The New Deal and the Alaska Highway

Above: A worker uses a bulldozer and scraper on the Alaska Highway, 1942. Equipment from the Civilian Conservation Corps was used to construct the Alaska Highway, for example, "300 tractors equipped with scrapers" ("The Saga of the Alcan Highway," The Gustine Standard (Gustine, California), December 10, 1942, p. 3). Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

New Deal ties to the Alaska Highway

The 1,300+ mile Alaska Highway was constructed from 1942 to 1943, and was built to provide an alternate supply line to Alaska during World War II. Today, the road is somewhat altered from its original route and is used for routine public travel.

The Alaska Highway was a joint effort of the U.S. Army, the Public Roads Administration (PRA, a sub-agency of the New Deal's Federal Works Agency), and many PRA-contracted businesses. Three new regiments of black soldiers assisted in the construction efforts, which took place in "rough terrain that included sub-arctic tundra, rugged mountains, and virgin forests"; and the highway "stands today as one of the boldest homeland security initiatives ever undertaken" ("Alaska Highway, 1942, 1943," Federal Highway Administration, accessed May 25, 2020).

To construct the Alaska Highway,  "A great quantity of equipment was transferred from the [recently terminated] civilian conservation corps to supplement the equipment owned by contractors. Among the major items were 300 tractors equipped with scrapers, bulldozers, or trailbuilders, 1,000 trucks, 125 air compressors with drilling accessories, 55 power shovels, 200 electric plants, 65 portable repair shops. Mixers, rollers, pumps and trailers were also supplied... Equipment for kitchens and living quarters came from civilian conservation corps supplies... workers are housed in buildings from over 40 civilian conservation corps camps that have been dismantled, transported to the job and reassembled" ("The Saga of the Alcan Highway," The Gustine Standard (Gustine, California), December 10, 1942, p. 3).

The Alaska Highway is just one of many examples of how the New Deal contributed to national defense and war efforts.

Above: A Federal Works Agency / Public Roads Administration camp on the Alaska Highway, ca. 1942-1943. These are most likely camps from the Civilian Conservation Corps, now assembled in Canada and contributing to the war effort. This image is from a Canadian post card, photographer unknown, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: A closer view of the buildings.

Above: Another Canadian post card image, explaining planned work by the New Deal's Federal Works Agency / Public Roads Administration, ca. 1942-1943. Photographer unknown, image used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: An image showing the route of the Alaska Highway. Image from The Milepost, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

The New Deal improved public health in Puerto Rico

Above: A new health clinic in Puerto Rico, ca. 1940. Photo by the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA), from the PRRA / WPA book, Puerto Rico: A Guide to the Island of Boriquen.

The New Deal ethos vs. a modern sociopath worldview

Sociopath: "a person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is antisocial, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience" (Dictionary.com).

In modern America, there has been a widespread lack of moral responsibility and social conscience towards Puerto Rico. This lack of concern is seen after every battering the island takes, for example, financial debt, hurricanes, and now coronavirus. The public health system of Puerto Rico has been neglected, and it appears that no crisis is big enough for our neoliberal federal government, and much of the citizenry, to give a damn.

(See, e.g., "Puerto Rico mayors work to fight coronavirus with few tests available," NBC News, April 17, 2020; "A 13-year-old’s death highlights Puerto Rico’s post-Maria health care crisis: Hundreds of doctors have left the island, and hospitals and clinics remain shuttered," Vox, February 27, 2020; "Puerto Rico's Wounded Medicaid Program Faces Even Deeper Cuts," NPR, August 1, 2018; and "Electricity Cut Off For Puerto Rico Hospital That Owed $4M," NBC News, March 11, 2016.)

Of course, this lack of empathy not only applies to Puerto Rico, but to the nation as a whole. It seems we've been trained, very thoroughly, to not care about one another. Perhaps Ayn Rand's numerous books, promoting sociopathy, and the political leaders who took inspiration from her work--for example, Ronald Reagan, Alan Greenspan, Paul Ryan, and Donald Trump--have created a new America: a "To Hell with everyone but me" America.  

It doesn't have to be this way of course. For example, during the New Deal, the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA, created by FDR's Executive Order No. 7057) "established sixty-four rural dispensaries... These dispensaries operated as regional clinics, each unit consisting of three dispensaries staffed by a physician, nurse, social worker and clerk" (PRRA, Rehabilitation in Puerto Rico, 1939). 

These type of public health initiatives occurred all across the country during the New Deal. See, for example, my recent blog post: "Rural hospital closings vs. New Deal hospital construction."

