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February 1939. "In a carrot pullers' camp, Imperial Valley, California, near Holtville. Women from Broken Bow, Oklahoma." Medium format negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Friend Tuba Dave ask "How is she keeping those jeans and white shirt so clean?"
She has a washing machine, of course, but it's easy to miss, because the kid is standing in front of it.
No wonder he's so unhappy. He has a bandage on his arm and girls' shoes on his feet.
I'm struck by several things in this photo:
1) That little guy is having a tough moment. But both the ladies are kindly tending to him.
2) That tent can't be all that comfortable, however, it looks like the occupants are doing their best to keep it neat and clean, living with as much dignity as possible. A broom for a dwelling with a dirt floor, that's some moxie.
3) How is she keeping those jeans and white shirt so clean? And her hair is neatly styled and appears clean.
My life has been too easy.
I am deeply touched by this woman, a migrant worker living in a tent, working at stoop labor in the hot, dusty fields, tenderly caring for her son and raising a family under the most squalid and hopeless conditions.
Yet her clothes are clean and fresh-looking, despite the knee patches, her hair is brushed and well cared for, her hands still tender and beautiful.
Any chance that there might be other pictures of this extraordinary woman and her family...?
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