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102-595: The Pack Horse Library Project was a Works Progress Administration (WPA) program that delivered books to remote regions in the Appalachian Mountains between 1935 and 1943. Women were very involved in the project which eventually had 30 different libraries serving 100,000 people. Pack horse librarians were known by many different names including "book women," "book ladies," and "packsaddle librarians." The project helped employ around 200 people and reached around 100,000 residents in rural Kentucky. Because of

204-448: A "hostility toward any outside influence". The librarians managed to overcome the attitude to such a degree that one family was reported as refusing to move to a new county because it lacked a packhorse library service. The project ended in 1943, when the WPA stopped funding the program. While local communities tried to keep the libraries going, they were unable to continue without funding. It

306-466: A branch campus in the Whitley County portion of Corbin just outside Woodbine. Whitley County, which had historically been dry , is now officially classified by the state as a moist county - sale of alcohol in the county is prohibited except in certain areas as voted on by the residents of the area, including at least one area of the county allowing full retail alcohol sales. In Whitley County,

408-560: A chance to participate in the work program. In the South, as might have been expected, this participation has been limited, and differential wages on the basis of race have been more or less effectively established; but in the northern communities, particularly in the urban centers, the Negro has been afforded his first real opportunity for employment in white-collar occupations. The WPA mostly operated segregated units, as did its youth affiliate,

510-580: A community center in Leslie County offered his library to the WPA if they would fund people to carry the books to people who could not easily access library materials. That started the first pack horse library, which was administered by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) until the WPA took it over in 1935. By 1936, there were eight pack horse libraries in operation. The Pack Horse Library Project

612-424: A local public relief agency approved by the WPA. The WPA Division of Employment selected the worker's placement to WPA projects based on previous experience or training. Worker pay was based on three factors: the region of the country, the degree of urbanization , and the individual's skill . It varied from $ 19 per month to $ 94 per month, with the average wage being about $ 52.50—$ 1,136 in present-day terms. The goal

714-593: A pack horse library in 1939. Hindman was the central location for Knott County which had a pack horse library in 1935. By 1937, there was a pack horse library in Lee County . A major headquarters was located in Lexington . Letcher County also had its own library. London, Kentucky in Laurel County was one of the more centrally located pack horse libraries. The center was run by Ethel Perryman , who

816-505: A profound impact on library life in America. The WPA spent $ 4.47 million on removal and internment between March and November 1942, slightly more than the $ 4.43 million spent by the Army for that purpose during that period. Jason Scott Smith observes that "the eagerness of many WPA administrators to place their organization in the forefront of this wartime enterprise is striking.” The WPA

918-501: A separate division, the National Youth Administration . Between 1935 and 1943, the WPA employed 8.5 million people (about half the population of New York). Hourly wages were typically kept well below industry standards. Full employment, which was reached in 1942 and appeared as a long-term national goal around 1944, was not the goal of the WPA; rather, it tried to supply one paid job for all families in which

1020-491: A total of 7 million presumably employable persons between the ages of 16 and 65 inclusive. Of these, however, 1.65 million were said to be farm operators or persons who had some non-relief employment, while another 350,000 were, despite the fact that they were already employed or seeking work, considered incapacitated. Deducting this 2 million from the total of 7.15 million, there remained 5.15 million persons age 16 to 65, unemployed, looking for work, and able to work. Because of

1122-427: A very slow rate of growth in Whitley County. The development of the coal mining industry in the area towards the late 1800s spurred on population growth as poor families from neighboring states rushed into the county and led to the formation of Corbin, still the largest city in Whitley County. North Corbin , just north of Whitley County is home to Sanders Cafe , which is the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken . It

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1224-505: A week, totaling an average of 4,905 miles (7,894 km). The book packs that the librarians carried could hold around 100 books. Books were rotated between locations and were chosen based on the preferences of the library patrons. The collection of the libraries were focused on children's books. Maggie Mae Smith , a supervisor at the Whitley County Pack Horse Library wrote that the children all ran to meet

1326-629: Is a great hunger and eagerness for music." In 1929, Broadway alone had employed upwards of 25,000 workers, onstage and backstage; in 1933, only 4,000 still had jobs. The Actors' Dinner Club and the Actors' Betterment Association were giving out free meals every day. Every theatrical district in the country suffered as audiences dwindled. The New Deal project was directed by playwright Hallie Flanagan , and employed 12,700 performers and staff at its peak. They presented more than 1,000 performances each month to almost one million people, produced 1,200 plays in

