| Summary: | Folder contains 22 pages of Alabama short stories compiled for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the late 1930s. Two concern WPA projects in Birmingham.•
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,I • Bennett Mar.hall
Editorial D.partment
Th tiaid tinger. ot tb. blin aan .pr.ad he.itatingly
over tbe page, cautiou.ly con.ulting it. t.xture. He ha.
r.ada
be bold, clutching band. ot a echool boy, or a coal
ainer, graap agerly, bold torth, t.i.t, turn, and tb y h ve
r d d le rned -- all trom books today m de po.sible ty
the ork. Progr••• A aini.tratlan through a Birmin bam,
Alab Book-Binding ProJ.ct -- a J.tteraon County agent ot
rejuvenation.
agic ord that, but the book-binding group, head.d
by Mra. Dai.y Jlnnett, know. that lt haa beco • a b••tow.r ot
new lit.. Certainly, blin .tudent. at the Tallade a cbool
tor the Oeat, Dumb Dnd Blind migbt beli.v••0. .n mora
a••uredly migbt tbe tbousbt go wltb hun red. ot .chool t.acb.r.
in J.tt.r.on County and tb.ir tbou.and. ot pil••
For tbl. Bir.lngb&a proJ.ct i. prOViding book. to all
w .re tbere .ight bave b. n none. It ba. tak.n tatt.r.d book.,
old book., .oil.d an griay book., book. tro. wbicb non•
• oul ev r ave r.ad a ain, nd .iv n tbea anot~r b.ing.
It baa taken .eary work., bo.ad witb tbe r.gr.t. ot a
al.b led lit., an outlived u•• tulne•• and ad. ot tb••
••rvl , clad in • ortable color. Book••lain
by lov.nly car. are dally b.l r.born und.r tbe .klll.d
d. ot tb Be omen work r.ll.t employ •• , who may bave
tound tor t .••••lv•• r.Juv.nation ln a ta.k hlch provl ••
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• Book Binders - 2 -
tood tor e.pty atomaoba.
Tbe orkera boys been and are enaaged in the complioated
taak ot binding Braille worka tor tbe Talladega Sobool.
Tbey bave bound almoet unoountable booka tor be Jetteraon
County Bo r ot E cation, projeot eponaor, and nearly aa
many tor numeroua 00 .unity reoreation center librariaa.
Tbe work, .. valuable aa any produoed by P proJeote
in tb city, bag no later tban 1936.
Bir.ingb.., eteel aapital ot tbe Soutb, was even tben
atill in tb midst ot tbe "great depreaaion." Ste.l milla,
ind'strial baart at the industrial city, ere yet tar tr
reaching tbeir e-craab lev.la ot produotlon. ,orkers .ere
idle, d, tor tbe tirat tim. despondent. Above all atood
the taot tbat 80m••ere hungry.
bat bad atarted in 1929 still sho.ed no great 8i s ot
tinal .xpiration. eliet asenoi.8 bad givan almost to axhauation.
Tbe ,orka Progrsae Admini8tration bad prOVided
.ork. ae, in taot, still pr.viding much. But tbere bad to
be .ore. People muat at.
Solution ot the Frobl • admitted ot but one rapid
re dy - tbe.. bliat.ent ~ eore -erk reliet proJeots.
Aao tboae organi••d to • at tbe need .aa tbe book-up,
tor. d, in the 1 a a at authority, "to
provid. e.pl raent tar n edy p r a na to bind ~d repair
ooka in Community n.a ina noo.a an chool 8yat••a 1n the
01ty ot Birei ha., oounty ot Jettara n."
Ita .atab11abera gave not uob tbou ht to th. ea1b11ity
tbat tbe pro ucta ot tb work .1gbt be at little oonaequebCe •
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Book Blnd.r. - 3 -
Tb work.r•• untralned aa tb.y mlaht b•• bad to .at. To .at.
tb.y at work. Tb t tb.y ba•• don••xc.ll.nt work 1••vld.nc.d
ln a two-y atory ot .tru 11•• labor. d alway•• contlm al
progr••• und.r the dlr.otlon ot Sup.r.l.or Jlnn.tt.
b. an two otb r aup r.l.or •• bad 130 wo n ork.r.
un .r tb • at tb proJ.ct·. openlng; 130 om.n bou••d ln
60 by 1 5 toot room. Tb r. wa. acaro.ly roo. tor h. work.r••
mucb 1••••qulpm.nt••uppll•• and b ok. to b. boUDd.
