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[James Andrews Harvesting Tobacco]
Photograph of James Andrews and a neighbor harvesting tobacco on his farm in Lynchburg, TN.
[Sorghum Cane]
Narrative by Junebug Clark in the summer of 2014 Sorghum cane stalks being brought to a mule drawn press where the stalks are ground, then the juice from the cane extracted and later poured into vats to be boiled down into molasses. Overall Background: Edit These Molasses Making Stir-off photos were shot by Joe Clark HBSS in the early to mid-1940s. Either on the farm of Fred Whitaker about four miles southwest of Cumberland Gap, or in Cumberland Gap on the farm of Baptist preacher the Rev. Hugh Vancel. More information about these images can be found in scrapbooks in the Clark Family Collection at the University of North Texas Special Collections Library. Specifically in a Detroit news pictorial article published December 13, 1942 titles "stir-off party" where mountaineers make molasses and merriment. Also in life magazine published November 13, 1950 [page 156] titled “Stir-off Time in Tennessee, Fun Starts in Hills as Molasses Boils.’ Also in the library is the NBC Today Show story on Joe Clark HBSS by Bob Dotson. It features Joe Clark returning to Cumberland Gap Tennessee to photograph a molasses stir off taking place in the same location as some of these photographs and attended by some of the same people in the early 1980s. Let me briefly set the scene of the time and era that these photos were made. World War II was raging. Television did not exist. Radio reception sporadic in this mountain country. School was held only three months a year mostly during the winter months. Most news of the changes in the outside world was learned, they say, “By looking at pictures in the Sears catalogs.” They farmed steep and rolling hillsides of very poor land. In most of America, to help in the war effort, the rationing of food …
[Mule Power]
Narrative by Junebug Clark in the summer of 2014: Mules and horses were the common 'power plant' used for turning the mill that the stripped down sorghum stalks were fed. The juice from the stalks were pressed and extracted to later be boiled down into molasses in large metal vats. Overall Background: These Molasses Making Stir-off photos were shot by Joe Clark HBSS in the early to mid-1940s. Either on the farm of Fred Whitaker about four miles southwest of Cumberland Gap, or in Cumberland Gap on the farm of Baptist preacher the Rev. Hugh Vancel. More information about these images can be found in scrapbooks in the Clark Family Collection at the University of North Texas Special Collections Library. Specifically in a Detroit news pictorial article published December 13, 1942 titles "stir-off party" where mountaineers make molasses and merriment. Also in life magazine published November 13, 1950 [page 156] titled “Stir-off Time in Tennessee, Fun Starts in Hills as Molasses Boils.’ Also in the library is the NBC Today Show story on Joe Clark HBSS by Bob Dotson. It features Joe Clark returning to Cumberland Gap Tennessee to photograph a molasses stir off taking place in the same location as some of these photographs and attended by some of the same people in the early 1980s. Let me briefly set the scene of the time and era that these photos were made. World War II was raging. Television did not exist. Radio reception sporadic in this mountain country. School was held only three months a year mostly during the winter months. Most news of the changes in the outside world was learned, they say, “By looking at pictures in the Sears catalogs.” They farmed steep and rolling hillsides of very poor land. In most of America, to help in …
[One Mule Power]
Narrative by Junebug Clark in the summer of 2014 One mule powers this grinding mill where long into the night sorghum cane is pressed and the juice is extracted, then boiled down into molasses. Harvest time and the making of molasses runs 24/7 when the cane is ready. Overall Background: These Molasses Making Stir-off photos were shot by Joe Clark HBSS in the early to mid-1940s. Either on the farm of Fred Whitaker about four miles southwest of Cumberland Gap, or in Cumberland Gap on the farm of Baptist preacher the Rev. Hugh Vancel. More information about these images can be found in scrapbooks in the Clark Family Collection at the University of North Texas Special Collections Library. Specifically in a Detroit news pictorial article published December 13, 1942 titles "stir-off party" where mountaineers make molasses and merriment. Also in life magazine published November 13, 1950 [page 156] titled “Stir-off Time in Tennessee, Fun Starts in Hills as Molasses Boils.’ Also in the library is the NBC Today Show story on Joe Clark HBSS by Bob Dotson. It features Joe Clark returning to Cumberland Gap Tennessee to photograph a molasses stir off taking place in the same location as some of these photographs and attended by some of the same people in the early 1980s. Let me briefly set the scene of the time and era that these photos were made. World War II was raging. Television did not exist. Radio reception sporadic in this mountain country. School was held only three months a year mostly during the winter months. Most news of the changes in the outside world was learned, they say, “By looking at pictures in the Sears catalogs.” They farmed steep and rolling hillsides of very poor land. In most of America, to help in the war …
[Molasses Making Time]
Narrative by Junebug Clark in the summer of 2014 In the background center, you can see the grinding mill, usually drawn by a horse or a mule. Sorghum cane stalks are fed into this mill and juice from the stalks are pressed out. Those juices, as you can see the steam rising in the foreground, are being boiled down into molasses. Overall Background: These Molasses Making Stir-off photos were shot by Joe Clark HBSS in the early to mid-1940s. Most of them on the farm of Fred Whitaker about four miles southwest of Cumberland Gap, or in Cumberland Gap on the farm of Baptist preacher the Rev. Hugh Vancel. More information about these images can be found in scrapbooks in the Clark Family Collection at the University of North Texas Special Collections Library. Specifically in a Detroit news pictorial article published December 13, 1942 titles "stir-off party" where mountaineers make molasses and merriment. Also in life magazine published November 13, 1950 [page 156] titled “Stir-off Time in Tennessee, Fun Starts in Hills as Molasses Boils.’ Also in the library is NBC Today Show video taped story on Joe Clark HBSS by Bob Dotson. It features Joe Clark returning to Cumberland Gap Tennessee to photograph a molasses stir off taking place in the same location as some of these photographs and attended by some of the same people in the early 1980s. Let me briefly set the scene of the time and era that these photos were made. World War II was raging. Television did not exist. Radio reception sporadic in this mountain country. School was held only three months a year mostly during the winter months. Most news of the changes in the outside world was learned, they say, “By looking at pictures in the Sears catalogs.” They farmed steep …
[Making Molasses]
Narrative by Junebug Clark in the summer of 2014 Douglas Clark, age 7, watches Dolly Goins as she uses a ladle to siphon off impurities in the boiling sorghum juice as it is being turned into molasses. This photo was taken on the farm of the Rev. Hugh Vancel. It appears full page in LIFE Magazine, November 13, 1950, page 157. Overall Background:These Molasses Making Stir-off photos were shot by Joe Clark HBSS in the early to mid-1940s. Either on the farm of Fred Whitaker about four miles southwest of Cumberland Gap, or in Cumberland Gap on the farm of Baptist preacher the Rev. Hugh Vancel. More information about these images can be found in scrapbooks in the Clark Family Collection at the University of North Texas Special Collections Library. Specifically in a Detroit news pictorial article published December 13, 1942 titles "stir-off party" where mountaineers make molasses and merriment. Also in life magazine published November 13, 1950 [page 156] titled “Stir-off Time in Tennessee, Fun Starts in Hills as Molasses Boils.’ Also in the library is the NBC Today Show story on Joe Clark HBSS by Bob Dotson. It features Joe Clark returning to Cumberland Gap Tennessee to photograph a molasses stir off taking place in the same location as some of these photographs and attended by some of the same people in the early 1980s. Let me briefly set the scene of the time and era that these photos were made. World War II was raging. Television did not exist. Radio reception sporadic in this mountain country. School was held only three months a year mostly during the winter months. Most news of the changes in the outside world was learned, they say, “By looking at pictures in the Sears catalogs.” They farmed steep and rolling hillsides of …
[Wheat Harvest]
Narrative by Junebug Clark: A 1940s photograph of a farmer harvesting wheat in Cumberland Gap, TN.
