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Tag: vintage photos

Vintage Photo Tuesday: Women At Work

Vintage Photo Tuesday is back with images of women at work from 1940s to the 1960s.

Let’s jump right in and see what I found!

1941 vintage ww2 photo of a canadian woman working on an airplane part for the war effort vintage photo
1941 vintage ww2 photo of a canadian woman working on an airplane

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. 

June 1955 photo of women picking up their pay check at their office. Wonder where they work, where they have lockers? Super 1950 dresses on our featured ladies.

1950s vintage photo: June 1955 Vintage Photo of women picking up their pay check at their office.

Source: Etsy

NASA research mathematician Katherine Johnson is photographed at her desk at NASA Langley Research Center with a globe, or “Celestial Training Device,” in 1962 (Source).

About Katherine:

Born on Aug. 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Johnson began her career in 1953 at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the agency that preceded NASA, one of a number of African-American women hired to work as “computers” in what was then their Guidance and Navigation Department. 

Johnson worked at Langley from 1953 until her retirement in 1986, making critical technical contributions which included calculating the trajectory of the 1961 flight of Alan Shepard, the first American in space. She is also credited with verifying the calculations made by early electronic computers of John Glenn’s 1962 launch to orbit and the 1969 Apollo 11 trajectory to the moon. Johnson worked on the Space Shuttle Program and the Earth Resources Satellite and encouraged students to pursue careers in science and technology (Source).

1960s Vintage Photo of Katherine Johnson at Work, 1962 at Nasa. Hidden Figures.

Source: NASA

Hanging out at the elevator at work. 1950s image of 3 women at their office.

Vintage Photo Three Women In Elevator Office Building 1950s / 1960’s

Source: Etsy

The below 1960s picture is my favorite of ALL the photos that will appear in this post..why? Well you may or may not know that two women in this image are tying Rebar (Reinforcing Steel) in Cuba. Why do I care? Because my family is a reinforcing steel family.

My grandparents (and my dad) are immigrants from Germany in the early 1950s to Canada. They made their way to the city I grew up in (Sarnia, Ontario) where my grandfather started a Reinforcing Steel business called ‘Gruening Steel’. The business main job was to cut, bend and install Rebar (the tying you see below). We had this business until the 1990s. I even worked in the yard one summer and then moved into the office during my college days. My dad still works in the business for the company that bought the family business way back when.

ALSO! There are very very little women in this business out in the field. The only women I knew who did this job was my aunt (my dad’s sister) and she had to put up with a lot of men being..men back in the 70s & 80s. My aunt eventually moved into the office doing detailing (the breaking down of where the rebar goes for buildings) which is still a male dominated job. She is pretty darn amazing!

So now you know why I love this photo.

Side note…tying rebar is a very hard job and using the right tools does make it easier. No gloves, too big of gloves and using your hands or a allen key instead of pliers will make the job go 10 times slower. I applaud these women for what they are doing because it’s not easy.

1960s vintage photo of 2 women in Cuba Tying Rebar

Source: eBay

1950s vintage photo of two office women in a room filled with ledgers and paperwork. A young man is in the photo as well. That is a lot of papers..yooza!

1950s vintage photo of two office women in a room filled with ledgers and paperwork

Source: Etsy

Coming soon to a blog post near you…Ontario’s Farmerettes: Canada’s Forgotten Wartime Heroes.

From 1941-1952 the Farmerettes were high school aged girls, who planted, hoed, thinned, sprayed, staked, detasseled and harvested the fruit and vegetables in Southern Ontario (I grew up in this area) when the men had left farm labour jobs to enlist for service to fight for our freedom (Source). FANTASTIC!

Ontario’s Farmerettes: The True Story of Canada’s Forgotten Wartime Heroes 1940s-1950s.

Source: Readers Digest

Now if you wish to jump ahead and learn more about these women, please check out the webpage Farmerettes in Ontario” by Bonnie Sitter & Shirleyan English. You can also pick up her book “Onion Skins and Peach Fuzz” HERE (scroll to bottom for ordering details).

1940s photo of a young Black woman working on a machine in a factory. According to the Library of Congress, “Plant foremen point to 20-year-old Annie Tabor as one of their best lathe operators, despite her lack of previous industrial experience.”

1940s photo of a young Black woman working on a machine in a factory. According to the Library of Congress, “Plant foremen point to 20-year-old Annie Tabor as one of their best lathe operators, despite her lack of previous industrial experience.”

Source: Buzzfeed

Waitresses at Ipswich’s Regal Café, c1940. Look at those outfits! WOW!

The back of this photo is inscribed to the Greek proprietor: To Jimmy from Lorna, Ethel, Audrey and Jean. The two waitresses seated in the middle were Ethel Dreier (left) and her older sister Lorna Dreier (right). (Source).

Waitresses at Ipswich’s Regal Café, c1940. Look at those outfits! WOW!

