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December 1940. Radford, Virginia. "Influx of construction workers in small town to build Hercules Powder Plant. Man just arrived to report for work." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Mr. Spiffy Guy looks like he could be in management, but his face is weary, his eyes tired and a bit wary. A decade of unemployment and poverty is a long time to keep up hopes and dreams. As probably everyone else does, who visits Shorpy.com, I hope his life from here on out was a good one. It's a strange sort of mind travel, isn't it, to wish people well who lived years before we came along? We do it anyway, and gladly.
I see the confidence, but I also see something that looks like a chip on his shoulder. Or maybe he’s just tired.
Just a few months after a fire and explosion that killed 51 at Hercules.
I hope he made it. Appears that he has all the right attributes with a business degree, smart outfit, and confident look. With no name supplied, we'll never know.
[Unless you have a copy of the West Virginia Business College yearbook handy. - Dave]
Looks like a graduate of the West Virginia Business College arriving with his new 1939 Chevrolet. Looking for a management position?
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