Lewis Hine caption: All these small boys, and more, work in the Chace Cotton Mill, Burlington, Vt. Many of the smallest ones have been there from one to three years. Only a few could speak English. These are the names of some:- Lahule Julian, Walter Walker, Herman Rotte, Arsone … [Read more...]
Lillian & Sadie Bielski, Pass Christian, Mississippi
Lewis Hine caption: All are workers in a Pass Christian oyster cannery. Going home at 5 P.M. The youngest ones shuck before and after school. Two youngest are Lillie and Sadie Bilski, 8 and 6 years old. They shuck regularly. Location: Pass Christian, Mississippi, February 17, … [Read more...]
Joseph Velcich, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Lewis Hine caption: Joseph Velcich[?], seven years old. Beginning to pick shrimp for Peerless Oyster Co. Location: Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, March 1911. “My father once said: ‘People talk about the good old days, but Joann, there never were any good old days in my childhood. … [Read more...]
Sadie Kelly, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Lewis Hine caption: Sadie Kelly, 11 years old, picks shrimp for the Peerless Oyster Co. Picked 7 pots yesterday, 5 pots today at 5 cents. Picked last year. Location: Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, March 1911. "On my father’s side, about once a month, one of his siblings would … [Read more...]
Marie Kriss, Biloxi, Mississippi
Lewis Hine Caption: Marie Kriss, seven years old, shucks oysters and picks shrimp at Biloxi Canning Co., when not tending the baby. Makes 25 cents some days. Biloxi, Mississippi, February 1911. “She said that when they first came here from Baltimore, they came on a train. She … [Read more...]
A Long Walk In La Plata (2015)
The clock behind the counter of the La Plata Diner tells me it’s officially tomorrow. The waitress comes over to my booth, refills my coffee cup and offers me a cinnamon donut. “It’s on the house,” she says. “Looks like you’re gonna be here a while. You’ve got a lot of pages left … [Read more...]
Harold & Jewell Walker, Geronimo, Oklahoma
Lewis Hine caption: Jewell and Harold Walker, 6 and 5 years old, pick 20 to 25 pounds of cotton a day. Father said: "I promised em a little wagon if they'd pick steady, and now they have half a bagful in just a little while." Location: Comanche County--[Geronimo], Oklahoma / … [Read more...]
Olga Subat, Biloxi, Mississippi
Lewis Hine caption: Olga Schubert, 855 Gruenwald St. The little 5 yr. old after a day's work that began about 5:00 A.M. helping her mother in the Biloxi Canning Factory, begun at an early hour, was tired out and refused to be photographed. The mother said, "Oh, she's ugly." Both … [Read more...]
Michael McNelis, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lewis Hine caption: Michael McNelis, 612 Noble St., age 8 yrs old newsboy. This boy just recovered from his second attack of pneumonia, was found selling papers in big rain storm today. General appearance was neat. Edward F. Brown, Investigator. Location: Philadelphia, … [Read more...]
Joseph Beaudoine, Burlington, Vermont
Lewis Hine caption: Jo Bodeon. A "back-roper" in mule room. Chace Cotton Mill, Burlington, Vt. Location: Burlington, Vermont, May 1909. This unforgettable photograph by Lewis Hine was taken during his first investigation of child labor in the many textile mills that populated … [Read more...]
Otha Porter Martin, MacDonald, West Virginia
Lewis Hine caption: Tipple Boy, Turkey Knob Mine, MacDonald, W. Va. Witness E. N. Clopper, August 1908. Lewis Hine created this powerful image of a young mine worker only a few months after the National Child Labor Committee sent him on his first major assignment to photograph … [Read more...]
Angelina Guinzali, Boston, Massachuetts
Lewis Hine caption: Angelina Guinzali (15 years old?) works for Madame Ball, dressmaker at 603 Boylston Street. Boston, Massachusetts, January 25, 1917. When Lewis Hine made this touching photograph of a lovely Italian-American girl in the first month of 1917, he and his … [Read more...]
Maxine Woods And Her Twin Boys, Wichita, Kansas
In the fall of 2014, 77 years after this picture was taken, and in a town 1574 miles from Wichita, I stumbled upon a box of old Associated Press photographs in a store that sells industrial artifacts, handmade goods and various curiosities. The photo caught my attention … [Read more...]