Source: Queensland Historical Atlas

Vintage photo of a young woman working the cash register at the hobby shop in the 1950’s.

Vintage Photo Shirley Working The Cash Register at Hobby Shop 1950's

Source: Etsy

1950s maybe early 1960s photo of a young Black Woman working at a diner in her uniform. Notice the price of drink and food above her head? So cheap for donuts!

1950s 1960s vintage photo of a young black woman working at a coffee shop soda fountain

Source: Pinterest

Vintage image of “Betty” at work at J C Penney’s in the 1960’s. What a fun photo!

Vintage Photo Betty at Work at J C Penney's 1960's, Original Found Photo, Vernacular Photography

Source: Etsy

A list of soda fountain flavours can be seen on the sign behind Vera Dawson and Maureen Sheppard, who were waitresses at Londy’s Café in Ipswich in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Super 1949 Hairstyles!

1940s Vintage Photo of Two lovely waitresses-Vera & "Myself". Super 1940s Hairstyles

Source: Queensland Historical Atlas

I hope you enjoyed this editon of VPT. It is always fun on my end to browse vintage photos for hours at a time.

Share in the comments section what your favourite images were!

Thanks for stopping by!

Liz

Vintage Photos of Parties from the 1940s-1960s!

It’s my birthday today and I get to spend it in another lockdown here in Toronto. Yay me. So in honor of the day my wonderful mother decided to send me into the world (May 4th), here is a Vintage Photo Tuesday post on Parties! Birthday Parties, Party Parties etc from the 1940s to the 1960s.

Let the photo party begin!


Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay & are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. 


So many fantastic things to see at this birthday party or wedding shower, 1950s vintage photo. First up the 1950s Dresses..so cute! I also love the purse the lady in the white is holding (I own a similar one). Those chairs are fun too and of course all the cute 1950s hairstyles.

1950s 35mm amateur photo slide house party of a lady in dress from the 1950s and other women looking on.

Source: eBay

WOW the 1940s hairstyle on our lovely lady in the front of this dance party image is stunning (so is her dress)! The decor hanging from the ceiling is also quite interesting and fun.

1940s vintage photo of couples dancing at a party in 1940s fashions and 1940s vintage hairstyles

Source: Etsy

1950s / 1960s Vintage Birthday party photo of a bunch of cute kids with party hats posing for their picture. Now can we discuss all the patterns going on in this dining room? Floral wallpaper AND floral non matching curtains. Yooza! Do you like? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

Vintage Photo Children Birthday Party 1950's, 60's Kitchen with lots of patterned Wallpaper

Source: eBay

What a fun party photo! 1960s vintage photo of a group of Black Men and Women having a cocktail party all dressed up in 1960s fashions. I love that cute 7-up pop bottle as well.

1960s vintage photo of a group of Black Men and Women having a cocktail party all dressed up in 1960s fashions.

Source: eBay

Roller skating is seeing a resurgence in popularity these days and so it’s fun to see how girls in the 1940s dressed for their own roller skating party fun. What a super photo!

1940s vintage photo of 2 girls in 1940s fashion (jeans and tops) roller skating together.

Source: eBay

Vintage 1950s image of world traveling party goers, on board the S.S. “Maasdam”. Holland America Line. “Tonight’s theme..Party hats!”.

Vintage 1950s image of world traveling party goers On board the S.S. "Maasdam". Holland America Line.

Source: eBay

Cake anyone? I am more of a pie person, but the cake in this 1960s office party (not sure what kind of party this is to be honest), sure looks good.

1960s vintage photo of a woman cutting a cake with a group of other women watching on in 1960s fashions

Source: Etsy

December 31, 1956, vintage photo of a group of Black Women at the jukebox during a New Year’s Eve party in Tallahassee, Florida. What a fun jukebox and our ladies 1950s Hairstyles & Fashions are amazing!

December 31, 1956, vintage photo of a group of Black Women at the jukebox during a New Year's Eve party in Tallahassee, Florida.

Source: Flickr

Hugs at a party with streamers everywhere! 1950s photo.

1950s vintage photo of a young couple hugging at a party with streamers

Source: Etsy-therescuedphoto

Stylish Cocktail party circa 1960s. Super 1960s fashions!

Further Reading: How to host a 1950s / 1960s Cocktail Party

Vintage 1960s Color Photo DRESSED UP LADIES AND MEN AT COCKTAIL PARTY

Source: eBay

Every fun party must come to an end, like at our 1940’s Dartmouth College Alpha Delta fraternity party photo. Sleep where you drop!

1940s vintage photo of college students sleeping at a party in 1940s fashions.

Source: eBay

Thanks for dropping by for my blog vintage photo party for my birthday (since I’m stuck inside). Share your favourite photos in the comment section below!

Further Reading: Vintage Photos from the 1920s-1960s (Archived blog posts)

Liz