for having to read some of the, shall we say, less than sensitive comments that show up occasionally. (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)
Porch of Plenty: 1957
... took staged photos to the same insane levels they took canning and preserving. It didn't suffice that every surface in the kitchen was ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/02/2019 - 1:52am -

September 1957. "The Willis Cooper family on the front porch of their farmhouse near Radcliffe, Iowa, surrounded by animals and foods." 35mm color transparency from photos by Jim Hansen for the Look magazine assignment "Iowa family." View full size. What the heckLooks like moving day. American GothicRedux. Interesting ladyhttp://www.funeralmation.com/index.cfm/obituary/4148225?browse_on=deskto... Looks just like WilburCute little shoat he's holding there, and should be ready for slaughter this time next year. Can we notI hate to be the one to say it but this family took staged photos to the same insane levels they took canning and preserving. It didn't suffice that every surface in the kitchen was covered with production results, and new surfaces had to be created, only to be covered like the others. Now the jars are hanging on the front of the house. Enough is enough already, folks. Start eating it. [This is the vision of some magazine art director (or “producer,” as they were called at Look). The compliant Coopers, along with their Mason jars, are mere props. - Dave] The producer needed to sit down and have a cookie. There's no accounting for tasteMy hat is off to the Look producer who set all this up. He gave us two fantastic photos. American AgrarianBeautiful home, beautiful crops, beautiful livestock, beautiful family. Jefferson would have loved this. Makes me wonder what is down the cellar steps. Over-produced (and I don't mean the food)I can remember, growing up, how often LOOK photos struck me as so obvious, set up and posed, that they shouted fake. Sophisticated older me realizes that ALL photos are set up, but the LOOK ones still shout at me. The cat!If this were my family, I'd be the little guy holding the cat. I don't see any dogs, that's good. [Why does that cat quack? - Dave] An interesting couple and a good lifeEveryone should read the obituary of Mrs. Cooper that was linked by robstercraws. Most people would think that the Coopers simply farmed and stayed in one place, eventually moving into town or into a retirement home. But the Coopers farmed in four different communities in Iowa. Mrs. Cooper was a registered nurse, which I'm sure was helpful with kids in the home, and a farmer husband; she also worked as a hospital nurse for 20 years in Iowa, continuing after a move to Arkansas in 1984. After that she got her real estate license and worked for a broker. Then in retirement, the Coopers ran a quilting business. They also managed to get their private pilot's licenses during the 1970s, and flew a Cessna 172 for ten years. There's not as much information about Willis Cooper, but we do know from Mrs. Cooper's obit that the Coopers' first home after marriage was at Childress Army Airfield in Childress, Texas, where bombardiers and navigators were trained during World War II. All in all, a good long life. Children of the CornI’ve been waiting for someone to say it. I mean, those unblinking twins. They’re sitting right under the corn, for goodness sake. (Kodachromes, Agriculture, LOOK)
Cannery Rows: 1941
... of food by hand. Lots of work I do a fair amount of canning, and that is an impressive bit of work there. They must have a very large family or they are canning for neighbors as well. At that time, if you didn't have a pressure ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/19/2019 - 1:40pm -

October 1941. "Penfield, Greene County, Georgia. Canned goods made by Doc and Julia Miller, Negro FSA clients." Medium format negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. From a big gardenI count at least 720 jars, split between quarts and half-gallons. That's an average of 48 ounces per jar, or 34,560 ounces. Divided by 16 you get 2,160 pounds of food. It takes a lot of work to grow and harvest a ton of food by hand. Lots of workI do a fair amount of canning, and that is an impressive bit of work there. They must have a very large family or they are canning for neighbors as well. At that time, if you didn't have a pressure canner, it was considered safe enough to use a "hot water bath" to can vegetables. Jars of non-acid vegetables would need to be placed into a boiling water pot and boiled for up to an hour and a half to kill all the botulism spores that otherwise grow on sealed veggies. My dad's older cousin mentioned once about his mom canning in August, boiling the jars in a double boiler on the range, with the steam all but peeling the wallpaper off the walls. And you couldn't open a window or a door to get a breeze because it was thought that the cooler air would cause the jars to break after canning. Prior to the general use of pressure canners to process non acid vegetables (like green beans) there were the occasional tragedies of entire families dying from botulism poisoning. Around here, green beans were considered especially risky. So, buy a pressure canner if you want to can corn or beans or okra, or anything like that! (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Rural America)
Oyster Express: 1913
... February 1913. Bluffton, South Carolina. "Varn & Platt Canning Co. 10-year-old Jimmie. Been shucking 3 years. 6 pots a day, and a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/16/2020 - 8:37pm -

