Historian & Author Lauren Coodley puts a spotlight on Napa's New Deal

 
Above: Lauren Coodley, Lost Napa Valley, Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2021. Image scan from personal copy.

The New Deal gave a helping hand to the Napa area

In her book, Lost Napa Valley, historian and author Lauren Coodley writes about New Deal improvements to the town of Napa and its surrounding area. The WPA worked on roads, water mains, a utility plant, culverts, retaining walls, and more, while the CCC built a road to the top of Mt. St. Helena and camped out in the Los Posadas forest (pp. 98-100).

The WPA also started a recreation program, which created a foundation of interest for the later Napa Parks & Recreation (pp. 117-118).

The shared experience of social & community loss

Coodley's book is primarily about Napa during the early-to-mid, and somewhat later 1900s (with some references back to the 1800s and earlier); and about changes that many of us can relate to. And a theme that builds as the book moves along (subtly at first, and more explicit at the end) is: Are the changes for the better?

We read about farmland "razed, and apartments now crowd out to the street" (p. 35). We learn of a large employer, a tannery, shuttering its business (where will the workers go? will they earn as much as they did at the tannery?). We see another large Napa employer, a clothing factory, close up shop. We are told that a mini-golf is "gone for good" (p. 123); a theater was replaced by "a condo complex" (p. 124); and a skating rink disappeared too. Small shops replaced by big corporate stores. Animals replaced by people - on a grand scale. It's all there. Many of us have seen a carbon copy of this "progress" in our own lives.

I grew up in Cape St. Claire, a town between Annapolis, Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay (Anne Arundel County). All the wooded areas that I played in as a child--that my friends made tree houses in--are gone. Every single square foot of them - replaced by house after house, with some houses placed at odd angles to make sure the maximum number of houses could be inserted for the developer's profit.

I remember watching Star Wars in 1977, with my father and brother, at a drive-in theater in Glen Burnie (in the northern part of Anne Arundel County). Gone. I also remember several natural areas along Ritchie Highway (a road that connects Annapolis to Baltimore). Gone. They've been ruthlessly shredded to the ground to make room for endless bedroom communities, ugly condos, and overkill shopping centers.

I remember we could go crabbing on the Chesapeake Bay and easily fill a bushel with big (BIG) crabs, steam 'em up, and have a inexpensive feast (oh, how I remember those glorious days!). But with thousands more people piling in the Bay area, the crabs got much smaller... and much more expensive at the stores. Is that really progress?

And where I currently live, in West Virginia, a paper mill closed just two years or so ago. Demand fell for the type of paper the mill produced. And so I ask again (as many have asked, I'm sure): Where will the workers go? Will they earn as much as they did before?

What I'm trying to highlight is that, to fully appreciate Lost Napa Valley, you'd have to be from Napa. But to simply appreciate it, in a very basic way, you don't - because it will likely relate to what you've experienced too. The dubious goal of "progress," as many of us have probably discovered, is often just cover for development for profit, and for profit alone. (However, the developers do thank you for your cooperation... from whatever distant McMansion community they're living in).

As with her previous local history works, Lauren Coodley's Lost Napa Valley provides a good example, or even a template, for those wishing to write their own local histories. Though the overarching theme is loss, it is not a dark book - it is a celebration of Napa's past, punctuated here and there by (very appropriate) feelings of loss.

How the New Deal and the WPA created public recreation in Florida

 
Above: Article and photos from the September 11, 1938 edition of The Miami News. Photographers unknown, provided courtesy of newspapers.com, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Recreation... of, by, and for the people

In the Final Report of the WPA Program, 1935-43 (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1947), we learn that "It was largely through WPA recreation projects that the many new public recreational facilities constructed throughout the country by WPA workers were brought into full use. The program was designed to provide recreational opportunities for the general public" (p. 62).

In 1938, Florida WPA  Administrator Robert J. Dill, writing in the The Miami News newspaper, highlighted the importance of the WPA to public recreation in Florida:

"Florida has long been famous as a recreation place. But until recently most of its recreation opportunities were open only to tourists... Floridians have been too busy catering to tourists to provide public recreation for themselves. They found recreation spots too crowded or too expensive... This situation has been due to the shortage of publicly-owned recreation facilities... Perhaps a continuance of prosperity in time would have extended recreation facilities to residents of the state as well as visitors. But in fact it was the federal relief program, beginning in 1933, and expanding under the works progress administration, which has changed the recreation situation in Florida. Formerly only 11 cities maintained municipal recreation departments, and all but two of these were cities in which the main business was the entertainment of winter visitors. Today, as a result of the recreation leadership program of the WPA, 153 communities enjoy the benefits of planned, year-round recreational activities" ("WPA Brings Recreation to Florida Thousands," The Miami News, September 11, 1938, p. 23).

Above: A new WPA-constructed playground for the town of Miami Springs, Florida, with tennis courts, roque courts (for a croquet-like game), a shuffle board, a horseshoe court, and other playground materials, ca. 1935-1940. This was one of 206 playgrounds the WPA constructed in Florida. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: A new WPA-built wading pool in Adair Park, Lakeland, Florida, 1937 - one of 22 swimming and wading pools the WPA built in Florida. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

A vast, nationwide recreation initiative

In The Miami News article cited above, Mr. Dill gives a fascinating and voluminous account of what the WPA did for recreation in Florida. He concludes with this note on the WPA's national impact:

"Throughout the nation, 2,000,000 adults and over 3,000,000 children are now enjoying recreation under WPA leadership. Forty thousand WPA recreation leaders operate over 14,000 community centers and assist in the operation of 7,000 more. What is being done in Florida is fairly representative of what is going on over a large part of the country. WPA construction of recreation facilities has provided many new opportunities... In all, the WPA has constructed over 1,500 athletic fields, about 900 large and small parks, over 1,300 school playgrounds, over 400 swimming pools and over 300 wading pools, over 3,500 tennis courts, and over 3,700 recreational buildings, including auditoriums, community houses, stadiums, gymnasiums and bathhouses. The American people are realizing the need of opportunities to make the healthiest and happiest use of their leisure time."

