WPA Guides

"Elevator to residential section on bluffs. Dubuque, Iowa."
by WPA photogragher, John Vachon.
Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of Congress)LC-USF34- 060475-D.

Blizzard of the Blue Moon offers a great tie-in for an interesting series written as part of the New Deal programs. For clues to help solve the book's mystery, author Mary Pope Osborne introduces the reader to New York City's Guide Book, circa 1938. The children use the guide to help identify landmarks in New York City.

Similar guides were written for every state in the union except Hawaii and Alaska, although there is a guide that disucsses Alaska's territorial areas and attributes. And the guide books were not limited to states. As in the case of New York City, entire volumes were devoted to many individual cities, as well.

Guide books were written from 1935-1941 by local authors. The writers varied in skill level and style and the assorted entries in the guidebooks reflect that fact. When the program was initiated, unemployed writers sought work with the WPA, believing that the salaries provided would fund their personal writing. Many quit the project when they realized the government had a specific idea of what the authors would write. But others, needing the income, signed on.

The state guides are organized into three parts. The first part consists of essays that reflect the mood and essence of each, individual state. In the case of the Iowa guidebook, topics include agriculture, history, religion, commerce and the arts. The second part features essays that describe the largest cities in the state. The third part consists of travel logs where the writer follows a specific path and journals about the cities, sites, restaurants, etc. along the way. One such essay details a trip along Highway 20 that runs through my city, Cedar Falls. The books also include photographs, similar to the one above, that depict the state or city as it was during the 1930's and early 40's.

Guidebooks are an easily accessible resource to use in the study of the WPA programs. Most libraries carry a copy of their state's guide, and perhap some city ones, too. An interesting lesson plan consists of securing a guide for your area. Have students read different sections of the guide. Look for photographs of familiar landmarks. Compare them to photographs of the same landmark, today. How have they changed? Or stayed the same.

Another idea is to pick a particular topic and see if what was written about the topic matches the reality of today. For example, back in the 30's, Iowa had a large horse population, nearly one to every three humans. This was due to the fact that horses were still widely used in fieldwork. Of course, that isn't true today. But it gives an interesting perspective of how life has changed and evolved.

Check out your own city or state's WPA Guide and see what memories you can discover.

Becky

Blizzard of the Blue Moon

I read Blizzard of the Blue Moon with great delight. It’s number 36 in the popular “Magic Tree House” series. I must admit, it had been years since I read any books from this collection. My youngest daughter was an avid fan and she introduced me these stories, which, I, too, fell in love with. My personal favorite: Sunset of the Sabertooth. My daughter's favorite is Mummies in the Morning.

Blizzard of the Blue Moon’s setting is New York during 1938. As with all the books in this series, the main characters, siblings Jack and Annie, are on a mission – in this case, to save a unicorn. The great thing about this book, in relation to the depression era, is Sal Murdocca’s illustrations and the unique way author, Mary Pope Osborne, weaves history into her suspenseful plot.

Murdocca comments at the end of the book how much he enjoyed illustrating this book - and it shows. His illustrations capture the essence of the era with period automobiles, cityscapes and Central Park. I especially enjoyed the beautiful drawing of Belvedere Castle that factors into the story. I was unfamiliar with the building and enjoyed learning about its history. My family and I plan a visit to New York this summer. The last time I went, I wanted to see the Bethesda Fountain. This time, I’ll make a point of seeing the castle.

Ms. Osborne mixes an interesting combination of fact and fiction. As the children find themselves wondering around New York City on their quest to find the unicorn, they follow a path that takes them to various NYC landmarks. They start their journey in Central Park where they stumble upon the castle mentioned above. They witness soup lines and people wrapped in newspaper trying to stay warm while on route to the Bronx Zoo. There is a subway ride and a taxi ride before they end up at the ‘Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum’ where she offers a subtle history lesson on the collection of art and artifacts housed there. Another place I hope to visit when I travel to NYC.

