New Deal Art: "September" by Maurice Robert Dey

Above: "September," a woodcut print by Maurice Robert Dey (ca. 1899-1981), created while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, between 1935 and 1939. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Meet the African American, Triple-C Firefighters of the Los Angeles District

The following photos and quotes come from: Civilian Conservation Corps, Official Annual, 1938, Ninth Corps Area, Los Angeles District (Direct Advertising Company, Baton Rouge, Louisiana). Used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: These are some of the enrollees of CCC Company 2923, Camp F-164, Elsinore, California.

Above: A closer view of some of the enrollees of Company 2923 (from the previous photo).

Above: Company 2923 was known for its firefighting skills. Among their strategies was to use homing pigeons to carry messages back and forth, from their base camp to the fire lines.

Above: A member of Company 2923 mans the radio station.

Above: The buglers of Company 2923. These two men would play reveille, to start the day's activities.

Above: Musical instruments were also used for recreation. These young men are from CCC Company 2924, Camp P-233, Jamul, California. The work projects of Company 2924 included, "road construction, telephone line construction, and, of course, the inevitable fire fighting... Company 2924 has built up an enviable reputation as fire fighters" (p. 93).

Above: These two men are also part of Company 2924. While in the CCC, enrollees could learn many skills and trades.

Above: This is the basketball team of CCC Company 2925, Camp F-364, Wheeler Springs, California. Company 2925 "proved to be expert 'trail blazers' when they performed, with great skill, the hazardous task of building the first truck trails on Santa Rosa Mountain and Forbes Ranch" (p. 95). Among other things, truck trails facilitated quicker response to wildfires.

Above: This is the CCC headquarters for the Los Angeles District. The building was at 6001 Van Nuys Boulevard, and was formerly the Robert Morton Company, which made pipe organs (see this Valley Relics Museum Facebook post). It appears that the building has since been demolished.

The incredible works of New Deal artist Perkins Harnly

The following artworks are by Perkins Harnly (1901-1986). Harnly created these for the  Index of American Design - a WPA project that lasted from 1935-1942. The images come from the National Gallery of Art (NGA) and are in the public domain. (For more information on this WPA project--which created over 18,000 works of art--see the NGA summary, "Index of American Design.")

Above: "Backdrop for Vaudeville Stage"

Above: "Barn Gangway"

Above: "Bedroom, 1940"

Above: "Blacksmith Shop"

Above: "Dentist's Operating Room"

Above: "Fire Station"

Above: "Millinery Shop"

Above: "Monument Display Room"

Above: "Rural Kitchen"

Above: "Veranda"

"I started drawing at the age of seven. A pencil drawing, I did pictures of turkeys and the pilgrims going to church with a gun over their shoulder, stuff like that. Of course it was very crude. I still have some of those things. But I did not develop into an artist of any note until I got on the WPA. They really - because they gave me the reason and the encouragement, the research, the material... I really went to town."

--Perkins Harnly, Oral History Interview, October 15, 1981, Smithsonian Archives of American Art

New Deal Art: A San Antonio Church by Gisella Loeffler

Above: This is a watercolor painting of a San Antonio church, created by Gisella Loeffler (ca. 1900-1977), created while she was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, 1938. Loeffler was a very diverse artist, creating batik (dye on fabric), hospital murals, "tapestries, cabinet and window decorations... She illustrated several childrens books, designed greeting cards and constructed toys..." Loeffler also painted airplanes during World War II ("Long-time resident artist dies," The Taos News (Taos, New Mexico), September 15, 1977, p. 3). Image above courtesy of the General Services Administration and the New Mexico Museum of Art.

Interesting examples of integration in the Civilian Conservation Corps, from Arizona

Above: All of the photos in this blog post come from the CCC Official Annual, 1936, 8th Corps Area, Tucson District. The annual was put together by the Direct Advertising Company, the Ramires-Jones Printing Company, and the Shreveport Engraving Company (all from Louisiana). All photos used here are for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Kitchen staff of CCC Company 2848, Camp SCS-7-A, Bowie, Arizona. CCC enrollees rotated in and out of kitchen duty - although some of them were trained to be long-term cooks (see Manuel R. Martinez's recollection below).