(Note: The statistics that Dill gives above are from 1935-1938, not even half the life of the WPA. In many cases, you can double or triple the statistics he gives for the full accomplishments of the WPA, 1935-1943.)

Five highlights from Scott Borchert's book: "Republic of Detours: How The New Deal Paid Broke Writers To Rediscover America"

 
Above: Scott Borchert, Republic of Detours: How the New Deal Paid Broke Writers To Rediscover America, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021. Image scan from personal copy.

A book about downtrodden writers

I recently finished Scott Borchert's book, Republic of Detours, about the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) of the WPA. It's clear that a great amount of research went into this book, and Borchert's style of writing is very swift and smooth - making the 300+ page book move quicker than expected. He covers the beginnings of the FWP and the background of its director, Henry Alsberg; four of its most prominent writers (as well as briefer notes on other writers); and the demise of the FWP.

Here are five highlights from the book that I found particularly interesting:

1. The Guidebooks: What, exactly, are they??

Early on, Borcherts describes the FWP's most prominent set of projects - the state and other various guidebooks: "These books sprawled. They hoarded and gossiped and sat you down for a lecture [this is a great example, by the way, of Borchert's swift and smooth writing]. They seemed to address multiple readers at once from multiple perspectives. They ran to hundreds of pages. They contained a melange of essays, historical tidbits, folklore, anecdotes, photographs, and social analysis - along with an abundance of driving directions thickened by tall tales, strange sites, and bygone characters... they were rich and weird and frustrating" (p. 4).  

This is interesting because I too have found the guidebooks to be both fascinating and frustrating. I have wondered whether I should read them straight through, or just have them on hand as reference books? - like a set of encyclopedias, where I flip to the appropriate sections as needed.

Perhaps, in modern times, the guidebooks are whatever you want them to be - straight-through reads, reference items, collector's items, artworks to display (if you have the original dust jacket!), or a cherished symbol of a bygone government that was of, by, and for the people.

2. Permanent guidebook projects?

On p. 53, we learn that "George Cronyn [a high-ranking FWP administrator] wrote to Jacob Baker and another WPA official: 'There is no escaping the conclusion that [guidebooks] will be a permanent government function, similar in certain respects to the census. It will be one of the most important perpetual sources of information the government can offer.'"

Of course, like so many other New Deal programs, permanency would not be the outcome. After the New Deal and after the war, the progressive policy baton was usually dropped by the subsequent generations. And after 1980, the "greed is good" ethos took complete control. Who needs guidebooks for the people, after all, when you can buy a private island, build a luxury doomsday bunker, or have your own intergalactic space cruiser to escape the lowly masses?

Fortunately, Social Security, FDIC, and some other programs are still with us... for now. (And of course, plenty of art and infrastructure too.) But the ethos that made the FWP possible? Nope, that's gone. Sorry, Mr. Cronyn. 

3. How did the writers remember the FWP?

One of the most fascinating aspects of Borchert's book is his occasional documentation of how FWP veterans remembered the FWP. Zora Neale Hurston, for example, was not a fan of the FWP (nor of the New Deal generally). Studs Terkel, on the other hand, remembered it fondly and said, "I was lucky to be alive at that moment." Borchert points out that Terkel saw the FWP as a sort of savior from "a secure but deadening life as a lawyer." (Both quotes, p. 145).

4. New Deal racial dynamics

On pp. 172-174, Borchert describes the complicated racial dynamics of the New Deal. When I started reading this section, I thought, "Oh boy, here we go, another imbalanced assessment of the New Deal." But I was happily wrong. Borchert does a masterful job of explaining both the positive and negatives, and concludes, "In other words, it was complicated."

Thank you!

Indeed, Borchert's brief description of the relationship between the New Deal and race is one of the best I've read in a work that is not primarily about racial politics and policy.

5. The wonderfully cantankerous Harold Ickes

One part of Borchert's book made me laugh out loud (which is kind of weird when you're in a room by yourself, right?). He writes that Harold Ickes--FDR's Secretary of the Interior, and also head of the Public Works Administration--was not a fan of Martin Dies and his committee on un-American activities (a committee which ended up being more of an anti-New Deal crusade); and Ickes wrote of Dies: "For his unmitigated gall, for his long-winded yammerings that seemingly go 'babbling' on forever, and for the strange power that he appears to have over Congress, I christen him 'Bubble Dancer' Dies who cavorts lumberingly on the Congressional stage with nothing but a toy balloon with which to hide his intellectual nudity" (p. 255).

See, this is why New Deal aficionados LOVE Harold Ickes. His irascibility, coupled with Harry Hopkins' irreverence, alone make the New Deal a wonderful thing.

Republic of Detours is a well-written, thoroughly-researched, and informative book. And it may just inspire you to take a closer look at that state guide book sitting on your shelf.

Eleanor Roosevelt's Christmas Story

 
Above: Christmas: A Story by Eleanor Roosevelt (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1940).

Eleanor's Roosevelt's Christmas is a children's book, but surprisingly dark. It takes place in 1940's Netherlands, during and after the Nazi invasion. 

After losing her father to the war, 7-year-old Marta meets a man outside her home who declares, "There is no Christ Child. That is a story which is told for the weak. It is ridiculous to believe that a little child could lead the people of the world, a foolish idea claiming strength through love and sacrifice. You must grow up and acknowledge only one superior, he who dominates the rest of the world through fear and strength."

The man (most probably a quisling or a Nazi official) offers to take Marta and her struggling mother to a place where they will find food and comfort, as long as they renounce their beliefs. The mother declines, stating: "Where you are, there is power and hate and fear among people, one of another. Here... there is the Christ Child [who] taught love. He drove the money-changers out of the temple, to be sure, but that was because He hated the system which they represented. He loved his family, the poor... I will stay here with my child..."