The bu1ldl whloh th hundred d tblrty ocoup1.d bad
be n r no.at.d by re.ldent. ot Pr tt Clty h.r. 1t waa locat.d,
but tbelr klndl1ne•• tar exoeeded y.klll. The root••ery
.lldly .p.aklng. l.aked. Anytblng but oon.er••tl•••pe.oh
would ba•• lt tbat th. thlng pour.d.
at book-blndl equ1pm.nt tb.re was non.. Ito arr1.al
waa .0 delayed tb' t the proJeot 1 ot blnd a alngl. book
untll 'ebru ry ot 1937. tour month. tt.r tho oponlng. From
all thl. lnau.p1010u.n••• b • com ho••••r. a trUly flne work
ot th. PAt
Tb. orkl ll.t. ln tbe lnt.r•• t ot .ttlcl. oy. ha. today
b••n out to ••••nty. tbo up.r.l.or. to on ,too any cook•
• pol11 y brotb. Equlpm.nt baa b••n add.d to the .xte~
that a tt.r.4 r.mnant ot bat wa. once a book a n be .tarted
at one ot tb proJect'. raga. and w1tb a .bole .erl•• ot
It. ~Dtb.r.. m rg. compl.tely rebound ln a te bour.. A
total ot 63.8 • on. through tbe plant early ln .pte.ber.
Th. ork tor the allade.& .tud.nt. 1. a t1n. example
ot th. teobnlcal exc.llenoe wblcb he roup baa acb1••ed ln
It. not qUlt two y are ot aotual book-bln 1ng.
It. tir.t tour montb••ere a tar cry oa tb. actual work.
Book in ara - .. -
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• For tbat period, tba mamber. ot tba proJ ot wara anaa.ad
in hardly mora tban laarning aomatbi ot tha tachniqua wbicb
tbay ara to ...tar.
By tbe ti.e equipme~ witb wbiob to work wae tbou bt
parm nently in plaoa, tbe ranovation attorta or tba Pratt
Citiana had giwn oOMplat ly and ab.olutaly ay, and th
book-binder. ware taoad with tbe job ot movins or bai11 out
artar any ba vy rain.torm. They mo.ed.
An ex-rae tory b ildi , wbiob aupplia. tbe sroup'a
oomao iou. quartar., w a aal ota a. th naw .ita. It waa
hardly a com-odioua .tr t a then, howavar. rira, wbiob bad
racantly • apt tbrougb it,w.. naca.aitating aore reno.ation.
That .aa golng on when the proJaot arrl.ed to aet up ebop.
Un ble to set in, tha rkara et kad tbair now plentitul
aquipment in one olaar oorner and eattled do n tor another
i. Happily tbe dalay aa tbia tiaa abort•• PA oar~ntara
qbiokly .eki tba uildin raady tor occu~aDCY - and bookbinding.
Book-bindlna bagan ap adl1y, or th rirat r montb.
or .ary non-intan.i.a actiVity had ai.an t o.a in autbority
ample U to train what w.. in th beg1nn1na a completely untrainad
.at ot workan, "udy tbair apUtudae an dac ida tor tb • a
atinlta pl a in tba organization'. permanent .atup. Spead
an atticienoy ha.a, or couraa, incraaaad witb exparienca, but
at no tima haa tbara appearad any ot t blundari wbiob
migbt b rcund in aucb an attort.
o raaa atta ard a a a rapid aa could be wiabad.
Tb ra ba.a ba inaUtut d now "appranUClaabip"
p riod ror aach naw workar. a ra lar daily obadula, ro-
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Book-Bln era - 5 -
• uotlon abeet, an a r.cord ot tb. actlYltl.a ot eacb woman
••ployed.
To lneure agalnat hapbazardneea ln early book-blndlng,
any ne orker Buat now £0 tbrougb a three-Montbe tralning
perlod. Durin tbe time abe ,orks at eacb ot tour teen neoeeaery
procedurea, and, at tbe end ot the perlod, le expeoted
to blnd one voluMe COMpletely wlthout aaelat noe. A grade
on eaob ot tbe jobe d ter.llle!! h.r ultlmate placement.
