Homeless family walks from Phoenix to San Diego 80 years ago
@RonElFran (1214)
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
February 1, 2019 8:56pm CST
My hobby is collecting historic photos on my computer, and this is one that intrigues me a lot. It was taken by famed photographer Dorothea Lange, and shows a homeless family of cotton pickers walking from Phoenix, Arizona to San Diego, California. That's a distance of 298 miles as the crow flies.
Mom is carrying a bundle in one arm and a dog in the other. Dad, leading the way, carries the family's lone suitcase. Apparently that's all they own in the world.
To me their various attitudes are interesting. Dad is straight ahead, not distracted by the camera at all. But mom and the two girls seem very interested in this stranger (Lange) taking their picture. I can't tell whether the little boy in the rear is looking at the camera, but he certainly seems determined in the way he is walking. Of course, he has to be to keep up.
Lange's caption says they are a family of seven. I can only count six people, plus two dogs. Can anyone see the seventh person?
This was 1939, and the Depression was still going on. There were a lot of families like this. I think we sometimes forget how blessed we are - even when times are bad, they're not nearly as bad as these folks had it.
Photo source: Library of Congress (public domain)
3 people like this
3 responses
@LeaPea2417 (37357)
• Toccoa, Georgia
21 Nov 21
That's amazing! I love old historical photos like that.
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
19 Feb 19
The photo is amazing. It reminds me how strong people can be when they have no option.
Some are weaker than others, but then we also know many who still live life as if the Depression continues.
Although we reach out, we can't help everyone.
@JudyEv (340452)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 Feb 19
I can only see six people too. You'd wonder how they'd manage to feed two dogs along the way.