That is essentially where the book ends, with Marta and her mother resisting the seduction of an easy, but evil comfort. The book is a fascinating glimpse into Eleanor Roosevelt's Christian beliefs, which seem to have been quite strong. A summary of the book, on the inside of the dust jacket, tells us that Eleanor's book "pictures a Christmas Eve in a land in which the happy peaceful days of pre-war times no longer exist; where the greed and the ruthlessly aggressive power of the invader have full control, but a Christmas Eve in which a great faith, love, and hope buoys up the hearts of the conquered even in their greatest distress."

Above: A happy memory for Marta, skating with her mother and father. This is one of several illustrations in the book - drawn by Fritz Kredel, a German artist who fled Nazi Germany in 1938.

Progressives killed the Build Back Better plan

 
Above: "Down and Out," a painting by Barnett Braverman (1888-?), while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, 1937. The guy on the floor is symbolic of Progressives, and the guy who knocked him out is symbolic of Corporate Democrats. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Genessee Valley Council on the Arts.

Progressives are the suckers... again

Now that Joe Manchin has declared his opposition to the Build Back Better (BBB) plan, it's time for us to admit who really killed the BBB: Progressives.

Except for the Squad of Six (AOC, Omar, Tlaib, Pressley, Bowman, and Bush), the Progressive Caucus House members (nearly 100 legislators!) all voted to in favor of Manchin's Bipartisan Infrastructure legislation (BIF), stupidly trusting that Manchin (and Sinema) would eventually come around on the BBB. But once Manchin got his BIF, all leverage was lost, and then Manchin predictably squashed the BBB. Manchin is the snotty schoolyard kid who says, "Let me be the quarterback first, and then you can be the quarterback"; but then, when his time is done, he takes the football and goes home.

And all this came to pass after Progressives had already let Manchin whittle the BBB down from $3.5 trillion to somewhere between $1.5 and $1.9 trillion. Make no mistake about it, Manchin was toying with them the whole time.

Progressives voted for the BIF because they were scared. They were told to get in line, because Biden needed a win, and because Democrats needed the BIF for the 2022 mid-terms. The talking heads of the mainstream media were wringing their hands and gnashing their teeth, desperately wondering why Progressives were harming the Biden presidency, and "sabotaging the mid-terms!!!" But now the talking heads have changed their minds, and it seems that Americans won't be voting based on the infrastructure legislation after all. (WTF?)

So, Progressives caved for nothing, and are now complaining about Manchin. 

Progressives have been doing this crap for over 10 years now: Crafting, caving, and complaining. They craft bold policy proposals, cave to moderates, and then complain when things go sour. So, instead of a good CCC (a Civilian Conservation Corps, or a Civilian Climate Corps), we get a bad CCC (craft, cave, complain).

What Progressives don't understand, is that as long as they keep caving, moderates and right-wingers will keep playing them for suckers - just like Joe Manchin just did.

And the craft, cave, and complain act is getting really, REALLY, old. Dear Progressives: Either stand your ground, or don't bother with public policy at all. You're just creating false hope.

Back in October, when CNN's Dana Bash confronted Pramila Jayapal about Manchin's demand that the BBB be no larger than $1.5 trillion, Jayapal responded, "Well, that's not going to happen."

Actually it did happen, and in a big way. The BBB is now at $0. 

Five million dead from covid, and the ultra-rich are complaining about a lack of marinas for their super-yachts

 
Above: "The Yacht Race," a wood engraving print by Frederick Becker (1913-2004), created while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, ca. 1935-1939. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Mourn for the homeless... super-yachts

The super-rich are buying bigger and bigger yachts, and they're getting a bit irritated that the world's marinas are not keeping pace with them. One wrote:

"For instance, we've just experienced days of very rough water from the southern Queensland border to the Capricorn Coast. Then, when we arrived at the coast not feeling that great after two very rough sleepless nights and a rough day, many yachts were outside the marinas... These superyachts need marinas too – sadly lacking for vessels over 50 metres. It's time for more marinas large enough to cater not only for small and medium yachts but larger ones too" ("Sailing away: superyacht industry booms during Covid pandemic," The Guardian, December 12, 2021).

Some people feel that it's time for Medicare-for-All. Others feel that it's time for a Job Guaranty program, or perhaps a Universal Basic Income, so that people don't have to live in squalor. And still others think that it's time for new water lines, so that the children of the working-class don't have to drink lead. But the super-rich? They feel... very passionately... that it's time for bigger marinas.

One thing we know for sure, is that right-wing voters will continue to put into power politicians who will give more and more tax cuts to the rich... so that the rich can continue on, and even accelerate their journey of separation from us. We will be left in the exhaust smoke of our holy JOB CREATORS.

"Whether it's this or private jets or trips to space, they're just sticking two fingers up [the British equivalent of the middle finger] at the rest of society. It’s decadent. They're not comfortable with the constraints that come with accepting collective responsibility for the fate of the planet."

--Professor Peter Newell, Sussex University (see The Guardian article cited above)

The Marvelous Mietzi Bleck (1911-1949): Poet, Veteran, and New Deal Artist

 
Above: "The New Cabin," a linoleum print by Marie "Mietzi" H. Bleck (1911-1949), created while she was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, 1937. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Gibbes Museum of Art.

Marie H. Bleck, or "Mietzi," was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on May 11, 1911, to Herman and Elizabeth Bleck. In the 1930s, she graduated from both the Oshkosh State Teachers College and the Milwaukee State Teachers College (in the latter, she majored in art). She taught grade school art classes in Mercer, Wisconsin, and then became head of the art department at Oshkosh High School in 1938.

Mietzi's artistic ideas came from the great outdoors: "she makes numerous canoe and camping trips on Wisconsin's lakes and rivers and receives many of her inspirations from their beauty" ("Paintings are Exhibited By Young Mercer Artist," Ironwood Daily Globe (Ironwood, Michigan), August 5, 1939, p. 6). 

Mietzi won a Milwaukee Journal art prize for a painting called, "Log Decks, Mercer," and her artwork, "Ice Job," "was exhibited in the 1939 Corcoran gallery exhibition in Washington, D.C.," (see previously cited newspaper article). She also created several artworks for the WPA's Federal Art Project - see, for example, "Marie H. (Mietzi) Bleck," General Services Administration (but note the incorrect years of her life; she died in 1949, not 1988).

