Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Monday, March 30, 2015

Friday, March 27, 2015

Port Gibson Oil Works 4

Port Gibson, Mississippi 

Percy McGloster, 52, worked in the ancient seed-crushing building. . . ”I started working there when I was 19,” Mr. McGloster said. ”My daddy worked there. He worked there for 50 years. He loved that oil mill. He used to love to hear that old whistle blow.”

At work one day in late May, Mr. McGloster said, ”They said, ‘You all get yourselves together’ in the clapboard office. We’re going to close it down', they said. They said the mill wasn’t putting out enough production. It didn’t make sense. We were putting out good production. We were booming.

"It was a hurting thing to walk in there and tell my wife I didn’t have a job any more. You know a husband, he always got to be strong. Even when you’re hurting, you got to act like things aren’t hurting.”

 excerpted from  A Vestige of King Cotton Fades Out in Mississippi by Peter T. Kilborn. Published in the New York Times, October 18, 2002

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Port Gibson Oil Works - 2

Port Gibson, Mississippi 

In earlier days, the cotton seed arrived at the plant by train and the seeds were cleaned, de-linted and hulled. The hulls were used for cattle feed and the lint was used by the textile industry. The seeds were then steam cooked and the cottonseed oil extracted in hydraulic presses. The "cake" that was left over after the oil was pressed out was ground up and sold for cattle feed.

In more modern times, the seed arrived by truck the oil was extracted by chemical processes.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Monday, March 23, 2015

Friday, March 20, 2015

A touch of color

Shenandoah National Park 

There is just a touch of spring color starting in the woods to welcome the new season. Snow is in the forecast—that's the way it goes in March.

Enjoy the first day of spring (or autumn if you live in the southern hemisphere) and thanks for reading Photography In Place.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Corbin Cabin

Shenandoah National Park 

Yesterday was sunny but a bit cool with a stiff breeze as I set out on a 4.2 mile hike that took me past the Corbin Cabin in Nicholson Hollow. In 1910, George Corbin built his cabin along the Hughes River and he lived there with his family until 1938 when he was bought out by the Shenandoah National Park. There were several cabins in Nicholson Hollow and most were dismantled when the inhabitants were forced out to make way for the creation of the park. The Corbin Cabin still stands in nearly original condition, a reminder of a way of life now lost.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Monday, March 16, 2015

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Friday, March 13, 2015

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Horse drawn buggy

Clover Hill Village - Appomattox County, Virginia 

A display of antique farm equipment at Clover Hill Village includes this buggy along with horse drawn baling and mowing machinery, tractors and other farm implements dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

The Hardy School

Clover Hill Village - Appomattox County, Virginia 

After the Civil War the Virginia Constitution provided for the establishment of public funded free schools. The Hardy School dates from the early 1900s and is believed to be the first publicly funded school in Appomattox County. The school was dismantled at its original site by the Appomattox County Historical Society in 1998 and moved to Clover Hill Village.

The ringing school bell warned students that classes were about to begin.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Monday, March 9, 2015

Martin/Grady Cabin

Clover Hill Village - Appomattox County, Virginia 

Dating from around 1830, this building was lived in until 1981. In 1994 it was obtained by the Appomattox County Historical Society and moved to Clover Hill Village. Sturdy cabins like this were common in the Appomattox area., and some are still standing.

Friday, March 6, 2015

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Monday, March 2, 2015