1428-544: Is included in the London, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area . The area now encompassed by Kentucky's Whitley County was first bounded in 1772, when all of what is now the state of Kentucky was in the frontier county of Fincastle County, Virginia . Fincastle was divided in 1776, with the western portion named Kentucky County, Virginia. In 1780, Virginia set aside all land in Kentucky County for soldiers who had served in

1530-546: Is that: "In the distribution of WPA project jobs as opposed to those of a supervisory and administrative nature politics plays only a minor in comparatively insignificant role." However those who were hired were reminded at election time that FDR created their job and the Republicans would take it away. The great majority voted accordingly. WPA projects were administered by the Division of Engineering and Construction and

1632-590: Is the largest waterfall in Kentucky. Both Daniel Boone Forest and Cumberland Falls State Park are operated by the Kentucky State Parks system, also located in the county. The county contains two regionally significant waterways, the Laurel and Cumberland rivers. As of the census of 2000, there were 35,865 people, 13,780 households, and 9,894 families residing in the county. The population density

1734-634: The Battle of the Thames . The county seat, Williamsburg, is also named for Colonel Whitley, with the first court held at the home of the town's earliest resident, Samuel Cox. Thomas Walker was the first known white man to see Whitley County. His expedition began in 1750. During his passage he named the Cumberland River , after the Duke of Cumberland. The estimated population of Whitley County in 1818

1836-699: The Cumberland Plateau of southeastern Kentucky, which is greatly overlapped by the broad Eastern Coal Field region of the state. Because of its location in the midst of Cumberland Mountains , elevations in the county range from 723 to 2,220 feet (220 to 677 m) above sea level. 38,000 acres (150 km ) of western Whitley County are preserved within the Daniel Boone National Forest . Cumberland Falls , in Cumberland Falls State Resort Park ,

1938-634: The Federal Art Project (FAP). In the Historical Records Survey, for instance, many former slaves in the South were interviewed; these documents are of immense importance to American history. Theater and music groups toured throughout the United States and gave more than 225,000 performances. Archaeological investigations under the WPA were influential in the rediscovery of pre-Columbian Native American cultures, and

2040-775: The Great Depression and a lack of budget money, the American Library Association estimated in May 1936 that around a third of all Americans no longer had "reasonable" access to public library materials. Eastern, rural Kentucky is a geographically isolated area, cut off from much of the country. Prior to the creation of the Pack Horse Library Project, many people in rural Appalachian Kentucky did not have access to books. The percentage of people who were illiterate in eastern Kentucky

2142-590: The National Youth Administration . Blacks were hired by the WPA as supervisors in the North; however of 10,000 WPA supervisors in the South, only 11 were black. Historian Anthony Badger argues, "New Deal programs in the South routinely discriminated against blacks and perpetuated segregation." The League of the Physically Handicapped in New York was organized in May 1935 to end discrimination by

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2244-554: The National Youth Administration . The average worker was about 40 years old (about the same as the average family head on relief). WPA policies were consistent with the strong belief of the time that husbands and wives should not both be working (because the second person working would take one job away from some other breadwinner). A study of 2,000 female workers in Philadelphia showed that 90% were married, but wives were reported as living with their husbands in only 18 percent of

2346-578: The Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) or Federal Emergency Relief Administration programs (FERA). It was liquidated on June 30, 1943, because of low unemployment during World War II. Robert D. Leininger asserted: "millions of people needed subsistence incomes. Work relief was preferred over public assistance (the dole) because it maintained self-respect, reinforced the work ethic, and kept skills sharp." On May 6, 1935, FDR issued executive order 7034, establishing

2448-549: The Revolutionary War . Kentucky County was divided into 3 counties, Jefferson , Fayette , and Lincoln . Lincoln County was divided in 1799, with part of becoming Knox County . On January 17, 1818, the Legislature removed the southwest portion of Knox to create a separate subdivision, named Whitley County. In 1912, some of the previous Whitley area was partitioned off to create McCreary County . The new county

2550-718: The breadwinner suffered long-term unemployment. In one of its most famous projects, Federal Project Number One , the WPA employed musicians, artists, writers, actors and directors in arts, drama, media, and literacy projects. The five projects dedicated to these were the Federal Writers' Project (FWP), the Historical Records Survey (HRS), the Federal Theatre Project (FTP), the Federal Music Project (FMP), and

2652-549: The poverty line , including 34.10% of those under age 18 and 19.00% of those age 65 or over. Whitley County's economy has always relied heavily on its natural resources, particularly coal and timber from the area's heavily forested, mountainous terrain. Due to the rough territory created by the Cumberland Mountains , agriculture in the county has historically been less significant, although tobacco and corn are grown in some areas. Three public school districts serve