In 1943, Mietzi joined the WAVES, a division of the U.S. Navy, to become an aerographer's mate, where she learned "weather observation, such as the use of meteorological instruments, charts and weather codes" ("Enjoys Being In WAVE Service," The Oshkosh Northwestern, September 30, 1943, p. 8.) After the war, Mietzi moved to Alaska and utilized all her skills: exhibiting her art in Juneau; working for the United States Weather Bureau; and teaching art in Palmer, Alaska.

Above: "Muskie Fishermen," a linoleum print by Marie "Mietzi" H. Bleck (1911-1949), created while she was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, 1937. Image from a Oshkosh Museum Facebook post, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Mietzi Bleck also self-published a book of poems, the inspiration coming from two summers spent on an Apache Indian reservation (among other places), "where she learned to hunt, studied arts and crafts and obtained material for her book of poems, 'Crossed Roads'" (see reference above, "Enjoys Being In WAVE Service"). 

A 1937 newspaper article gave an interesting description of Mietzi's book: "The book of poetry indicates the author's versatility, ranging from nature poems to philosophical themes, and the woodcuts show real artistry. The appearance of the book is attractive, the copies being bound in various kinds of linen and chintzes [multi-colored fabric, created by woodblock printing] and in snakeskin. The hand-torn pages of the interior are of eggshell American text paper" ("Mercer Visitor Composes, Depicts Book Of Poems," Iron County News (Hurley, Wisconsin), August 6, 1937, p. 3).

Mietzi's book, Crossed Roads: A Book of Poems in Words and Wood, is hard to find today (it seems she only published a few dozen of the highly ornamented books). There appears to be a copy at the Library of Congress (see the Worldcat entry here), but I don't see anything available through online book sellers. On the Amazon.com entry for Mietzi's book, it says "Out of Print - Limited Availability," and a single customer / reviewer of the book says, "Looking for other copies to buy. Please contact."

Mietzi Bleck seems to have been bursting with energy. A journalist who met her wrote: "The author of 'Crossed Roads'... [told] me how she composed the poetry, carved the woodblocks, set up the type, and a hundred other things while I stood agog hoping my memory would serve me better than usual" (see reference above, "Mercer Visitor Composes..."). Indeed, Mietzi may have had more energy and enthusiasm than the world could contain. She died in 1949, at the age of 37, after a lengthy illness. She rests at the Riverside Cemetery in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

"Triolet," by Mietzi Bleck, 1937

I shall return

To my north country home

Among hemlock and fern...

I shall return.

Where mountain roads turn

And climb high shall I roam;

But I shall return

To my north country home.

(Other sources of information, not cited above: "Marie Bleck Has One-Man Art Show In Alaska," Iron County Miner, June 21, 1946, p. 2; "Former Teacher Passes," Iron County Miner, May 6, 1949, p. 2; "Miss Marie Bleck," Iron County News, May 6, 1949, p. 4; "Oshkosh Has Most Teacher Graduates," The Capital Times, June 8, 1930, p. 20; "Marie 'Mietzi' Bleck," Find a Grave (with accompanying Milwaukee Journal obituary; accessed December 8, 2020).)

A WPA project for the Chippewa

 
Above: William Nickaboine, a Chippewa Indian, on a WPA land-clearing project in Minnesota. From the August 1941 edition of Indians at Work.

John Collier, the Indians at Work newsletter, and FDR's comments on the American Indian

 
Above: John Collier at Zion National Park. Collier was head of the U.S. Office of Indian Affairs (today, the Bureau of Indian Affairs) from 1933 to 1945. This photo is from the January - February 1945 edition of Indians at Work, a newsletter of the Office of Indian Affairs.

A chronicle of the Indian New Deal

The Indians at Work newsletter ran from 1933 to 1945, the same years that John Collier was commissioner of the U.S. Office of Indian Affairs. It is an amazing source of information for those wanting to know more about American Indians during the New Deal; more specifically,  American Indians during the "Indian New Deal." Over the coming months I'll be highlighting interesting stories, photos, and artwork from Indians at Work - stories about the Indian Division of the Civilian Conservation Corps; PWA and WPA public works on Indian land; political developments of the Indian Reorganization Act; artwork facilitated by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board; and more. 

Indians at Work ended with a special memorial issue, Indians in the War, highlighting the sacrifice that American Indian tribes made during World War II. It also ended, ostensibly, because of a paper shortage. But paper shortages are temporary. The reason Indians at Work permanently ended probably had more to do with congressional and public indifference to the well-being of American Indians (in his resignation letter, Collier alluded to growing congressional apathy). After the New Deal, and especially after 1980, Americans increasingly rejected the general welfare... let alone the welfare of those on reservations. Many American Indian communities have long suffered from poverty, unemployment, and suicide; and Congress and the general public don't seem overly concerned about it (see, e.g., "Serious issues plague Native American communities," KTTC (NBC affiliate, Minnesota and Iowa), November 23, 2021).

In a contrast to modern disregard, and in reply to John Collier's resignation letter (January 1945), FDR highlighted the New Deal's approach to Native American issues:

"During the last twelve years, more than ever before, we have tried to impress upon the Indians that we are indeed Christians; that we not only avow but practice the qualities of freedom and liberty and opportunity that are explicit in our institutions. We have come to treat the Indian as a human being, as one who possesses the dignity and commands the respect of fellow human beings. In encouraging him to pursue his own life and revive and continue his own culture, we have added to his worth and dignity. We have protected the Indian in his property rights while enlarging them. We have opened the window of his mind to the extent that we have had money with which to do it. We have improved his medical service, we have enlarged his intellectual program. We have protected him in his religion and we have added greatly to his political stature. All of these things have been done under your leadership because of your wisdom and courage... [I] hope that, in the future as in the past... you will continue to achieve lasting benefits for the descendants of those misunderstood and misused human beings who originally possessed this great land of ours and who were displaced involuntarily, all too often with a selfish disregard of their right to live their own lives in their own way." (From Indians at Work, January - February, 1945.)

