By: Larry Chenoweth

Larry Chenoweth — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:10:13 +0000

Drew,
My wife and I recently visited the Minello museum in Orlando, Fl. On display there were pencil drawings of rural scenes all over America during and just after "The Great Depression". The drawings were part of the many public works projects such as the WPA, CPA, or others referenced by a series of letters. The program sent artist out to document the rural landscapes, buildings, and lifestyles. Not only did they put artist to work but they also hired photographers to take pictures as you said to document and archive the architecture of this great country of ours. Some of the pictures you found at the Library of Congress surely were created as part of one of the afore mentioned programs to put people to work. If you check back at the Library of Congress you may be able to find some pencil sketches of these buildings. I remember my grandfather telling me something when I was a little kid and had no idea what "The Great Depression" or the WPA were. He said that driving down the road during the time of those programs, you could always tell a WPA job from a private sector job. The WPA job always had about five or ten times the number of men required to actually get the job done, as the mission was to put men to work not efficency. I know this later part has nothing to do wih the Shaker communitty but it allowed me to pass on some knowledge handed down to me many years ago from a man I loved and dearly miss.

Comments on: White Water Shakers — History Online

By: Larry Chenoweth