2754-712: The Division of Professional and Service Projects. Most projects were initiated, planned and sponsored by states, counties or cities. Nationwide projects were sponsored until 1939. The WPA built traditional infrastructure of the New Deal such as roads, bridges, schools, libraries, courthouses, hospitals, sidewalks, waterworks, and post-offices, but also constructed museums, swimming pools, parks, community centers, playgrounds, coliseums, markets, fairgrounds, tennis courts, zoos, botanical gardens, auditoriums, waterfronts, city halls, gyms, and university unions. Most of these are still in use today. The amount of infrastructure projects of

2856-499: The Federal Music Project gave music classes to an estimated 132,000 children and adults every week, recorded folk music, served as copyists, arrangers, and librarians to expand the availability of music, and experimented in music therapy. Sokoloff stated, "Music can serve no useful purpose unless it is heard, but these totals on the listeners' side are more eloquent than statistics as they show that in this country there

2958-560: The Pack Horse Librarians of Eastern Kentucky. The episode originally aired on Morning Edition September 13, 2018. A "director's cut" of the story can also be heard through the Radiotopia podcast "The Kitchen Sisters present". Works Progress Administration The WPA's first appropriation in 1935 was $ 4.9 billion (about $ 15 per person in the U.S., around 6.7 percent of the 1935 GDP). Headed by Harry Hopkins ,

3060-442: The Pack Horse Library Project. Local communities held book drives and open houses to support libraries. The Pack Horse Library Project not only distributed books but also provided reading lessons. Librarians and book women would also read aloud to families. Librarians were also seen as educators, bringing new ideas into isolated areas. In order to do so, librarians had to deal with their community's suspicion of strangers and deal with

3162-826: The South's population did not have access to any public library. Libraries that existed circulated one book per capita. The early emphasis of these programs was on extending library services to rural populations, by creating libraries in areas that lacked facilities. The WPA library program also greatly augmented reader services in metropolitan and urban centers.   By 1938, the WPA Library Services Project had established 2,300 new libraries, 3,400 reading rooms in existing libraries, and 53 traveling libraries for sparsely settled areas. [1] Federal money for these projects could only be spent on worker wages, therefore local municipalities would have to provide upkeep on properties and purchase equipment and materials. At

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3264-462: The South, whereas the West was less of a sure thing; swing states took priority over the other states. There was a perception that WPA employees were not diligent workers, and that they had little incentive to give up their busy work in favor of productive jobs. Some employers said that the WPA instilled poor work habits and encouraged inefficiency. Some job applicants found that a WPA work history

3366-607: The Times-Tribune (Corbin, KY) worked to expose corruption in the Whitley County Sheriff's Department. Then-Sheriff Lawrence "Larry" Hodge ( R ) was first elected in 2002. Sheriff Hodge built his reputation as a tough crime fighter, but most residents did not know the Sheriff accepted money in exchange for allowing defendants to walk free. Sheriff Hodge also stole seized firearms and drug evidence, according to

3468-602: The Times-Tribune and affidavits filed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. On November 8, 2010 (while he was still Sheriff), a Whitley County grand jury returned a 21-count indictment against Hodge. He remained Sheriff until the end of 2010, as he was defeated in the Republican Party primary earlier in the year (May) in a landslide by Colan Harrell, who won in the general election in November. In

3570-412: The United States. Cedric Larson stated that "The impact made by the five major cultural projects of the WPA upon the national consciousness is probably greater in total than anyone readily realizes. As channels of communication between the administration and the country at large, both directly and indirectly, the importance of these projects cannot be overestimated, for they all carry a tremendous appeal to

3672-420: The United States. Of these, 8.3 million were children under 16 years of age; 3.8 million were persons between the ages of 16 and 65 who were not working or seeking work. These included housewives, students in school, and incapacitated persons. Another 750,000 were person age 65 or over. Thus, of the total of 20 million persons then receiving relief, 13 million were not considered eligible for employment. This left

3774-581: The WPA against the physically disabled unemployed. The city's Home Relief Bureau coded applications by the physically disabled applicants as "PH" ("physically handicapped"). Thus they were not hired by the WPA. In protest, the League held two sit-ins in 1935. The WPA relented and created 1,500 jobs for physically disabled workers in New York City. About 15% of the household heads on relief were women, and youth programs were operated separately by

3876-533: The WPA funded it. May F. Stafford was in charge of the project there. The Painstville library had grown to hold around 5,000 books by 1938. It was estimated that it cost around $ 40 a month in rent and utilities to run the central facility for the pack horse library. The Pikeville pack horse library was run by Naomi Lemon . Pine Mountain school was the headquarters for the pack horse library in Harlan County , which had been opened up by 1937. The supervisor of

