Ida Bailey Allen, the "Original Domestic Goddess," promotes the WPA

Above: A WPA exhibit in Washington, DC, 1941, showing how celebrity chef Ida Bailey Allen (1885-1973) spoke well of the domestic projects of the WPA (sewing, school lunches, housekeeping, etc.). Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: Ida Bailey Allen, ca. 1905. According to her Wikipedia page, Allen has been described as the "Original Domestic Goddess," and during her long career had books, radio shows, and TV programs on cooking and homemaking. Her books included, Cookbook For Two, Ida Bailey Allen's Modern Cookbook, and Gastronomique ("Ida Bailey Allen, cookbook queen, dies," Muncie Evening Press (Muncie, Indiana), July 17, 1973, p. 16). Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Above: Schoolchildren enjoying a WPA lunch in Portland, Maine, ca. 1935-1943. In their WPA Phonodisc Collection, Syracuse University has a recording of Ida Bailey Allen discussing the WPA's school lunch program in 1941. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: A WPA housekeeping aide fixes lunch for two boys in Washington, DC, 1938. Typically, WPA housekeeping aides were sent to working-class homes where parents were experiencing difficulty, for example, one parent in the hospital and another at work. It was, essentially, a form of free childcare, with housekeeping and light healthcare services to boot. For the housekeeping aides, they earned a paycheck and learned skills that might help them find jobs in hospitality, healthcare, or domestic industries. Between 1935 and 1943, WPA housekeeping aides made 32 million visits to homes in need of assistance. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: A WPA poster, ca. 1936-1940, advertising a three-month housekeeping course in meal planning, cooking, table service, laundry, cleaning, and child care. It's a shame that housekeeping, domestic work, stay-at-home parents, etc. have been pooh-poohed in recent decades because no work is more important than providing food, keeping us clean, and raising children to be good people. Those who do it for pay should be paid well, and those who do it for their families should be honored. And we should start a new WPA today, train housekeepers, and send them out to working-class families who need help. I think Ida Bailey Allen would agree. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Above: "Country Kitchen," an artwork by Harry Taskey (1892-1958), created while he was in the WPA, ca. 1935. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Baltimore Museum of Art.