Between 1939 and 1944 the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information collected a large number of color photographs which show the lives of the people during this critical point in our country's history. link. I found some of the ones that most interested me, and thought I'd offer them for your review. There's a wonderful hardiness the people seem to have had then. Looking at these photos, I'm reminded of my wonderful grandparents, who were part of that generation and who are now gone.
These photographs were part of a very successful propaganda campaign, to the effect that the nation needed everyone and no one was superfluous. I think that's still true.
Natchitoches, La., August 1940
FSA labor camp, Robson, TX, January 1941.
Pie Town, NM, September 1940.
Distributing surplus commodities, St. Johns, AZ, October 1940.
Children gathering potatoes, Aroostook County, ME, October 1940.
Japanese-American relocation camp, Tule Lake, CA, 1942 or 1943.
Grading and packing onions, Rice County, MN, Sept. 1939.
Delta County (Colorado) Fair, Oct. 1940
Woman working in an aircraft plant, Long Beach, Calif., Oct. 1942
Color guard of an engineer unit, Ft. Belvoir, VA, sometime between 1941 and 1945