The fsa was created in the department of agriculture to assist poor farmers during the great depression. Steinbeck called it the weedpatch camp in his book, and thats the name. Several historic buildings at the camp were placed on the national register. In the 1930s, photographer dorothea lange traveled the american west documenting the experiences of those devastated by the great depression. Other articles where migrant mother, nipomo, california is discussed.
She took a series of pictures of a thirtytwoyearold woman seated under a makeshift tent. Her mother and fathere were among a group of migrant workers who moved to the. Dorothea lange took this photograph in 1936, while employed by the u. Shop for migrant mother art from the worlds greatest living artists. Weedpatch camp was home, but the shelton family traveled the migrant circuit, picking crops and eating pork and beans and free fruit. However, it is, unmistakably, the mother from that photograph. Several historic buildings at the camp were placed on the national register of historic places nrhp on january 22, 1996. Dorothea langes migrant mother masters of photography. Hooverville is not an official name of a migrant camp, and it does not refer to only one camp it can refer to any camp that. Migrant mother, nipomo, california is a black and white photograph showing a woman holding a baby, with two older children standing on either side of her, leaning against her shoulders and facing away from the camera. Steinbeck documented these fears and the resulting action taken against the migrants in the grapes of wrath, showing the steps that farmers would take to keep their labor force under their collective thumb.
All migrant mother artwork ships within 48 hours and includes a 30day moneyback guarantee. Leo hart, head counselor in the kern county high school district, had been in the unites states army in wwi, had a lung and kidney removed due to tuberculosis, and had earned a masters degree in education, and he knew that the okie kids just needed some caring and education. I dont know if weedpatch was the camp they lived in or where my mother attended first grade. These people had just sold their tent in order to buy food. How a photograph defined the great depression captured history don nardo, kathleen baxter, alexa l. Since its 1930s debut, migrant mother has been regarded as a symbol of life during the great depression and celebrated as langes finest work.
Weedpatch is 10 miles 16 km southsoutheast of bakersfield. Steinbeck based his story of the joads experiences on the real accounts of those at the weedpatch camp, built by the federal. Author john steinbeck called it weed patch camp in his novel, the grapes of wrath. The second half goes into specific details of a school that was started to help the children of these migrants. The farm security administration came into being during the mid 1930s and lasted to the mid 1940s. The true story of the school at weedpatch camp is very short. Jul 26, 2017 weedpatch camp also known as the arvin federal government and sunset labor camp was built by farm security administration fsa south of bakersfield, california in 1936 to house migrant workers.
Recently, a community in nipomo, ca came together to celebrate the 80th anniversary of dorothea langes nowiconic photograph known as migrant mother. Director of the gallery, giles huxleyparlour, introduces a rare vintage print of an alternative frame of the migrant mother by dorothea lange. Migrant mother, a photograph from 1936 by dorothea lange, depicts a struggling female farmer and her family during the great depression. Migrant mother, 1936 lange had just completed a monthlong photographic assignment and was driving back home in a winddriven rain when she came upon a sign for the camp. September 1, 1903 september 16, 1983 was the subject of dorothea langes famous photo migrant mother 1936, an iconic image of the great depression. Famed photographer, dorothea lange, took this photo for the fsa farm security administration. Migrant mother, nipomo, california, dorothea lange, 1936. A banner featuring the classic image migrant mother by photographer dorthea lange greets visitors to the dust bowl days festival at weedpatch camp. Weedpatch dust bowl memories ted landphairs america. Of the 160,000 images taken by lange and other photographers for the resettlement administration, migrant mother has become the most iconic picture of the depression.
Okies disappearing from dust bowl festival, replaced by latino. From the studio to the street though lange had been operating a successful portrait studio in san francisco since 1919, she was moved by the homeless and unemployed people she saw standing in breadlines as the great depression began to take its toll, and she started photographing them. As i said, in 1935 during the depths of the great depression, whole sections of. Terms in this set 214 from chapter 26, which benefits and strengths of the weed patch camp help establish the theme of socialism. Weedpatch californias gold 601 huell howser archives. Dorothea langes migrant mother masters of photography at. Huell learns that many okies fled the dust bowl in their jalopies with signs reading california or bust. The clothes sewn by her farmworker mother made her selfconscious.