February 1913. Bluffton, South Carolina. "Varn & Platt Canning Co. 10-year-old Jimmie. Been shucking 3 years. 6 pots a day, and a 11-year-old boy who shucks 7 pots. Also several members of an interesting family named Sherrica. Seven of them are in this factory. The father, mother, four girls shuck and pack. Older brother steams. 10 year old boy goes to school. Been in the oyster business 5 years. Father worked for 25 years in the Pennsylvania Coal Mine, and the oldest brother there. They said they liked the oysters business better because the family makes more." Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. We Still Like 'EmOysters are still greatly savored in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. In the months without an "R," when the pesky mosquitoes and equally vile and ravenous no-see-ums have died down, friends and families gather for oyster roasts, where oysters are steamed and consumed by the bushel. Some can only eat them doused in hot sauce, but the purists will crack the shells and swallow them right down - sometimes raw. For those who don't care for oysters, there's plenty of local fresh shrimp, flounder, and the like to fill up on. For those who live on the waterways, they can literally harvest the oysters right out of their own back yard. Kudos to SC Game and Wildlife, as they are making significant strides in recreating oyster beds by returning empty shells to the water. Oysters Have That ReputationGood sized family, those Sherricas. Our daily breadImagine the drudgery of working this line to earn a living. What a choice for the family to make: work in the coals mines of Pennsylvania, or a cannery in South Carolina. How many families make such an effort today? We generally go our separate ways during the workday. Notice the integrated workforce in the days of the Jim Crow South. The boys were of my grandparents' generation. Probably had little schooling and lots of backbreaking work during their childhood. The good old days? Today, the area just east of Bluffton is comprised of luxury homes and golf courses: Hilton Head. I doubt any of these folks could have imagined such a lifestyle. What did they do with all those oysters, anyway?"Shucking oysters" is a frequent theme with Lewis Hine. But what did they do with them in the first place? Can them? Must have gone out of fashion. I have only met fresh ones. And the lesser mollusks available in cans or glasses I leave be. Why oysters?Oysters were a cheap and plentiful food for the working class from the 19th through the early 20th century, when the extensive beds began to be destroyed by pollution, sedimentation and other factors. See the "Human History" section in the Wikipedia oyster article. Re: Oysters Have That ReputationThat's what I heard, too, in my younger days, so I tried a dozen. I was disappointed when only seven of them worked. Today's gourmet item was yesterday's PB&JThe comment by "tterrace" illustrates how things change when an item becomes scarce. What was formerly a common food item has now become a gourmet treat. Reminds me of the Mercedes-Benz automobiles. Kept scarce, and sold as luxury cars in the States, you can find the sedans working as taxicabs in Europe and the Middle East. I remember seeing photos of war-torn Beirut with Mercedes taxis all over the streets - perhaps our webmaster can find a photo to prove this! Didja ever?When I was young and popular, I would often receive gourmet gift packages for certain occasions. One constant staple therein was canned smoked oysters. At first I did not think they were going to be wonderful, but if you try one, they grow on you and become addictive tasty morsels. (He likes it, Mikey likes it.) Actually shucking oysters on the other hand (no pun intended) is painful work, as it is common to seriously gouge your palms with the oyster knife due to the very hard, tightly closed shell. No job for sissies. And huge, tooWe think of oysters as being relatively small, the shells being, generally, the size of your palm or smaller. In past centuries, when oysters were harvested from natural beds they were often a foot long and more. These days, they are grown in oyster farms, and so smaller. I lived on City Island, originally the home of the "oyster catchers" in the New York City area. The livelihood died when pollution made eating oysters in the area unsafe to eat. (The Gallery, Lewis Hine)
Internal Revenue: 1926
... These jobs make the prospect of stringing beans in a canning factory with 40 barefoot children look liberating. This would seem ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/23/2012 - 3:38pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1926. "Internal Revenue." A seasonal reminder from Shorpy. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. DrabAll the office pictures Dave has shown from this time period seem to be so drab and lifeless. The one thing I notice is that all the desks are angled to take advantage of the window light. One Laptop PC EquivalentI could imagine the clerical work being done by this group expressed in increments of "laptop power." This would be analogous to "horsepower" as a unit of physical work. One laptop should do everything you see here: the data collection, storage, calculation, and reporting. For better or worse, it would displace all these people and their filing cabinets. And it would save the floor from getting even more beat up from the foot traffic. Ditto, ditto, dittoSame desks, same windows, same mini file cabinet on the desk. Same full tray of work for each of them. Same add-on electric cords, hanging from the ceiling. Almost the same hair. Almost the same smocks on every woman. These jobs make the prospect of stringing beans in a canning factory with 40 barefoot children look liberating. This would seem to beThe Franz Kafka Annex. And yes, we do have your files. So glad you asked. AuditAs they select the poor souls who are about to get audited here's hoping I am not one of them. SymptomsTwo desk are empty. Stacks of work waiting. Both employees are rumored to be recovering from boredomitis. This malady has plagued the department's workers for some time. No known cure. Symmetry Undoubtably, the atmosphere wasn't the best for preventing boredom, but I find it artistically pleasing to the eye. It's a nice picture even if it wasn't a nice job. Though I personally think it could have been the latter, too. Looks Preferable to Me!I look at that old industrial mill-type building and actually wish I worked there rather than in these cubicles they've got us in here at my insurance company. The great minds here have us in a beautiful color scheme of beige on beige with beige accents. Anyone else hate cubes? When I first started in this industry we had an open floor plan with desks lined up like those but in a newer, cleaner office building. Each desk had a phone and an in/out bin. No computers at all. It was better and more comfortable back then, I think. Clerical workI was a file clerk in the early 1970's and a lot of this scene is reminiscent of that job. We had bundles of things to file, in my case, traffic tickets or driver's license applications, all roughly the same size. we had the cabinets to file into. To stave off boredom sometimes we had impromptu filing competitions, who got done with a bundle first won. ShipshapeI can't help but notice how clean and organized everything looks. I wonder alsoWhat are those drop cords connected to -- some kind of punching or imprinting doodad? Peaceful by contrastThe photo of everyone lined up at the IRS office looked a bit chaotic and disorganized. When you put all that paperwork in the right hands, it becomes nice and tidy. If this were a normal enterprise, like a hardware store for instance, I'd much rather be out on the front lines working with the hordes of customers than keeping the paperwork neat. In the case of the IRS, though, I suspect every single one of those people out at the front counter is a dissatisfied customer. This would be one of those times when I'd opt for one of these quiet desk jobs. Mystery powered box on deskThe drop cords on the left power something on the desk. It's that oblong box under the clerk's left hand. I wonder what it is. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, The Office)
All the Conveniences: 1920
... from the early 1930s that still gives processing times for canning meats and vegetables in just a water-bath canner. The very long ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 1:38am -

Another view of the circa 1920 kitchen from the previous post. The complicated-looking range-and-boiler combination seems to have been popular at the time. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. On Hot WaterI had that very same water heater arrangement in the kitchen of a duplex I rented in Cambridge in 1965. My stove was different, and it had a space heater with coils for heating water. The "boiler" had a door that you opened to light the gas burner, which looked like an inverted shower head. If you weren't using the space heater when you needed hot water, you had to fire up the water heater, and then turn it off when the water was hot. Failure to do so would result in boiling the water in the pipes and seeing steam escape from the pipe joints. Don't ask me how I know that! Outlets Aplenty! I am quite jealous, this kitchen has TWO electric outlets, with possibly another provided on the wall supported light fixture. My 1925 kitchen (barely updated) has only one. No Vents!I noticed in both pictures there doesn't appear to be any venting for either the water heater or the stove/range. How far we've come in recognizing the inherent dangers of combustion gasses and smoke since then. That said, it's a very nice, spacious kitchen layout, only maybe needing a bit of small extra counter top space and maybe a standalone butcher block table to complete the area. [This is an unfinished kitchen. There's no gas connection yet to the heat exchanger for the boiler, which like the stove has a flue vent but no fluepipe. Also no icebox. - Dave] Hoffman Heater Co.The water heater appears to be manufactured by the Hoffman Heater Company, located at 1391 Oberlin Ave, Lorain, Ohio. They seem to only have been manufactured for only a few years in the early 1920s. The Washington D.C. distributor was located at 1217 Eye St, N.W. I haven't found any images of this particular model but there is a 1920 ad in the The Gas Record illustrating a different type. Is the valve on the bottom for the future connection of the gas line? [Yes, I think so. The tank, which would have been copper or brass, is a "range boiler" made by Randolph-Clowes brassworks in Waterbury, Connecticut. The company was bought out by American Brass, a subsidiary of Anaconda Copper, in 1929. The little pipe coming out of the floor and pointing at the wall would be the steam outlet for the pressure-relief valve. - Dave] UPDATE: Oh, I hadn't even noticed the stamped text on the main body of the water heater. It is a "Brown and Brothers" seamless drawn copper range boiler. "The only boiler which has no longitudinal seam." "Thoroughly and heavily tinned on the inside." [Architectural Record, Architect's and Builder's Pocket-Book] Sweet LorainTwenty years ago I lived a block east of the Hoffman Heater factory on Oberlin Avenue in Lorain. Now I live 10 blocks south. The factory is still there, producing automotive bearings, I believe. I love this website and have been a fan for about a year -- enjoying all the historical photos, interesting comments and now, tidbits about my hometown. Is that really a range and boiler?It looks mightily like a range (stovetop) and oven to me. I do have a similar-vintage stove and it is a stovetop over an oven, and the oven is super-teeny like those. I did some searching online and found a couple of comps, but nothing identical. (The one site is really a mess...) http://www.antiquestoveheaven.com/battle.html http://www.antiqueappliances.com/products/chambers/1922_chambers.htm In my looking, quite a few had BROilers, but not BOilers. [The BOILER is the six-foot-tall tank on the right. A very common setup for the times. Another here. - Dave] Pressure cannerWhat first caught my eye here was the pressure cooker! I didn't realize they had home pressure cookers that early, but I searched and found out that they had actually been around for a while by then. I'll bet they were expensive then and not many people had them. I have a Ball Blue Book from the early 1930s that still gives processing times for canning meats and vegetables in just a water-bath canner. The very long cooking times weren't always enough to prevent deaths from botulism. By the time my edition of the Searchlight Recipe Book came out, in 1944, directions were given for processing low-acid foods in a pressure canner, only. RE: Pressure CannerMy mother inherited a pressure canner from my grandmother. It's from the 1920s and I think it's aluminum. It doesn't have the wingnut cover locks, but uses a rubber gasket, and the cover rotates clockwise to lock it in place. It has the gauge on the top of it, and had wooden handles. My sister Rita now has it, and God only knows how many pints and quarts of vegetables have been through that canner over the years, but I think I still have a couple quarts of green beans from the 1980's. I wonder if they're still ok to eat? (The Gallery, Kitchens etc., Natl Photo)
Farm Wife: 1941
September 1941. "Mrs. W. Gaynor canning tomatoes on their farm near Fairfield, Vermont." Medium format negative ... Just having a Ball I remember those older style Ball canning jars with the glass lids. I even have a few of them down in the cellar. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/10/2019 - 1:12pm -