Above: Some of the members of CCC Company 2881, Camp SCS-14-A, San Simon, Arizona. "The project work of the company is part of the Gila River conservation program... The chief aim is to control the disastrous flood waters... and to reclaim to grazing and farming use the once fertile and beautiful San Simon Valley" (p. 31 of the CCC Annual).

Above: A closer view of some of the members of Company 2881, from the previous photo.

Above: The baseball team of Company 2881 (see previous two photos). Recreation was an important part of life in the CCC.

Above: Some of the members of CCC Company 1826, Camp F-30-A, Tucson, Arizona. This company consisted of World War I veterans and, among their many varied projects, was extensive firefighting.

Above: Part of CCC Company 2851, Camp SP-10-A, Vail, Arizona. "The company has been fortunate in having one of the most interesting work projects in the state - the exploration and development of Colossal Cave" (p. 51 of the CCC Annual).

Above: The baseball team of Company 2851 (see previous photo).

Above: Members of Company 2851 (see previous two photos), posing with what appears to be a basketball trophy.

Above: Members of Company 2862, Camp SP-11-A, Tucson, Arizona. "This company has an interesting history in the fact that there has never been an accident of any description during its whole operation. In addition, the company has never had a desertion, or what is commonly known as 'going over the hill'" (p. 55 of the CCC Annual).

Integration in the CCC was not unheard of (as the examples above show)

Depending on a variety of circumstances, for example, the customs of the state or local communities, a CCC camp could be segregated or integrated. And even integrated camps might have had segregated barracks, as one enrollee recalled: "There were twenty negroes, who had their own segregated barracks, but we all worked together" (Perry H. Merrill, Roosevelt's Forest Army: A History of the Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942, 1981, p. 70).

In the CCC, young men could learn to live, work, and cooperate with people from different backgrounds, as these two recollections highlight:

Manuel Gomez (unknown camp location): "We lived with boys from farms, cities and small towns; every nationality and most religious denominations were represented in our camp... We had blacks in our camp - this was before integration was accepted in our country. I got to know these boys in work and play and realized that discrimination had no place in our world" (Merrill, p. 56).

Manuel R. Martinez (CCC camp in Colorado): "After three months of planting trees, grass, contour plowing, I was sent to a cook and bakery school for instruction... Very soon I was made a first cook and promoted to Mess Sergeant, which is why my tour of duty lasted for four years... Our camp had a mixture of Latins, colored and a company of enrollees from Boston, a real hodgepodge. I am over 62 and consider the CCC the happiest period of my life..." (Merrill, p. 75).

In modern times, America has refused to create a new CCC, where urban, suburban, and rural youth can live and work together in camaraderie - where they can get to know each other, and realize that we're all human beings with the same emotions and aspirations. On the other hand, we have built plenty of prisons for wayward young (and older) adults. And in these prisons, gangs have been created. Indeed, many of the gangs that cause problems on our streets sprang from prisons, where inmates joined together for protection from other groups.

If you want to know why there are so many problems of gangs, violence, youth unemployment, white supremacy, etc., consider the CCC vs. prisons dichotomy. Consider whether is is best to invest on the front-end of things (for example, the CCC), or on the back-end of things (for example, prisons).

"I have thought over and over that we should have a program of [the CCC and National Youth Administration] sort during this current period when youngsters are joining gangs and buying guns and all this sort of thing... I think they were extremely valuable programs. And I think we should have them in any situation where the social condition is deteriorated."

--Anne Treadwell, Director of the National Youth Administration in California (1935-1939), in a 1996 oral history interview.

Nathan Abas and the WPA's Bay Area Orchestra, California

Above: Nathan Abas (1896-1980), conducted the WPA's Bay Area Orchestra, California, from 1939-1942, for a total of 400 concerts. Photo from The Los Angeles Times, February 23, 1936, newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

  

Above: Listen to the WPA's Bay Area Orchestra. There is an introduction mentioning Nathan Abas; then a musical number; then, at around 6:24, there is a discussion of the WPA's role in reducing the prevalence of typhoid fever (a serious and sometimes deadly bacterial infection spread by poor sanitation); and finally a second music performance beginning at 8:21.

Above: The digital recording above came from this transcription record. Transcription records were a little bigger and often made of different materials than the records most of us are familiar with today. This record was probably used to broadcast WPA music on the radio, back in the day. Photo by Brent McKee.