Only tbe taek ot tltllng le wltbbeld trom .omo, ths
intrlcate placing ot namea on book in braea or toundry
type bel handled lmoet exolualyely by tboae membere ot
tbe proJeot wbo baye obtained .1Sb ecbool eduoatlona. A
surprlslngly biga parcantaga are blgh aobool trainad, for
most of tb. younger sner tlon whic baa b••n reared among,
tor the most part, eduo tlonal advantag.a.
The taak ot tltllng bae, youth and Buuoatlon notwlthatan
lng, proy.dad tbe euparvlaor ltb more trouble ln tlndlng
oultable workere th any otber Job.
Poorly apac d, eometl a hapba ar tltlee wera oft.n
lmpreaa d upon tb. tlrat booke bound by th proJeot. Today,
ho eyer, through aora work, clear, a.en d ord.rly tltlea
are tound on .yery Yolume. A band-operated maoblne le uaed.
It la ona or the tew ln .yld.nce on tbo pr ct. moat
work b.l done by hand in mucb thu atyl. ot tha old maatera
ot tbla art. and 1t la an art. ork on booke b.re la an
eYer-r pld proceeelon ot ~u1ck and 01 •• r b nda and b ada,
burrylng wh.re alparently tber. le no great demand for apead.
It le prob bly beoauae ot tbe youth of tb orkere, tor youth
ot any ola.a, le a.ld08 wlltully alo••
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Book- ind.r • - 7 -
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upon wbicb it a.y turn - tb. pl.cing at ••trip at t.bric .long
tb. b.ck at tb. book. tb•••tting at bo.rd. on tb. out.r .d •••
• dd1na at • n.w c•••• co,.rina at it. titli .nd pr•••ing
tor tinal toraing.
fb. proc. ur•••r •• tor tb. mo.t part. Dot too complic.t.d.
Tb. c.r.tul band11ng n.c••••ry ln tb. bindin at Br.ill. ,alum••
m.k•• tb.t t ••k not .0 .1mpl.. Tb. upr.l ••d .ymbol. wbicb
••r'••• l.tt.r. c n b. pr••••d down •••ily tc • point wb.r.
dl.tlnsui.bing tb•• tro. tb. 1.,.1 at tb. pag. i. i.po••lble •
• •clally aon.truct.d pr••••• are ••d 1n tb. tin.l work
on tb••••
Tb. proJ.at 1. at dltterent tram otber. in tb. city
ln it. work cb.dul.. It work. cu.tom rl1y •••v.n or .igbtb~
ur d.y. ba•• r.cord at production tor ••cb work.r. .cb
day'. work 1. plann.d a. t.r ab.ad •• i. po••ibl•• witb eacb
work.r a••lgned to h.r t ••k tor th day ln .dv.nce. All
ar. cbang.d •• ott.n a. i. po••ibl. to .vert monotonJ. Appar-
• ntly tb. mo,e b•••cc pli.b.d tb. .1red re.ult ••
Tb.ra i. about tba pl.ca notbina to indlcata aba.rla••naa.
tbat .igbt ba tound. A brigbt group. tb. oman a.ployed
bra••0•• at tbe. qult. ratty. wbiob could und.r otb.r alrcu••
tana•• beco • dull.
Tbair workl quarter. are a. pl•••ant •• could be boped
tor - .1ry in tbe .umm.r. comrorta y warm during tb. wlnt.r
montb.. Gr.titying lndead 1. tb. t.ct tb.t rainy w.ath.r
d~ • not, baa not and ,.ry 11k.ly won't brln ••currylng to
otb.r .b.lter. Tb.r. i. plenty at r~om to work at b.t 1••
• pl.ndid co unity .er'ica; room to brina 11t. to morlbund
y~utb to t e old. oolor to tb. drab and knowl.dg. in-
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Book-Blndlna _ 6 -
flnltely oloeer to pl oes hore knowled e could, ltsolf,
dle.