3978-751: The WPA included 40,000 new and 85,000 improved buildings. These new buildings included 5,900 new schools; 9,300 new auditoriums, gyms, and recreational buildings; 1,000 new libraries; 7,000 new dormitories; and 900 new armories. In addition, infrastructure projects included 2,302 stadiums, grandstands, and bleachers; 52 fairgrounds and rodeo grounds; 1,686 parks covering 75,152 acres; 3,185 playgrounds; 3,026 athletic fields; 805 swimming pools; 1,817 handball courts; 10,070 tennis courts; 2,261 horseshoe pits; 1,101 ice-skating areas; 138 outdoor theatres; 254 golf courses; and 65 ski jumps. Total expenditures on WPA projects through June 1941 totaled approximately $ 11.4 billion—the equivalent of $ 236 billion today. Over $ 4 billion

4080-485: The WPA libraries was extremely positive. For many, "the WPA had become 'the breadline of the spirit.'" At its height in 1938, there were 38,324 people, primarily women, employed in library services programs, while 25,625 were employed in library services and 12,696 were employed in bookbinding and repair.   Because book repair was an activity that could be taught to unskilled workers and once trained, could be conducted with little supervision, repair and mending became

4182-637: The WPA supplied paid jobs to the unemployed during the Great Depression in the United States , while building up the public infrastructure of the US, such as parks, schools, and roads. Most of the jobs were in construction, building more than 620,000 miles (1,000,000 km) of streets and over 10,000 bridges, in addition to many airports and much housing. In 1942, the WPA played a key role in both building and staffing internment camps to incarcerate Japanese Americans . At its peak in 1938, it supplied paid jobs for three million unemployed men and women, as well as youth in

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4284-538: The Works Progress Administration. The WPA superseded the work of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration , which was dissolved. Direct relief assistance was permanently replaced by a national work relief program—a major public works program directed by the WPA. The WPA was largely shaped by Harry Hopkins , supervisor of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and close adviser to Roosevelt. Both Roosevelt and Hopkins believed that

4386-521: The age of 18 living with them, 54.90% were married couples living together, 13.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.01. The age distribution was 25.80% under 18, 10.80% from 18 to 24, 27.30% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 or older. The median age

4488-600: The assumption that only one worker per family would be permitted to work under the proposed program, this total of 5.15 million was further reduced by 1.6 million—the estimated number of workers who were members of families with two or more employable people. Thus, there remained a net total of 3.55 million workers in as many households for whom jobs were to be provided. The WPA reached its peak employment of 3,334,594 people in November 1938. To be eligible for WPA employment, an individual had to be an American citizen, 18 or older, able-bodied, unemployed, and certified as in need by

4590-414: The book women, saying, "Bring me a book to read." For adults, the collection focused on current events, history, religion and biographies. The Bible was one of the most requested books, along with "instructive literature." Other popular books were Robinson Crusoe and literature by Mark Twain . Women enjoyed reading illustrated home magazines and books about health and parenting. Another unique aspect of

4692-597: The cases. Only 2 percent of the husbands had private employment. Of the 2,000 women, all were responsible for one to five additional people in the household. In rural Missouri, 60% of the WPA-employed women were without husbands (12% were single; 25% widowed; and 23% divorced, separated or deserted). Thus, only 40% were married and living with their husbands, but 59% of the husbands were permanently disabled, 17% were temporarily disabled, 13% were too old to work, and remaining 10% were either unemployed or disabled. Most of

4794-417: The cliffs. Other areas had deep water and her feet sometimes "froze to the stirrups." Another librarian chose to hike her 18 mi route on foot after the death of her mule. One librarian had a very old mule and so walked with her animal part of the route instead of riding. Over the course of a month, women would ride and walk their route at least twice, each route covering 100 to 120 miles (160 to 190 km)

4896-401: The collection was the recipe and quilting pattern books that women created, writing down their favorites into binders which were shared throughout the area. The scrapbooks also contained cuttings from other books and magazines and eventually, there were more than 200 different books generated by patrons and librarians. In 1938, four Tru-Vuers with 40 films were purchased to circulate through

4998-569: The community had to not only donate books but also provide facilities to store the books and other supplies needed by the librarians on horseback. Each local pack horse library had a clerk, or head librarian, who handled various library duties and four to ten book carriers who delivered books to mountain schools and homesteads. The head librarian would process donations at the headquarters, repair books and get items ready to deliver. Librarians repurposed items like cheese boxes into card catalog files or license plates bent into shapes for bookends. Monthly,

5100-507: The cost of publication sponsored each book, the cost was anywhere from $ 5,000 to $ 10,000. In almost all cases, the book sales were able to reimburse their sponsors. Additionally, another important part of this project was to record oral histories to create archives such as the Slave Narratives and collections of folklore. These writers also participated in research and editorial services to other government agencies. This project