Some of FDR's words might sound paternalistic by today's standards; but considering pre-New Deal cruelty towards American Indians, and post-New Deal indifference, they sure sound good to me.

Above: The cover for the September 15, 1933 edition of Indians at Work. In the graphic, we see "Indian Emergency Conservation Work." This was an early name for the Civilian Conservation Corps - Indian Division. The CCC would prove to be one the most important and beneficial New Deal programs for American Indians. Image courtesy of Hathitrust.

New Deal Art: "City Store Fronts"

 
Above: "City Store Fronts," an oil painting by Francis Criss (1901-1973), created while he was in the New Deal's Public Works of Art Project, 1934. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.


Above: Francis Criss, working on a WPA art project, New York City, 1940. Photo by Max Yavno, Federal Art Project, provided courtesy of Wikipedia and the Archives of American Art.

The New Deal's Three Square Meals

 
Above: A WPA poster promoting nutritious meals, ca. 1941-1943. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Above: Children eating a hot lunch at a Farm Security Administration migratory labor camp in Florida. The New Deal provided food to the less fortunate during the 1930s, not only in migratory camps, but also through the Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation, WPA lunch programs, three square meals in the CCC, and more. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott (part of a larger photograph), Farm Security Administration, provided courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

The CCC protected our sequoia trees. Today, ignorance and apathy are killing them.

Above: Part of an article from the Los Angeles Times, July 23, 1934. Image courtesy of newspapers.com.

Sequoias Burning, Billionaires Giggling 

During the New Deal, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) protected America's giant sequoia trees, as well as many other trees. By putting out fires and reducing wildfire fuel, the CCC boys greatly reduced the amount of acreage burned in the nation's parks and forests (see, for example, my blog post, "CCC fire prevention and firefighting: How successful was it?" February 27, 2021).

Today, ignorance and apathy are killing our sequoia trees ("Up to 19% of the world's 'irreplaceable' giant sequoias lost to fire in about a year, study finds," USA Today, November 19, 2021). 

Too many people refuse to acknowledge man-made climate change, and then actively block needed change. They ridicule the Green New Deal while sequoias go up in flames. 

And too many people prefer to give tax cuts to the rich, instead of providing more revenue to government for needed firefighting resources (more manpower, more equipment). The rich, in turn, use their extra after-tax money to buy European mega-yachts, luxury doomsday bunkers in New Zealand, private islands, and politicians (how any of these "job creator" investments create good-paying American jobs I do not know). 

Jeff Bezos even wants to build a space hotel--called "Orbital Greed Reef"--so that, I assume, billionaires can watch the sequoia smoke from the comfort of their luxury, celestial suites.

Yes, our planet heats, burns, and floods... as the 1% build spaceships for their 1% progeny to escape in. And the duped and doomed masses will wave goodbye to the billionaire brats rocketing off to Andromeda, comforting each other as the flames approach, "Well, after all, it was their money."

How funny (as in, sick) is that?

New Deal Art: "Retired"

Above: "Retired," an artwork by Don Emil Glasell (1895-1965), created while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, 1937. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Baltimore Museum of Art.

CCC fire prevention and firefighting: How successful was it?

Above: In a fire lookout tower in Kentucky, 1939, a forest ranger and a CCC enrollee demonstrate a turntable device that helps pinpoint wildfires. Photo from The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), September 10, 1939, provided courtesy of Newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

CCC Firefighting: A history of speed

From 1933-1942, millions of men in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built firebreaks, fire lookout towers, and forest access roads. They also fought wildfires and removed wildfire fuel. How successful were these efforts? 

Consider the following six points:

1. Ponderosa Way: During the California fire season of 1934, the CCC's 800-mile-long "Ponderosa Way" firebreak stopped 9 of 11 large wildfires ("Ponderosa Way Is Lauded By Officials," The Sacramento Bee, December 28, 1934, p. 7). 

2. Fewer Acres Burned: California's 1934 fire season was the least humid and most windy since 1924. In 1924, there were 1,932 fires that burned 762,150 acres. In 1934, there were 2,054 fires that burned only 82,773 acres. The CCC's role in the reduction was explained: "Each C.C.C. camp had a special fire crew ready for call at all times of the day or night, but the whole camp, or several camps, often would take part in suppressing a large fire. Forest officers give high praise to the spirit and determination of these boys, to whom a large part of the credit is due in the saving of valuable forests and watersheds" ("More Fires, Lower Cost," Los Angeles Times, November 4, 1934, p. 66). 

3. More Money for the CCC! In 1940, U.S. Congressman Francis Case (R-South Dakota) argued for more funding for the CCC because the CCC boys were so good at their job that they had saved South Dakota more money than what the CCC program had cost for his state. "In the Harney forest alone," he said, "there were more than 100 fires last year, but CCC control had held the burned area to an average of one acre per fire ("Case Fights Cut in CCC Funds," Rapid City Journal, March 8, 1940, p. 2). 

4. Manpower and Speed: Similar to the previous point, CCC Director James McEntee wrote that quick response was the main firefighting strategy of the CCC: "If men and equipment can catch a fire when it is small, the war is won. That is the principle upon which the CCC operates. CCC men build small roads and truck trails into the forests so they can quickly move men and equipment into the areas where the fires start" (Now They Are Men: The Story of the CCC, 1940, p. 22). U.S. Department of Interior statistics highlighted the success of this CCC strategy (as well as the value of overwhelming manpower). For example, in the National Parks, where the CCC was the main firefighting force, the average acreage burned, per wildfire, ranged from 20-86 acres between 1930 and 1932 (before the CCC), but only 3-18 acres from 1933-1939 (Department of Interior fiscal year report, 1940, p. 209).

