For most of the country, the Great Depression was a time of both hardships and change. However, for many in the agricultural business these unfortunate circumstances also led to a period of migration and creating a new life in a new place. Here are some examples of what that life looked like:
- This is a cotton field being irrigated in May 1937. Cotton was one of the more prolific agricultural industries and still is today.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
- This photo shows a woman picking strawberries in Casa Grande Valley. Part of a cooperative garden, some of the fruits picked from here were also used for home consumption by members of the co-op.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
- This photo shows a man working in a sugar beet field in 1938 Chandler.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
- A pair of farmers kids are at work in a chili pepper field in Concho.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
- Once all the picking was done, the next step was to sort and prepare the harvest for sale. Here, another set of workers gather and bunch carrots on a farm in Yuma.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
- A man in 1940 Concho sorts through his chile harvest in the field before drying them.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
- Another Concho farmer husks corn, perhaps also for drying?
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
- The final step before selling the chiles: stringing them up in ristras then hanging them on the side of the home to dry.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
- Not all agricultural work revolved around plants. Some included lovely animals like this pair of cows,. (How cute!)
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
- Have you milked a cow before? I haven’t and I can’t imagine it’s the fastest job in the world.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
- One of the things I find most interesting about these photos is seeing the faces of the people who spent hours bringing food to American dinner tables, like these men with their horses in 1940 Concho. I like how the man on the left posed for the photo.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
- It is also interesting to see the disparity in housing available to agricultural workers, both those with deep roots in the state and those passing through. This photo shows one lucky family residing in a nice home in Gila County.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
- This young migrant couple—perhaps from a Dust Bowl state—meanwhile lived in temporary housing in Pinal County.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
- And this family of six (or more!) lived in similar housing as the previous family.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
- And, finally, here’s a pair of migrant children (from Mexico) standing in front of their derelict home in Casa Grande.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
This was a pretty amazing set of photos, wasn’t it? I always find that looking through old photo sets like these not only makes me appreciate the life I have today, but also how much easier life has become in the last several decades. What thoughts went through your mind when looking through these photos?
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
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