We wanted to share a recent article from the Appalachian History: Stories, Quotes and Anecdotes website. Storyteller Judi Tarowsky shares her father’s unique story during the 1930s when he freelanced newspaper articles and photographs as a WVU graduate student. She describes his experience with his large Speed Graphic camera used to successfully capture photographs of Eleanor Roosevelt during her visits to Arthurdale, WV. This two-part story describes the national attention on the New Deal and the efforts made by Mrs. Roosevelt to improve coal miners’ lives.
Arthurdale WV: poster child for New Deal efforts to ease the suffering, part 1
Posted by Dave Tabler
My father, Bayard Young, a native of Glenville, WV, was a graduate student at West Virginia University during the mid-30s. To earn cash to supplement his assistantship in the Chemistry Department, he freelanced newspaper articles and photographs. He had a darkroom and a press quality Speed Graphic camera – a monster to handle by today’s digital standards.
Dad stayed alert to any likely news pieces that he could cover and sell to some of the major East Coast newspapers. He had a fast turn-around with this photographs, and he was able to type out his copy at what was considered blazing speed on the clunky typewriters of the day. Continue Reading part-one…
Read part-two:Â Arthurdale WV: poster child for New Deal efforts to ease the suffering, part 2
We love to hear New Deal stories like this! Let us know if you have any enthralling non-fiction stories about historical Arthurdale, WV!
