Figure 1.-- This is a Lewis Wicks Hine photograph. Hine was a sociolohgist, surely the most influential sociologist in history, who turned the camera into a powerful instrument of social reform. The caption for this photograph read, "34 children present at the Grant School, Ft. Morgan, Colo., five weeks after school opened, out of a possible 200 that will be here when the beet work is over. They will overflow, this year, into a special school being prepared for them. Mrs. Bell, the Principal here has taught these beet children for years and has watched the effect of the work. She vigorously denounces it. Photo Oct. 26/15. Location: Ft. Morgan, Colorado." Presumaby Hine wrote it. Photographer: Lewis Hine.

This is the Grant School in Fort Morgan. The first Ft. Morgan that came to mind was the venerable Ft. Morgan on Mobile Bay that played a role in the Civil War battle. This of course would have been a strange name for a school deep in the heart of Dixie. So it turns out that there is a Fort Morgan in Colorado and this is where the Grant School was located. The Hine phorograph shows 34 children present at the Grant School, 5 weeks after the school was opened. We do not have the complete story. In the back we see a brick building. As this was a school for migrant children, we doubt such a school was built for them as it would not be needed year round. Perhaps an unused building was repurposed. This was apparently at the beginning of the beet season. The school was expecting 300 children. Notice only the younger children are present. Older children are probably working in the fields. The Hine caption reads, "They will overflow, this year, into a special school being prepared for them." We are not sure what that meant, suggesting the school in the bckground is a temporary facility. Hine continues, "Mrs. Bell, the Principal here has taught these beet children for years and has watched the effect of the work. She vigorously denounces it." Mrs. Bell seems to be referring to migrant labor. The boys here mostly wear overallsm but they ll have shoes. One boy wers a whire sailor suit. The girls all wear simple dresses. The photograph was dated October 26, 1915. The beets were probably sugar beets. This was during World War I, America had not yet entered the War, but orders for both industrial and agricultural products flowed in from Europe. And America had launched a relief effort to feed the Belgians and other countries adversly affected by the War.

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Created: 2:00 PM 10/21/2018
Last updated: 2:00 PM 10/21/2018