Children at work: Boston in the early 1900s

. . . any kind of new shoes were "cool".

Louis Hine left an enduring legacy in how he bore witness to the working conditions of children in the early 20th century - and, yet, his subjects often show dignity, joy, and humor.

I find it interesting that when historians track these kids through census and other records they often turn out to be as old as they say they are, even though some show the unmistakable delays in growth that go with the poverty they were raised in. (even Hine doubted their stated ages in many cases, yet he was often wrong, indicating that their stature and physical maturity wasn't just a "kids were smaller/grew later then" situation).

For those interested in mill children of New England, there is a retiree who has been documenting what became of some of Hine's subjects. Joe Manning's Louis Hine Project