5. Saving our Forests: In 1937, it was reported that fires in the national forests, during the season, were only a third as destructive as normal. Credit was assigned to favorable weather conditions, improved equipment, and "the presence in most national forests of trained, mobile firefighting corps of Civilian Conservation Corps workers" ("Report Smallest Forest Fire Record in Service Annals," Associated Press, in St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, Missouri), October 24, 1937, p. 24).

6. Saving Private Land Too: When the CCC ended in 1942, the head forester for the southern region of the United States wrote, "Largely through the fire control improvements and facilities constructed by the CCC it has been possible for the state foresters in the southern region to provide fire control for millions of acres of privately-owned timber lands that otherwise would have continued to suffer severe damage annually" (Perry H. Merrill, Roosevelt's Forest Army: A History of the Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942, 1981, p. 51).

Above: The description for this image reads, "Millions of these stickers are distributed annually in National Parks over the country. They help to make park visitors conscious of the need for fire prevention. Constant vigil is needed to spot fires from the lookout towers before they get beyond control. The C.C.C. firefighters then go out and put them out as quickly as possible. Image from The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), September 10, 1939, provided courtesy of Newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

"Then [we] went to work in the woods, cutting fire breaks which are 25 feet wide and extend around each square mile. We also do what is called Fire Hazard Reduction work. This work is in connection with fire breaks. Cleaning up all brush, dead trees and logs within 50 feet on each side of fire breaks. We are also building truck trails out into the forest... I have re-enlisted for another six months period. I am well satisfied and feel that I was lucky in getting in the C.C.C... I am taking a course in forestry. There is plenty to learn about this work and I am studying hard..."

--H.T. Bonds, Company 479, C.C.C., Alabama, in "What the Three C Boys of Co. 479 Are Doing," Our Mountain Home (Talladega, Alabama), October 25, 1933, p. 4.

The story of New Deal water for Texas, told in images

Above: Part of the 2013 infrastructure report card for Texas, from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Drinking water infrastructure received a "D-" letter grade. The Lone Star State has been warned for many years that its infrastructure is substandard. Is it any wonder then, that millions of Texans have lost their water supply over the past few days? Image used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: The New Deal showed that infrastructure doesn't have to be crummy. Here is a graphic showing new, large-scale drinking water projects in Texas, and across the nation, funded by the New Deal's Public Works Administration (PWA), 1933-1939. Image from America Builds: The Record of PWA, 1939.

Above: In the 1930s, the PWA funded the construction of the Buchanan Dam in central Texas. Today, this New Deal dam still provides electricity, drinking water, flood control, and recreation opportunities to many Texans. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: The Buchanan Dam, as it appears today. Image from Google Earth, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: A town hall gathering in St. Augustine, Texas, called to discuss ways to raise funds to continue the local work of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), April, 1939. Typically, locals had to raise 20% of the money for their proposed projects before the WPA provided the other 80%. The Texans above had good reason to want more WPA work. For example, WPA laborers installed 655 miles of new water lines in Texas from 1935-1943. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Today, as Texans struggle with their toxic stew of limited government (e.g., lack of infrastructure investment) and private sector sociopathy (e.g., sky-high, predatory utility bills), it is useful to remember the New Deal's investment in Texas, 1933-1943. Maybe future generations of Texans--uninterested in being abused--will opt for, and revive the latter.

Forgotten New Dealer: The amazing, multi-talented Lizzie McDuffie

Above: Elizabeth "Lizzie" McDuffie, 1937. Lizzie worked in the White House, as a cook, maid, and nursemaid to the Roosevelts, from 1933-1945. Lizzie had received a very good education in her youth, and in 1936 she campaigned for FDR's re-election, telling large audiences in the mid-west about New Deal statistics, and the benefit of the WPA and the National Youth Administration to the African American community. Photo from The Atlanta Constitution, July 30, 1937 edition, provided courtesy of Newspapers.com, and used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.


Above: Lizzie had theater and acting experience, and this is how she appeared when she auditioned for the role of "Mammy" for the 1939 film Gone With the Wind. Eleanor Roosevelt wrote a letter of support for Lizzie to get the part. However, the role eventually went to Hattie McDaniel, who won an Oscar for her performance. In modern times, the role and the movie have come under increasing scrutiny for what many feel is a furtherance of racial stereotypes. Photo from The Elizabethton Star (Elizabethton, Tennessee), January 10, 1938 edition, provided courtesy of Newspapers.com, and used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.

Above: Lizzie McDuffie, fourth from left, at the first anniversary of the United Government Employees, a union she helped create, 1937. Photo from the Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers, Atlanta University Center, Robert W. Woodruff Library, and the Scenic Hudson article, "FDR’s Deft Civil Rights Advocate, Elizabeth McDuffie," used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.

Above: In 1964, Lizzie recalled her time in the White House. Of FDR, she said, "He was a grand, wonderful man." She was at Warm Springs when he passed away on April 12, 1945. Photo and quote from "F.D.R.'s Maid Recalls: Offspring Lively Brood," The Daily Review (Morgan City, Louisiana), June 24, 1964, provided courtesy of Newspapers.com, and used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.

Above: In Atlanta, April 1966, Lizzie received a visit from Franklin Roosevelt, Jr., who was then chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The reunion was emotional and Lizzie, frail and losing her sight, grasped Roosevelt's hand and said, "Oh, darling boy." When Lizzie had worked in the White House, Roosevelt Jr. was ages 18-30, and he had given Lizzie a photograph of himself, with the words, "To my Mrs. Mac from her boy Franklin, Jr." Elizabeth McDuffie died seven months after this reunion, on November 27, 1966, at the age of 85. Associated Press photo and information, from the Press and Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, New York), April 12, 1966, provided courtesy of Newspapers.com, and used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.

"[President Roosevelt] said to me ‘For years your people have been hewers of wood and drawers of water, but now they are going to get those rights which are theirs’."

--Lizzie McDuffie, October 1936, on the re-election campaign trail for FDR (“Life as Lived in White House Told By Insider,” The St. Louis Star-Times, October 17, 1936, p. 3)

New Deal Electricity for Texas

Above: Morris Cooke, head of the New Deal's Rural Electrification Administration, approves electricity funding for rural areas in Texas and six other states, November 4, 1935. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

The New Deal powered Texas

As Texas is currently experiencing an energy crisis, due to its philosophical rejection of "big government," it's worth remembering how the New Deal (i.e., big government) powered the lone star state.