September 1941. "Mrs. W. Gaynor canning tomatoes on their farm near Fairfield, Vermont." Medium format negative by Jack Delano. View full size. Swarm of flies?Is that what I see on the window? Or is there a better explanation? Foot RoomThey had not yet discovered the need to leave room under cabinet bottoms for toes, which allows you to work standing straight. Bug sprayWith that bug sprayer in such easy reach it must have been used often. I wonder how much got on the food. Safety FirstNice bug sprayer on the windowsill next to her food prep area. Very close veinsHer varicose veins look painful. My tiny mom worked for years as a waitress and developed varicose veins as a result. Once, my daughter, aged about five, observed that Mom's upper arms jiggled when she waved. Mom looked right at her and said, "They do not." Erica, taken aback by the denial of what she'd seen plain as day, replied: "Well, your knee backs are purple and green." Get the Lead OutIs that perhaps a lead water pipe on the far left? Just having a BallI remember those older style Ball canning jars with the glass lids. I even have a few of them down in the cellar. The metal collar held the lid in place via a notch on the top, and you first inserted the rubber o-ring gasket between the jar and lid, for sealing. Cluster fliesPiles of cluster flies in the window corners, a memory of Vermont I'm less than fond of. You just can't get rid of them in the fall. (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Kitchens etc.)
Cutting Crew: 1911
... Maine. All these boys are cutters in the Seacoast Canning Co., Factory #7. Ages range from 7 to 12. Seven year old boy in front, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/10/2007 - 2:11pm -

August 1911, Eastport, Maine. All these boys are cutters in the Seacoast Canning Co., Factory #7. Ages range from 7 to 12. Seven year old boy in front, Byron Hamilton, has a badly cut finger, but helps his brother regularly. Behind him is his brother George, 11 years. He cut his finger half off while working. They and many other youngsters said they were always cutting their fingers. George earns $1 some days, 75 cents usually. Some of the others said they earn $1 when they work all day. At times they start at 7 A.M. Work all day, and until midnight, but the work is very irregular. Names of those in the photo are George Mathews, Johnny Rust, John Surles, Fulsom McCutchin (11 yrs.), Albert Robinson, Morris McConnell. View full size. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. SadAnd I thought my life was tough... Old Eyes.And we say now that children grow up too fast. I wonder if Albert RobinsonI wonder if Albert Robinson is an ancestor? About the right time in the right area. Have to see... WowWhat can you say? Yeah...wow.Amen to that Yeah...wow.I'm with Ron. What CAN you say? Except this...we all still need to be careful how we spend our money. When Americans & Europeans buy designer knock-offs, they support an industry KNOWN for child exploitation. (Buy American when you can...and from countries that have strict child labor laws when you can't.) That boy on the right looks familiar......How about that kid on the far right? Looks like a young Reinhard Heydrich to me. And that aggressive way he's holding the knife... (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)
Zollie Lyons: 1939
... building known as a "summer kitchen" where cooking, canning, clothes washing etc could be carried on without heating up the house, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/10/2009 - 12:23pm -

July 1939. "Zollie Lyons, Negro sharecropper, home from the field for dinner at noontime, with his wife and part of his family. Note dog run. Wake County, North Carolina." View full size. Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange. They all look so tired....Life must not have been too easy back then. Dog run?What dog run? [Reference to a southern style of architecture. - Dave] Re: Dog RunOne purpose of the dog run was to serve as a sort of firebreak. The kitchen was on one side. If a fire broke out there, perhaps the rest of the structure could be saved. The Lyonses It would be interesting to know what the war did to this family; the years of Southern sharecropping were drawing to a close, and the war could have provided work in factories in the Northern cities. Additional reading If one wanted to get a real sense of how life was for sharecroppers in the South during the Depression, I can suggest a novel called "Hold Autumn in Your Hand" by George Sessions Perry. I don't know if the book is in print, but used copies are probably at Amazon. I stayed up all night to finish this one. A good non-fiction work about sharecropping in the South is called "The White Scourge: Mexicans, Blacks, and Poor Whites in Texas Cotton Culture" by Neil Foley. A tough read, but mixed amongst the first-person narratives is a good explanation of the financial aspects of sharecropping, for both the sharecroppers and the owners. [Thanks for the suggestions. I'd like to throw in a mention for the short stories of Flannery O'Connor. - Dave] Dog TrotThese cabins, called "dog trots," were found throughout the cotton South, having originated in Appalachia. They featured a center hallway between two "pens" or buildings, where much of the domestic work of the house such as cooking, washing, and food preparation could be done in the shade or out of the rain. Also, ventilation was provided by the center opening. Here is an extensive photo documentation of one of the houses - much like the one pictured here: http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Dogtrot_House.html Dog run = dog trotThe "dog run" or "dog trot" is the center opening. A lot of Southern homes had a kitchen separate from the main living area, to keep the living area cool. Sometimes homes had a completely separate building known as a "summer kitchen" where cooking, canning, clothes washing etc could be carried on without heating up the house, & also to prevent any fires from burning the main house down. My dad (age 87) says southern men also used to keep a mirror, pitcher & basin, soap, razor, etc on the back porch, so they could wash up & shave out there. We are the desendantsCommenting on one of the articles The Lyonses- wondering what happened to the family after the war. It was amazing to see our great- grandfather Zollie Lyons on these pictures! How can we get more information? I didn't know that these pictures existed. The family still resides in North Carolina. Please advise of who we can contact for more information. [This and other photos from this set at the Library of Congress can be found here. -tterrace] (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Rural America)
Table for Ten: 1940
... Pot". I'm guessing the fact that it came in a quart canning jar, which at the time would set you back between 5c and 8c each or ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/07/2019 - 2:07pm -

