Drought, Dust, Depression, and War No. 24
Coal miner’s son had been digging coal from refuse on the roadside. Scotts Run, West Virginia. Lewis Hine.1 December 23, 1936.I try to not focus on any specific location or time in this series of but sometimes publishing something related to a recent post just makes sense. I had just finished and scheduled Scotts Run, West Virginia, 1938, featuring a 1938 photo from the Library of Congress by Marion Post Wolcott of a young girl carrying kerosene. Later that same day, I came across more photos of Scott’s Run, images by Lewis Hine in the National Archives.
This image of a barefoot boy in the snow stood out.
A mine war’s series of strikes and lockouts from 1924 until 1931 threw the Scotts Run miners and their families into poverty. The industry could not sustain the economic downturn after the 1929 stock market collapse.
Original Caption: Scott’s Run, West Virginia. Miner’s child—This boy was digging coal from mine refuse on the roadside. The picture was taken on December 23, 1936 on a cold day; Scott’s Run was buried in snow. The child was barefoot and seemed to be used to it. He was a quarter-mile from his home.2
- Lewis Wickes Hine (September 26, 1874 – November 3, 1940) was an American sociologist and photographer. Hine used his camera as a tool for social reform. His photographs were instrumental in changing child labor laws in the United States. Born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 1874, He became a teacher in New York City at the Ethical Culture School, where he encouraged his students to use photography as an educational medium. In 1908, Hine became the photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), leaving his teaching position. During the Great Depression Hine again worked for the Red Cross, photographing drought relief in the American South, and for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), documenting life in the mountains of eastern Tennessee. He also served as chief photographer for the Works Progress Administration’s National Research Project, which studied changes in industry and their effect on employment.
- “Lewis Hine.” Wikipedia, as edited July 4, 2021. Accessed October 7, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org… Lewis_Hine.
- “Scott’s Run, West Virginia. Miner’s Child.” National Archives and Records Administration. Accessed October 5, 2021. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/518366.