[One Mule Power]
Narrative by Junebug Clark in the summer of 2014: One mule powers this grinding mill where long into the night sorghum cane is pressed, then the juice is extracted and boiled down into molasses. Harvest time and the making of molasses runs 24/7 when the cane is ready. Overall Background: Edit: These Molasses Making Stir-off photos were shot by Joe Clark HBSS in the early to mid-1940s. Either on the farm of Fred Whitaker about four miles southwest of Cumberland Gap, or in Cumberland Gap on the farm of Baptist preacher the Rev. Hugh Vancel. More information about these images can be found in scrapbooks in the Clark Family Collection at the University of North Texas Special Collections Library. Specifically in a Detroit news pictorial article published December 13, 1942 titles "stir-off party" where mountaineers make molasses and merriment. Also in life magazine published November 13, 1950 [page 156] titled “Stir-off Time in Tennessee, Fun Starts in Hills as Molasses Boils.’ Also in the library is the NBC Today Show story on Joe Clark HBSS by Bob Dotson. It features Joe Clark returning to Cumberland Gap Tennessee to photograph a molasses stir off taking place in the same location as some of these photographs and attended by some of the same people in the early 1980s. Let me briefly set the scene of the time and era that these photos were made. World War II was raging. Television did not exist. Radio reception sporadic in this mountain country. School was held only three months a year mostly during the winter months. Most news of the changes in the outside world was learned, they say, “By looking at pictures in the Sears catalogs.” They farmed steep and rolling hillsides of very poor land. In most of America, to help in the …
[Harvested Sorghum Stalks]
Narrative by Junebug Clark in the summer of 2014 Sorghum cane stalks being gathered. Eventually the stalks are ground and the juice extracted, poured into vats and boiled down into molasses. Overall Background: These Molasses Making Stir-off photos were shot by Joe Clark HBSS in the early to mid-1940s. Either on the farm of Fred Whitaker about four miles southwest of Cumberland Gap, or in Cumberland Gap on the farm of Baptist preacher the Rev. Hugh Vancel. More information about these images can be found in scrapbooks in the Clark Family Collection at the University of North Texas Special Collections Library. Specifically in a Detroit news pictorial article published December 13, 1942 titles "stir-off party" where mountaineers make molasses and merriment. Also in life magazine published November 13, 1950 [page 156] titled “Stir-off Time in Tennessee, Fun Starts in Hills as Molasses Boils.’ Also in the library is the NBC Today Show story on Joe Clark HBSS by Bob Dotson. It features Joe Clark returning to Cumberland Gap Tennessee to photograph a molasses stir off taking place in the same location as some of these photographs and attended by some of the same people in the early 1980s. Let me briefly set the scene of the time and era that these photos were made. World War II was raging. Television did not exist. Radio reception sporadic in this mountain country. School was held only three months a year mostly during the winter months. Most news of the changes in the outside world was learned, they say, “By looking at pictures in the Sears catalogs.” They farmed steep and rolling hillsides of very poor land. In most of America, to help in the war effort, the rationing of food and other essentials was prevalent. Very few of these Tennessee mountaineers and …
[Harvested Sorghum Stalks]
Narrative by Junebug Clark in the summer of 2014 Sorghum cane stalks being gathered. Eventually the stalks are ground and the juice extracted, poured into vats and boiled down into molasses. Overall Background:These Molasses Making Stir-off photos were shot by Joe Clark HBSS in the early to mid-1940s. Either on the farm of Fred Whitaker about four miles southwest of Cumberland Gap, or in Cumberland Gap on the farm of Baptist preacher the Rev. Hugh Vancel. More information about these images can be found in scrapbooks in the Clark Family Collection at the University of North Texas Special Collections Library. Specifically in a Detroit news pictorial article published December 13, 1942 titles "stir-off party" where mountaineers make molasses and merriment. Also in life magazine published November 13, 1950 [page 156] titled “Stir-off Time in Tennessee, Fun Starts in Hills as Molasses Boils.’ Also in the library is the NBC Today Show story on Joe Clark HBSS by Bob Dotson. It features Joe Clark returning to Cumberland Gap Tennessee to photograph a molasses stir off taking place in the same location as some of these photographs and attended by some of the same people in the early 1980s. Let me briefly set the scene of the time and era that these photos were made. World War II was raging. Television did not exist. Radio reception sporadic in this mountain country. School was held only three months a year mostly during the winter months. Most news of the changes in the outside world was learned, they say, “By looking at pictures in the Sears catalogs.” They farmed steep and rolling hillsides of very poor land. In most of America, to help in the war effort, the rationing of food and other essentials was prevalent. Very few of these Tennessee mountaineers and hill …