October 1940. "Dinner hour at the home of Mr. J.H. Dube, French-Canadian potato farmer, after he and the boys had finished a day's work in their potato field in Wallagrass, Maine." Medium format negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Almost CanadaWallagrass is about as far north as you can go in Maine. If you started in New York City and drove to the L.L.Bean store in Freeport, you would be halfway to Wallagrass. Plenty of mustard“I thought of the anecdote (a very, very old one, even at that day) of the traveler who sat down to a table which had nothing on it but a mackerel and a pot of mustard. He asked the landlord if this was all. The landlord said: "All! Why, thunder and lightning, I should think there was mackerel enough there for six." "But I don't like mackerel." "Oh--then help yourself to the mustard." —“Roughing It,” Mark Twain HmmmmmI only count seven children, the others must be in the other room. ["Children"?? -Dave] Ten?I see a kid who has to stand instead of having a chair of her own, but I still count only nine, whom I take to be two parents and seven children. None in sightFried, mashed, or baked. Not even a hint of vodka. My older sister worked in a bakery. She soon disliked pastries, but she did bring home what didn't sell that day. Perhaps this is why there are no spuds. Tater totsThe younger ones look like children of the home to me too, and I also count seven, plus two parents. Be that as it may, I identify most strongly with the older girl on the right, at the end of the table. Her nails are painted and she's wearing a dainty ring. She's got a flower in her hair, which is elaborately curled. I think she managed to get hold of a fashion magazine now and again, even in remotest Maine. And she made an effort to do what my mama called getting "prettied up." Good for her. More spuds, anyone? #10Look under the table, next to Dad's knee. Table for ten.I'm thinking you are counting the cat as the tenth one, am I right? The Tenth DinerUnder the table next to Dad's right leg is then tenth diner, the family cat. Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty... and Fluffy makes ten! How to get sent to bed without any dinnerAw, jeez, Ma, potatoes again? Yep, There's TenYa gotta count the cat, too. Rare jar of mustardI have not found any existing examples of the 1815 Prepared Mustard label, although I did find a listing for this product in the April 9, 1943 edition of the "Burlington [Vermont] Free Press" on page 20 in an ad for Colodny's Public Market, under the subheading of "NOT RATIONED-NOT RESTRICTED", advertising "1815 Prepared Mustard...qt jar 19c". I think this was a product of the Stickney & Poor Spice Co. of Boston who claims to have been the first to import exotic spices into New England beginning in 1815. The company advertised in the early 20th century as being "The National Mustard Pot". I'm guessing the fact that it came in a quart canning jar, which at the time would set you back between 5c and 8c each or more (there was a war on, you know), empty, made the product a bargain if you planned to soak off the label and reuse the jar for your own home food preservation purposes. Potato cousinsSeems you have discovered some of my distant cousins. The Dube (pronounced Doobee) families were prominent and large in the area. The original spelling is actually Dubé (pronounced Dubay). I'm not sure where they would fit in the family tree, as I don't know any names here, but I grew up a few miles from there. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Cats, Jack Delano, Kids)
Hill of Beans: 1940
... Mary's County, Maryland. "Mrs. Eugene Smith, FSA borrower, canning string beans." Photo by John Vachon for the Farm Security ... is tired, but -- Mrs. Smith does appear to have a new canning pot, so there's that. The smell I haven't messed with string ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/02/2021 - 12:52pm -

September 1940. Saint Mary's County, Maryland. "Mrs. Eugene Smith, FSA borrower, canning string beans." Photo by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Good design does not need to changeI've got a stainless steel slicer/shredder virtually identical to the one hanging above the stove I bought recently - without the wooden handle. Made in China, of course. That poor old stoveMrs. Smith's stove has seen so many years of work, the oven door is baling wired on. Look at the lower right, a cobble of wire and whatnot to keep it snugged in place. The oven is tired, but --Mrs. Smith does appear to have a new canning pot, so there's that. The smellI haven't messed with string beans in over 40 years but I know exactly what this kitchen smells like. The aroma stayed on your fingers for days. (The Gallery, John Vachon, Kitchens etc.)
Kroger Depot: 1941
... not be icing cars at their destination. I assume this is a canning plant that gets fruits and vegetables from the West. Early ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/03/2020 - 3:33pm -

June 1941. "Carloads of fruit and vegetables at terminal. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. In the vicinity of 21st & Railroad Street In the Strip DistrictPittsburghers know the Strip as the place to find the best cheese, coffee, pasta, meat, pizza, sandwiches -- just about anything you can eat and some things you can't eat. I'm getting homesick just thinking about it. Not your father's Strip DistrictThe Strip District is much different than Sewickley likely remembers it. This site shows just how much the area has changed over the years. Primanti's is still there, though, and surviving the pandemic quite well. The second picture shows the old Kroger warehouse and the upscale apartment building that is there now. Refrigerated BoxcarsCan you imagine the amount of ice needed for those cars. I Found The Locomotive!It was hiding among the fruit cars. If the lids are up- - -the "reefers" are empty. Things that are still there (sort of)The bluff across the river is known as Troy Hill. The cluster of dark brick and light stone buildings on the left of the bluff is definitely the old North Catholic High School. The school has moved to the affluent suburbs of Butler County, but the buildings remain and houses a charter school. The darker buildings farther to the right on the bluff is most likely the church and school of Most Holy Name of Jesus parish, but I can't find any good photos to confirm my guess. Reefer roof hatchesThe roof hatches are opened to circulate cold air across the load, and to cause the ice to melt, to release cold (actually absorb heat). Salt was also frequently sprinkled on the ice in the "bunkers" so it would melt faster, releasing more cold air. The melted saltwater was drained next to the rails, which is why railroads used to run annual work trains to spray oil on the sides of the rails, to reduce rail and spikes rusting from all that salt water. The oil then combined with traction sand and cinders to make a gunky mess that you never see these days. Other techniques frequently used were a circulating fan, belt driven from an extended car axle end, and top icing, ie blowing chipped ice on top of the fruits or vegetables. Meat reefers were entirely different, they had monorail tracks under the roof to handle hanging sides of beef or pork. The tracks connected to tracks at the warehouses and packing plants. The railroads had massive ice making plants spaced along the line, (100 or so miles) with elevated platforms to allow sliding the heavy ice blocks into the bunkers without having to lift them. Workers at the ice platforms also handled adjusting the roof hatches for temperature regulation, sprinkling salt on the ice, and refreshing the top ice when specified. I remember the big NKP ice plant in Bellevue Ohio. It was all very complex, and employed many people. Camera PositionPhotographer was standing on the 16th Street Bridge looking northeast up the Allegheny River. re: Reefer roof hatchesThese would be empty cars or cars about to be emptied. The hatches are open to dry out the car. You would not be icing cars at their destination. I assume this is a canning plant that gets fruits and vegetables from the West. Early container on flatcar. On the fifth track from the right are two cars of PRR containers that were put into operation in the early thirties. The idea was to pull LTL freight from the highways and back on the rails. It was a good idea that proved to be impractical. The biggest problem was persuading connecting lines to build the terminals needed to handle the containers. The Great Depression affected freight traffic on all railroads and after ten years or so the little containers were repurposed into tool sheds and line-side electrical cabinets. One of These Cars is Not Like the OthersAmong all these boxcars are a couple of oddballs. Roughly centered in the image there is a car that looks like five modules with lifting hooks on the roof. Three cars behind there is another that we can see more clearly (far left lower in the photo). What is that? Edit: my question crossed with the answer below; thanks Rob. I found a clear photo of one of these Pennsylvania RR FM flatcars carrying the DD1 containers: (The Gallery, John Vachon, Pittsburgh, Railroads)
The Devil's Workshop: 1911
... 1911. Eastport, Maine. "Group of young cutters, Seacoast Canning Co., Factory #2, waiting for more fish. They all work, but they waste a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/07/2009 - 12:56am -