5202-685: The country that served an estimated eight million individuals. Directed by Nikolai Sokoloff , former principal conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra , the Federal Music Project employed over 16,000 musicians at its peak. Its purpose was to create jobs for unemployed musicians, It established new ensembles such as chamber groups, orchestras, choral units, opera units, concert bands, military bands, dance bands, and theater orchestras. They gave 131,000 performances and programs to 92 million people each week. The Federal Music Project performed plays and dances, as well as radio dramas. In addition,

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5304-473: The country. The direct focus of the WPA projects changed with need. In 1935 priority projects were to improve infrastructure; roads, extension of electricity to rural areas, water conservation, sanitation and flood control. In 1936, as outlined in that year's Emergency Relief Appropriations Act , public facilities became a focus; parks and associated facilities, public buildings, utilities, airports, and transportation projects were funded. The following year saw

5406-570: The county: The University of the Cumberlands (formerly known as Cumberland College), located in Williamsburg, is the largest private university in Kentucky, and the only university with its main campus in Whitley County. The school's sports teams play on the NAIA level and provide college level sporting events for the local community. In addition, Eastern Kentucky University maintains

5508-481: The crimes). Kentucky state auditors determined at least $ 200,000 had been stolen or was otherwise missing from Sheriff Hodge's official accounts. According to the United States Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 445 square miles (1,150 km ), of which 438 square miles (1,130 km ) is land and 7.3 square miles (19 km ) (1.6%) is water. Whitley County is located within

5610-452: The development of professional archaeology in the US. The WPA was a federal program that ran its own projects in cooperation with state and local governments, which supplied 10–30% of the costs. Usually, the local sponsor provided land and often trucks and supplies, with the WPA responsible for wages (and for the salaries of supervisors, who were not on relief). WPA sometimes took over state and local relief programs that had originated in

5712-478: The different libraries so that people could see their first moving pictures. The books were in such demand that one young man walked 8 mi (13 km) to the closest pack horse library to get new books. In 1936, around 33,000 books were circulated to around 57,000 families. The lending period for books was usually about a week. Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) and women's clubs in Kentucky were key to helping raise money to purchase new books. Lena Nofcier, who

5814-548: The distribution of surplus commodities, and school lunch projects. One construction project was the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut, the bridges of which were each designed as architecturally unique. In its eight-year run, the WPA built 325 firehouses and renovated 2,384 of them across the United States. The 20,000 miles of water mains, installed by their hand as well, contributed to increased fire protection across

5916-475: The early 1930s. The first Pack Horse Library was created in Paintsville in 1913 and started by May F. Stafford . It was supported by a local coal baron, John C.C. Mayo , but when Mayo died in 1914, the program ended because of lack of funding. Elizabeth Fullerton , who worked with the women's and professional projects at the WPA, decided to reuse Stafford's idea. In 1934, A Presbyterian minister who ran

6018-603: The eye, the ear, or the intellect—or all three." This project was directed by Holger Cahill , and in 1936 employment peaked at over 5,300 artists. The Arts Service Division created illustrations and posters for the WPA writers, musicians, and theaters. The Exhibition Division had public exhibitions of artwork from the WPA, and artists from the Art Teaching Division were employed in settlement houses and community centers to give classes to an estimated 50,000 children and adults. They set up over 100 art centers around

6120-545: The first manager of the Manzanar Relocation Center in California, a facility that, according to one insider, was “manned just about 100% by the WPA.” Drawing on experiences derived from New Deal era road building, he supervised the installation of such features as guard towers and spotlights. Then Secretary of Commerce Harry Hopkins praised his successor as WPA administrator, Howard O. Hunter , for

6222-399: The following divisions: These ordinary men and women proved to be extraordinary beyond all expectation. They were golden threads woven in the national fabric. In this, they shamed the political philosophy that discounted their value and rewarded the one that placed its faith in them, thus fulfilling the founding vision of a government by and for its people. All its people. The goal of the WPA

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6324-537: The four years it was established, and introduced 100 new playwrights. Many performers later became successful in Hollywood including Orson Welles , John Houseman , Burt Lancaster , Joseph Cotten , Canada Lee , Will Geer , Joseph Losey , Virgil Thomson , Nicholas Ray , E.G. Marshall and Sidney Lumet . The Federal Theatre Project was the first project to end; it was terminated in June 1939 after Congress zeroed out