Weedpatch migrant camp officially known as the arvin federal government camp, the migrant worker center was most notably featured in john steinbecks novel the grapes of wrath. The weedpatch camp remains open to migrant workers, although it is no longer run by the federal government. My mothers family her parents and four little girls were among the okies who migrated to california in hopes of a better life. Florence owens thompson born florence leona christie. Leo hart was a magnificent educator, so he went on to start the first school for handicapped children, be an educational consultant to the korean government, and be the superintendent of the pondham union school district before retiring in 1959. Archival vintages for the grapes of wrath national archives.
Of the twentyfive hundred people in this camp most of them were destitute. Jul 04, 2017 since its 1930s debut, migrant mother has been regarded as a symbol of life during the great depression and celebrated as langes finest work. Officially known as the arvin federal government camp, the migrant worker center was most notably featured in john steinbecks novel the grapes of wrath. Returning to the west, lange focused on the lives of migrant workers. Soon people were petitioning to let their children attend weed patch school. This is a photograph of a migrant mother and her children shown sitting in a pea pickers camp in nipomo, california. In the california migrant camp that helped inspire the grapes of wrath 75 years. In the 1930s, lange was a photographer working for the farm securities administration fsa, one of the governmental agencies president franklin roosevelt helped to establish in order to address the countrys largescale unemployment. In the california migrant camp that helped inspire the grapes of wrath 75 years ago, a lack of water has brought a familiar desperation. This photograph is one of a series taken by dorothea lange 18951965 as part of her work in california during the great depression. Migrant mother, nipomo, california photograph by lange.
The funding supports completion of the first year of studies. Weedpatch camp prepares to open doors to new wave of migrant. Migrant educationcollege assistance migrant program. Weedpatch camp bakersfield 2020 all you need to know. A young cotton picker at the kern county migrant camp in california, november. Weedpatch camp also known as the arvin federal government and sunset labor camp was built by farm security administration fsa south of. Conclusion the true story of the school at weedpatch camp. Steinbeck based his story of the joads experiences on the real accounts of those at. Choose your favorite migrant mother designs and purchase them as wall art, home decor, phone cases, tote bags, and more. Jan 01, 2015 in the california migrant camp that helped inspire the grapes of wrath 75 years ago, a lack of water has brought a familiar desperation. Migrant mother loye holmes recalled helping her children with their.
Weedpatch formerly weed patch and alexanders corner is an unincorporated community and censusdesignated place cdp in kern county, california, united states. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 2,658. Dorothea langes migrant mother inspires the story of. The first half gives the historic background and reasons for the great migration of midwesterners to california. Destitute in pea pickers camp, nipomo, california, because of the failure of the early pea crop.
Migrant mother 100 photographs the most influential. We had no money and not much of our own, but we didnt know that as kids. The great depression hit the united states on october 29, 1929 after. Nov 15, 2015 when a unique school was constructed at weedpatch camp that e mp lo yed a host of excellent teachers and taught both traditional and vocational courses, it became the envy of other citizens in the county. Something beckoned her to postpone her journey home and enter the camp.
Curtis n a cold, rainy afternoon in march 1936 a government photographer named dorothea lange made a brief visit to a camp of migrant pea pickers near nipomo, california. Out of options, they often ended up at the weedpatch camp, a federal labor and living camp for migrant workers in kern county. The personal stories of impoverishment, sickness, insecurity, and. The compelling image of a mother and her children is actually one of a series of photographs that dorothea lange made in february or march of 1936 in nipomo, california.
It is considered to be one of the poorest areas in kern county. Iconic migrant mother photo to be celebrated in nipomo. This photography helps people remember how hard american people had to face during the great. His mother would soak her hands at night to wash off the figs milky acid. Dorothea lange and the making of migrant mother jstor. This camp was a government rescue center for distressed migrant workers fleeing the oklahoma dust bowl during the great. Nov 10, 2019 a banner featuring the classic image migrant mother by photographer dorthea lange greets visitors to the dust bowl days festival at weedpatch camp. They performed plays and organized talent shows on weekends. I dont know whether she was treated shabbily or called ugly names.
Weedpatch camp was built by the works progress administration wpa south of bakersfield, california in 1936 to house migrant workers during the great. Dorothea lange, migrant mother, and the culture of the great depression james c. The photograph popularly known as migrant mother has become an icon of the great depression. Dorothea lange and the making of migrant mother jstor daily. Looking at dorothea langes migrant mother conscientious. Weedpatch californias gold 601 10 dec 1995 6 sep 2016 californias gold. The okie generation is fading in california, but migrant stories will never end. Oct, 20 heck, he said, jovially, i thought i had it great. It had blown all the way from the great plains, more than 3,000 km away. Collins and the migrant mothers at weedpatch camp were. These families were escaping the ecological disaster that later came to be known as the dust bowl. Weedpatch camp appears in the grapes of wrath in chapters 22, 24, and 26. The photographs, of course, are stellar, but the text is just as compelling.