August 1911. Eastport, Maine. "Group of young cutters, Seacoast Canning Co., Factory #2, waiting for more fish. They all work, but they waste a great deal of time, as the adults do also, waiting for fish to arrive." Anyone up for a quick knife fight? Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. There but for the grace of GodIronic that this is titled as it is. When I was a kid in Newark, I knew poverty, but nothing so terrible as this. These "idle hands" were virtual slaves and should be playing ball and reading books. Photos that I see here of people touch me so much more deeply than those of cityscapes and buildings. These fresh, yet forlorn faces say so much, and not one single smile among them. Where are their thoughts taking them? Thanks for these reminders of how good my childhood was. The Devil's Workshop: 1911This is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. I have tracked down the descendants of 10 of the child laborers that Hine photographed at this cannery. There are 53 of those photos on the Library of Congress website. Among the stories I have posted is one about Elsie Shaw, a six-year-old worker at the cannery. You can see her remarkable story at www.morningsonmaplestreet.com/elsieshaw1.html Jets and SharksAlthough they look like a gang ready to fight, they were most likely gutting and prepping sardines, a huge industry in Maine. So many who worked in packing plants lost fingers, either by their own fast knives or by automated cutting machines. In 1948 "Cannery Row" was published about the sardine factories on the West Coast, namely Monterey, but it was not about the working conditions for kids in 1911, more depression era personal stuff. Also I'm guessing they were on "piece work" in which one gets paid for the quantity of his output, not hourly wages. I doubt they would pay anyone for sitting around waiting in 1911. No trophies or self-esteem training for these youngsters. Bag itWonder what is inside the pile of bags that they are sitting on. Based on the empty bag in one boy's lap, I suspect they are bags of more bags. And yes, those are quite some knives for those boys to have. Forget safety scissors with blunt points, these put Crocodile Dundee to shame. A Guttin' We Will Go"And you make sure you wear your "Fish Shoes" when you go a-guttin' young man!" Shoes of the boy on the back right have the toes blown out. Laces look bunchy, like they weren't laced properly; or maybe broken and tied together? How many of these boys have ADD?? Put a group of this number together today and you'd have bedlam---not to mention, several stabbed children. In my opinion, these attention deficit disorders are something unique to our times. Fast forwardBare feet, a sharp knife and fish guts. Sounds like a perfect summer day when I was their age --- what a difference 60 years can make. (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)
Five-Tube Chassis: 1937
... to see plants full of women performing the cleaning and canning operations. By the turn of the last century, most apparel sweatshops ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/05/2013 - 7:57am -

March 1937. "Camden, New Jersey. RCA Victor. Five-tube chassis assembly line." Radio like Grandma used to make. Photo by Lewis Hine. View full size. Designed for mass productionCompare these to the Atwater Kents of the twenties. The A-K radios were more like an Erector set, all the little fiddly bits held together by screws and nuts. Every assembler had a tray of hardware from which to build the tuning assembly. The tuning capacitor and IF coils in these radios are made of stamped steel pieces, designed to fit together like puzzles and held together by bent-over tabs in slots. This style of construction was used through the sixties, when the Japanese replaced it with little molded plastic pieces. 1936 designed hardware ?Looks like a 5T7 model: http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/rca_5t7.html CuriousWhy were all the workers women? This looks more like a shot you'd see from 5-ish years later in the midst of the war. Not all womenThat is either a man in the background leaning over with his thumb to his nose, or the lady needs an apology from me. Women were better suited (no pun intended) for these types of jobs since their hands fit the gloves better. And when you aren't working, you can pose like a model and no one will suspect your true ambitions. Female workersWomen in the workplace was not a WWII invention. Women entered manufacturing at the dawn of the industrial revolution. In Lowell, MA the mill owners recruited young women and built living quarters for them. When food processing evolved, it was common to see plants full of women performing the cleaning and canning operations. By the turn of the last century, most apparel sweatshops employed girls and women - remember the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911? Still using a power transformerThe venerable five tube concept would not long after this abandon the big power transformer on the right for a direct, non-isolated connection to the AC mains. Saved a lot of money, but could be a surprise for an unwary tinkerer. "Miniaturization" during WWII would shrink the light-bulbish tubes and large coils to something about 1/3 the size of what we see here. That lead way to legions of bread-loaf sized radios in the 50's on, some of which are now considered art pieces. Should have held on to those things! Ah, the All-American Five!The five-tube chassis was a classic, and many versions graced American homes. These seem to have a power transformer that made the chassis safer than the cheaper models that ran directly off 110 volt AC power lines. A touch to a transformerless chassis and a good ground could deliever quite a shock! Atwater-KentsAnd, nixiebunny, the Atwater-Kents were tuned radio frequency (TRF) receivers that were cranky to tune and pretty unstable. These radios used superheterodyne technology invented by Edwin H. Armstrong that made using a radio easy, stable, and reliable. Armstrong also corrected faulty vacuum-tube theory, invented the regenerative receiver, the Super-regenerative circuit, and FM radio. Five-tube CrosleyThe lady wearing glasses in the foreground seems to operating with a decent chassis but more importantly when I was a lad Pop owned a 5-tube Crosley superheterodyne receiver. We were on Long Island but at night that beast could pull in the race results from Bowie in Maryland and River Downs out in Ohio. (Technology, The Gallery, Factories, Lewis Hine)
Power Grab: 1912
... "G'wan, I hain't married." The girl steady. Maggioni Canning Company. Port Royal, South Carolina. View full size. ... of the place where the picture was taken (Maggioni Canning Company) suggests otherwise. Is the frase "The girl steady" to be ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 12:23pm -

February 1912. The Boss taking liberties. "G'wan, I hain't married." The girl steady. Maggioni Canning Company. Port Royal, South Carolina. View full size. Uncharacteristically frisky photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. Just makes you feelHappy The BossKind of joke? Is "The Boss" meant here as "husband"? The addition of the place where the picture was taken (Maggioni Canning Company) suggests otherwise. Is the frase "The girl steady" to be followed by something? If not I don't understand it. Due to lack of understanding the English by me perhaps? ["The boss" means her supervisor at work. "Girl steady" means she is his only girlfriend. - Dave] Who is the little girl then?Who is the little girl then? Surely she's not at work. [Lots of little girls worked as oyster shuckers. - Dave] Nice To See....What an endearing and timeless shot this is. It does indeed have a happy and frisky vibe to it. Makes me smile every time I look at it. Interesting for the early 20th century. (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)
Trucked: 1935
... farm and barn, public owned gas works, greenhouse, canning works, carpentry shop, cooperative factory, filling station and pool ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 12:36pm -

