Picking Beans

Picking beans at the McGarrah farm near Siloam Springs (Benton County), July 1, 1955. Standing, from left: Mrs. Bob Anderson, Bob Anderson, Geneva McGarrah Bauer, unidentified, Tom Anderson, Tom Alverson, Tom Alverson (bushel basket on shoulder). Crouched, from left: Pearl McGarrah, Jack Bauer.

Geneva Bauer (the woman looking at the camera) is holding a list of basket weights used to estimate the pounds of beans picked. Workers was paid ten cents per pound of beans. This truckload was headed for Dallas to fresh-market buyers.

Mr. and Mrs. Jack Bauer Collection (S-92-144)

PIcking beans at the McGarrah farm near Siloam Springs (Benton County), July 1, 1955. Standing, from left: Mrs. Bob Anderson, Bob Anderson, Geneva McGarrah Bauer, unidentified, Tom Anderson, Tom Alverson, Tom Alverson (bushel basket on shoulder). Crouched, from left: Pearl McGarrah, Jack Bauer.

Geneva Bauer (the woman looking at the camera) is holding a list of basket weights used to estimate the pounds of beans picked. Workers was paid ten cents per pound of beans. This truckload was headed for Dallas to fresh-market buyers.

Mr. and Mrs. Jack Bauer Collection (S-92-144)

Brogdon and Hazel Produce Warehouse

Brogdon and Hazel produce warehouse on Emma Avenue, Springdale, circa 1939. Forrest Hazel and Preston Brogdon ran a bustling wholesale produce market for more than thirty years, during Springdale’s heyday as an agricultural hub where crops which were shipped out or processed locally.

In the 1930s, artist Natalie Henry was hired to paint a WPA mural for Springdale’s post office. She spent time in Springdale taking photos as a way to inform her artwork, including this scene at Brogdon and Hazel’s warehouse.

Today, Natalie Henry’s mural, “Local Industries,” hangs in the Shiloh Museum. Learn more about the mural under the “New Deal” section of our 1920 to 1950 online exhibit.

Natalie Henry, photographer. Martha Hall Collection (S-96-112-15)

Brogdon and Hazel produce wholesale warehouse on Emma Avenue, Springdale, Arkansas, circa 1939

Brogdon and Hazel produce warehouse on Emma Avenue, Springdale, circa 1939. Forrest Hazel and Preston Brogdon ran a bustling wholesale produce market for more than thirty years, during Springdale’s heyday as an agricultural hub where crops which were shipped out or processed locally.

In the 1930s, artist Natalie Henry was hired to paint a WPA mural for Springdale’s post office. She spent time in Springdale taking photos as a way to inform her artwork, including this scene at Brogdon and Hazel’s warehouse.

Today, Natalie Henry’s mural, “Local Industries,” hangs in the Shiloh Museum. Learn more about the mural under the “New Deal” section of our 1920 to 1950 online exhibit.

Natalie Henry, photographer. Martha Hall Collection (S-96-112-15)

J. A. Steele General Store

Joseph Albert Steele (1866–1931), a lifelong resident of Elm Springs (Benton County), was a storekeeper and buyer and seller of local farm products. In the May 6, 1917, issue of the Egg Reporter magazine, Steele noted a downturn in the number of eggs being brought to his store, lamenting,”There is no agitation for increasing the poultry and egg production shown in this section.”

Russell Charlesworth and Frances Reeves Collection (S-87-37-5)

Joseph Albert Steele (1866–1931), a lifelong resident of Elm Springs (Benton County), was a storekeeper and buyer and seller of local farm products. In the May 6, 1917, issue of the Egg Reporter magazine, Steele noted a downturn in the number of eggs being brought to his store, lamenting,”There is no agitation for increasing the poultry and egg production shown in this section.”

Russell Charlesworth and Frances Reeves Collection (S-87-37-5)

Pumping Water

Tom Farish (right) and an identified worker at a irrigation pond in Lowell (Benton County), July 1946. The portable pump was sending much-needed water to fields of green beans. Farish and Joe Steele were co-owners of Steele Canning Company, regional processors of beans, tomatoes, and spinach.

Maudine Sanders Collection (S-2006-132-152)

Tom Farish (right) and an identified worker at a irrigation pond in Lowell (Benton County), July 1946. The portable pump was sending much-needed water to fields of green beans. Farish and Joe Steele were co-owners of Steele Canning Company, regional processors of beans, tomatoes, and spinach.

Maudine Sanders Collection (S-2006-132-152)