1938 was an interesting year in New Jersey. The infamous “aliens have landed” radio broadcast was heard throughout the area, leading locals to believe that aliens had actually landed in New Jersey. Though it was just a reading of “War of the Worlds,” chaos and confusion briefly ensued. Also in 1938, the Edison Memorial Tower (and world’s largest light bulb) was dedicated in Menlo Park and there was a big beauty pageant scandal in Atlantic City – sound familiar? Miss Ohio was chosen as Miss America over crowd favorite, Miss California. Famous Broadway producer, Earl Carroll, disagreed with the results and made it known, holding his own coronation for Miss California, “the REAL Miss America,” in New York City. This brought significant press to the event.
In other 1938 news, New Jersey was still recovering from the Great Depression and farming was a major industry. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see what life was like in the state back then? If you’re lucky, you have some great family photos. I have some shots to share as well, many courtesy of the Yale University Photogrammar Project.
- A mechanical potato digger in Monmouth County.
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
- And a potato picker harvesting by hand, also in Monmouth County.
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
- Cranberry pickers hard at work in Burlington County.
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
- A cranberry bog in Burlington County.
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
- City dwellers who moved to Burlington County in hopes of making a living.
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
- An industrial area of South Second Street in Camden.
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
- A different side of Camden, apples at a picking house.
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
- A Verona, New Jersey police car.
Flickr/National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
- Whitesbog Village, before it was a historic attraction.
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
- A horse-drawn wagon to transport cranberries from a Burlington County farm.
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
- Migrant worker housing in Freehold. Many potato pickers boarded in the area.
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
- A dusting plane spraying swath over Seabrook Farms, between Bridgetown and Vineland.
Photogrammar/Edwin Rosskam
- The crowd at Father Walsh’s Carnival in Trenton.
Photogrammar/John Vachon
- A slightly disturbing roadside advertisement for Steel Pier in Atlantic City.
Photogrammar/Russell Lee
- St. John’s R.C. Church in Leonia.
Flickr/Doc Searls
- Potato pickers loading a truck in Monmouth County.
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
- Ground personnel push a Hall PH-2 flying boat into a hangar at Coast Guard Air Station, Cape May.
Flickr/kitchener.lord
- Church at “Eighty Acres” agricultural development in Glassboro.
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothsten
From these vintage photos, it’s easy to see why New Jersey is called the Garden State. Agriculture has always been a big part of our economy, and we are still major producers of blueberries, cranberries, and other fruits and vegetables. Which photo did you find most interesting?
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
Flickr/National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
Photogrammar/Edwin Rosskam
Photogrammar/John Vachon
Photogrammar/Russell Lee
Flickr/Doc Searls
Flickr/kitchener.lord
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothsten
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.
