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October 1939. "The Free children in doorway of their dugout home in Sunday clothes. Dead Ox Flat, Malheur County, Oregon." Medium format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
This photo is of my Grandpa and 3 of his siblings. He's the one on the far left in the back.
[Great! Can you put names to them all? Had you see this photo before? - tterrace]
But not down in the mouth. These kids are happy and they and their clothes are clean, even if a touch the worse for wear. No small accomplishments in the 1930s.
And cute little curtains hang in the windows, to boot. I bet this family is resourceful!
I'm thinking, BamBam, that's he's stuck with Pa's hand me downs while his brothers get his old clothes. It's funny, today people just wear suspenders to simply wear suspenders, when this kid is wearing them because he has no choice.
We are farmers! Okay, not that Farmers. The company insuring this home started out in the publishing business and branched out from there. Today, affilliates are all over the west, mostly offering Health and Life Insurance- Farmer-Stockman. Farm Progress (an ABC/Disney Company) now owns the original magazine publishing empire and still prints today.
Definitely the "dry " side of Oregon ! I live in the state as well in a area known as Rabbit Flat, down in Klamath County. There were a few dugouts built way back when but they are long gone now.
Here's a blog (with a tip o' the hat to Shorpy) about Dead Ox Flat, and as you'll see even the town church was built Dug Out Style. Makes sense because the area seems to be on the plains, and in Oregon that means major snow and bitter cold.
http://www.hamell.net/2010/07/dead-ox-flat-oregon/
That young man second from left would certainly be "fashion forward" with the 5 inches too big in the waist pants but for A) I'm sure he's not wearing them that baggy on purpose and B) he'll make do because it's likely these or nothing he's got the sense to keep 'em up with a pair of suspenders.
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