Occupations & Jobs In the Late 1930s to Early 1940s: A Picture Narrative

Novelty Sense

  

Exploring the Jobs and Employment that Thrived in the 1930s to 1940s

The jobs and occupations in the late 1930s to early 1940s reflect a time when ordinary citizens once again had to do the extraordinary to stabilize America. America was slowly digging ourselves out the Great Depression, women got a taste of life outside the home at their new careers, the military was doing their job to secure our freedom in the brutal World War II and the New Deal helped to lift many hardworking Americans from debilitating poverty. Propaganda was at its height, dictators were wielding their power to the greatest extent, marginalized populations suffered in containment or death camps which were used to suppress dissent and initiate mass murder. It was an interesting time indeed. Through it all, Americans sacrificed their well-being to work at jobs that were uncomfortable, grimy, mentally exhausting and physically taxing so that America could have a bright future. These photos, depicting the Great Depression and World War II, were generously provided by the Library of Congress. They wanted to spread awareness about the collection and educate the public about this time period, so there are no  copyright restrictions. The collection was originally in black-and-white and produced by the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information. But now the photos are digitized to reveal the actual color. As a result the pictures are definitely more realistic, detailed and striking. The overall collection that I obtained my photos featured the labor to support the war time effort, the lifestyle in rural America and  the jobs in the farming/agricultural sector. You can check out the full collection, where I got these photos, at: Flickr-The Library of Congress and the 171,000 black-and-white photos at Library of Congress.

Farmers/Agriculture

Shepherd with horse & dog in Gravelly Range, Madison County, Montana, 1942

Mr. Leatherman, a homesteader, typing cauliflower in Pie Town, New Mexico (LOC),1940

Farmers in Georgia spreading fertilizer on an oat field, 1940

House, Houston, Texas, 1943 Transporting agricultural goods.

Factories, Plants and Mills

Mill at the Camp Bird Mine, Ouray County Colorado, 1941

Electric phosphate smelting furnace used in the making of elemental phosphorus in a TVA chemical plant in the Muscle Shoals area, Alabama, 1942

Partly finished open hearth furnaces and stacks for a steel mill under construction which will soon be producing vitally needed steel, Columbia Steel Co., Geneva, Utah, 1939

Railroad cars and factory building in Lawrence, Massachusetts, 1939

Worker at carbon black plant, Sunray, Texas, 1942

Entertainment

"Backstage" at the "girlie" show at the Vermont State Fair, Rutland, 1941

Guide at Little Norway, Blue Mounds Wisconsin, 1942

Tying a ribbon on a calf's tail was one of the feature attractions at the Pie Town, New Mexico Fair rodeo, 1939

Pilots

Instructor and students studying a map, Meacham Field, Forth Worth, Texas, 1942

Marine Lieutenant pilot with the power towing plane for the training gliders at
Page Field, Parris Island South Carolina, 1942

Lieutenant "Mike" Hunter, Army pilot assigned to Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach California, 1942

Mechanics, Technicians and Construction Workers 

Woman aircraft worker, Vega Aircraft Corporation, Burbank, Calif. Shown checking electrical assemblies, 1942

Feeding an SNC advanced training plane its essential supply of gasoline is done by sailor mechanics at the Naval Air Base, Corpus Christi, Texas. 1942

Mechanic doing motor maintenance section, Ft. Knox, Ky., 1939

A carpenter at the TVA's new Douglas dam on the French Broad River, Tenn. This dam will be 161 feet highand 1,682 feet ong, with a 31,600-acre reservoir area extending 43 miles upstream. With a useful storagecapacity of approximately 1,330,000 acre-feet, this reservoir will make possible the addition of nearly 100,000 kw. of continuous power to the TVA system in dry years and almost 170,000 kw. in the average year, 1939

Women at work on bomber, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif., 1942

Women become skilled shop technicians after careful training in the school at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant,Long Beach, Calif. Most important of the many types of aircraft made at this plant are the B-17F ("Flying Fortress")heavy bomber, the A-20 ("Havoc") assault bomber and the C-47 heavy transport plane for the carrying of troops and cargo, 1942

Women are trained as engine mechanics in thorough Douglas training methods, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif. 1942

Scientists

Laboratory worker at the research laboratory at the C & W;  NW RR's 40th Street yard, examining paint samples used on freight cars and coaches of the railroad, Chicago, Ill, 1942

Geologist examining cuttings from wildcat well, Amarillo, Texas, 1943

Mental and Physical Health Care Professional

Mrs. Eloise J. Ellis has been appointed by civil service to be senior supervisor in the Assembly and Repairs Department at the Naval Air Base, Corpus Christi, Texas. She buoys up feminine morale in her department by arranging suitable living conditions for out-of-state employees and by helping them with their personal problems, 1942

Dr. Schreiber of San Augustine giving a typhoid innoculation at a rural school, San Augustine County, Texas, 1939

Design 

Painting the American insignia on airplane wings is a job that Mrs. Irma Lee McElroy a former office worker,does with precision and patriotic zeal. Mrs. McElroy is a civil service employeeat the Naval Air Base, Corpus Christi, Texas. Her husband is a flight instructor, 1942

The utmost precision is required of these operators who are cutting and drilling parachute packs in an eastern factory, Manchester, Conn. Their work is under constant close supervision. Pioneer Parchute Company, 1942

Ground and Naval Transportation Jobs: Railroads, Locomotives and Ships

Section crew at during railroad maintenance on the track, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad  Bensenville, Ill., 1943

John Paulinski, car inspector, blue flagging a train for inspection, at Corwith yard, Santa Fe RR trip, Chicago, Ill., 1943

Yardmaster in railroad yards, Amarillo Texas, 1943

Welder making boilers for a ship, Combustion Engineering Co., Chattanooga, Tenn., 1942

Spreading asbestos mixture on boiler of a locomotive at the C & NW RR 40th Street locomotive shops, 1942

A young worker at the C & NW RR 40th Street shops, Chicago, Ill., 1942

Hump master in a Chicago and Northwestern railroad yard operating a signal switch system which
 extends the length of the hump track. He is thus able to control movements of locomotives pushing the train
over the hump from his post at the hump office; Chicago, Ill., 1942

Infantry

Coast Guardsman standing watch over 78-foot torpedo boat. Continual watch is kept.
Higgins Industries, Inc., New Orleans, La., 1942

A young soldier of the armored forces holds and sights his Garand rifle like an old timer, Fort Knox, Ky. He likes the piece for its fine firing qualities and its rugged, dependable mechanism. Infantryman with halftrack, 1942

Halftrack infantryman with Garand rifle, Ft. Knox, Ky., 1942

Tank commander, Ft. Knox, Ky., 1942

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Tank crew standing in front of an M-4 tank, Ft. Knox, Ky., 1942

Now that we're living in a time where you need a degree in order to shuffle papers, it is pretty amazing to know that in the 1940s only 24.5% had a high school diploma. Many of the woman that became skilled technicians(positions and work that could help make or break the U.S.) were former housewives. I do value education, however these photos show that anyone can make a valuable contribution to society and I disagree with haphazardly blocking less educated people from opportunities. People with the right attitude, willingness to work and strong work ethic can prove that they are more than capable once given the chance. Just by putting people to work (yes even the unskilled because there is something called....training) America was able to rise out of the Great Depression and experience prosperity.

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