Category: 1930s

Just The Good Ol’ Boys

“Bust to Boom” by Schulz

Mr. Johnson and Mr. Wright pause for a break on a hot August day in 1939. Both men were Farm Security Administration clients in Syracuse, Kansas who worked to maintain an irrigation well.

Below you see Mr. Johnson irrigating, having just built a dam of board and tumbleweed. Looks exhausting, no?

Chicago World’s Fair 1934

Back in 1933, my grandfather wrote away for information about the upcoming 1934 World’s Fair. Today I opened the brochures inside the envelope. He was only a teenager at the time, so the idea of travelling from Kansas to the World’s Fair must have been intriguing. I doubt he wound up going.

Various “circle tours” were listed, including these:

Included was a list of all the sites and sounds to enjoy. 

Zooming in, you can see the variety, from tiremaking and Neon tubes to midgets to Mayans!

All aboard the sightseeing, streamlined Greyhound bus!

Travel Arkansas: The Land of Pleasure

How about the vivid colors on this 85-year-old map, eh? Bright and sparkly and looking brand-new.

Take a gander at that one again. The icon they show for the largest population only shows over 500,000. But that was in 1930, when none of us was alive to fill the census count.

Middle Child

http://www.kpbs.org/photos/2012/may/11/16701/
http://www.kpbs.org/photos/2012/may/11/16701/

Do you recognize the middle boy, flanked by siblings Catherine and Dick in the 1930s? Former magician, DeLorean investor, proficient drummer, and lover of Wint O Green Life Savers–are you getting warmer? How about Nebraska-raised?

 

We used to watch him every weeknight.

 

http://giphy.com
http://giphy.com

Yep, it’s the King of Late Night Television, Johnny Carson. Hi-yo!