According to the Texas State Historical Association, the New Deal's Rural Electrification Administration (REA) was instrumental in modernizing the power grid of Texas in the middle decades of the 20th century:

"By January 1, 1965, the REA borrowers and investor-owned utilities had more than reversed the statistics on rural electrification - instead of only 2 percent of Texas farms with electricity, there were only 2 percent without electricity. By 1966 REA loans had financed seventy-seven distribution systems in Texas (seventy-six cooperatives and the Rural Electric Division of Bryan) and two generation and transmission cooperatives. Together, these systems operated more than 165,000 miles of line reaching into all but ten Texas counties." 

The WPA helped Texas too, building or improving 183 utility plants, including those producing electricity (Final Report of the WPA Program, 1935-43, 1947, pp. 132 and 136).

Also, the New Deal's Public Works Administration (PWA) provided funds for about 25 large-scale electricity projects in Texas (see graphic below).

This type of work proves that there is nothing wrong with "big government," as long as that big government is truly of, by, and for the people... and NOT for those who seek to monopolize, nor for those who would crush the common good for the sake of of personal profit.

Above: PWA-funded electric power projects in Texas and across the United States. Image from America Builds: The Record of PWA, 1939.

Above: The New Deal's PWA funded the construction of the Red Bluff Dam, 1934-1937. The dam is located near Pecos, Texas, and still provides electricity (and farm irrigation water) for Texans today. Image from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 21, 1937 edition, and used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.

A New Deal solution to QAnon, Trumpism, and similar societal ills: The Federal Forum Project

"Every man and woman with an education has a twofold duty to perform. The first is to apply that education intelligently to problems of the moment; and the second is to obtain and maintain contact with, and understanding of, the average citizens of their own country."

--President Franklin Roosevelt, "Remarks at Washington College, Chestertown, Md., on Receiving an Honorary Degree," October 21, 1933.

Above: John Studebaker, Commissioner of Education, and Josephine Roche, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, 1935. Studebaker developed the Federal Forum Project: Public meetings across the nation that combined lecture and group discussion, for the overarching purpose of strengthening democracy. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Trumpism and QAnon prey on a lack of critical thinking skills

A recent Huffington Post article highlighted a woman who escaped from the QAnon cult: "She said she fell for QAnon content that presented no evidence, no counter arguments, and yet was all too convincing. 'We as a society need to start teaching our kids to ask: Where is this information coming from? Can I trust it?' she said." (Note: What she is calling for, is an increased emphasis on critical thinking skills.)

And with respect to Trumpism and similar societal ills, Chris Stirewalt, a former Fox News political editor, put things more crudely: "What connects [the adherents]--the same thing that threatens the health of the republic—is rank imbecility... our current concentration of imbeciles has surpassed any kind of safe level. How we became a nation of so many dupes and fools is a matter at least as complicated as the causes of Trump’s presidency... we are suffering the consequences from generations of Americans who are both undereducated and miseducated. This many millions of nincompoops didn’t show up overnight. They have been stumbling out of our nation's failing schools for decades."  

Indeed, it is clear that tens of millions of Americans have not received an adequate education in good citizenship. A good citizenship education is composed of four main things: (1) Critical thinking: the ability and readiness to scrutinize claims and assertions, examine evidence, and consider counterarguments. (2) Ethics: The proper way to conduct oneself while in the public and while in public service. (3) Civic responsibility: The "active participation in the public life of a community in an informed, committed, and constructive manner, with a focus on the common good" (Center for Community & Civic Engagement, Mesa Community College). And (4) History Awareness: A thorough understanding of the nation's historic mistakes, successes, and journey to the present.

So, the question is this: How do we teach good citizenship. The answer is easier (but not necessarily easy) when we talk about K-12 or college. For example, we might expand K-12 to K-14, with the additional two years focused on critical thinking, ethics, civic responsibility, and history awareness. In college, we might focus less on STEM and skills training, and more on good citizenship. When FDR received an honorary degree at the College of William & Mary, he said: "Man must build himself more broadly... The necessities of our time demand that men avoid being set in grooves, that they avoid the occupational predestination of the older world, and that in the face of the change and development in America, they must have a sufficiently broad and comprehensive conception of the world in which they live to meet its changing problems with resourcefulness and practical vision."

But what about Americans who are not in high school or college? How do we reach them? 

The New Deal's Federal Forum Project

Above: A WPA poster promoting a free Federal Forum Project gathering, ca. 1936-1941. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

In the 1930s, FDR's Commissioner of Education John Studebaker (not to be confused with the wagon and carmaker John Studebaker) called for public forums to be routinely held all across the country. These forums were events "where old and young in a community may hear qualified speakers on questions of national importance and then join in the discussion of them" ("Joining in a National Advance," The Brandon Union (Brandon, Vermont), May 6, 1938, p. 9).

Studebaker explained the rationale behind the forums: "If we are to have that trained civic intelligence, that critical open-mindedness, upon which the practical operation of a democracy must rest, we must soon take steps to establish throughout the nation an impartial, comprehensive, systematic, coordinated and completely managed system of public forums, publicly supported and publicly administered. If we are to have the intelligent public opinion upon which the public welfare depends, all adults must be provided with an opportunity to obtain the education which will enable them to gain intelligent understanding of the issues of the day" ("National Public Forums Urged by Education Chief," The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, New York), March 4, 1935, p. 6). 

Studebaker had conducted these types of forums in Iowa, before the New Deal, and now sought to greatly expand them. And with WPA funding, he did just that. During fiscal year 1936, Studebaker and the federal Office of Education created forum demonstration centers in Manchester, New Hampshire; Morgantown, West Virginia; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Wichita, Kansas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Santa Ana, California; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Portland, Oregon. The program was well-received by the communities. For example, in the first five months of the West Virginia program in Morgantown (which also held forums in the broader Monongalia County), there were 184 meetings attended by 7,879 people, or about 42 people per meeting (Department of Interior annual report, 1936, p. 238). 