Through an intimate portrait of the toll being exacted across the land, lange gave a face to a suffering nation. Weedpatch camp children of the dust bowl the true story. The college assistance migrant program camp assists students who are migratory or seasonal farmworkers or children of such workers enrolled in their first year of undergraduate studies at an ihe. Weedpatch camp is the home many okies found when they arrived in.
Migrant mother, the most wellknown of dorothea lange photos. Huell visits this historic camp, later immortalized in john steinbecks grapes of wrath, and talks with both the okies who grew up there and the latinos who now call it home. I know best, having lived in berkeley and san francisco for years. See more of langes photos humanizing the great depression. The fsa was committed to improve the lifestyle of the rural farmer, and among its various programs was a project that dealt with photographing the plight of poor farmers, and migrant workers. We are building this year and we would like to get contribers for this project. This is an historic migrant labour camp which is still in use today. During the great depression, nearly 400,000 oklahomans, arkansans. In nipomo, california, lange came across florence owens thompson and her children in a camp filled with field workers whose livelihoods were devastated by the failure. Feb 28, 20 dorothea langes migrant mother inspires the story of mary coin marisa silvers new novel imagines the meeting of a depressionera photographer and her nowiconic subject.
The camp continues to operate as a migrant camp today, with the 88 units open six months per year and operations subsidized by the state of california office of migrant services with the united states department of agriculture providing funding to modernize the migrant. Children of the dust bowl the true story of the school at weedpatch camp. Dorothea langes migrant mother inspires the story of mary coin marisa silvers new novel imagines the meeting of a depressionera photographer and her nowiconic subject. These families were escaping the ecological disaster that later came to. May 20, 20 looking at dorothea langes migrant mother something appears to have been mixed up here, since the photograph above is not the wellknown migrant mother photograph by dorothea lange. The people in the next town would not let children from the camp go to their schools. This migrant mother lives in a contractors camp because of the contractors control of jobs. Looking at migrant mother english literature essay. She has all the suffering of mankind in her, but all of the perseverance too. In migrant camp and beyond, california drought brings a.
The dust bowl festival at the historic weedpatch camp, immortalized. Nov 21, 2016 director of the gallery, giles huxleyparlour, introduces a rare vintage print of an alternative frame of the migrant mother by dorothea lange. That need to support her family landed them in the camp, where she. Okies disappearing from dust bowl festival, replaced by. The figures are shown closeto, with their heads and the upper parts of their bodies visible down to roughly their waists. My mothers family not only survived the depression they thrived. On may 24, 1965, the sunset camp was deeded over to the housing authority. San joaquin valley, one of which became known as weedpatch camp. Sardines, too, since they were cheap, rich in protein, and high in salt content a helpful asset for work in the hot sun. Between weedpatch and lamont, kern county, california. Various scenes from the 1940 film adaptation of the novel were filmed at the camp. How a photograph defined the great depression is the second title ive read in the captured history series after little rock girl 1957, and i really cant say enough about this series. My parents both grew up in the middle of the dust bowl.
In migrant camp and beyond, california drought brings a familiar. She comes to the fsa camp with a sick baby and an agricultural. Midwest after the dust bowl and great depression, traveling west on route 66 in. Today weedpatch is called the sunset labor camp and still offers seasonal. Dorothea langes migrant mother inspires the story of mary. This camp was a government rescue center for distressed migrant workers fleeing the oklahoma dust bowl during the great depression. During the 1930s, there was a tremendous migration of families, mostly farmers, from oklahoma, arkansas, texas, and other states in the southwestern great plains to california. The weedpatch camp remains open to migrant workers, although it is. Finally, in 1978, a reporter from the modesto bee found the migrant mother, tracking her down to a trailer park outside modesto, california. The story of the migrant mother antiques roadshow pbs. Along route 66 the joads come across a government camp, weedpatch, the camp is. My mother s family her parents and four little girls were among the okies who migrated to california in hopes of a better life. A migrant mother recognition ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of langes ultimate photograph representing the great depression will be held at the site of the 2,500resident.