October 1935. Our third shot of Red House, West Virginia, youngsters on the way to school by truck. 35mm negative by Ben Shahn for the FSA. View full size. Red HouseYou can almost see the adults that they will become. I love this shot. Eleanor RooseveltThis is from the Putnam County farm project near Red House (Red House Farms). The project was established in 1934 and was underwritten by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, a forerunner of the Resettlement Administration and the FSA. There were over 150 families settled at the site who had been receiving relief, and who were to become self supporting through training and farming. It was called a "subsistence homestead community." Notice the "government house" on the right side of the frame. Each was on an acre of land along with a small barn, chicken pen and garden. The houses were mainly of cinderblock construction, but knotty pine inside. There was also a community farm and barn, public owned gas works, greenhouse, canning works, carpentry shop, cooperative factory, filling station and pool room. And the poster is correct, you can see the sort of adults that they would become. Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the most important voices in establishing these communities, and the site is now called Eleanor. It claims to be "the cleanest town in West Virginia." http://eleanorwv.20m.com/p8.htm Red HouseThey all look so happy to be going to school. Wonderful picture. I keep coming back to this photo.What I can't get over is that it would seem that it's a chilly day, judging by the fact that most of the kids are in heavy sweaters or jackets. Yet the boy in overalls and at least one other (the boy with his back to the camera) aren't wearing shoes. Their toes must have been frozen! But what really gets me is thinking how times have changed. Twenty-five years or so ago, I was the same age as many of the kids in this photo. In my school, you were often ridiculed for not having the "correct" $100 Nikes. Yet in this photo, no one seems bothered in the least that some in the group don't even have shoes. Makes me wonder what happened between now and then.... Houses in Red House FarmsI am an originia [?] family child and still one of the 150 houses in Eleanor WV also known as Red house Farms. The clothing the children had on was what they had. Some would wear a jacket or coat over a torn dress so it wouldn't show. Some of us had shoes, some didnt. There were 150 houses and three repalacement houses for the three land owners who chose not to sell to the Gov. in 1934. The house referred to in the picture is still standing however there was NO knotty pine in the houses, it is all wormy chestnut. Stll very much in demand when it can be found. As I said I own one of the homes yet. The truck is parked in front of the barracks where school was being held. The working men had lived there before the families moved in. What a special Bonding the remaining children have today. We are proud to be called Project children. Marlane Crockett Carr The kidsHi Marlane, I was wondering if you could identify any of these children as any of the Burgess children -- Jean, Leland, Corliss (Burl), Willo or Lillie. Thank you, Sheila (The Gallery, Ben Shahn, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Education, Schools, Kids)
War and Peas: 1919
... Part of it is the way that they're treated during the canning process and part is that they're allowed to wait a long time before ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/27/2012 - 3:21pm -

Washington, D.C., 1919. "Buying Army surplus food sold at fish market." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative, Library of Congress. View full size. I hate canned peas!I hope that the million boxes behind the men are not also full of canned peas. Yuck! Re: I hate canned peas!I hope for whirled peas. Hate canned peas?I think they're Pretty Good. Peas TreatyGray Hat: "Peas? I thought it was s'posed to be peace." White Hat: "Yeah! They told us when the war was over we'd have peace. If I'd'a known they meant peas I'd'a stayed home." Skinny Tie: "I slogged my way across France for a buncha peas?" Warehouse Man: "Knuckleheads." Best Headline EverHa! War and Peas. Fantastic. I don't mean goober peasIn 1960 I was in junior high school with a kid from Austria whose family lived through the Allied occupation of Vienna. Food was rationed. He said that from the Russians they got nothing, from the Brits it was mutton, the Americans gave them everything, but the French give them peas! The Russians themselves were probably eating 1919 surplus peas. Give peas a chanceCould be worse. Could be brussels sprouts. Hey, nowWatch it DoninVA...goober peas are normally a healthy and tasty treat. This recent kerfluffle about tainted goober peas is enough to make a fellow embarassed to sign his epistles. Give (goober) peas a chance! Goober Pea I think I ate some of those peas!I think I know what those peas were like. They were huge and starchy and nothing like those deep green frozen peas people eat so many of now. Kids at military schools (not military academies, but public schools on military bases, for the children of active-duty parents) were served billions of those peas with school lunch. I don't really think the ones I ate in the early '60s came from 1919, but I would bet they had been around for quite a while! Being a total vegetable lover, I not only ate mine, but traded away all of my rolls, cakes and cookies for classmates' peas (as well as other vegetables). I was very popular for sitting by at lunch! Canned PeasNever a good thing. Starchy and mushy. Part of it is the way that they're treated during the canning process and part is that they're allowed to wait a long time before processing. Frozen peas on the other hand are a marvel in part because they're frozen quickly after being picked. The longer a pea goes between picking and eating the more the natural sugars convert into starch. Freezing halts the process. Thus the peas you buy in the freezer section of the supermarket sometimes taste better than the ones you buy at the local farmers market. I know that some professional chefs who object to just about all frozen or processed ingredients make an exception for frozen peas. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Stores & Markets, WWI)
Pressure Cookers: 1941
... Pay attention! The borrower seems to know something of canning with all that's alongside the cooking vessel. But, I hope she paid ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/28/2020 - 4:42pm -

July 1941. "Wife of FSA borrower discussing pressure cooker with home supervisor. Mille Lacs County, Minnesota." Medium format negative by John Vachon. View full size. Re: BethFThank you very much for your kind words, jd taylor. You made me blush. I firmly believe everyone should eat like they're 8 years old again every once in a while. There's nothing wrong with it. Adult life can be very stressful for any number of reasons, so taking a few moments to be a kid again can reset your equilibrium. At least, it works that way for me. BethFThat’s one of the best Shorpy comments ever. And this is one of the best lines: “I eat like I'm 8 years old again.” Grace under pressureYour face is a study in terror, Grace Swenson, and can't say as I blame ya. If I had a 'splodey old pressure cooker like that in MY kitchen, I'd be sayin' novenas! Well, I'd best be on my way. The day is young, and I have a lot more supervisin' to do. Thanks for the tequila shots! The NationalJudging from the general shape, the lugs, and the dial, I believe we're looking at a National C21 pressure canner ("21" indicated the capacity in quarts). Smaller-capacity National models used a twist-lock top. When will it blow?Fabulous photo with its foreboding shadows on the brown paper walls. They both wait for the explosion of the pressure cooker. Who got the timing correct? Mother or daughter? [That's not her daughter! - Dave] Mille LacsOnly a thousand lakes? The licence plate has 10,000. And not to be outdone, my home province, Manitoba, just to the north, when I was a kid, decided to go with ten times as many lakes. All those knobsWon't do a bit of good! Memories from my childhood.My grandmother had a pressure cooker that looked very similar to this one, and without fail, whenever we went to visit her, she'd cook fresh green beans (picked from the garden that day) and lots of bacon in it. It was amazing. I used to only be able to eat green beans like that, so it was a good thing my mother had one too, albeit a newer model. I've since learned to enjoy green beans in a myriad of different ways, but for good old nostalgia's sake, I make them the way my grandma did, and I eat like I'm 8 years old again. Pay attention!The borrower seems to know something of canning with all that's alongside the cooking vessel. But, I hope she paid more attention to the pressure gauge than she paid to changing her calendar page. We still have, and use, a pressure cooker that my mom had from the late forties or early fifties. No trouble yet. Knock on wood. (The Gallery, John Vachon, Kitchens etc.)
Fast Woman: 1908
... company far better known for their apple peelers and food canning machines. The Maryland started out in 1905 as the Ariel, made by the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/06/2013 - 11:24pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1908. "Maycliffe, R., Miss." The Broadway ingenue Ruth Maycliffe. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. 1907 OaklandYou can see part of the last name on the radiator. Here's a picture for reference. Not identical, but a lot of the details are strikingly similar, like the horn, running lights and headlights. Backwards DriverJudging by the tire tracks is looks like the car was reversed into position for this shot. Where was she?Can anyone identify the location and the buildings in the background? [The big building is the Willard Hotel. - Dave] AH-OOGA.Where do I get me one of them horns? Multiple Air Valves?I am no car expert, and have no idea what kind of a car this is. BUT, I notice that the tires seems to have a whole lot of air valves, if that's what they are, whereas today's tires have only one per tire. Does anyone know why? [Those are rim clamps. See the comments here. - Dave] LocationFor the individual curious about the location of this photo. Thanks to Dave's identification, the Willard Hotel is located at 1401 Pennsylvania Ave NW, DC. Just down the road from the White House. It's a MarylandMiss Maycliffe's car was a rarity even when this picture was taken. It is a 1908 Maryland Roadster as manufactured by the Sinclair-Scott Company of Baltimore, a company far better known for their apple peelers and food canning machines. The Maryland started out in 1905 as the Ariel, made by the Ariel Motor Car Company of Boston (not connected with the Ariel Motor Company in England or its New York partner The Ariel Company). Sinclair-Scott had ventured into the manufacture of car parts a few years earlier and Ariel became one of their customers—in fact Sinclair-Scott was soon not only producing most of the car, but assembling it as well. There were few sales of the $2,500 tonneau however, and Ariel was unable to make good on their debts. Sinclair-Scott acquired the rights to the vehicle in 1907 (Ariel Motor Car Company was officially dissolved that same year), gave it a bit of a face lift—the oval radiator was given a sleeker redesign—and renamed it the Maryland Car. They next added a 6-passenger limousine and a 2, 3, or 4-passenger roadster to the lineup while retaining the dash and Briscoe oval radiator on all three models. The Briscoe Mfg. Co. badge can be seen at the top of Miss Maycliffe's radiator. Sinclair-Scott also carried on the Ariel tradition of equipping each vehicle with a tool box, a Nonpareil brand horn (used by 2/3 of American automobile manufacturers) and a full set of Atwood lamps (2 oil side lamps and 2 acetylene head lamps). The new models were a vast sales improvement over the Ariels—albeit still fairly low volume when compared to the best-sellers of the day—and for 1908 the only changes made were some body refinements and to the finish. Given the low production volume, it is possible that the roadster Miss Maycliffe purchased was the very one used for the promotional photographs appearing in national magazines (above). Even with the increased volume, the vehicles were never profitable enough for Sinclair-Scott and in 1910 they discontinued the Maryland Car line. I am unaware of any Ariels or Marylands in existence today—making them both extinct cars. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Harris + Ewing)
Cannery Row Fire: 1967
... Herald: "On Sunday, Dec. 24, 1967, the old Carmel Canning Company on Cannery Row caught fire and burned for more than four hours. ... 
 