[Sorghum Cane]
Narrative by Junebug Clark in the summer of 2014: Sorghum cane stalks being brought to a mule drawn press where the stalks are ground, then the juice from the cane extracted and later poured into vats to be boiled down into molasses. Overall Background: These Molasses Making Stir-off photos were shot by Joe Clark HBSS in the early to mid-1940s. Either on the farm of Fred Whitaker about four miles southwest of Cumberland Gap, or in Cumberland Gap on the farm of Baptist preacher the Rev. Hugh Vancel. More information about these images can be found in scrapbooks in the Clark Family Collection at the University of North Texas Special Collections Library. Specifically in a Detroit news pictorial article published December 13, 1942 titles "stir-off party" where mountaineers make molasses and merriment. Also in life magazine published November 13, 1950 [page 156] titled “Stir-off Time in Tennessee, Fun Starts in Hills as Molasses Boils.’ Also in the library is the NBC Today Show story on Joe Clark HBSS by Bob Dotson. It features Joe Clark returning to Cumberland Gap Tennessee to photograph a molasses stir off taking place in the same location as some of these photographs and attended by some of the same people in the early 1980s. Let me briefly set the scene of the time and era that these photos were made. World War II was raging. Television did not exist. Radio reception sporadic in this mountain country. School was held only three months a year mostly during the winter months. Most news of the changes in the outside world was learned, they say, “By looking at pictures in the Sears catalogs.” They farmed steep and rolling hillsides of very poor land. In most of America, to help in the war effort, the rationing of food and …
[Young Boys Man the Sorghum Press]
Narrative by Junebug Clark in the summer of 2014 One mule powers this grinding mill where sorghum cane is pressed, then the juice is extracted and boiled down into molasses. Here three young boys take turns feeding stalks of sorghum cane into the mule drawn press. Overall Background: These Molasses Making Stir-off photos were shot by Joe Clark HBSS in the early to mid-1940s. Either on the farm of Fred Whitaker about four miles southwest of Cumberland Gap, or in Cumberland Gap on the farm of Baptist preacher the Rev. Hugh Vancel. More information about these images can be found in scrapbooks in the Clark Family Collection at the University of North Texas Special Collections Library. Specifically in a Detroit news pictorial article published December 13, 1942 titles "stir-off party" where mountaineers make molasses and merriment. Also in life magazine published November 13, 1950 [page 156] titled “Stir-off Time in Tennessee, Fun Starts in Hills as Molasses Boils.’ Also in the library is the NBC Today Show story on Joe Clark HBSS by Bob Dotson. It features Joe Clark returning to Cumberland Gap Tennessee to photograph a molasses stir off taking place in the same location as some of these photographs and attended by some of the same people in the early 1980s. Let me briefly set the scene of the time and era that these photos were made. World War II was raging. Television did not exist. Radio reception sporadic in this mountain country. School was held only three months a year mostly during the winter months. Most news of the changes in the outside world was learned, they say, “By looking at pictures in the Sears catalogs.” They farmed steep and rolling hillsides of very poor land. In most of America, to help in the war effort, the …
[Harvest Time]
Narrative by Junebug Clark in the summer of 2014 Young girl in a field of Sorghum. The sorghum has been stripped and the stalks are ready to harvest. Overall Background: These Molasses Making Stir-off photos were shot by Joe Clark HBSS in the early to mid-1940s. Either on the farm of Fred Whitaker about four miles southwest of Cumberland Gap, or in Cumberland Gap on the farm of Baptist preacher the Rev. Hugh Vancel. More information about these images can be found in scrapbooks in the Clark Family Collection at the University of North Texas Special Collections Library. Specifically in a Detroit news pictorial article published December 13, 1942 titles "stir-off party" where mountaineers make molasses and merriment. Also in life magazine published November 13, 1950 [page 156] titled “Stir-off Time in Tennessee, Fun Starts in Hills as Molasses Boils.’ Also in the library is the NBC Today Show story on Joe Clark HBSS by Bob Dotson. It features Joe Clark returning to Cumberland Gap Tennessee to photograph a molasses stir off taking place in the same location as some of these photographs and attended by some of the same people in the early 1980s. Let me briefly set the scene of the time and era that these photos were made. World War II was raging. Television did not exist. Radio reception sporadic in this mountain country. School was held only three months a year mostly during the winter months. Most news of the changes in the outside world was learned, they say, “By looking at pictures in the Sears catalogs.” They farmed steep and rolling hillsides of very poor land. In most of America, to help in the war effort, the rationing of food and other essentials was prevalent. Very few of these Tennessee mountaineers and hill folk had …
[Catching Up on Neighborhood Gossip]
Narrative by Junebug Clark in the summer of 2014 Stir-off time of year is the social event of the season. Families, neighbors and friends gathered and celebrated with dance, song and games while taking turns tending to the day and night harvest of sorghum and the turning it into molasses. In this photo, two ladies take advantage of a break in the action to catch up in current events and gossip before the long winter season. In the background center you can see the grinding mill, usually drawn by a horse or a mule. Sorghum cane stalks are fed into this mill and juice from the stalks are pressed out. Those juices, you can see the steam rising in the foreground, are being boiled down into molasses. Overall Background: These Molasses Making Stir-off photos were shot by Joe Clark HBSS in the early to mid-1940s. Most of them on the farm of Fred Whitaker about four miles southwest of Cumberland Gap, or in Cumberland Gap on the farm of Baptist preacher the Rev. Hugh Vancel. More information about these images can be found in scrapbooks in the Clark Family Collection at the University of North Texas Special Collections Library. Specifically in a Detroit news pictorial article published December 13, 1942 titles "stir-off party" where mountaineers make molasses and merriment. Also in life magazine published November 13, 1950 [page 156] titled “Stir-off Time in Tennessee, Fun Starts in Hills as Molasses Boils.’ Also in the library is NBC Today Show video taped story on Joe Clark HBSS by Bob Dotson. It features Joe Clark returning to Cumberland Gap Tennessee to photograph a molasses stir off taking place in the same location as some of these photographs and attended by some of the same people in the early 1980s. Let me briefly …
[Grinding Cane]
Narrative by Junebug Clark in the summer of 2014 Sorghum cane stalks are fed into a press turned by mule power. The juice from the stalks is then poured into vats and boiled down into molasses. Harvest time is a round the clock process where neighbor helps neighbor and Stir-off Parties become a major community event. Overall Background: These Molasses Making Stir-off photos were shot by Joe Clark HBSS in the early to mid-1940s. Either on the farm of Fred Whitaker about four miles southwest of Cumberland Gap, or in Cumberland Gap on the farm of Baptist preacher the Rev. Hugh Vancel. More information about these images can be found in scrapbooks in the Clark Family Collection at the University of North Texas Special Collections Library. Specifically in a Detroit news pictorial article published December 13, 1942 titles "stir-off party" where mountaineers make molasses and merriment. Also in life magazine published November 13, 1950 [page 156] titled “Stir-off Time in Tennessee, Fun Starts in Hills as Molasses Boils.’ Also in the library is the NBC Today Show story on Joe Clark HBSS by Bob Dotson. It features Joe Clark returning to Cumberland Gap Tennessee to photograph a molasses stir off taking place in the same location as some of these photographs and attended by some of the same people in the early 1980s. Let me briefly set the scene of the time and era that these photos were made. World War II was raging. Television did not exist. Radio reception sporadic in this mountain country. School was held only three months a year mostly during the winter months. Most news of the changes in the outside world was learned, they say, “By looking at pictures in the Sears catalogs.” They farmed steep and rolling hillsides of very poor land. In …
[Bringing the Heat]
