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Collection: Marjory Collins - FSA/OWI Jan 1942 - June 1943

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection form an extensive pictorial record of American life between 1935 and 1944. Photographer Marjory Collins was hired by the Office of War Information to photograph American life and support of the war effort. Across some 50 assignments, Ms. Collins captured iconic images of workers, families, and children all along the eastern part of the U.S. Her photos span January 1942 - June 1943 In 1944 Collins worked freelance for a construction company in Alaska before travelling to Africa and Europe on government and commercial assignments. Thereafter she worked mainly as an editor and a writer covering civil rights, the Vietnam War and women's movements. In the 1960s she edited American Journal of Public Health.[1] In the 1980s she moved to San Francisco where she obtained an M.A. in American Studies at Antioch College West. She died in 1985 at the age of 73.[1]

831 photos

Buffalo, New York. Lakeview nursery school for children of working mothers, operated by the Board of Education at a tuition fee of three dollars weekly. Playing in the well-equipped yard

Pitcairn, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Mary Ankrom, twenty-eight, mother of six children, employed at the Pennsylvania Railroad engine house as a locomotive preparer, earning fifty-eight cents per hour. Her father takes care of her children while she is working

Pitcairn, Pennsylvania. Twins Amy and Mary Rose Lindich, twenty-one, employed at the Pennsylvania Railroad as car repairmen helpers, earning seventy-two cents per hour. They reside in Jeanette, Pennsylvania, and carpool with fellow workers

Pitcairn, Pennsylvania. Miss Helen Gusmerotti, twenty-nine, employed at the Pennsylvania Railroad as a car repairmen's helper, earning seventy-two cents per hour. Miss Gusmerotti is burning holes in the hopper car sides. She was formerly a waitress

Pitcairn, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Hazel Reed, thirty, employed as a car repairman's helper in the Pennsylvania Railroad yards, earning seventy-two cents per hour. She is repairing a wooden boxcar. Mrs. Reed's husband is in the United States Army

Pitcairn, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Julia Sabo, thirty-five, mother of three children, employed as a machinist's helper in the Pennsylvania Railroad yards, earning seventy-two cents per hour. She is splicing a reclaimed air brake hose

Pitcairn, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Lois Micheltree, thirty-six, employed as a laborer at the Pennsylvania Railroad lumber yard, earning fifty-five cents per hour. She helps to load and unload lumber from cars. Mrs. Micheltree has a son in the United States Navy

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A child drinking Pepsi Cola before the service held on Memorial Day at the Lithuanian cemetery

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A priest of the Lithuanian national church serving mass in the Lithuanian cemetery on Memorial Day

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Lithuanian-Americans attending Memorial Day mass in the Lithuanian cemetery

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Lithuanian-Americans attending Memorial Day mass in the Lithuanian cemetery

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Lithuanian-Americans attending Memorial Day mass in the Lithuanian cemetery

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Lithuanian-Americans attending Memorial Day mass in the Lithuanian cemetery

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mass being held in the Lithuanian cemetery on Memorial Day

Oswego, New York. A bridge over the Oswego River. In the background, a Canadian vessel is being loaded with bauxite

Oswego, New York. Poles and Canadians on the shores of Lake Ontario, at a swimming party held for visitors' entertainment during United Nations week

Oswego, New York. United Nations heroes with their hostesses by Lake Ontario, at a swimming party held for visitors' entertainment during United Nations week

Oswego, New York. United Nations heroes with their hostesses by Lake Ontario, at a swimming party held for visitors' entertainment during United Nations week

Oswego, New York. United Nations heroes with their hostesses by Lake Ontario, at a swimming party held for visitors' entertainment during United Nations week

Oswego, New York. United Nations heroes eating a picnic lunch after swimming in Lake Ontario at a swimming party held for visitors' entertainment during United Nations week

Oswego, New York. Belgian sailor riding at a farm where the heroes were entertained during United Nations week

Oswego, New York. Heroes visiting during United Nations week lined up for a photograph by a local newspaper photographer

Oswego, New York. United nations heroes in the Flag Day parade during United Nations week

Oswego, New York. Flag Day ceremony at the Elks Club during United Nations week