6426-573: The funding. This project was directed by Henry Alsberg and employed 6,686 writers at its peak in 1936. By January 1939, more than 275 major books and booklets had been published by the FWP. Most famously, the FWP created the American Guide Series , which produced thorough guidebooks for every state that include descriptions of towns, waterways, historic sites, oral histories, photographs, and artwork. An association or group that put up

6528-508: The introduction of agricultural improvements, such as the production of marl fertilizer and the eradication of fungus pests. As the Second World War approached, and then eventually began, WPA projects became increasingly defense related. One project of the WPA was funding state-level library service demonstration projects, to create new areas of library service to underserved populations and to extend rural service. Another project

6630-578: The late spring of 2011, Hodge appeared in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in London and pleaded to an 'information.' That summer, Hodge was sentenced to 15.5 years in federal prison for drug trafficking, money laundering and extorting persons arrested by his department (with Williamsburg attorney Ronnie "Ron" W. Reynolds, who was sentenced to three years in federal prison for his part in

6732-460: The librarians would meet at their central facility in what they called "conferences." Most of the people involved in the Pack Horse Library Project were women. Most of the pack horse librarians were the only person in their family who was then earning an income. Book carriers provided their own horses or mules, some of which were leased from local farmers. Some routes were so steep that one book woman, Grace Caudill Lucas , had to lead her horse across

6834-673: The library in Harlan County was Ann Richards, a WPA employee. In 1936, the WPA began planning to open a pack horse library in Somerset, Kentucky . The Somerset library was supervised by Imogene Dutton . By 1937, there was a pack horse library in Whitley County . Maggie Mae Smith was the supervisor at that location. Notable books include: The NPR series The Keepers , "stories of activists, archivists, rogue librarians, curators, collectors and historians", devoted an episode to

6936-435: The local level, WPA libraries relied on funding from county or city officials or funds raised by local community organizations such as women's clubs. Due to limited funding, many WPA libraries were "little more than book distribution stations: tables of materials under temporary tents, a tenant home to which nearby readers came for their books, a school superintendents' home, or a crossroads general store." The public response to

7038-711: The main activity of the WPA Library Project. The basic rationale for this change was that the mending and repair projects saved public libraries and school libraries thousands of dollars in acquisition costs while employing needy women who were often heads of households.   By 1940, the WPA Library Project, now the Library Services Program, began to shift its focus as the entire WPA began to move operations towards goals of national defense. WPA Library Programs served those goals in two ways: 1.) existing WPA libraries could distribute materials to

7140-601: The nation's African-American families were either on relief or were employed by the WPA. Civil rights leaders initially objected that African Americans were proportionally underrepresented. African American leaders made such a claim with respect to WPA hires in New Jersey, stating, "In spite of the fact that Blacks indubitably constitute more than 20 percent of the State's unemployed, they composed 15.9% of those assigned to W.P.A. jobs during 1937." Nationwide in 1940, 9.8% of

7242-660: The need, not only to maintain existing facilities but to expand library services led to the establishment of the WPA's Library Projects.  With the onset of the Depression local governments facing declining revenues were unable to maintain social services, including libraries. This lack of revenue exacerbated problems of library access that were already widespread. In 1934 only two states, Massachusetts and Delaware, provided their total population access to public libraries. In many rural areas, there were no libraries, and where they did exist, reading opportunities were minimal. 66% of

7344-407: The newer McCreary (all originally formed from Whitley) in having never voted Democratic, the only Democrats who have carried the county were Woodrow Wilson in 1912 (when the Republican Party was bitterly divided) and Lyndon Baines Johnson over Barry Goldwater in 1964, with Goldwater losing by three votes. From 2009 to 2011, young journalist Adam Sulfridge and his editor Samantha Swindler of

7446-517: The population were African American. However, by 1941, the perception of discrimination against African Americans had changed to the point that the NAACP magazine Opportunity hailed the WPA: It is to the eternal credit of the administrative officers of the WPA that discrimination on various projects because of race has been kept to a minimum and that in almost every community Negroes have been given

7548-512: The profession for other work had employment not come through federal relief...the WPA subsidized several new ventures in readership services such as the widespread use of bookmobiles and supervised reading rooms – services that became permanent in post-depression and postwar American libraries."   In extending library services to people who lost their libraries (or never had a library to begin with) WPA Library Services Projects achieved phenomenal success, made significant permanent gains, and had

7650-574: The project was Louise S. Van Cleve . Burkesville in Cumberland County started up a pack horse library in 1938 that had around 1,000 books and 3,000 magazines in the collection. To obtain books for a planned Floyd County library, an open house was held in Prestonsburg in 1938. The supervisor for Floyd county was Grace Moore Burchett , who oversaw services at Prestonsburg, Martin, Lackey and Wheelwright . Greenup County started