From harvesting the sorghum, to extracting cane juices, to boiling it down into molasses, this process can take weeks of round the clock cooperation between families, neighbors and friends to accomplish. As you can see in this photo the vats and fire places used are serious and meant to be used 'round the clock and shared by the harvest community. Narrative by Junebug Clark in the summer of 2014: Overall Background: These Molasses Making Stir-off photos were shot by Joe Clark HBSS in the early to mid-1940s. Either on the farm of Fred Whitaker about four miles southwest of Cumberland Gap, or in Cumberland Gap on the farm of Baptist preacher the Rev. Hugh Vancel. More information about these images can be found in scrapbooks in the Clark Family Collection at the University of North Texas Special Collections Library. Specifically in a Detroit news pictorial article published December 13, 1942 titles "stir-off party" where mountaineers make molasses and merriment. Also in life magazine published November 13, 1950 [page 156] titled “Stir-off Time in Tennessee, Fun Starts in Hills as Molasses Boils.’ Also in the library is the NBC Today Show story on Joe Clark HBSS by Bob Dotson. It features Joe Clark returning to Cumberland Gap Tennessee to photograph a molasses stir off taking place in the same location as some of these photographs and attended by some of the same people in the early 1980s. Let me briefly set the scene of the time and era that these photos were made. World War II was raging. Television did not exist. Radio reception sporadic in this mountain country. School was held only three months a year mostly during the winter months. Most news of the changes in the outside world was learned, they say, “By looking at pictures in the …
[Harvesting Cane]
Narrative by Junebug Clark in the summer of 2014 Young Folks of the Burns and Evans families cut cane. Overall Background: These Molasses Making Stir-off photos were shot by Joe Clark HBSS in the early to mid-1940s. Either on the farm of Fred Whitaker about four miles southwest of Cumberland Gap, or in Cumberland Gap on the farm of Baptist preacher the Rev. Hugh Vancel. More information about these images can be found in scrapbooks in the Clark Family Collection at the University of North Texas Special Collections Library. Specifically in a Detroit news pictorial article published December 13, 1942 titles "stir-off party" where mountaineers make molasses and merriment. Also in life magazine published November 13, 1950 [page 156] titled “Stir-off Time in Tennessee, Fun Starts in Hills as Molasses Boils.’ Also in the library is the NBC Today Show story on Joe Clark HBSS by Bob Dotson. It features Joe Clark returning to Cumberland Gap Tennessee to photograph a molasses stir off taking place in the same location as some of these photographs and attended by some of the same people in the early 1980s. Let me briefly set the scene of the time and era that these photos were made. World War II was raging. Television did not exist. Radio reception sporadic in this mountain country. School was held only three months a year mostly during the winter months. Most news of the changes in the outside world was learned, they say, “By looking at pictures in the Sears catalogs.” They farmed steep and rolling hillsides of very poor land. In most of America, to help in the war effort, the rationing of food and other essentials was prevalent. Very few of these Tennessee mountaineers and hill folk had homes with electricity. None with indoor plumbing. Water came …
[Harvesting Cane]
Narrative by Junebug Clark in the summer of 2014 Young Folks of the Burns and Evans families cut cane. Overall Background: These Molasses Making Stir-off photos were shot by Joe Clark HBSS in the early to mid-1940s. Either on the farm of Fred Whitaker about four miles southwest of Cumberland Gap, or in Cumberland Gap on the farm of Baptist preacher the Rev. Hugh Vancel. More information about these images can be found in scrapbooks in the Clark Family Collection at the University of North Texas Special Collections Library. Specifically in a Detroit news pictorial article published December 13, 1942 titles "stir-off party" where mountaineers make molasses and merriment. Also in life magazine published November 13, 1950 [page 156] titled “Stir-off Time in Tennessee, Fun Starts in Hills as Molasses Boils.’ Also in the library is the NBC Today Show story on Joe Clark HBSS by Bob Dotson. It features Joe Clark returning to Cumberland Gap Tennessee to photograph a molasses stir off taking place in the same location as some of these photographs and attended by some of the same people in the early 1980s. Let me briefly set the scene of the time and era that these photos were made. World War II was raging. Television did not exist. Radio reception sporadic in this mountain country. School was held only three months a year mostly during the winter months. Most news of the changes in the outside world was learned, they say, “By looking at pictures in the Sears catalogs.” They farmed steep and rolling hillsides of very poor land. In most of America, to help in the war effort, the rationing of food and other essentials was prevalent. Very few of these Tennessee mountaineers and hill folk had homes with electricity. None with indoor plumbing. Water came …
[Sorghum Cane]
Photograph of in a field workers carrying sorghum cane stalks to a mule-drawn press for grinding the stalks. In the lower-left corner, there are steaming vats where the juice is being boiled into molasses.
