Women welders at the Landers, Frary and Clark plant in New Britain, June 1943. photo: Gordon Parks, Library of Congress
(c) Connecticut Explored Inc. 2003 Nov/Dec/Jan 2004
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These photographs are from the Library of Congress Farm Security Administration Office of War Information Photograph Collection. This collection forms an extensive record of American life between 1935 and 1944. The project initially documented the work of the Resettlement Administration and later focused on the lives of sharecroppers in the South and migratory agricultural workers. As the project’s scope expanded, the photographers turned to recording both rural and urban conditions throughout the United States as well as mobilization efforts for World War II. It was in this context that Gordon Parks and other photographers traveled to Connecticut to document war production and life on the home front.
Woman inspecting an anti-aircraft gun at the Landers, Frary and Clark plant in New Britain, June 1943. photo: Gordon Parks, Library of Congress
Emelia Gworek of Rockville sewed parachute seams during the night shift at the Pioneer Parachute Company in Manchester. In the daytime, she was active in Red Cross work and was president of her American Legion Auxiliary, August 1942. photo: William Rittase, Library of Congress
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