Here is the link to the publisher's fun website where readers can learn more about this and all the “Magic Tree House” books:http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/magictreehouse/

and check out author Mary Pope Osborne's great website: http://www.marypopeosborne.com/

Osborne, Mary Pope, Blizzard of the Blue Moon. Illus. Sal Murdocca. New York : Random House, 2006. (0-375-83037-5)

How Literature Changes, Yet Stays the Same

The photograph at left shows the cover of The Farm Journal, July, 1935. It was published by the Wilmer Atkinson Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Inside, there are recipes, an article on how to grow late summer flowers, a piece on barn architecture and it's relationship to hen rearing and stories for leisure reading. What caught my eye was the story on page 16.

Children and Books : Have a home library plan and adhere to it, by Jean Kirk.

Ms. Kirk wrote, "But when there are no libraries near at hand and not so many dollars to spend on books, what are parents going to do to keep up with the growing demands for knowledge that are being made by their children?"

She goes on to share the story of a mother who compiled poetry, craft articles, educational pieces and picture books. This mother bound her 'library' of information with 'heavy wire fasteners'. In one volume, or perhaps many, the article doesn't quite say, this mother created her own library, specific to her interests, needs and objectives.

We do the very same thing, today. It's called 'Cut','Paste' and 'File'. No scissors required!

Becky

Conversation with Gretchen Moran Laskas

I recently contacted author, Gretchen Moran Laskas and asked her to share some background on how she came to write this book. For more information, be sure to check out her awesome website. Thanks, Gretchen!!

"This book comes out of a life lived from West Virginia, where I was born, to where I now live, just outside of Washington, DC. Sometimes the gulf between those worlds seems incredible, and nowhere was this more clear to me than in the story of Arthurdale. Reading the official reports about Arthurdale and the Homestead Act of the New Deal, one word comes up over and over again -- failure, failure, failure. But I knew that it hadn't been a failure. Flawed, yes, failure no. My father was born in Arthurdale, and I still have family who live in the town today. This was a town that took people from demoralizing poverty and elevated them within a single generation into the middle class. It was a grand experiment that contributes to the way we design towns today. This town is a symbol of government coming into people's lives and given them the hand up and hope they needed to create their own robust lives.

I am passionate about bringing to life the world of West Virginia for people who don't know (or think they know, though stereotypes) the state where my family has lived for eight generations. I've been writing about the state for more than fifteen years, and my own career, like the mountains that created it, has had its ups and downs. Writers and future writers should take note -- I've been rejected by someone for something more than 500 times and counting! But there is nothing like holding your own book in your hands and hearing from family and friends, to professional collegues and people around the world I've never met, that it is a job well done." Gretchen

http://lyonsmorris.com/glm/index.htm

The Miner's Daughter by Gretchen Moran Laskas

Reading The Miner’s Daughter is like sitting on old, broken down porch steps, chatting with main character, Willa and her mentor, Miss Grace. The desolation of Riley Mines, a coal camp in West Virginia where the pair meets, is so authentic that the reader is literally taken to that place. At any moment, one expects little sister, Seraphina, to crash through the door or older brother, Ves to amble up the road, Daddy trailing behind, coughing from coal dust pneumonia.

Sixteen-year-old Willa’s life is a bleak one. As predicted, FDR’s election spells the shutdown of the coal mine where her father and brother worked. Her mother, weakened in both body and spirit by a recent childbirth, is unable to cope with the daily rigors of running a family under such austere circumstances.

The burden falls onto Willa, and while she rises to the challenge, she finds frustration by the monotony and seeming futility of trying to make right in a company town that is square set against her and her family.

Her world changes when Miss Grace comes to town. Miss Grace introduces Willa to books; not just the love of reading, but also the language of the written word. Through Miss Grace, Willa comes to understand that stories have powers that reach beyond entertainment or merely passing the time away.

Author Gretchen Moran Laskas does an amazing job of weaving excerpts from literary classics into Willa’s narrative to convey the connection in a Depression era setting. At one point, when Willa is determined to find fieldwork, her only option for income, Willa likens herself to Jo March, from Little Women, cutting her hair and taking on a boy’s persona – the only way to land work when employment was so scarce only men earned the right to hold a paying job.