9/1l/sa
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Alabama 2
at~.r an .arly d1yoro., ha. di.ooy.r.d ~ha~ hl••eoond
wlte abhor. ohildr.n in s.n.ral and hl. in par~io lar.
r.. ay1. i. a board1ns hou.e .i. r.... She i. a
~ypei ltt.r.n~ 1n only a t.w way. tro hundr.de ot
~hou.anda ot other. ~broa hout Biraln haa, la eaa and
~he entire country.
aere, in a .eo~ion ot Bir.inshaa sly.n oyer al.o.t
exclueiy.ly ~o the k.epins ot 10 er., .h••it. day atter
day, haap.r.d by rheu.a~i •• , but no~ by a.. Sh. liy••
• n~ir.ly tor the pr•••nt. h. pa.t bold. no in~er••\
and the tutur. ha. no\hins \0 otter. l~" apt to be
auch ~oo .hor\.
o~ ~ha~ ~he 1d.a ot d.a~h di.~urb. her. Asno.~1c
~o an .x~r••• , ~ho Sh .h. i. no~ an a~heie~, .h. a. no
worriee upon wha~ d.a~h will do ~o ~he body which ha.
b.en her. tor year.. How.any .b. won't ~ell. "e~~.r
~han eix~y" i. ~h. way .he ex r ••••• it, an that'. all.
Ot ~h. pa.t .h. ha. 11t~1. ~o '&1 yol n~arily. She
di••i •••• 1~ with a .bruS, a ••11. which ehow. ettor~,
a "w.ll wha~ can 1 ~.ll you about ~h. h u••?"
The pa.~, .h••ay., in • b.~ano•• , ie .ad. L.~
1~ li.. 8U~ r.e••d, .~. will .p.ak.
r~'. a ~a~h.~io .~orJ .h. ~.ll., a ~ale ot a~h.~ic
tU~ili~y. l~ conc.rn. a irl w~o ~ri.d ~o b. int.llig.n~
in an .ra wh.n wa.en w.r.&ill Yalued tor brain. bu~ tor
bea~~y, tor .oo~hin , g.n~l. hand., ~h. bearin ot
ohildren, and lit~l••1•• be.id•• ho~••hold drud .ry.
Bhe wan~.d to be a doctor. h. i••nding lit. a.
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Alab..a
r •• s ••• Da.l• •
ceded the la.t world conrllct.
" lth tbe boar ere and ••eryt lng, w.'.e bad a pr.tty
good blt cr .on.y ln a r tl.e. rlng tbe war I worked
for the talephone c mpany and arter lt I worked ln a real
••tate orrlea. • e.nt Jehn (th••on) tbrough Howard
College and .edlcal eebool-pald ror hle dl.orce, too.
"Ir lt hadn't been ror tba boardere, wa'd ha.a bad a
bard tl.. ettln throu b the dapre.alon. rtar John got
bl. Job wlth tbe .C.I. a. a dootor, had the kld., and
got tbe dl.orca, we bad to taka the kld.. Ha .arrlad
oul.e rl ht art.r ha dl.oroed Mary. ary had got to
runnlng around an drlnklng. At that .ha wa. a bettar
wlre tban Loul.a wl11 e••r be. Loul.a hata. chl1dran.
AlWay. afrald that tbay'ra goln to break .u.ethlng.
"Wl11'e worklng ha.n't bean mucb .1nea the yeara got
.tarted lnto thlrtle.. Ra'. got t e ~aley an that .aka.
bl. not eb u.a. Ra won't try to at on tha FA.
Ha'll dla ratty .oon, I thlnk, but I'd bat that ba
o~tll.a••a. Tha.e .1ckly one. alway. do.an a to 11.a
lon er. I'll Ju.t pop orr one at tha.e day••
And 8ydney ay a.le .topped telkln. Sbe had eald
anough hadn't eb.? be bad mentloned tbe • ld.," a glrl
at tltt.en and a boyar thlrtaan. ha bad .antloned tha
.a.an boar .r., wbo wlth what .ba know. to ba the
trltllngna•• ot all .en, .ometlme. n. lect to ay thelr
co .on .e.an dollar. a w.ek. It I .a. lnter••ta , .ba'd
t.ll •••o.etblng about Mary, tb. .gro cook wbo has a
arely••d hu.band who .h. wl.b.. to .t on "tb. dl.-
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