To those asking, it was not at all uncommon for poor kids in rural schools at this time to not wear shoes in warm weather. They were poor and wouldn't get a new pair til the weather got cold.
Hookworm was endemic throughout the South. It is primarily contracted via walking barefoot on ground contaminated with feces.
The Rockefeller Foundation's Sanitary Commission ran a public education campaign in the 1930's South, trying to educate people about the importance of wearing shoes. It was initially seen as a Rockefeller conspiracy to corner the shoe market.
I was just going to comment whether people/kids got infections from running barefoot through farms & woods. I'm sure they got cuts on their soles or tops from brush & rocks.
It used to be common to go shoeless at all times, so I'm sure kids grew pretty calloused feet. Hookworm doesn't require a laceration- the larvae can burrow through intact skin.
My dad grew up in Kentucky and southern Ohio in the 1930's; and he said they never wore shoes in the spring/summer/fall. He always hated wearing shoes as an adult.
My great-aunt lived on a farm in Kentucky and she was well-known for never wearing shoes, even later when she could afford them. She had amazingly tough feet! I also hated wearing shoes so I liked this philosophy.
I was a little kid in the PNW in the 1980s. We didn't wear shoes from when school let out to when we returned back to school at end of summer. I remember how weird it felt putting shoes back on! We were mostly barefoot for the entire summer
I'm more surprised by the kid in the back writing with his left hand. I was under the impression that this was disallowed back in the day.
As for the lack of shoes, it was pretty typical for kids to go barefoot in warm weather except on special occasions, or for church. This kept the shoes from being worn out too quickly, which would make it hard to pass them down to the next kid or a cousin.
Left handed writing- I think it really depended on the school and the teacher. I think both my parents were left handed, but were forced to become somewhat ambidextrous. Mom wrote right handed, but did a lot of things left handed. I believe she was made to write right handed. Dad could barely write, at least in part because they insisted he write right handed and the struggle was too real. But I do know other people from that time that wrote left handed.
I think society is just built for righties. Even now, most left handed people are extremely adapted to using their right. I, however, am basically useless with my left hand. My boyfriend is a lefty, but does a lot with his right hand
Leftie here. Sometimes I can do things with my right hand but I absolutely cannot write with it. My dad was also a leftie but his pencil was switched to his right.
>Left handed writing- I think it really depended on the school and the teacher.
I agree. I don't think it was a big a deal in smaller schools or many public schools. Def an issue in catholic schools.
That was true of my grandmother. She was forced to write right handed and became somewhat ambidextrous. She would write a sentence starting from the middle with both hands writing towards the outside at the same time. But you couldn't read it until you put it up to a mirror.
It changed over time. My uncle is 10 years older than my father. Same elementary school. Uncle was forced to write with his right hands my father wasn’t. This was in the 40s/50s in Georgia.
Right?! I grew up in the 2000s as a leftie and was always discouraged by teachers because of it. As a kid I had my left arm twisted backwards on several occasions. It was ridiculous. It wasn't until I got older that it wasn't a big deal.
I'm happy to see this acceptance of being left handed.
It was a problem for me when I was in kindergarten in 1996. I was very quickly figuring out I was ambidextrous and my teacher very quickly put a stop to that.
For everyone asking about why they don't have shoes, etc - here's a great documentary on Harlan County from the 70s but still should give you at least some idea of life in Appalachia. I'm not from there but I would guess it hasn't changed all that much except for the addition of meth and opioids. It's a sad place.
[Harlan County, USA](https://youtu.be/B-2qrFlwYlY?si=2aJ93rshrTl8M6aN)
I’m from there and everyone I knew wore shoes most of the time. I’m sure that also depends on the person. My daughter is always bare foot and we do not live there, I guess the mountain genes carried on lol.
I am from Appalachia and it’s actually changed a lot since that movie was made. There are almost no jobs in the mines anymore.
My dad grew up in coal camps just like it though. Some of the stories he tells are wild.
But then again, compared to my wife who grew up in the suburbs i feel like some of the stories I tell about growing up are wild.
Are there no jobs because the mines are closed, or the people there prefer to try for other jobs after generations of their families being in the mines? Oh, or is it because there's hardly any use for coal these days?