7752-452: The public on the nature of an imminent national defense emergency and the need for national defense preparation, and 2.) the project could provide supplementary library services to military camps and defense impacted communities. By December 1941, the number of people employed in WPA library work was only 16,717. In May of the following year, all statewide Library Projects were reorganized as WPA War Information Services Programs. By early 1943,

7854-408: The route to economic recovery and the lessened importance of the dole would be in employment programs such as the WPA. Hallie Flanagan , national director of the Federal Theatre Project , wrote that "for the first time in the relief experiments of this country the preservation of the skill of the worker, and hence the preservation of his self-respect, became important." The WPA was organized into

7956-452: The vast and unparalleled New Deal propaganda network." Much of the criticism of the distribution of projects and funding allotment is a result of the view that the decisions were politically motivated. The South, despite being the poorest region of the United States, received 75% less in federal relief and public works funds per capita than the West. Critics would point to the fact that Roosevelt's Democrats could be sure of voting support from

8058-560: The women worked with sewing projects, where they were taught to use sewing machines and made clothing and bedding, as well as supplies for hospitals, orphanages, and adoption centers. One WPA-funded project, the Pack Horse Library Project , mainly employed women to deliver books to rural areas in eastern Kentucky. Many of the women employed by the project were the sole breadwinners for their families. The WPA had numerous critics. The strongest attacks were that it

8160-478: The work of closing war information centers had begun. The last week of service for remaining WPA library workers was March 15, 1943. While it is difficult to quantify the success or failure of WPA Library Projects relative to other WPA programs, "what is incontestable is the fact that the library projects provided much-needed employment for mostly female workers, recruited many to librarianship in at least semiprofessional jobs, and retained librarians who may have left

8262-673: The “building of those camps for the War Department for the Japanese evacuees on the West Coast.” The share of Federal Emergency Relief Administration and WPA benefits for African Americans exceeded their proportion of the general population. The FERA's first relief census reported that more than two million African Americans were on relief during early 1933, a proportion of the African-American population (17.8%) that

8364-416: Was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $ 22,075, and the median income for a family was $ 27,871. Males had a median income of $ 26,518 versus $ 17,001 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 12,777. About 21.60% of families and 26.40% of the population were below

8466-469: Was 500. It had increased to 7,522 by 1860; that number includes 186 slaves . Extension of a railroad spur into Whitley County (1883) provided significant impetus to its continued growth. Industry began to flourish - primarily lumber mills and coal mines. The Whitley County courthouse burned in 1931. It was replaced with federal funding. Its rugged terrain, densely forested woodlands, and a history of conflict with local Indian tribes all combined to make for

8568-469: Was 82 per square mile (32/km ). There were 15,288 housing units at an average density of 35 per square mile (14/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 98.37% White , 0.34% Black or African American , 0.23% Native American , 0.20% Asian , 0.01% Pacific Islander , 0.09% from other races , and 0.76% from two or more races . 0.69% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. There were 13,780 households, out of which 33.70% had children under

8670-473: Was a local director of the WPA, women's work division. London also served as a central receiving area for book donations. One large central book distribution program was run out of Pittsburgh by Mrs. Malcolm McLeod , wife of the head of the English department at Carnegie Tech , who sent her donations to London. The first location to have a pack horse library was Johnson County, Paintsville. Leslie's collection

8772-601: Was at around 31 percent. People who lived in rural, mostly inaccessible areas wanted to become more literate, seeing education as a way to escape poverty. While there were traveling libraries , which were created by the Kentucky Federation of Women's Clubs starting in 1896, the lack of roads and population centers in eastern Kentucky discouraged the creation of most public library services in those locations. The traveling libraries were discontinued in 1933. In Kentucky, 63 counties had no library services at all during

8874-671: Was donated by their minister, Benton Deaton, who kickstarted the project. The pack horse library in Leslie started in the Wooton Community Center. A pack horse library existed in Martin County by 1941. The headquarters of the pack horse library in Morehead experienced a fire in 1939. In Owsley County , they had a pack horse library by 1937. Paintsville, Kentucky revived its original pack horse library idea when

8976-445: Was founded there by Harland David Sanders, better known as Colonel Sanders , in 1930. The current elected officials of Whitley County are: In congress Whitley county is served by Hal Rogers of the 5th congressional district. Whitley County is a historically Republican county, and part of the pro-union bloc of southern Kentucky. Although it does not match the nearby counties of Clay , Leslie , Jackson , Owsley , Monroe and

9078-520: Was given the name of Whitley in honor of William Whitley, noted pioneer and Indian fighter. In the years prior to 1818, many skirmishes were fought between Indians and hunters and trappers in the area. Colonel William Whitley , is famous locally for fighting many of these battles within the area, safeguarding the Wilderness Road , as well as for his service in the War of 1812 , where he was killed at