Posted by rsyung - 08/10/2016 - 8:52pm -

Kodachrome slide taken by my dad while we were in Pacific Grove for the Christmas holiday, December, 1967. From the Monterey Herald: "On Sunday, Dec. 24, 1967, the old Carmel Canning Company on Cannery Row caught fire and burned for more than four hours. The blaze, which had more than 65 firemen respond from Monterey, Seaside and Pacific Grove, caused an estimated $250,000 in damage. Fire and smoke billowed from the structure, causing embers to fall on homes in New Monterey and start smaller fires. Fire Chief Clifford Hebrard said it was his opinion “that the fire was set.” An arson investigation was to take place the next day." View full size. School's outSeeno St next to Larkin Elementary. Monterey fire from a 1965 Monterey.It was indeed a Mercury Monterey, although if I remember right, a 1965 model. My dad bought it used. After the fire. Ruins of fire-ravaged cannery. This was at the corner of Cannery Row and Hoffman. 1967?Are you sure the year is 1967? That looks like the rear end of a late '70's, early '80s Olds - like a Delta 88 or a 98. [Appears to be a 1966 Mercury Monterey 2-door sedan. -tterrace] Cui Bono?This fire was the major event ultimately leading to the complete gentrification of what had long been a picturesquely seedy area. Save for a few bars/restaurants (Neil Devaughn's, The Place, the Outrigger) and a movie theater, Cannery Row largely comprised abandoned canneries and dilapidated shacks, hardly a destination for anyone outside the Monterey Peninsula. Now, of course, upscale hotels, an internationally renowned aquarium, and bars and eateries galore compete with T-shirt shops and the few remaining original buildings (suitably rehabbed, of course) for the attention of tourists from all over. There was, of course, considerable malicious gossip, since much of the Row had been acquired by a local development firm prior to the conflagration and there was a longstanding development v. preservation controversy seething at the time. No charges were ever filed, let alone proven, and the Monterey tax base got a nice shot in the arm after things started spiffing up. And any number of young locals, whose parents and grandparents had either fished for sardines or canned them (contributing to what was known to locals as "The Stink By the Bay"), became employed in more genteel occupations. Locals don't go to Cannery Row.Lived in Monterey for a year in the 1970's, going to language school. At that time Cannery Row was fascinating mix of the old, the weird and the new. Can't forget the tiny 812 Cinema, where you laid on cushions to watch the movie, or Odyssey Records. Came back in the 1990's for a final tour at the language school and have stayed ever since. A great deal had changed on Cannery Row. The 812 was gone, as was Odyssey Records. The Aquarium was there. Cannery Row had turned totally touristy. We locals only go to Cannery Row to take out-of-town visitors. For us, the character is long gone. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Lil Shuckers: 1912
... and on Saturday from 4 a.m. to early afternoon. Maggioni Canning Co." View full size. Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/06/2008 - 7:58pm -

February 1912. Port Royal, South Carolina. "Nine [?] of these children from 8 yrs. old up go to school half a day, and shuck oysters for four hours before school and three hours after on school days, and on Saturday from 4 a.m. to early afternoon. Maggioni Canning Co." View full size. Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. SmilesEven tho these kids worked really hard, there are still times for wonderful smiles from the three girls on the right. Beautiful. Poor kidsJust imagine, between other things, attending school smelling like that. "I hate taking pictures"My favorite is the little boy in the back who is glaring at the camera. Kinda reminds me of my cousin on Easter. (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)
Plucky: 1936
... of hired hand cleaning chickens in cellar preparatory to canning them. Chickens at this time of year are bringing six cents per pound. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 2:27pm -

December 1936. "Wife of owner-operator and wife of hired hand cleaning chickens in cellar preparatory to canning them. Chickens at this time of year are bringing six cents per pound. These are for roasting. Harry Madsen farm, near Dickens, Iowa. 360 acres, owner operated." Medium format nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. This could be grandma and me!Looking at this picture brings back memories of my youth. When I was about 14 I was spending the summer with my grandparents on a farm in Nebraska. One day my grandmother told me that we were going to dress chickens for dinner. When I told her I didn't know how, she was shocked that my mother had not taught me. She said, "well by the end of today you will be very good at it." I was, and very proud of myself, I might add! ChickenIt's been less than 100 years and most of us no longer know how to live this way. The march of progress, I guess... Wow.I've never plucked a chicken, but I've certainly eaten many over my lifetime. Like most folks, I'd bet I'd eat a LOT less if I had to do what it took to get the chicken into the pot. (Maybe that's why my grandmother and great-aunt were only sent to the yard to wring necks once a week...and why she could work wonders in the kitchen with very little meat...a hambone in the pot of pinto beans, a little bacon grease in her potato salad, etc.!) Thanks for the reminder that chicken doesn't come from cellophane packages in the grocery store! (Oh, and if you haven't read Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma," named one of the Ten Best Science Books of the Year by the NYTimes, you're missing something. His experiences on Polyface Farm were enlightening!) LookalikesI'm surprised at how many of the housewives from this period look like my mother and other relatives. It must be the clothing they wore and maybe their body language. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Animals, Russell Lee)
Well-Preserved: 1940
... people don't know that there is a nationwide shortage of canning supplies here in 2020. Due to the unprecedented and bizarre state of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/12/2020 - 12:11pm -

