Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
MAKING A BETTER
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. WPA
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in cooperation "";th just is productions 01 9350395 the legacy of New Deal work programs in Indiana
RESOU RCE MAT ER IAL and SUGGEST ED READ I NG
t ext and ph ot og raphs by Gl o ry Jun e
Indiana: a Guide to the Hoosie;r St'lte Federal Writers Project
A Guide to the Calume t Region Indian&: federal Writers Pro ject
Violin s & Shovels: the WPA Arts Projects Milton Meltzer
The New Deal, a Documentary History ed. William E. Leuchtenburg
Hard Times Studs Terkel
PUBUC l\BRf\R'<
UN10N, \N.
grolll' co mpo flersoiffes Siole P(]rk work relief program IIHO cff"ct. In 1935, FDR told Congress
mat th~ dole :. as "a nu rcot lC, a subtle destroye r of the human
The CCC was possibly Roosevelt's most successful New Deal sl_mI L .! am nOi ':.'IllIng that the vitality of ou r people be further
innovation. The idea was to save our natural resources while sapped l)y tht: glVII1U of cash, of market baske ts, of a few hours of
saving o u r youth. J obless young men from 16 to 23 were trained \w!;kl\ work cuttlll~ grass, raking leaves, or picking u p pape rs in th e
and put to work in parks and forests. They lived in camps and public pa rks. T he Federal Gover n ment must and shall qUit this
were required to send a portion of their monthly ea rn ings to their busilless of relid," T he \".Iorks Progress Administration w ith Harr y
families. Critics found it difficult to condemn a program t hat H opkil~s ill charJe !JeYilil t hat summe r to provide work to employ-
had young men growing healthy in the Great Outdoors whil e able perSOIlS 111 "eet!, and to reduce the relief rolls. If at a ll po ss ible,
helping the country besides. the :.lilts of t il t p:?rsoll '...'ere applied to the job. Indiana's \\I PA
prouram tool-.. O H Immedia tely with projects sponso red by local
uoverll J1ll.! n ts, \.l' l(! 50011 filled It S quota with the form e rly ·unemployed,
shefler. MI/Scololuck COl/illY Pork q reatly ~asing t he coull ty relief loads.
\olrJf Ir mor.". l /iciJ ig(1II ci /.'
r 1111111
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So wid'2spread was WPA activity that it is difficult to comprehend how
a large segment of the public could be unaware of its positive impact even
th en. The largest expenditure of WPA money and manpower in Indiana
went to roads in the farm-la-market program, and for streets and sidewalks
in the towns. It is not impossible to find a stretch of pavement stamped
"built by WPA" even today_ The Works Progress Administration built or
improved waterworks and sewer systems, armories, school buildings, city
halls, airports (a necessity of the new age), and all manner of public bui ldings.
Th ey conduct ed classes in arts and crafts, and training programs in variOUs
vocational ski lls. The WPA Women's Division employed thousands in their
sewing project, and t he fruits of their labor went to those who were needier
still. They rebound books in libraries that, because o f the Depression,
were unable to buy new books. Cou nty records were collected and
rlare. l .illl OIi City ParI.: organized into more usable files. No skills were ignored: actors, directors,
and theater technicians produced plays and took them on the road to
people who had never seen a live professional performance. Musicians,
too, we re employed in this manner. Music was also a large part of the
WPA' s recreation program. Writers worked in public relations jobs in the
WPA programs, and in every state produced a guidebook, but it was widely
agreed that Indiana, a Guide to the Hoosier State was among the best of
these. It is available today in many public libraries, st ill over 500 pages of
fascinating reading. F or perhaps the first time, an went public; art a/)out
"~i"
people was brought to the people in the murals that were painted in public
buildings everywhere, and the sculptures that graced their lobbies and
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courtyards.
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4. . . JlJlilitJ!l .. \fcCormicJ. PlirJ. . FOri lI'aYl/e
Th e WPA fulfilled peop le's need to play. These proj ects were among the
most successful, because, as the head of the WPA Rec reat ion Section,
Joseph Baker, noted, "recreation projects are flexi ble and can offe r empl oy-
The cec had been im proving and expanding state parKs and fo resl ~ ment whe re th ere is great es t need; mos t of their expendi tures go directly
from its inception, building roads, construct ing picnic and campin!.! to local unemployed labo r; they do not compete with priv at e enterprise,
facilities, planting trees, building low dams. WPA workers joined tho m and most important of all, they make pe rma nen t contrib ution s to bett~r
living conditions and increased opportunities for mo re abundan t living,"
in this type of work on projects sponsored by the State Department o f
Conservation (now Natural Resources). The Works Progress Admini stration 1' l/trUII Cf.'. Ba Al'r "a rA. S CII' CaHfe
Eve ry possible kind of recreational facility was const ru cted by WPA, even
su ch de lights as skatiog ponds, ski slopes, and snow slides for ch ildren 's
sl edding (one is still enjoyed in North Judson.) Zoos were exp anded ;
many parks sported monkey islands or duck ponds . Community centers
nearly always included-or often we re little more than - gymnasiums,
cl/lcJ. I'Olld. I.etpe( Park, SOI/!1I B(' l1 d especially if the y were attached to schools. The WPA built hund reds
of a thletic fie lds in Indiana for softba ll , baseball, and fo otball, from
All the roads WPA bu ilt helped c reate the need for a new concept, the
simp le graded spaces to Quite elaborate stadiums, frequ e ntly, but not
roadside park. Indi ana was among the leade rs in developing this type
necessari ly, adjacent to high schools. Some spor ts previously considered
of facili ty, largely wi t h WPA o r CCC labor. Fai rgrounds, including the
the domain of the country club set were given wide public access as WPA
State Fair , were impr oved or expanded to accomodate the larger crowds, worke rs built or e«paoded te nnis courts, golf courses, and sw imming
•H
A 26·minute slide- tape show produced by Glory June
on this subject is available from the Resource Center
oflCH. For de tails call the Center at 317·925·5316.
The Indiana Committee for the Humanities
4200 Northwestern Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46208