[Sorghum Cane Press]
Narrative by Junebug Clark in the summer of 2014 Two men feeding sorghum cane stalks into a press where the juice is extracted and later boiled down into molasses. Overall Background:These Molasses Making Stir-off photos were shot by Joe Clark HBSS in the early to mid-1940s. Either on the farm of Fred Whitaker about four miles southwest of Cumberland Gap, or in Cumberland Gap on the farm of Baptist preacher the Rev. Hugh Vancel. More information about these images can be found in scrapbooks in the Clark Family Collection at the University of North Texas Special Collections Library. Specifically in a Detroit news pictorial article published December 13, 1942 titles "stir-off party" where mountaineers make molasses and merriment. Also in life magazine published November 13, 1950 [page 156] titled “Stir-off Time in Tennessee, Fun Starts in Hills as Molasses Boils.’ Also in the library is the NBC Today Show story on Joe Clark HBSS by Bob Dotson. It features Joe Clark returning to Cumberland Gap Tennessee to photograph a molasses stir off taking place in the same location as some of these photographs and attended by some of the same people in the early 1980s. Let me briefly set the scene of the time and era that these photos were made. World War II was raging. Television did not exist. Radio reception sporadic in this mountain country. School was held only three months a year mostly during the winter months. Most news of the changes in the outside world was learned, they say, “By looking at pictures in the Sears catalogs.” They farmed steep and rolling hillsides of very poor land. In most of America, to help in the war effort, the rationing of food and other essentials was prevalent. Very few of these Tennessee mountaineers and hill folk had …
[Threshing crew dinner]
Russell T. Forte has written on the envelope containing the negative that the photograph was used in March of 1962 for the U.S. Department of Agriculture photography division for the centennial photo exhibit. Narrative by Junebug Clark: Photographs is from the 1940s and is shot in Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. Here in this shot, which is an outtake, neighbors have gathered to harvest wheat while the women folk prepared a Harvest Dinner for them during a break.
[Threshing crew]
Narrative by Junebug Clark: Photographs is from 1940 and is shot in Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. Joe used to point out that this photo was taken, "before women's lib." Here in this shot, neighbors have gathered to harvest wheat while the women folk prepared a Harvest Dinner for them during a break.
[Grain Harvest at Frank R. Hurn Farm]
Grain Harvest at Frank R. Hurn Farm. Photo circa 1930: Hurnville, Texas.
[Cotton Wagons on Spring Street - Palestine]
Photo of cotton wagons on Spring Street. Notice the Buckhorn Saloon, Sam Lucas Store and the Star Boarder in the photo.
[Cotton bales]
Rows of cotton bales in a field with houses in the background.
Boll-Weevil Exterminator
Patent for a new design to capture and exterminate Boll-Weevils; includes instructions and illustrations.
[Stripping Cane]
Narrative by Junebug Clark: Photograph of A Woman stripping sorghum cane that will be eventually boiled down into molasses. This photo was shot on the same farm that Joe shot a Molasses Stiroff that appeared in Life magazine. This gal, wish I could come up with her name right now, is the baby sitting on a lady's lap surrounded by children. Look here for the photo, "Feeding Time." She is being fed milk in a cup. Bob Datson from NBC's Today Show was here filming a piece on my dad. The 3 minute piece is here in the Clark Family Collection with an intro and outtro by Tom Brokow and Jane Pauley. Photo by: Joe Clark, HBSS. Clark PhotoFile: 9625-0049-11
[News Clip: Wheat harvest in North Texas begins]
Video footage from the WBAP-TV television station in Fort Worth, Texas, to accompany a news story about the beginning of the wheat harvest in North Texas, with Dallas County farmers reporting an excellent crop.
[News Clip: CPI]
Video footage from the KXAS-TV/NBC station in Fort Worth, Texas, to accompany a news story.
[News Clip: Christmas Trees]
Video footage from the KXAS-TV/NBC station in Fort Worth, Texas, to accompany a news story.
