Nestled within Winton Woods, surrounded by forest, Greenhills, Ohio still has the look of an early suburban town. Most of the original buildings are still in use, and the historic district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Federal Government was the landlord When the housing was originally built, the Federal Government […]
Can you believe that sometimes children as young as twelve worked in coal mines? When photographer John Vachon visited the coal mine town of Kempton, Maryland-West Virginia in May 0f 1939, he took outstanding photographs of the people in the small company town, including these of some of the coal miner’s children. They give us a […]
These photographs taken by Russell Lee in July 1942 document the efforts of the energetic residents of Ola, Idaho and show the backbone of America. Russell Lee reported “Some of the members are in the armed services and others are working in war factories and others are helping neighbors who are haying. One member of […]
Ola, Idaho applied and received for two loans from the Government to open a cooperative sawmill to save the town from economic ruin. Their efforts paid off and when photographer Russell Lee returned to the town in 1942, the smiles on faces of the citizens of Ola reveal their success. Member of the Ola self-help […]
The Great Depression hit Idaho hard. From 1929 to 1932, the income of the average Idahoan dropped nearly fifty percent. Photographer Dorothea Lange visited Gem County’s Squaw Creek Valley, Ola, Idaho in October and November 1939 and took many pictures of the residents. These photographs reveal Idaho’s social history during the Depression and early war years. […]
The picturesque town of Ola, Idaho was an isolated community due to impassable roads much of the winter and this created significant problems for them during the Great Depression. Ola is an unincorporated community in Gem County, Idaho, United States. It is located approximately 30 miles north of Emmett. Carroll Baird homesteaded along Squaw Creek, less than […]
All the ice from the winter months in the north was helpful to the southern states in the olden days as can be seen from this story. The Iceman Made Life Easier Before the Arrival of Electricity by Steve A. Maze My grandpa had a problem with ice, but not the type we are […]
Chinaberry Trees and Other Memories by Jean Butterworth There was one old chinaberry tree in Granddaddy’s front yard when I was a child. It produced green berries in clumps about the size of a marble. We would take a thread and needle and string the chinaberries and make necklaces. It was a good tree […]
Towns were declared unconstitutional Some towns that had their start during the Depression Era were declared socialistic and unconstitutional in the 1940s and 1950s era when the anti-socialists were influencing American politics. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created a program to build new suburban communities as part of his New Deal plans for the country. The overseeing […]
The stores of downtown Circleville, Ohio have probably changed many times over the years. The photographs below show Main and Court Street businesses in 1938 when taken by photographer Ben Shahn. Grand clock This is a grand clock outside the entrance of Butch Jewelers. L. P. Butch Jewelers was established by L. C. Butch, on […]
