There's Something Special About These 15 Arizona Farms From The Past
By Monica Spencer|Published February 06, 2016
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Monica Spencer
Author
Monica is a Diné (Navajo) freelance writer and photographer based in the Southwest. Born in Gallup and raised in Phoenix, she is Tódich'ii'nii (Bitter Water People) and Tsi'naajinii (Black Streak Wood People). Monica is a staff writer for Only In Your State, photo editor for The Mesa Legend, and previously a staff writer for The Navajo Post. You can reach her at monica.d.spencer@gmail.com.
For most of the country, the Great Depression was a time of both hardships and change. However, for many in the agricultural business these unfortunate circumstances also led to a period of migration and creating a new life in a new place. Here are some examples of what that life looked like:
1. This is a cotton field being irrigated in May 1937. Cotton was one of the more prolific agricultural industries and still is today.
2. This photo shows a woman picking strawberries in Casa Grande Valley. Part of a cooperative garden, some of the fruits picked from here were also used for home consumption by members of the co-op.
5. Once all the picking was done, the next step was to sort and prepare the harvest for sale. Here, another set of workers gather and bunch carrots on a farm in Yuma.
11. One of the things I find most interesting about these photos is seeing the faces of the people who spent hours bringing food to American dinner tables, like these men with their horses in 1940 Concho. I like how the man on the left posed for the photo.
12. It is also interesting to see the disparity in housing available to agricultural workers, both those with deep roots in the state and those passing through. This photo shows one lucky family residing in a nice home in Gila County.
This was a pretty amazing set of photos, wasn’t it? I always find that looking through old photo sets like these not only makes me appreciate the life I have today, but also how much easier life has become in the last several decades. What thoughts went through your mind when looking through these photos?
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