Her use of Poe’s Eldorado, a poem Miss Grace describes as meaning, ‘perfect place’ takes the story full circle when Willa and her family actually move to Arthurdale. When Willa first reads the poem, about a man looking for utopia, she’s still in Riley Mines. Her idea of utopia is nothing more than freeing herself from the monotony of daily chores and financial worries. But once her family moves to Arthurdale, a utopian-type homestead community of Eleanor Roosevelt’s nurturing and one her family is chosen to join, she finds that the idea of utopia has many shades of meaning.

Laskas, Gretchen Moran. The Miner's Daughter. New York : Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2007. 9781416912620 (hc) 1416912622 (hc).http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1&pid=524619&er=9781416912620

Our First look at New Deal Programs

The title of the photograph at left is:

Entering Preston County, West Virginia. Sign refers to Arthurdale Project.

Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection,
LC-USF33-T01-001374-M3 DLC (b&w film dup. neg.)

It's tough to read, but I thought it was a great image to introduce the topic this week. After FDR came into office, many programs were put in place to help ease the suffering of Americans. One project was the creation of a homestead community called Arthurdale. Eleanor Roosevelt played an active role in the town's creation.

The former First Lady plays a role in The Miner's Daughter, the next book I'll review. It was written by Gretchen Moran Laskas and tells the story of, Willa and how she came to live at Arthurdale.

It's the first Young Adult book I've reviewed and I wanted to choose one that had a particular theme. Willa's journey from her coal mining town to Arthurdale is inspiring as well as historic!

Here's a link to the award winning site of Arthurdale Heritage, Inc. It's a great site, full of information, photographs, etc. that details the history of Arthurdale. http://www.arthurdaleheritage.org/

I think this is going to be a great topic!

Becky

Dust to Eat : Drought and Depression in the 1930's

Michael L. Cooper, author of the Kite Award winning, Dust to Eat : Drought and Depression in the 1930’s, opens his book with a study of the migration of dust bowl refugees to California. Labeled “Okies”, Cooper explores their experiences within the context of John Steinbeck’s writings. He discusses how Steinbeck, shocked by the squalor and poverty of the homeless, felt moved to write “The Grapes of Wrath” in a matter of weeks. The many quotes and background details offer a good introduction to Steinbeck.

Cooper turns his attention to the catalyst for the massive migration: the dust bowl. He spends a chapter outlining the storms: their magnitude, paths and duration. He also studies how repeated plowing and drought conditions left the soil vulnerable to strong winds. Harsh weather conditions, overuse of the land and the declining economy were all factors that forced people from their homes, states and lives.

I have noted before, that I am a big fan of Caroline A. Henderson. I love her ability to walk a reader back into her time and place. Cooper opens his book with an introduction that features a quote by Henderson. He then does a wonderful job of culling specific Henderson text to compliment his overall message of dust bowl life. A particularly poignant story highlights just how harsh country life had become. Henderson talks about how a bedraggled jackrabbit, once a master of the open prairie, had sought refuge in her woodpile.

Cooper goes on to outline the laws and programs Roosevelt instituted in his first few months of office to help turn the economy around and put people back to work. He uses a combination of songs, oral histories and news accounts to describe how migrants traveled any way they could to get to the promise that was California. But once there, they faced discrimination, prejudice and continued unemployment. It took the onset of WWII to turn the economy around.

Black and white photographs, newspaper headlines and posters fill nearly every page making the book visually appealing. Woody Guthrie song lyrics add an authentic flavor to the period the book discusses. There is also a comprehensive appendix that lists books, websites, movies and museum information for student who want to learn more about the dust bowl and the 1930’s.

Cooper, Michael L. Dust to Eat : Drought and Depression in the 1930's. Clarion Books, 2004. http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/catalog/titledetail.cfm?titleNumber=111116