Memories    [back to TripodGirl.com]

From the Great Depression to World War II - photos from the American Memory collection


DONNA LAFRAMBOISE  aka  TripodGirl
The American Memory collection contains more than 162,000 images taken between 1935 and 1944 by government-hired photographers. If you were to look at 100 of them per day, every day, you'd need more than four years to view them all. As a photographer, I consider these images nothing short of wondrous. This blog showcases some of them.

October 31, 2008

Halloween Party

to locate this image on the American Memory website use search terms HALLOWEEN PARTY SHAFTER (photo by Dorothea Lange )

Youngsters at the Shafter, California migrant camp, 1938.

During the Great Depression, people lost their land or their jobs as tenant farmers. Drought, sand storms, and soil erosion (aka the Dust Bowl) added to their misery.

In search of a better life, farming families relocated to California by the thousands, often sheltering in makeshift conditions that raised public health concerns.

In response, the US government established a network of migrant camps that provided assistance and a sense of community. Other photos from this event show the children lining up for refreshments - in the form of sandwiches and punch. (Notice the cups a few of them are holding. This was a bring-your-own event.)

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[American Memory link]
to locate this image, use search terms: halloween, party, shafter

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