Friday, January 4, 2013

Friday Foto...

Four-year-old Mary, who shucks two pots of oysters a day at Dunbar. Tends the baby when not working ... Location: Dunbar, Louisiana (LOC)

Hine, Lewis Wickes,, 1874-1940,, photographer.

Four-year-old Mary, who shucks two pots of oysters a day at Dunbar. Tends the baby when not working. (See photo 2062). The boss said that next year Mary will work steady as the rest of them. The mother is the fastest shucker in the place. Earns $1.50 a day. Works part of the time with her sick baby in her arms. Father works on the dock. Location: Dunbar, Louisiana. 1911 March.

~So, the next time Darling Diva tells me she doesn't want to go to school I'm going to pull this picture up and show her why she is so, so lucky.  May this part of our history never repeat itself!~

4 comments:

  1. Hey, how come the people in that photo look ten times healthier than people I see today?

    Not that I would want to return to those laborious tough times, I wouldn't. I was hoping humanity would have advanced to the point that past times would NOT be used to frighten people into accepting a lesser life, now.

    I wish I had the funds to send DD to a really good school, instead of the current absolutely [imo] deplorable, no-excuse-for educational system. Every child should be LEFT BEHIND in what passes for education now. THE US is FAR, FAR down the list as far as educating children.

    Sorry, I have been on this bandwagon since around twelve years old. When I had to be educationally brutalized by the school system then.

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  2. Serena, the above comment is not made with you in mind. Just a personal soapbox. I treasure our friendship.

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  3. No offense taken, Savanna. I agree, education in this country is so far behind other countries...it's really sad. I too would like to send DD to a really good school, however I will give her district props for being one of the tops in our state. They are very forward thinking and focus on academics rather than just social. Each child is being groomed to move on to college rather than just getting by until graduation day.

    Are there better schools in our country, sure. But there are far worse ones as well. It's a shame we can't get them all to where they should be. :(

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  4. Oh, I am so glad DD is in one the better schools!

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