August 1940. "Wife of Mormon farmer with canned goods. Snowville, Utah." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Undoubtedly, to her... that was like money in the bank! What goes aroundMany people don't know that there is a nationwide shortage of canning supplies here in 2020. Due to the unprecedented and bizarre state of our current society, combined with our food supply being pummeled on multiple fronts, people are once again turning to growing and preserving their own food. Another JARring photo. From the bad old times, when you didn't have in times of need if you didn't prepare in times of plenty. No credit on the banks of jars. For my parents gardening (dad) and preserving the surplus (mom) was something of a hobby. For my grandma it had been a lifelong habit grown from sheer necessity. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Kitchens etc., Rural America, Russell Lee)
Tiny Shucker: 1912
... go to school. Works steady. Been at it one year. Maggioni Canning Co. Port Royal, South Carolina." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/14/2016 - 2:14pm -

February 1912. "Tiny, a seven-year-old oyster shucker (sister of Henry, No. 3291), does not go to school. Works steady. Been at it one year. Maggioni Canning Co. Port Royal, South Carolina." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. I've consumed many an oysterBut have shucked nary a one. Still, judging from the heavy gloves sturdy adults use when performing that task, I am surprised that this poor little waif has any hands left. I presume, of course, that she hadn't a tiny pair of work gloves, given her obvious place in the socio-economic hierarchy of Port Royal. Child LaborPoor kid already looks like someone's grandma. The other side of seafoodNo idea what it's like today, but I saw a lot of how the seafood industry worked in Florida in the mid-1960s. My dad, for a couple of years, was manager of what was at that time the largest seafood company in the U.S. To teach me the value of an education, he arranged for me to work at one of the plants in Marathon, Florida, that "processed" fresh mackerel. Beheading, gutting, and rinsing the fish and putting them into a wire basket was the task when the fishing boats came in, and that began at four in the morning. It took 11 cleaned fish to fill the wire basket, and you got 25 cents a basket. I was supposed to do that for a week; one day was all I could manage and I'll never forget it. Later, when living in Apalachicola, Florida, I'd go down to the packing plants where older black women shucked oysters. These women were so skilled it was almost beyond belief, and they had worked together so long that it seemed like a social event as they joked and sang and teased each other. That proved, to me, their tough spirit and great skill. The work was not only not fun but tedious and dangerous; handling those peculiar stiff-bladed oyster knives was not something you did without paying attention. I did admire those women so and was proud they accepted me as a friend. I think a bit misleadingI shucked oysters as a thirteen yo female in my family's restaurant in Louisiana. The leverage it takes to break the hinge on the oyster would be beyond her ability, I would say, but who knows. I would think her job would have been to break apart the clusters of oysters with a hammer to separate them for the shuckers. [Not misleading. They used knives. She was one of hundreds. - Dave] (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)
Cannery Row: 1912
... and partly surrounded by a tidal marsh. Maggioni Canning Co." Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/28/2012 - 12:09pm -

February 1912. Port Royal, South Carolina. "'We give them houses to live in.' About 50 persons housed in this miserable row of dilapidated shacks located on an old shell-pile and partly surrounded by a tidal marsh. Maggioni Canning Co." Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Boot CampPort Royal South Carolina is the home of The United States Marine Corps Recruit Training Center, Parris Island. The facility was called Marine Barracks Port Royal 100 years ago (Grandfather was there in 1915). Old Dutch CleanserThe woman from Old Dutch Cleanser to the rescue. Close to Catfish Row?In case you have never seen it, the musical (story of) "Porgy and Bess" depicts just such a desperately miserable neighborhood called Catfish Row in the slums of Charleston, S. C. The music is outstanding and the characters are unforgettable. I highly recommend it either via live performance or the movie; it will stay with you. For Bob, the glass always was half full"Hey, look! No lawn to mow." (The Gallery, Lewis Hine)
Step Sisters: 1911
... are at the factory. She shucks [oysters] also. Alabama Canning Co." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. The Eyes ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/07/2014 - 10:08pm -

February 1911. Bayou La Batre, Alabama. "Little Julia tending the baby at home. All the older ones are at the factory. She shucks [oysters] also. Alabama Canning Co." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. The Eyes Have ItHines outdid himself with this one. The little girl's eyes are just amazing. SweetThis is such a sweet photo. I hope these little angels had wonderfully happy and long lives. (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)
This Land: 1940
... for them to ship fresh fruit than places further west. Canning and drying was more common at points west, such as the San Joaquin and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/19/2018 - 2:11pm -

December 1940. "Japanese fruit farmer and his son. Placer County, California." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. The Year BeforeIt'll be a lot less pleasant for them in the US the following December. I'll say what we're all thinkingSoon to be sent to an internment camp, for no other reason than their ethnicity. Missing "Handsome Rakes" tagI can all but guarantee that young fella did just fine with the ladies. (And to think these poor guys were likely unjustly rounded up and sent to internment camps after Pearl Harbor) Who would have guessedThat in about a year their lives would be forever changed. References to Japanese communities in Placer CountyThe farm was probably somewhere along Interstate 80. japantownatlas.com mentions Japanese communities in Loomis (church), Penryn (several stores, Buddhist church, and hall), Newcastle (school), and Auburn (grocery and church). http://www.japantownatlas.com/map-placer.html "Located in the foothills east of Sacramento, the town of Penryn was once surrounded by rolling hills filled with peach, plum, and pear orchards. Japanese farmers leased or owned a substantial portion of the fruit ranches in this area, and the money they made in turn supported a local economy of Japanese businesses. https://www.asianamericanbooks.com/books/3524.htm This photo from the Library of Congress may be the same son at an Arts and Crafts desk. Note the cutout of a starlet above his desk and the framed photo on the desk. https://www.loc.gov/resource/fsa.8c00555/ I've gotten the impression that the Placer County area tended to produce fresh fruit for shipping to the rest of the U.S. Because it was on the Southern Pacific railroad on its way east, it would have been easier for them to ship fresh fruit than places further west. Canning and drying was more common at points west, such as the San Joaquin and Santa Clara valleys. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Russell Lee)
My Grandfather: 1915
... fleet of these ships and they were involved in the salmon canning industry in Alaska. Outbound from San Francisco, they hauled up ... 
 
Posted by Bob Burns - 10/25/2021 - 2:51pm -

My paternal grandfather (standing, far left) spent quite a lot of his life crewing on square-rigged ships (also known as "windjammers") out of San Francisco. These ships were owned and operated by Alaska Packers, which was a division of the Del Monte Corp (aka the California Packing Corporation). The company had a small fleet of these ships and they were involved in the salmon canning industry in Alaska. Outbound from San Francisco, they hauled up supplies for the canneries. On the return, they'd bring finished goods to San Francisco for eventual labeling and sale to retailer grocers. Although steam had largely replaced wind powered ships by the turn of the 20th century, Del Monte found it more economical to sail these old steel hulled sailing vessels up and down the Pacific coast. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
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