Above: A closer look at the label on the transcription record. The WPA's Bay Area Orchestra seems to have gone by several names, for example, the "Northern California WPA Symphony Orchestra," the "Federal Symphony Orchestra of Northern California," the "Bay Region Federal Symphony Orchestra," and the "Bay Area Federal Symphony Orchestra." Some of this name variety probably stems from the change that occurred to the major federal art projects in 1939. Beginning in fiscal year 1939-1940, art projects were no longer sponsored by the WPA, but instead by states & localities (however, the WPA continued to provide funds).

Above: An announcement in The Los Angeles Times (5-16-1943), showing yet another name variation for Abas and his (former) WPA orchestra. Image from newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: An advertisement for Nathan Abas and the "Northern California Symphony Orchestra" (note "Works Progress Administration" at the bottom). Nathan Abas and his WPA orchestra played at many venues, such as the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, Oakland Auditorium Theater, Junior College Auditorium (Sacramento), San Francisco Veterans' Building, Outdoor Theatre of the College of the Pacific, the Hanford Auditorium (Hanford, California), and the Curran Theater (San Francisco). Image from the Oakland Tribune, February 7, 1940, and newspapers.com; used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Part of a longer article in the February 5, 1939 edition of the Oakland Tribune, noting the talent of Abas and his musicians. This would be the first of many praises. Image from newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

A New Deal for the Blind

Above: From The Cushing Daily Citizen (Cushing, Oklahoma), January 2, 1938. Image from newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Joseph Clunk (1895-1975) was the first blind civil servant in the federal government. He was appointed in 1937 and his duties were to "administer the Randolph-Sheppard Act and [serve] on the U.S. Office of Education, Vocational Service Board as 'special agent for the blind'" (Smithsonian Institution Archives). The Randolph-Sheppard Act was "originally signed into law by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936 [and] requires that blind individuals receive priority for the operation of vending facilities on federal property" (EveryCRSReport). Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Archives.

Above: From an article in The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), April 5, 1940. The article explains that this National Youth Administration (NYA) resident project would engage blind youth (both men and women) in several Braille-related projects, and also in the production of goods, e.g., "door mats, brooms and brushes... rugs and wearing apparel" for state institutions and also for private citizens in need of assistance. Image from newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: The description for this photograph--taken in Savannah, Georgia, 1936--reads: "Blind person using the Braille writer under supervision of WPA teacher." Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: This photograph was taken in Indianapolis between 1935 and 1943. The description for it reads: "WPA workers at the Indiana State School for the Blind at work on a garden which will have Braille labels for the use of the students of the school." Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: From The Fresno Bee (Fresno, California), July 15, 1938. Image from newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: WPA workers building talking books for the blind, New York City, ca. 1935-1940. The WPA also had projects to transcribe various types of literature into Braille hard-copy books. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: The description for this photograph, taken in Seattle, Washington, 1938, reads: "WPA library project - extension service to the blind. This blind man is listening to one of the 'talking book' records, in his home. It was selected and mailed by WPA library project worker." Interestingly, a talking book "not only talks and reads, but can present complete dramas with full Broadway casts, chirrup the bird songs and calls of wildlife, and in other ways take full advantage of the fact that it is written in sound" ("Talking Books for the Blind," The Belleville News-Democrat (Belleville, Illinois), January 26, 1940, p. 4). Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: WPA Braille map-making project in Columbus, Ohio, December 1939. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: The description for this photograph reads: "Sensitive fingertips lightly trace a geographic course over this WPA Braille map. Perkins Institute for the Blind, Watertown, Mass., July 22, 1936." Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: The New Deal built schools for the blind. This one is in Jacksonville, Illinois, and was funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA), ca. 1933-1941. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: The desire for knowledge and information is universal, despite disability, as this WPA photo shows. The description for it reads: "Learning to read and write Braille is literally 'eaten up' by members of this group of blind adults in and around Atlanta." Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: In New Deal-funded projects, the blind made baskets, brooms, rugs, brushes, and more; some of these products were distributed to low-income Americans. This is a WPA project at the Home for the Blind in Seattle. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

"It is a privilege to have a part in aiding the betterment of conditions for those who have been handicapped by lack of vision and, when I say lack of vision, I mean it in the purely physical sense because people who are blind certainly have a splendid vision in every other way."

--President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Greetings by Telephone to the American Foundation for the Blind, December 5, 1935