Lewis Wickes Hine took this photograph near Hillsboro on October 6, 1921. He describes the photo as follows: “A Product of the 4-H Club. Gradie Walton, 17 yrs. old, – is very deficient in most school branches (except in mathematics where he shines). He is much handicapped physically – lost one eye in an accident and the other is weak. This year he raised 135 bushels of corn on one acre (his father raised about one half as much and complained that the boy’s land was better). The secret was that the boy worked hard on the plot, fertilizing and cultivating, even bringing soil in from the woods. He got the First Prize for two years.” Mr. Hine’s famous photo documentation was part of his work for the National Child Labor Committee, when he turned his attention to rural agriculture and education. The original photo and negative are housed at the Library of Congress. Courtesy of National Child Labor Committee Collection, Library of Congress; Pres. Poca. ID: PHP003991
Access the “Preserving Pocahontas” Digital Library at www.pocahontaspreservation.org or www.preservingpocahontas.org If you have historical records or photographs to be scanned for the county Historical Archive contact Preservation Officer B. J. Gudmundsson at 304-799-3989 or email info@pocahontaspreservation.org Prints of photographs are available.