[Wheat Harvest at Ford Farm]
Photograph of a group of workers standing in front of a combine during the wheat harvest at Frank Ford, Sr.'s farm in Deaf Smith County, TX.
[Wheat Harvest at Perrin Farms]
Photograph of combines harvesting wheat at Perrin Farms.
[Wheat Harvest at Perrin Farms]
Photograph of a harvested wheat field at Perrin Farms.
[Wheat Harvest at Perrin Farms]
Photograph of combines harvesting wheat at Perrin Farms.
[Wheat Harvest at Perrin Farms]
Photograph of a row of machines in a field during wheat harvest at Perrin Farms.
[Wheat Harvest at Perrin Farms]
Photograph of combines harvesting wheat at Perrin Farms.
[Wheat Harvest at Perrin Farms]
Photograph of combines harvesting wheat at Perrin Farms.
[Wheat Harvest at Perrin Farms]
Photograph of a row of machines in a field during wheat harvest at Perrin Farms.
[Wheat Harvest at Perrin Farms]
Photograph of a wheat harvest at Perrin Farms.
[Wheat Harvest at Perrin Farms]
Photograph of a row of machines in a field during wheat harvest at Perrin Farms.
[Wheat Harvest at Perrin Farms]
Photograph of combines harvesting wheat at Perrin Farms.
[Espejo Farm, Bermuda Onions, Laredo, Texas]
Photograph of an Bermuda onion harvest at the Espejo farm in Laredo, Texas. A letter on the back is addressed to Mrs. N. L. Green about the author's visit (to place unknown) and plans to leave again.
[Wheat Harvest at Perrin Farms]
Photograph of a row of combines harvesting wheat at Perrin Farms.
[Wheat Harvest at Perrin Farms]
Photograph of a row of machines in a field during wheat harvest at Perrin Farms.
[Wheat Harvest at Perrin Farms]
Photograph of a row of machines in a field during wheat harvest at Perrin Farms.
Threshing on Paul Acheson's Rice Plantation
Photograph of Paul Acheson's rice plantation in El Campo, Texas during a threshing session. A large mound of what appears to be grass and dirt is in the background. In front of it, a threshing machine is surrounded by a large group of people who are all facing forward and looking at the camera. On both the right and left sides of the image, horse-drawn wagons are visible. Two other unharnessed horses are farthest right in front of a what may be a second thresher. The photograph has been placed on a stiff mat board. A large portion of the top right corner has chipped off.
Isaacson Gin Company
Photograph of the Isaacson Gin Company, a cotton gin in El Campo, Texas, taken from a high angle and from a distance, capturing the entire structure and the surrounding homes that surround it. Several horse-drawn wagons are moving in a procession in an arc formation from the south-facing wall of the gin to the north-facing one. Groups of men can be seen directing them. Others are seen on the ground and on platforms near the cotton bales. The gin itself is a large two-story structure with gable roofs and a large pole extending from the direction of the smaller roofs. All the buildings in the background within the vicinity of the gin seem to be homes. They are built along the street that runs parallel to the gin's east-facing wall. The photograph has been pasted on a stiff mat with a decorative linear embossing that runs the perimeter of the image.
Truck Load Sacked Rice
Copy negative of a group of people outdoors harvesting rice. A large truck faces the left and carries a large load of rice sacks on its bed. They have been stacked on top of each other and bulge outwards. On top of these, two men are seated. They both look to the direction where the photograph was taken. A third man standing near the back wheel and a woman seated inside the driver's side seat also look at the camera. In the distance, a large group of people can be seen standing near a tree.
Lunch in the Rice Field During Harvest
Copy negative of a group of people standing around a horse-drawn loading bed. The horse has been mostly cropped out of the photograph, but his hind legs are visible on the rightmost part of the image. According to the accompanying information, this group of people is taking a break during a rice field harvest to have lunch. A few food items are visible in the bed.
Andersen Family in Cotton Wagon
Copy negative of the Andersen family on a cotton wagon at their farm. Around them, there is nothing but grasses. The majority of them, along with several children, are inside the wagon. The only two not inside it, a man and a woman, are standing in front of it near its wheel. A piece of fabric hangs from the right end of the wagon. Accompanying information indicates that it was called Old Hickory.
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