Russell Lee, “Christmas dinner in the home of Earl Pauley. Near Smithfield, Iowa. Dinner consisted of potatoes, cabbage and pie” 1936
This image shows children around a table having their Christmas dinner in 1936. This image shows the hardships that many families faced during the great depression, one being that they could not afford to have a big Christmas dinner or presents due to the lack of money the family had.
This photo leads to a lot of questions, such as where are the parents when this picture was taken. in the picture you can clearly see an empty chair, which is presumably where the parents will sit. there is another image where the father is sat at the table with the children, but this one is most likely used as it shows more the hardships of the Great Depression, and what a large family had to go through, as represented here with the many children and little food on Christmas.
Many of the questions that are raised about this picture are answered in an article by the Sioux city journal, where Helen Pauley Hopkins, the child closest to the camera, is tracked down later and asked about the photograph.
In the article Helen talks about the struggles they had throughout the great depression, like the struggle for money and food, and talks about how they overcame it. Helen emphasises that “None of us was rich” and that “we worked for whatever we had.” this shows that all throughout the Great Depression and even after many struggled for most if not all their lives for money to be able to live, it wasn't just this period of time where people were affected.
the dinner was made of potatoes, cabbage and pie, which ultimately was all they could afford to buy and make at this time. Helen realises that her parents sometimes probably went without food so that their children could eat, which could be evidence for the lack of the parents in the picture, as they wanted to ensure their children are first before they did. this need to feed their children probably increased when 2 of their children died during the great depression, one at birth and one before they reached the age of 4.
To get by, one the children were old enough they all found jobs. Mary, their mother, and six of the girls worked summers at a chicken processing plant in Mapleton, whilst Paul, the father, had a job maintaining roads for Monona County. This shows the immense struggle they had to go through to live during and after the great depression, explaining the image above and how so many families survived during the time.
This photo leads to a lot of questions, such as where are the parents when this picture was taken. in the picture you can clearly see an empty chair, which is presumably where the parents will sit. there is another image where the father is sat at the table with the children, but this one is most likely used as it shows more the hardships of the Great Depression, and what a large family had to go through, as represented here with the many children and little food on Christmas.
Many of the questions that are raised about this picture are answered in an article by the Sioux city journal, where Helen Pauley Hopkins, the child closest to the camera, is tracked down later and asked about the photograph.
In the article Helen talks about the struggles they had throughout the great depression, like the struggle for money and food, and talks about how they overcame it. Helen emphasises that “None of us was rich” and that “we worked for whatever we had.” this shows that all throughout the Great Depression and even after many struggled for most if not all their lives for money to be able to live, it wasn't just this period of time where people were affected.
the dinner was made of potatoes, cabbage and pie, which ultimately was all they could afford to buy and make at this time. Helen realises that her parents sometimes probably went without food so that their children could eat, which could be evidence for the lack of the parents in the picture, as they wanted to ensure their children are first before they did. this need to feed their children probably increased when 2 of their children died during the great depression, one at birth and one before they reached the age of 4.
To get by, one the children were old enough they all found jobs. Mary, their mother, and six of the girls worked summers at a chicken processing plant in Mapleton, whilst Paul, the father, had a job maintaining roads for Monona County. This shows the immense struggle they had to go through to live during and after the great depression, explaining the image above and how so many families survived during the time.
No comments:
Post a Comment