9180-466: Was headed by Ellen Woodward at a federal level. The project ran between 1935 and 1943. "Book women" were hired by the WPA and worked for around $ 28 a month delivering books in the Appalachians via horseback or on mules . They delivered both to individual homes and to schoolhouses. The WPA paid for the salaries of the supervisors and book carriers; all books were donated to the program. Members of

9282-645: Was involved in promoting the book donation program through the PTA, helped raise money by book drives and penny donations. In Paintsville, Kentucky , the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) helped pay shipping expenses for the books donated. The head of the library in Paintsville, Stafford, also solicited books by writing to the editor of The Courier-Journal . PTA's in Kentucky helped promote

9384-463: Was nearly double the proportion of white Americans on relief (9.5%). This was during the period of Jim Crow and racial segregation in the South, when black Americans were largely disenfranchised . By 1935, there were 3,500,000 African Americans (men, women and children) on relief, almost 35 percent of the African-American population; plus another 250,000 African-American adults were working on WPA projects. Altogether during 1938, about 45 percent of

9486-456: Was on the ground helping with removal and relocation even before the creation of the WRA. On March 11, Rex L. Nicholson, the WPA's regional director, took charge of the “Reception and Induction” centers that controlled the first thirteen assembly centers. Nicholson's old WPA associates played key roles in the administration of the camps. WPA veterans involved in internment included Clayton E. Triggs,

9588-446: Was only in the 1950s that the remote communities would have access to bookmobiles . There were around 30 different pack horse libraries who served around 100,000 different people in the mountain areas. The libraries also served around 155 schools in these counties by 1937. Breathitt County was an early pack horse library location, opening in 1935. Campbellsville, Kentucky opened a pack horse library on November 3, 1938. The head of

9690-682: Was spent on highway, road, and street projects; more than $ 1 billion on public buildings, including the iconic Dock Street Theatre in Charleston, the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, and Timberline Lodge in Oregon's Mount Hood National Forest . More than $ 1 billion—$ 20.7 billion today —was spent on publicly owned or operated utilities; and another $ 1 billion on welfare projects, including sewing projects for women,

9792-541: Was the Federal Project Number One , which had five different parts: the Federal Art Project , the Federal Music Project , the Federal Theatre Project , the Federal Writers' Project , and the Historical Records Survey . The government wanted to provide new federal cultural support instead of just providing direct grants to private institutions. After only one year, over 40,000 artists and other talented workers had been employed through this project in

9894-500: Was the Household Service Demonstration Project , which trained 30,000 women for domestic employment. South Carolina had one of the larger statewide library service demonstration projects. At the end of the project in 1943, South Carolina had twelve publicly funded county libraries, one regional library, and a funded state library agency. A significant aspect of the Works Progress Administration

9996-553: Was the prelude for a national political machine on behalf of Roosevelt. Reformers secured the Hatch Act of 1939 that largely depoliticized the WPA. Others complained that far left elements played a major role, especially in the New York City unit. Representative J. Parnell Thomas of the House Committee on Un-American Activities claimed in 1938 that divisions of the WPA were a "hotbed of Communists" and "one more link in

10098-519: Was the smallest of Federal Project Number One and served to identify, collect, and conserve United States' historical records. It is one of the biggest bibliographical efforts and was directed by Luther H. Evans. At its peak, this project employed more than 4,400 workers. Before the Great Depression, it was estimated that one-third of the population in the United States did not have reasonable access to public library services. Understanding

10200-557: Was to employ most of the unemployed people on relief until the economy recovered. Harry Hopkins testified to Congress in January 1935 why he set the number at 3.5 million, using Federal Emergency Relief Administration data. Estimating costs at $ 1,200 per worker per year ($ 26,668 in present-day terms ), he asked for and received $ 4 billion ($ 88.9 billion in present-day terms ). Many women were employed, but they were few compared to men. In 1935 there were 20 million people on relief in

10302-399: Was to pay the local prevailing wage, but limit the hours of work to 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week; the stated minimum being 30 hours a week, or 120 hours a month. Being a voter or a Democrat was not a prerequisite for a relief job. Federal law specifically prohibited any political discrimination against WPA workers. Vague charges were bandied about at the time. The consensus of experts

10404-456: Was viewed negatively by employers, who said they had formed poor work habits. Whitley County, Kentucky Whitley County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Kentucky . As of the 2020 census , the population was 36,712. Its county seat is at Williamsburg , though the largest city is Corbin , and the county's District Court (a trial court of limited jurisdiction) sits in both cities. Whitley County

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