Harlan isn’t far from where I’m from. It’s still pretty bad. Education system lacks. Extremely poor. People take their kids to the store looking like this today. Social services don’t do anything. Police are idiots. Drug addicts rule the land and the old wealthy coal owners families still reign as the high society, even though pretty much everything else has dried up there. It’s a pretty lawless area. I avoid that area as much as I can.
61g socal, always went barefoot in summer, but only to play in the street, had to put on shoes to go anywhere. I'll share a happy memory, if I may, mom used to take me horseback riding sometimes, as a treat, one time she whistled for me to come home and held up the boots she'd got me for Xmas to signify where we going, I ran like hell!
You seem to confuse access to shoes with the money to be able to buy them. They had seven kids they never would have had the money to buy shoes for that many kids all year.
To those asking, it was not at all uncommon for poor kids in rural schools at this time to not wear shoes in warm weather. They were poor and wouldn't get a new pair til the weather got cold.
🎵in the summertime we didn’t have shoes to wear, but in the wintertime we’d all get a brand new pair 🎵
Was hoping I’d see this quote in here. That song paints a great picture of this time period.
What song?
Coal miners daughter by Loretta Lynn
From a mail order catalogue money made from selling a hog 🎶
Hookworm was endemic throughout the South. It is primarily contracted via walking barefoot on ground contaminated with feces. The Rockefeller Foundation's Sanitary Commission ran a public education campaign in the 1930's South, trying to educate people about the importance of wearing shoes. It was initially seen as a Rockefeller conspiracy to corner the shoe market.
I was just going to comment whether people/kids got infections from running barefoot through farms & woods. I'm sure they got cuts on their soles or tops from brush & rocks.
It used to be common to go shoeless at all times, so I'm sure kids grew pretty calloused feet. Hookworm doesn't require a laceration- the larvae can burrow through intact skin.
Oh, didn't know that.
My dad grew up in Kentucky and southern Ohio in the 1930's; and he said they never wore shoes in the spring/summer/fall. He always hated wearing shoes as an adult. My great-aunt lived on a farm in Kentucky and she was well-known for never wearing shoes, even later when she could afford them. She had amazingly tough feet! I also hated wearing shoes so I liked this philosophy.
I was a little kid in the PNW in the 1980s. We didn't wear shoes from when school let out to when we returned back to school at end of summer. I remember how weird it felt putting shoes back on! We were mostly barefoot for the entire summer
My Dad was born in 1942, and in looking at his school class pics, I remember there were several kids who were barefoot.
They had good foot health in this time.
but tons of hookworm
And splinters
Naaa the thick cornea helped. And every day walking on wood is a good polish. There couldn't be any danger. /s
I'm more surprised by the kid in the back writing with his left hand. I was under the impression that this was disallowed back in the day. As for the lack of shoes, it was pretty typical for kids to go barefoot in warm weather except on special occasions, or for church. This kept the shoes from being worn out too quickly, which would make it hard to pass them down to the next kid or a cousin.
Left handed writing- I think it really depended on the school and the teacher. I think both my parents were left handed, but were forced to become somewhat ambidextrous. Mom wrote right handed, but did a lot of things left handed. I believe she was made to write right handed. Dad could barely write, at least in part because they insisted he write right handed and the struggle was too real. But I do know other people from that time that wrote left handed.
I think society is just built for righties. Even now, most left handed people are extremely adapted to using their right. I, however, am basically useless with my left hand. My boyfriend is a lefty, but does a lot with his right hand
Leftie here. Sometimes I can do things with my right hand but I absolutely cannot write with it. My dad was also a leftie but his pencil was switched to his right.
I'm a rightie but use to practice doing things with my left.
>Left handed writing- I think it really depended on the school and the teacher. I agree. I don't think it was a big a deal in smaller schools or many public schools. Def an issue in catholic schools.
I don’t necessarily disagree agree with you, but both my parents literally attended school in 1 room schoolhouses, lol.
That was true of my grandmother. She was forced to write right handed and became somewhat ambidextrous. She would write a sentence starting from the middle with both hands writing towards the outside at the same time. But you couldn't read it until you put it up to a mirror.
It changed over time. My uncle is 10 years older than my father. Same elementary school. Uncle was forced to write with his right hands my father wasn’t. This was in the 40s/50s in Georgia.
