Waiting for Shoes

In June 1943 in Washington D.C., these folks were part of a larger crowd waiting their turn to purchase shoes "on the last day on which war ration shoe coupon seventeen" could be used.

Photo by Esther Bubley. [American Memory link]

Gas Rationing

During World War II, gasoline was vital to the military campaign. As a result, the amount available for domestic US consumption was rationed. The caption accompanying this photo reads: "Gas station attendant checking ration coupons against license plate of Washington, D.C. Dodge automobile. Sign on sidewalk reads 'Today's quota sold'."

Photo by Albert Freeman, July 1942. [American Memory link]

Enquiries

The information desk in Chicago's Union (train) Station. 1943.

Photo by Jack Delano. [American Memory link]

Steam Engine

A train departs from Chicago's Union Station, January 1943.

Photo by Jack Delano. [American Memory link]

Meeting the President

A farmer receiving drought assistance from the government speaks with President Roosevelt in North Dakota, 1936. Click image for a larger view.

Photo by Arthur Rothstein. [American Memory link]

Iowa Train

Awaiting a freight train's departure in Iowa, 1940.

Photo by John Vachon. [American Memory link]

Truck Stop

A gleaming, vital image of a trucker grabbing a meal at a Mississippi truck stop in 1943. (Click photo for a larger view.)

Taken by John Vachon. [American Memory link]

Greek Coffee

A lush, crisp shot of the owner of a coffee shop in 1938 Pennsylvania. (Click image for a larger view.)

Photo by Arthur Rothstein. [American Memory link]

Reading the Mail

This young man, photographed in 1942 Idaho, looks remarkably contemporary.

Photo by Russell Lee. [American Memory link]

Candy Stand

A candy stand at a farm auction frequented by Amish, Mennonite and Pennsylvania Dutch families. Pennsylvania, 1942.

Photo by John Collier. [American Memory link]

Helping Out

George Carell's seven-year-old son lends a hand in his father's workshop that produces war equipment. 1942 New Jersey.

Photo by Howard Liberman. [American Memory link]

Worry and Hardship

A father with his sick child. This man moved his family from Texas to Oregon in a homemade trailer in 1939 in order to secure work in a potato field.

Photo by Dorothea Lange. [American Memory link]

Hanging With Grandad

A fourth of July picnic in Vale, Oregon. 1941. (Click the image for a larger view.)

Photo by Russell Lee. [American Memory link]

Fruit Pickers

A father with his four sons in 1940 Michigan. The caption accompanying this images reads: "Migrant father and sons living in back of truck in fruit pickers camp...The two older boys work with their father picking cherries."

Photo by John Vachon. [American Memory link]

On the Move

A fine shot of a father and his son. The image caption says they're boarding a train in West Virginia, bound for New York state where they'll work as agricultural laborers.

Photo by John Collier. Sept. 1942. [American Memory link]

Father of Nine

Tip Estes, a 43-year-old father of nine, with four of his offspring. Indiana, 1937.

Photo by Russell Lee. [American Memory link]

Three Generations

A father, his daughter, and his grandchild. When this photo was taken in San Antonio, Texas in 1939 this family's home was described by the photographer as a "shack".

Photo by Russell Lee. [American Memory link]

Fatherhood

Three days ago, Father's Day was celebrated in Canada and the United States. That same afternoon, the father of a young friend of mine departed this mortal coil, having lost a battle with cancer.

The child being held by her father in this photo was awarded first prize in the 'healthiest baby contest' at the Shelby County Fair and Horse Show.

Taken by Marion Post Wolcott, in Kentucky. 1940. [American Memory link]

Healthy Specimen

August Ehlen, a Colorado farmer, examines a sugar beet. 1939.

Photo by Arthur Rothstein. [American Memory link]

Beet Fields

Minnesota sugar beet workers in Minnesota, 1937. (Click the image for a larger version).

Photo by Russell Lee. [American Memory link]