Nichols Family - 2004-09-28 21:58:30
Ms. Nichols and her son in their $6-a-week trailer in Willow Run's trailer and tent city in Edgewater Park near the plant.
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Mr. Akers - 2004-09-28 22:01:05Construction worker Mr. Akers in his tent, shared with 2 other men, in Edgewater Park. Normally the tent city was closed on Labor Day: in 1941, it remained occupied all winter.
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Birch Family - 2004-09-28 23:12:11The Birch family shared a trailer with another family; Mr. Birch (pictured) roomed outside in a tent with 2 other men.
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Wicks Family - 2004-09-28 23:13:54The Wicks family shared this Edgewater Park trailer with another family.
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Edgewater Tents - 2004-09-28 23:15:16Edgewater tents rented for $5 a week.
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Tents and Trailers in Edgewater Park - 2004-09-28 23:16:58All photos from August 1941.
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raymond - 2004-09-29 07:43:12I know of families who came to work there from West Virginia never having seen indoor plumbing, unable to read or write, knowing work only in deadly coal mines, children in tow and on the way, who were then and now grateful for the opportunity.
We used to make a big fuss over Harriette Arnow's books, too, for the gritty flipside. Now her "Dollmaker" languishes on the library shelves and burrows deeper in Sheridan's heaps.
Willow Village followed the tents and trailers and provided a new hell built of green plywood. Still, in some cases it was a better hell than ever before.
After the war, veterans and their families flocked to find what little housing there was near UM and EMU. Here's one account.
Incidentally, we have one of the stylish chairs pictured in the cozy-looking living room in our 1945 cozy living space.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-29 09:40:20
I loved reading that account, Raymond--thank you for the link. What struck me about these pictures was the suggestion of sacrifice, struggle, and backbreaking work in the faces. I also wondered about the even more difficult lives these workers left for what would seem better by comparison.
I admire the strength of these people. And I'm sure many were grateful for the opportunity as you say--but I wonder how cold Mr. Akers got in the winter of 1941, day after day, in his tent.* * * * * * * * * * * * raymond - 2004-09-29 11:00:28
Baring our teeth with mummy-like grins when we have our pictures made is a recent phenomenon. Look at presidential portraits. Used to be we'd sit sober and steady for the photographer's slow-speed camera. Not that life weren't hard in the good ol' days, it were.
Having lived as a child in a trailer like the ones pictured as well as in tarpaper shacks, I appreciate cold winters freezing and potbelly stove-warmed bricks in bed at night (my mother sewed flannel sleeves to hold the bricks).
Never spent a whole winter in a tent, though we Boy Scouts used to camp weekends in the snow. As did we soldiers in Germany in the 60s, bastions against encroaching commies. No KBR fed us. We peeled our own spuds, and Sgt Cook boiled 'em.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-29 11:04:27
That is a good point--it may be a mistake for me to judge a photo by another day's photographic standard. These pictures reminded me somewhat of those in one of my all-time favorite books, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (not too many smiles in those photos, either).
I detest fake-smiling for photos and don't particularly like having my picture taken to begin with.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-29 11:09:36
(I reread your description of childhood and Germany with keen interest--here's hoping I blog well enough or touch on some key topic to maybe coax out a story or two one of these days). * * * * * * * * * * * * eric - 2004-09-29 11:17:03
i think if you look at any pictures/portraits from THAT era you'll see the same look of sacrifice,struggle,determination and perhaps a little worry.. think of the times. i don't think you'll ever see such looks again.. have you read "the greatest generation" laura ?* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-29 11:20:26
You are right, Eric; just a few years after the Depression...It just shocked me to realize how easy I have it.
I have not yet read "The Greatest Generation"--my dad has a copy (and, born in 1927, is a member I suppose). Eric, what did you think about it?--I take it you read it.* * * * * * * * * * * * eric - 2004-09-29 12:02:34
oh,do read it laura ! brokaw does a great job detaling that time in americas history.it shed a lot of light on my parents world.made me really think about the differences there seems to be in each succesive generation...i read the follow up to it also,very good too...* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-29 12:19:03
I think I too easily dismissed this book due to an instinctive resistance to the hype that haloed it when it came out. But your "shed a lot of light" comment is making me put this on my list for the next time I get over to whittaker road library. Thanks Eric.* * * * * * * * * * * * leighton - 2004-09-29 14:21:57
Pittsfield Village was built to huse the assumed-returning soldiers and workers in '43. We lived there briefly in its current CoOp form. It's cozy, but for the hippies constantly trying to give funerals for the squirrels we'd still be AA residents.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-29 14:26:33
Never knew about that--thanks for the link, Leighton. But the article doesn't really pinpoint the exact location, and I'm afraid I'm ignorant. Would you tell me the street it's on? Is it off Wiard Road? Thanks Leighton.* * * * * * * * * * * * raymond - 2004-09-29 14:53:13
It's known now as just "The Village." Between Washtenaw and Packard, south of the Arborland area. Winding roads where I've been disoriented often.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-29 14:57:37
Oh, that's funny--I just biked through there last week to Packard in lieu of battling the 23 interchange on my way east from Washtenaw. Yep, lots of funny old houses back in there, and lots of duplexes. It is very windy and confusing--I was glad to finally get through & go on Packard.* * * * * * * * * * * * Leighton - 2004-09-29 15:57:36
The Village is a condo / co op now, but the planning was way ahead of its time...almost communal with the shared open spaces and amenities. Damn commies had it right early on: Even the roads' wining ways were ahead of their time (discouraging cut throughs between Washtenaw and Packard).* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-29 16:00:27
Pretty interesting. It still has an odd air to it--different from other residential areas in AA. Guess it was an early version of the current housing fad of "cohousing" which also stresses shared amenities and open spaces.* * * * * * * * * * * * Annarborcrat - 2004-09-29 17:28:33
I remember Pittsfield Village very well as I lived there the first 6 years of my life. My father also helped build Willow Run.* * * * * * * * * * * * raymond - 2004-09-29 17:29:01
whew. found our copy of "story of willow run." hadn't seen it in a couple of years. nice little book. map intact, good dust jacket. great pics.* * * * * * * * * * * * Annarborcrat - 2004-09-29 19:51:35
Talk of Pittsfield Village got me to dig out a booklet I have which is a directory of Pittsfield Village dated April 1946. It has a few hundred names and addresses of the village as it was then. No phone numbers are included. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-29 22:17:38
Annarborcrat: WOW! It's amazing to see a comment from someone whose father helped build the plant--I'm blown away. Thanks for contributing that--very cool. I'm glad to find a local connection. Helps me feel more connected to local history.
Raymond: wow, cool. I've got to see if they still have copies. I want to see those pics.
Annarborcrat again: Yet another cool local connection. I am relishing the sight of real local history coalescing on this tiny blog. Thanks for contributing it, Annarborcrat. If you were 6, you probably remember it. May I ask, what was it like?* * * * * * * * * * * * Annarborcrat - 2004-09-30 07:37:53
Laura, Pittsfield Village was a great place for kids. Mostly young families with kids lived there. The big open fields that are the center of each block were fantastic to run around in. To a small kid they looked like the went on forever. We kids flowed in and out of one another's homes almost as if they were our own. (Probably not so great for our parents). The village was exactly the same size as now, but land to the east and across Packard was just countryside or farmland. Pittsfield School was just a quick walk. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-30 09:09:03
Thank you so much for sharing that. It sounds wonderful. I can just picture the empty countryside south of Packard and east of Pittsfield Village. Pretty amazing. * * * * * * * * * * * * adult-galleries - 2004-10-27 15:47:34
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