Dear readers,

Many of you know that our Goodwill has an eBay site that features vintage items, clothing, antiques, and other items of interest that are donated to our stores.  This allows us to raise extra revenue to fund our job training and human services programs.

We are starting a new series on the blog that features Good Buy of the Week. We are kicking it off with a pretty amazing donation: a collection of original photographs taken during the Great Depression for the Farm Security Administration (FSA).  The photos are from 1939-1942.

The FSA was formed to assist poor rural farmers in the aftermath of the Depression and Dust Bowl.  This documentary photography project visualized the harsh living conditions of the Great Depression.  One of the more popular photographs from this time period is the one that has become known as “Migrant Mother,” by Dorothea Lange, which features a mother and her two children.

There is a description on the back of each photo in the collection:

*Mexican mother and child in doorway, San Antonio, Texas. March 1939

*Farm Laborers who were working in a sugar cane field near Arecilso,  Puerto Rico.  February 1942

*Mexican Carrot Puller, Texas.

*Mexican Children in Kitchen. San Antonio, Tex. March, 1939

*Farm Security borrower’s wife near Rio Piedias, Puerto Rico. They own a small farm and raise sugar cane.  February 1942.

This collection is now open for bidding and you can see more details here.

About the author: Michelle is the Communications Coordinator for Goodwill Industries of Northern New England. She lives in Portland and loves thrift store shopping, food co-ops, New England history and finding people to write posts for this blog. Read more from this author