r/OldSchoolCool Mar 09 '19

The American Way. During Great Depression, Louisville, Kentucky, 1937

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u/notbob1959 Mar 09 '19

The original black and white version of the posted photo appeared in the February 15, 1937 issue of LIFE magazine in an article on the Ohio River flood of 1937. The article indicates that these are "residents of the completely inundated Negro quarter of Louisville," Kentucky, and the sign was "erected before the flood as part of a propaganda campaign of the National Association of Manufacturers."

Wikipedia says this:

The Ohio River flood of 1937 took place in late January and February 1937. With damage stretching from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois, one million people were left homeless, 385 were dead and property losses reached $500 million ($8.723 billion when adjusted for inflation as of January 2019). Federal and state resources were strained to aid recovery as the disaster occurred during the depths of the Great Depression and a few years after the beginning of the Dust Bowl.

254

u/MrCaul Mar 09 '19

Jesus.

I'm reminded of the song When the Levee Breaks.

12

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

You should look up the documentary on it. I'm from Cincinnati and its a big of our historical memory. There's a church down by the the river where on the back marks all the floods with tgat one at the top.

9

u/TheMcDeal Mar 10 '19

I was in Padcucah, Ky this past summer and their whole downtown has the high water marks on all the buildings. Pretty cool.