Fruitful

In 1940, cataloupes were one of the main crops in parts of Utah.

Photo by Russell Lee. [American Memory link]

Pineapple Express

Taken on a pineapple plantation in 1942 Puerto Rico.

Photo by Jack Delano. [American Memory link]

Field of Beans

This series of photographs depicts migrant workers - some of whom are children - bringing in the bean crop. Workers headed for the fields at 5:30 am.

New Jersey, 1942. Photo by John Collier. [American Memory link]

Water

Workers on a Puerto Rican sugar plantation. I love everything about this shot: the dark sky, the desolate field, the curve of the water barrel.

Photo by Edwin Rosskam, 1938. [American Memory link]

Planting Time

Planting corn by hand in 1941 South Carolina.

Photo by Jack Delano. [American Memory link]

Shucking Corn

Separating large numbers of corn cobs from their husks is a daunting task. Neighbours took turns helping each other with this labor.

Taken in 1939 West Virginia, on a farm rented by a man identified as Uncle Henry Garrett.

Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. [American Memory link]

Loading Corn

Be sure to click this photo to view the larger version. It's beautiful. The man and the corn are crisp and sharp, while the horses and wagon have a soft, almost dream-like quality.

Taken in Maryland, 1937. Photo by Arthur Rothstein. [American Memory link]

Retiree

This is a great portrait. I can almost smell the pipe smoke. A retired railroad engineer, this gent's second career involves growning corn and wheat on a 25-acre Virginia farm.

1940. Photo by Jack Delano. [American Memory link]

Horses Are Smelly, Too

In 1940 Iowa, corn got planted with the aid of farm animals - which required constant feeding and care. If your horses fell ill, your family's food supply might be threatened. Dire consequences lurked around every corner - which is why farm folk tend to be cautious and conservative.

Photo by John Vachon. [American Memory link]

Extracurricular

It isn't clear whether young people would normally be recruited for such tasks in heavily agricultural 1940s American - or whether labor was in short supply due to the war.

At any rate, this series of photos shows hundreds of co-ed high-school students being trucked into Idaho pea fields to help with the harvest.

Photo by Russell Lee, 1941. [American Memory link]

Hot Peppers

Chili peppers drying in the sun. Hung from an adobe building in New Mexico.

Photo by Russell Lee, 1940. [American Memory link]

Home Canning

Mrs. Hansen, a farmer's wife in Utah, is seen with her store of home-grown, home-preserved fruits and vegetables. This photo was taken in 1940 - an era in which housewives would can 500 quarts a year to feed their families during the winter.

[photographer not identified]

[American Memory link] to locate this image, use search terms: Hansen, preserves