Today, sadly, either Americans don't know about this history (and are too lazy to learn about it), or they do know about it, but their sociopath training has led them to think, "No, we absolutely should not do that public health stuff again because... well... I just don't give a crap."

I'm sure it's a combination of both. And Corporate America loves this mixture of ignorance and sociopathy. It allows them to close rural hospitals (to increase profit), price gouge our prescription medicines, and give us health insurance plans that are designed to enrich wealthy shareholders first... and address our health needs second, if at all. And whenever one group of Americans say, "We need to fix these problems," another group of Americans, trained in sociopathy, scream out an angry, hate-filled, "Freedom!!" to squash any reform that will improve the quality of our lives.  

Will Americans ever adopt the New Deal ethos again? Or are we just going to muddle along, on sociopathy, decade after decade... as our wages stagnate, our retirement benefits erode, our life expectancy continues to drop, and our happiness goes the way of the Dodo Bird? (See, "What America can learn from the world's happiest countries," The Week, March 21, 2019.)

Above: Young Puerto Ricans in the New Deal's National Youth Administration (NYA) get a health check-up, ca. 1935-1943. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Eleanor, Puerto Rico: A New Deal Town

Above: The Eleanor Housing Development in Puerto Rico, ca. 1940. The town was constructed by the New Deal's Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) and named after Eleanor Roosevelt. Photo by PRRA, from the PRRA & WPA book Puerto Rico: A Guide to the Island of Boriquen.

Above: Eleanor Roosevelt Grade School in Eleanor, Puerto Rico, ca. 1940. Photo by PRRA, from the PRRA & WPA book Puerto Rico: A Guide to the Island of Boriquen.

Above: The Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary School (today a two-story building) is still in operation, 80 years later. Image from Google Earth, used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.

Eleanor, Puerto Rico

Eleanor is a town in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was constructed during the New Deal by the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA), ca. 1936-1940. The town is described in the PRRA & WPA book, Puerto Rico: A Guide to the Island of Boriquen (1940, p. 269):

"The Development is a modern town in itself, with paved streets, sidewalks and drains, water system, sanitary and storm water sewerage, a school, a police station, an underground electrical distribution and telephone system. There are 131 one-family houses, 91 two-family houses, 4 block model units for 128 families and 31 three-bedroom houses - in all 472 dwellings in which nearly 2,500 persons live. No particular style of architecture has been adhered to. Some houses follow the Spanish colonial traditions, and some are designed along modern lines. Both styles have been simplified to the extreme in order to bring the cost down without sacrificing comfort and convenience. Each house consists of a porch, a combination living and dining room, two or three bedrooms with closets, a bathroom equipped with modern plumbing and a kitchen with a charcoal stove."

The New Deal performed an extraordinary amount of work in Puerto Rico - improved sanitation, more schools, electrification, the reduction of land monopolies, housing, and much more. The town of Eleanor and the Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary School are just two example of that work.

A New Deal hospital for Alabama

Above: The Peoples Hospital, in Jasper, Alabama, 1938. The construction of this hospital was started by the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and completed by the Work Division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). The hospital came close to being named "Roosevelt Hospital," but "Peoples Hospital" was ultimately chosen ("Cornerstone Laid Friday At New Hospital," Daily Mountain Eagle (Jasper, Alabama), June 6, 1935, p. 1). Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: The front entrance of The Peoples Hospital, 1938. Peoples Hospital was one of of over 5,000 New Deal projects to build, repair, or improve hospitals across America. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: A closer view of the previous photo, showing architectural design & details on the building. During the New Deal, art and creativity were common both inside and outside of public buildings. Today, public buildings are usually just squares and rectangles, with little-or-no creative trim, and few-or-no artworks inside.

New Deal happenings in Napa County

Above: The Napa County Fairgrounds. In 1940, it was reported that "The Napa County NYA, under the direction of Frank Kadish, has played a large part in putting the [fair]grounds in excellent shape..." ("Finishing Touches at Fairgrounds," Napa Journal, August 13, 1940, p. 6). The "NYA" refers to the New Deal's National Youth Administration, an agency that employed millions of young men and women in need of jobs, training, and financial assistance, 1935-1943. Image from Google Earth, used here for educational, non-commercials purposes.

