Federal Writers Project

History Gems Will Make You Smile

Dry, people sigh. Boring. Leave it to a historian to make a dramatic battle -- the stuff of great Hollywood epics -- an absolute drag.

But if you read enough books (especially local histories), you can find real gems that may not have great historical value, but they'll at least put a smile on your face.

Take the case of John F. May, for instance. Having moved to Winter Haven in 1915 with his wife and one son, he became a great promoter of the community. He served as a city commissioner, president of the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce and, from 1928 to 1937, board president of the Orange Festival.

One evening, May and his family were set to entertain friends who were thinking of investing in Winter Haven, the Federal Writers' Project recorded in its small book, "Winter Haven and Cypress Gardens." Despite a sudden power outage, the family pressed forward with dinner plans, lighting candles downstairs where Mrs. May was cooking and a lantern upstairs where May was dressing after a day in the groves.

"In his mind he was preparing a sales talk which would induce his friends to purchase the property they were interested in, when his wife called: 'John, supper is ready. Hurry down, and when you come bring your lamp so we will have enough light at the table,'" the Depression-era book states.

"The good lady and her guests seated themselves at the supper table, and five minutes later, her husband came down the stairs and entered the dining room," the book states. "He was holding the lamp in his right hand like a torch-bearer of old. He was resplendent with slicked hair, bow tie, vest and coat, but his wife cried: 'John May, go back and put on your pants!'"

Oddly enough, a lack of proper clothing seems to be a running theme in the Winter Haven history books I recently read through. Another historian, Josephine Burr, recounts a tale of a man named Ketchum, an engineer who moved to Winter Haven for his health early in the 20th century.

"He purchased a small 20-acre grove on Big Eloise and was a health faddist," as Burr put it in "History of Winter Haven." "This amused his neighbors. One of his practices was to hoe his grove in nature's garb only."

When two men tried to visit Ketchum to sell him Liberty Bonds during World War I, the neighbors told them to proceed with caution.

"They warned the men to blow their car's horn when going into Mr. Ketchum's place because otherwise they would be embarrassed by catching him naked," Burr wrote.

Documentary highlights Federal Writers' Project

The federal government ended support for the program in 1939, even though it continued under state sponsorship until 1943. A program of this scope and magnitude does not exist today in the United States, even though there are untold numbers of teachers, poets, scriptwriters, actors, producers, painters, musicians, sculptors and other creative cultural workers who are unemployed, with many living in abject poverty.

The Bail Out the People Movement, the Moratorium NOW! Coalition and other organizations around the country are calling for the creation of a WPA-style jobs program that would employ, with decent wages and benefits, the 30 million  to 35 million people who are unemployed or underemployed. The role of cultural workers is crucial within the movement for jobs and a living income.

In other societies, particularly under socialism, artists, athletes, educators, scientists and others are employed by the state and are guaranteed the right to pursue their creative capabilities. Within a capitalist society, artists can only make a living working outside their field of interest and specialization or if their cultural productions are marketable within the economic system.

The U.S. economic crisis has had a significant impact on popular culture. Radio and television stations restrict diverse programming in order to capture advertising revenue. Fewer musical artists are able to release their music and spoken-word material because the major recording companies only want to produce a select group of artists who sell millions of compact discs and therefore maximize corporate profits. Likewise in the book publishing industry.

The Federal Writers' Project, a bibliography

Federal Writers' Project, Illinois [inventory].

Mississippi: A Guide to the Magnolia State

Bearing witness, memories of Arkansas slavery : narratives from the 1930s WPA collections

The WPA Guide to South Dakota, The Federal Writers' Project Guide to 1930s South Dakota