Document for April 11th:
"Edison, Kern County, California. Young migratory mother, originally from Texas."
Edison, Kern County, California. Young migratory mother, originally from Texas. 04/11/1940
Edison, Kern County, California. Young migratory mother, originally from Texas. 04/11/1940 Lange, Dorothea, Photographer. (ARC Identifier: 521780) ; Photographic Prints Documenting Programs and Activities of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics and Predecessor Agencies, ca. 1922 - ca. 1947; Records of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, 1876 - 1959; Record Group 83; National Archives.
This photo was taken by Dorothea Lange on April 11, 1940. The caption reads "Edison, Kern County, California. Young migratory mother, originally from Texas. On the day before the photograph was made she and her husband traveled 35 miles each way to pick peas. They worked 5 hours each and together earned $2.25. They have two young children... Live in auto camp. " The photo is one of a series taken for an agricultural "Community Stability and Instability" study by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Taken by Dorothea Lange and Irving Rusinow, the photographs are a record of pre-World War II rural life and social institutions. Of particular interests are images of African Americans in Alabama and Georgia and migrant laborers hired to work in cotton fields in Arizona and California.
More Dorothea Lange Photos in Picturing the Century
Share, comment and suggest new documents at the Today's Document Tumblr Blog ![]()
Get the Today's Document RSS Feed
| About RSS
Yesterday's document: April 10th
Opening Day of the 1961 Baseball Season
Tomorrow's document: April 12th
Letter from Harry S. Truman, April 12, 1945
PDF files require the free Adobe Reader.
More information on Adobe Acrobat PDF files is available on our Accessibility page.

Today's Document Mobile App