By 1939, and with an increasing emphasis on rural areas, over 500 communities had conducted public forums (also called "Adult Civic Education Forums"). 17,000 total forums had been held, and 2 million Americans participated (Department of Interior annual report, fiscal year 1939, pp. 78-80). 

The "Federal Forum Project" lasted at least through 1941, but seems to have ended when America entered World War II, and apparently was not re-instituted after the war.

Today, an educational outreach program, either publicly-funded or privately-funded, and modeled after John Studebaker's public forums, could be a good way for liberal, conservative, and centrist Americans to connect with each other and discuss important issues. For example, a brief lecture on taxation or the 2nd Amendment, followed by open discussion, could be a healthier way to address modern problems than Twitter snark, Sean Hannity's nightly blather, or Marjorie Taylor Greene's constant apocalyptic warnings about "Marxist Democrats trying to take America away from you!!" 

Such forums would need lecturers & moderators with extremely good people skills, and the lecture part would need to be kept brief, perhaps only one quarter or less of the amount of time devoted to group discussion. 

It's worth a try, because our nation is becoming more and more divided, and in increasingly violent ways. If we want to avoid the storming of capitols, and shootings caused by anger, and conspiracy theories that have people thinking their neighbors are cannibals, perhaps we need to talk to each other more.

Above: A WPA poster, advertising a WPA-sponsored public forum in Des Moines, Iowa. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Above: Another WPA poster promoting a public forum. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

New Deal Art: "Journey's End"

Above: "Journey's End," an artwork by Eleanor Banks, created while she was in the WPA, ca. 1935-1943. Image courtesy of Julie Redwine and the General Services Administration.

New Deal Art: "A Missouri River Dyke"

Above: "A Missouri River Dyke," a watercolor painting by Louis Smetana (1879-1956), probably created while he was in the WPA, ca. 1935. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Nebraska State Historical Society.

New Deal Art: "Morning Comes to the Range"

Above: "Morning Comes to the Range," an etching by Lyman Byxbe (1886-1980), created while he was in the New Deal's Public Works of Art Project, or possibly WPA, ca. 1934-1935. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Nebraska State Historical Society.

The WPA, a campground for American Indian children, and the thousands of New Deal stories we never hear

Above: Blue Bay Campground, in Polson, Montana. Image courtesy of Google Earth, 2021, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

The modern and false framing of the New Deal, vs. reality

In modern America, its become increasingly accepted that the New Deal was pretty much a whites-only endeavor. For example, MSNBC's Joy Reid said in August 2020: "[FDR] didn't exactly set black Americans up for success, while he was excluding them and handing out giant economic goodies to the newly created white middle-class." Many books, articles, and op-eds have also worked towards painting the New Deal as a legacy of racism. 

The whites-only framing of the New Deal ignores the employment of hundreds of thousands of African Americans in the National Youth Administration (NYA); the complete infrastructure upgrade in Puerto Rico; the Indian New Deal of self-government and land restoration; the employment of many Jewish Americans in FDR's administration; the many Asians who benefited from WPA work and art programs; and much more. There were hundreds of thousands of projects and opportunities for non-white Americans.

One of these projects was the Blue Bay Sunshine Camp in Polson, Montana - today called the "Blue Bay Campground," owned and operated by the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes. Between 1936 and 1939, the WPA landscaped the area, improved the beach, constructed about 15-20 buildings and a boat dock (see, e.g., "Among WPA Accomplishments In This Area," The Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), April 8, 1940, p. 2). And in 1940, a crew of 15 American Indians in the WPA installed a new water system ("Work Starts on Blue Bay Water System: Indian WPA Crew on Project Which May Draw Help From NYA," The Missoulian, February 11, 1940, p. 4).

During the New Deal years, the Blue Bay Sunshine Camp was used for the benefit of underprivileged and undernourished American Indian children: "The morning schedule includes rising, flag raising, breakfast, camp cleanup, arts and crafts, swimming and instruction, wash up and lunch. The afternoon program consists of library and medical period, compulsory rest periods, music, boat rides and special programs on alternate evenings, wash up and dinner" ("Indian Children Develop at Sunshine Camp," Great Falls Tribune (Great Falls, Montana), September 1, 1940, p. 13).

The camp supervisor said, "In my opinion, the Blue Bay Sunshine camp is one of the grandest contributions to the welfare of young Indian children. I feel that every effort put forth has been worthwhile. It is amazing that in the short time these children are here [10 weeks] such improvement can take place physically and mentally" (see previous source).

After the camp was constructed, the NYA came in to offer even more opportunities. For example, in November 1940, 40 American Indian women, ages 17-21, took part in a camp program to produce traditional arts and crafts "to renew the arts which characterize the Indian race in previous years and to preserve the Indian culture" and also "for distribution to needy families..." The young women were also allowed to produce clothing for themselves; they managed a display room; took part in recreation activities like hikes and dances; and even received $30 per month - about $550 in 2019 dollars ("40 Indian Girls to Attend NYA Arts and Crafts Project," The Missoulian, November 21, 1940, p. 2).  

The Blue Bay Sunshine Camp is a great example of the New Deal ethos, described by FDR: "We are going to make a country in which no one is left out." That New Deal ethos--which could have been continued and improved upon--has been lost to collective amnesia, false historical framing, and the embrace of a new ethos - the ethos of extreme income, wealth, and opportunity hoarding by the 1%. (Indeed, the modern ethos of greed & selfishness is dependent upon the false framing of the New Deal as racist and unsuccessful.)

Above: The WPA-constructed administration building at Blue Bay Sunshine Camp, 1940. Photograph from the Great Falls Tribune, September 1, 1940, unknown photographer, provided courtesy of Newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: American Indian children at Blue Bay Sunshine Camp, 1940. Photograph from The Missoulian, March 31, 1940, unknown photographer, provided courtesy of Newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.