Right?! I grew up in the 2000s as a leftie and was always discouraged by teachers because of it. As a kid I had my left arm twisted backwards on several occasions. It was ridiculous. It wasn't until I got older that it wasn't a big deal. I'm happy to see this acceptance of being left handed.
Was that in a public school or another type? In the USA?
It was a problem for me when I was in kindergarten in 1996. I was very quickly figuring out I was ambidextrous and my teacher very quickly put a stop to that.
“I’m going to learn this alphabet-thing so I can get the hell out of here.”
The next generation: "waaaaa bring back coal mining".
He’s smiling now, but in a few years his dad will forbid him from pursuing his interest in rocketry.
In the deep dark hills of Eastern Kentucky
That’s the place…where I traced…my BLOODLIIINE
Aww
Readin', writin' and 'rithmetic.
You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive by Patty Loveless is such a good song.
I was barefoot pretty much all summer as a kid. The soles stayed dirty looking even after a bath. We called them Grocery Store Feet. IYKYK
For everyone asking about why they don't have shoes, etc - here's a great documentary on Harlan County from the 70s but still should give you at least some idea of life in Appalachia. I'm not from there but I would guess it hasn't changed all that much except for the addition of meth and opioids. It's a sad place. [Harlan County, USA](https://youtu.be/B-2qrFlwYlY?si=2aJ93rshrTl8M6aN)
I agree. I just made a comment about this.
I’m from there and everyone I knew wore shoes most of the time. I’m sure that also depends on the person. My daughter is always bare foot and we do not live there, I guess the mountain genes carried on lol.
I am from Appalachia and it’s actually changed a lot since that movie was made. There are almost no jobs in the mines anymore. My dad grew up in coal camps just like it though. Some of the stories he tells are wild. But then again, compared to my wife who grew up in the suburbs i feel like some of the stories I tell about growing up are wild.
Are there no jobs because the mines are closed, or the people there prefer to try for other jobs after generations of their families being in the mines? Oh, or is it because there's hardly any use for coal these days?
I’m not from there, but allow me to pass judgement on an entire region and its people based on a fifty year old documentary.
For being barefoot, his feet are awfully clean.
In Appalachia, it was common for teachers to be very caring for their students and would make them wash up.
Harlan isn’t far from where I’m from. It’s still pretty bad. Education system lacks. Extremely poor. People take their kids to the store looking like this today. Social services don’t do anything. Police are idiots. Drug addicts rule the land and the old wealthy coal owners families still reign as the high society, even though pretty much everything else has dried up there. It’s a pretty lawless area. I avoid that area as much as I can.
AKA: His senior year.
61g socal, always went barefoot in summer, but only to play in the street, had to put on shoes to go anywhere. I'll share a happy memory, if I may, mom used to take me horseback riding sometimes, as a treat, one time she whistled for me to come home and held up the boots she'd got me for Xmas to signify where we going, I ran like hell!
he’s fidgeting with the desk with his toes.. just. like me. 0_0
This kid could very well have become a bank executive.
I have a desk similar to that one. About 100 years old, bargain priced at $30 when I bought it.
Kid looks happy and healthy and his feet actually look clean.
He looks more fulfilled than kids today.
There’s still people that let their children go out in public like this out here in KY
Ha, many people here go out in public in their pj's or in leggings short shorts with a bra top. This would be considered formal.
Put those grippers away.
Barefoot is cute, but why did he have his finger nail painted black?
White privilege.
The colored worked on a field. /s
Why aren’t they wearing shoes?
Guess
đź’°
Why weren’t they wearing shoes? I’d have to imagine shoes were required in every school in 1946. Even cola miners’ kids had shoes.
They couldn’t afford shoes
You have never seen poverty like Appalachia.
My dad was born in 1951 and even he didn't have shoes except for in the winter. He went to school with no shoes all the way until middle school
That’s so bizarre to imagine. People had shoes though. Shoes weren’t unheard of in Kentucky.
You seem to confuse access to shoes with the money to be able to buy them. They had seven kids they never would have had the money to buy shoes for that many kids all year.
Cola miners. Is that coke or pepsi?
Shasta
RC Cola