Above: At this intersection in Napa, California (Yount and Main streets), there used to be a community center. The WPA sponsored many events here, including table tennis tournaments, entertainment programs, sketching classes, and kite & model airplane building. The WPA may also have funded the construction of the community center itself. In 1941, The Napa Journal newspaper reported: "The Napa WPA recreation project was started by the city commission in June, 1940... The recreation project aided in the formation of the City Basketball league and opened a Community Center at Main and Yount streets for both adults and children" ("New Director for Recreation Work Comes Here Monday," January 25, 1941, pp. 1-2). Very little information seems to exist about this community center, suggesting that perhaps the building, or its function as a community center, was short-lived. Image from Google Earth, used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.

Above: Part of the Veterans Home of California, in the town of Yountville, Napa County, California. Notice the "Franklin D. Roosevelt Annex." The New Deal's Public Works Administration (PWA) contributed at least $350,000 to improvements to the Veterans Home ("Official Lists PWA Improvement in Napa County," Napa Journal, June 7, 1939, p. 5). Image from Google Earth, used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.

Above: Part of a longer article in the Napa Journal, July 21, 1938, p. 1. Later articles confirm that this PWA-funded work in the city of Napa was carried out. The article above reports, "The necessity of the main was brought about by an extension of the residential areas into suburbs, and the growing demand for higher water pressure throughout the city." Image from Newspapers.com, used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.

Above: Mt. St. Helena and Robert Louis Stevenson State Park (see "The CCC in Napa County," below, for more details). This general area includes parts of Napa, Sonoma, and Lake counties, California. Image from Google Earth, used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.

The CCC in Napa County

In 1933, it was reported that 105 men in the Civilian Conservation Corps were encamped at Los Posadas [Napa County] on Howell Mountain: "The company had no sooner established itself than part of the men were called out to fight a fire in the hills east of Napa. Besides fire fighting, when necessary, the men will be employed building fire trails, building roads and other improvements... The men are given every opportunity to improve their minds during their stay at camp. Evening classes in languages, mathematics and other subjects for which there is a call are to be given in the recreation room... At present the meals are served at the 4-H camp, pending the completion of the mess hall" ("Camp Site at Los Posados," The St. Helena Star (St. Helena, California), October 27, 1933, p. 1).

Today, that 4-H camp remembers the CCC: "A Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp was established at Las Posadas in 1934 [actually, 1933], and following the close of the CCC program in 1941, the old camp was used as a forestry camp, and rebuilt as a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) fire station in the early 1950's" ("Napa County 4-H Camp," accessed April 29, 2020).

(Note: Shortly after the CCC left, unemployed men were hired by the WPA to reopen the camp facilities and continue some of the CCC's forestry work. See, for example, "Establishment of State Work Camp Is Seen," The Napa Valley Register, December 4, 1935, p. 1, and "Las Posadas Camp Reopened by S.R.A." The Napa Journal, December 23, 1936, p. 2.)

According to a 1959 recollection of the CCC's work in the Napa County area, "One of the most important achievements of the total conservation crew is the road which they built to the top of Mt. St. Helena, and the lookout they established there which has become the area's most important check-spot for fires" ("Forestry Here: Its Story..." The St. Helena Star, April 2, 1959, p. 10).

The website "Napa Valley Hiking" (accessed April 29, 2020) states, "Mount Saint Helena is the highest point in the San Francisco Bay Area watershed," and one way to reach the summit is on a "Fire Road." This is likely the same fire road that the CCC men carved out 85 years ago.

Like the rest of the nation, Napa County benefited from the various New Deal programs that improved infrastructure, promoted recreation, fought forest fires, employed the jobless, etc. The projects detailed above are just a sampling.

California's New Deal Prunes

Above: The caption for this 1938 photograph reads, "Drying prunes of small California farm. Family labor. Sonoma County, California." Photo by Dorothea Lange, Farm Security Administration, provided courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Above: A closer view of the farmers.

The New Deal and the California Prune

The California prune was an important food during the New Deal. For example, in fiscal year 1937, the Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation spent $1,959,864 (that's about $35 million in today's dollars) buying California prunes for distribution to the needy ("Farmers Get 12 Million on Federal Work," The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, California), March 19, 1939, p. 16).

An example of how prunes (and other surplus food) were distributed is seen in a different 1939 newspaper article, in Ohio:

"A consignment of over 27 tons of foodstuffs was received Thursday by Relief Director Everett Jacoby after he and B.A. Albright, state director of federal surplus commodities distribution, made a survey of Hocking County's relief situation... Three truck were sent to Columbus Thursday morning to get the following amounts of federal surplus commodities, which are distributed through WPA: Prunes, 5,000 lbs. Beans, 10,000 lbs. Flour, 1,000 24-1/2 lb. bags. Dried skim milk, 5,000 lbs." ("27 Tons of Foodstuffs Arrive for Relief Families," The Logan Daily News (Logan, Ohio), January 12, 1939, p. 1, emphasis added).

