Riding In The Boogie Woogie

Teens from a migratory labor camp pose in The Boogie Woogie jalopy outside the post office in Belle Glade, Florida in 1940. They don’t look much different than teens of today.

Kuralt’s Southerners

9 thoughts on “Riding In The Boogie Woogie”

  2. Pingback: Riding In The Boogie Woogie — I Don’t Get It – Sarah's Attic Of Treasures

  5. I don’t suppose the rumble seat (called a “dickie” seat in England) will ever make a come back. Now, you were probably just sitting there quaffing your not quite a virgin daiquiri and wondering how the rumble seat got its name, right? We can turn to the HogRing website (auto upholsterers) for this little nugget of nostalgia:

    The name pre-dates cars altogether. Originally, a rumble seat was merely an un-covered seat-frame attached to the back of a horse carriage that was intended for slaves or servants. This allowed rich folks to keep the help out of their leather-trimmed cabins and show them off as a symbol of their wealth. Sick, right?

    Anyway, the rumble that came to define the seat was caused by its location above a live axle with 40″ wooden rims and no suspension. Combine that with several galloping horses pulling the carriage over rocky, dirt roads and you can imagine how jarring the experience must have been.

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    1. My chiropractor is a 2 minute drive away and I cannot fathom how often I would have had to visit one after being jostled about in a dirty rumbleseat all day. How did they even walk a erect in the days before physical therapy and painkillers?

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