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]

Enquiries

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

Photo by Jack Delano. [American Memory link]

Making Soap

Ah, yes, the good ol' days, when one spooned grease and lye into a tub set over a woodfire. Eventually the whole mess hardened and one cut it out of the tub in chunks.

The thing we forget when we romanticize living 'close to the land' prior to modern manufacturing is that it involved hour upon hour of unpleasant, tedious and frequently dangerous work. There's a reason the people in so many of these photos look older than their years.

Photo taken by Russell Lee in New Mexico, 1939. [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]

Flag Day

Women at a New Jersey flag company trim threads from a flag made for the United States government. Americans commemorate the adoption of their flag each year on June 14th.

Photo by Marjory Collins, 1943. [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]

Field Trip

Highschool students visit the Lincoln Memorial in 1942. The caption accompanying this photo says these students were chosen for their "intellectual alertness" and rewarded with a week-long trip to Washington, D.C.

Photo by Marjory Collins. [American Memory link]

After the Rain

Sunbathers in Maryland, 1943.

Photo by Esther Bubley. [American Memory link]

Mothering 3

Mrs. Arnold, age 32, and her children. Washington state, 1939. (See a larger version by clicking the image.)

Photo by Dorothea Lange. [American Memory link]

Mothering 2

The caption accompanying this photo reads: "Sergeant George Camblair and his mother." Taken in Washington, D.C. in 1942.

Photo by Jack Delano. [American Memory link]

Mothering

Today is Mother's Day in Canada. This mother and daughter were photographed in California, in 1937.

Photo by Dorothea Lange. [American Memory link]

Union Meeting

A mother and child rest during a chapter meeting of a union representing workers in the agriculture, canning, and packing industries. Oklahoma, 1940.

Photo by Russell Lee. [American Memory link]

Sad Story

This photo tells a poignant tale all on its own, but the details contained in the caption are heartbreaking. Apparently this family was receiving government aid, but was then "dropped" from the program.

According to the photographer, a nurse's report indicates that the children have hookworm and that the mother suffers from "pellagra and milk leg." Hookworm can stunt intellectual development. Pellagra is a B vitamin deficiency which, if untreated, can kill a person in five years. It's associated with dizziness and dementia. Milk leg is connected to childbirth and involves dangerous blood clots. Apparently modern treatment for this condition involves resting in bed with one's leg elevated.

Alabama, 1939. Photo by Marion Wolcott Post. [American Memory link]

First Grade

Grade one students with their teacher. Alabama, 1939. (click photo for a larger version)

Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. [American Memory link]

Generations

For me, this shot captures the cycle of life beautifully. The child holding her doll (suggesting the children she, herself, will have some day), her mother in the doorway, and her grandmother behind her.

Full disclosure: It's actually uncertain who the others in the photo are. The caption accompanying this image says the girl is the daughter of a struggling Ohio farmer.

Photo by Ben Shahn, 1938. [American Memory link]

Have Your Head Read

A stall at a carnival in Ohio, 1938. "Come in and have your head read. She will tell you what you want to know about love" and marriage.

Originally developed by a physician in the late 1700s, phrenology was taken seriously by medical personnel in the 1800s. It was believed that an individual's personality could be understood by examining the exterior of his or her skull.

Photo by Ben Shahn. [American Memory link]

Leaving Church

In 1938 Ohio, going to church and dressing up went hand-in-hand.

Photo by Ben Shahn. [American Memory link]

Peek-A-Boo

A mother looks off into the distance as her son flirts with the photographer. Texas, 1939.

Photo by Russell Lee. [American Memory link]

Weather Balloon

Releasing a balloon at the airport in Washington, D.C. in order to determine wind direction and velocity. 1943.

Photo by Fred Driscoll. [American Memory link]

Sheep Shipping

Sheep being herded onto train cars in Colorado, 1940. Despite the presence of girls in pretty dresses watching in the background , one suspects this was a noisy, odorous affair.

Photo by Russell Lee. [American Memory link]