California prunes were great for the struggling families of the 1930s because they were loaded with nutrients, for example, potassium, magnesium, dietary fiber, and vitamins A, B, and K. (Also see, "Why Prunes Are Good For You," The Guardian, February 16, 2013.)

Above: A California prune box from the 1930s. An interesting history of the Rosenberg Bros. & Co., a San Francisco-based business, can be read here. Photo by Brent McKee.

Above: The reverse side of the Rosenberg Bros. & Co. prune box, showing that they were members of the National Recovery Administration's (NRA) efforts to lift the country up from the Great Depression. The NRA, as well as the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, were very early New Deal agencies. They seem to have helped the prune industry, which, like most farm sectors, had suffered from extreme price drops (see, for example, "Millions Are Added to State Prune Growers' Output by Price Rise," The San Francisco Examiner, November 17, 1933; and, more generally, "California's Farm Income Up 54 Percent Under [Secretary of Agriculture] Wallace," The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, California), September 29, 1940, p. 2). Photo by Brent McKee.

Above: Another California prune box from the 1930s, this one used by the New Deal's Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation. Photo by Brent McKee.

Above: Enrollees in the New Deal's National Youth Administration (NYA) are packaging another type of dried fruit for Surplus Commodity distribution, in Millville, Massachusetts, November 1938. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: Surplus Commodity distribution in St. Johns, Arizona, October 1940. The New Deal had many programs to help feed a hungry nation. Photo by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration, provided courtesy of the Library of Congress.

WPA art, music, dance, and body-building classes in Berkeley, California

Above: This building, at Telegraph Avenue and Channing Way, Berkeley, California, used to be the location of Maxwell Hardware store (occupying the first floor and basement areas). From about March 15 to March 22, 1941, an art exhibition was held at this hardware store. The artworks--which consisted of ceramics, woodcarvings, figurines, and more--were created by students in a WPA art class at the Berkeley Y.W.C.A. ("WPA Art Students Exhibit Handiwork," Oakland Tribune, March 17, 1941, p. 6). Image from Google Streetview, used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.

Above: Somewhere in this cluster of buildings, on Adeline Street, Berkeley, California, a Mr. Joseph Hudner held WPA classes in "sculpture, modeling, drawing, mural painting and woodcarving" ("Berkeley WPA Art Classes to Reopen," Oakland Tribune, February 6, 1941, p. 6). The article reports that the classes were held at 2980 Adeline Street. In the image above, the yellow trapezoid building (center) contains the Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles (2982 Adeline Street) and the building to the right of it houses the Oxtail Studio and Gallery (2976 Adeline Street). It seems the WPA art classes were held in one of these buildings. Image from Google Earth, used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.

Above: This is the Berkeley Adult School at 1701 San Pablo Avenue. This location used to be the home of the Franklin Elementary School. In 1939, the following was reported: "Included in WPA educational activities in Berkeley, a course in piano instruction for adults is being held from 1 to 3 p.m. Mondays at the Franklin School, San Pablo and Virginia Streets. Individual instruction is announced by Mrs. Ruby Hendricks, graduate of Kings Conservatory, San Jose" ("Piano Instruction Offered by WPA," Oakland Tribune, January 13, 1939, p. 22). Image from Google Earth, used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.

Above: James Kenney Park, Berkeley, California. The WPA taught ballroom dancing here ("WPA Announces Series of Classes," Oakland Tribune, November 7, 1937, p. 7). Image from Google Earth, used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.

Above: Codornices Park, at right, is near the Berkeley Rose Garden (left). According to the Wikipedia page for the Berkeley Rose Garden, "The clubhouse of the Codornices Club, a neighborhood improvement and social club, once stood on a lot adjacent to the top of the concrete slide" (note the "Concrete Slide" marker in the image above, middle-right). In 1938, it was reported that the WPA would be sponsoring "Tap dancing and body-building" classes in the Codornices Clubhouse ("Recreational Classes Offered Berkeley Public," Oakland Tribune, September 8, 1938). Image from Google Earth, used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.

WPA classes--such as those highlighted above--offered millions of Americans the opportunity to learn new skills, relieve stress, socialize, exercise and... well... just have some fun. We could use similar programs today, to help address the problems we have with social isolation and physical fitness.