Dorothea Lange (1895–1965) - Old time professional migratory laborer camping on the outskirts of Perryton, Texas at opening of

Caption written by iconic photographer Dorothea Lange for a photograph taken in June 1938 while working for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). This photograph and its detailed documentation form a key piece of Great Depression visual history.1. Context of the PhotographPhotographer: Dorothea Lange (1895–1965) Date & Location: June 1938; outskirts of Perryton, Texas (Ochiltree County, Texas Panhandle)
Lange was traveling through the Texas Panhandle to document the seasonal influx of migratory workers arriving for the opening of the winter wheat harvest.2. Why Lange’s Extended Captions MatterLange did not view her work merely as taking pictures; she conducted field interviews to record living oral histories.Direct Quotation as Narrative: Lange recorded exact quotes and background stories provided by the subjects. The caption gives voice directly to the laborer rather than projecting an external narrative.Geographic Mapping of Pre-Dust Bowl Migration: The worker's route—spanning Texas, New Mexico, Idaho, Colorado, Washington, and Arizona—illustrates that migratory labor pre-dated the Dust Bowl and extended far beyond the well-known route to California.Dignity & Aspirations: The sentence "He wants to buy a little place in Idaho" anchors the narrative. Despite 13 years of displacement, the family retained the universal goal of landownership and stability.3. Historical & Sociological Importance"Old Time Professional" vs. Dust Bowl Refugee: Lange intentionally distinguishes between traditional migratory laborers (who chose or adapted to seasonal farm work prior to the Great Depression) and the newer wave of destitute farm families fleeing drought in Oklahoma and Texas.Systemic Precarity: Being on the road for 13 years (since ~1925) shows that agricultural labor in the U.S. relied on a landless, itinerant working class long before the 1929 stock market crash.FSA Policy Impact: These caption-photograph pairings were sent back to Washington, D.C., to convince lawmakers and the public of the need for government-funded migrant camps, health services, and rural resettlement programs under the New Deal.
FSA Collection ID: Library of Congress, LC-DIG-fsa-8b32345 (digital file from original neg.)