National Youth Administration Carpentry: 4 million pieces of furniture made or repaired, 52 million board feet of lumber produced, 324 thousand cords of firewood cut

Above: National Youth Administration (NYA) workers on a carpentry project in Washington, D.C., ca. 1935-1943. NYA workers made or repaired over 4 million pieces of furniture for schools and other public buildings. They also produced 52 million board feet of lumber, cut 324 cords of firewood, and manufactured playground equipment, park benches, picnic tables, checkerboards, ping pong tables, desks, dressers, window frames, looms, and more. When America became more involved in World War II, young adults in NYA woodworking shops created "work benches, target frames, ammunition shipping cases, machine gun boxes, ammunition boxes, footlockers, and hospital chests" (Federal Security Agency, War Manpower Commission, Final Report of the National Youth Administration, Fiscal Years 1936-1943, 1944, pp. 153-154). Photo courtesy of the National Archives.