https://archive.engl.sites.carleton.edu/files/original/a210e4b16ef43f5be153a425fda9fcf8.jpg 8ca6aac3068b94ba07f149caeb6d088c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Yoon How Archives Shape Perceptions of Women's Labor Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jonah Yoon Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Photographic print Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image Dimensions not specified Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Whistle blows noon Opelika Cotton Mill. Smallest girl in photograph is Velma Smith a tiny little spinner with a steady job all day. I found her at home crying bitterly because her father refused to let her have any money out of the pay envelope she brought home. Mother said: "That hain't no way to encourage children to work." Mother, father and several children work. Her mother admitted she worked here before 12 years old, and at Ella White Mill and one other city for about a year. Says they have no family record, but claims Velma is 12 now (which is doubtful). I saw her several times going and coming at 5:45 A.M. and noon. Location: Opelika, Alabama. Subject The topic of the resource Industrial labor Photograph Gender and labor Class and labor Archival framing Representation and bias Institutional power Archival silence Early 20th Century Progressive era Opelika, Alabama United States, South Cotton mill towns Description An account of the resource This 1914 photograph by Lewis Hine shows workers leaving the Opelika Cotton Mill in Alabama at the noon whistle. Among them is Velma Smith, identified by Hine as "a tiny little spinner with a steady job all day." The image shows Velma running toward the camera while adult workers move past her. Hine's caption provides extensive detail. Velma's father refused to let her keep any of her own wages. Velma's mother had worked in mills before age 12, and multiple members of the family were employed at the mill. The caption also notes that Velma was seen starting work before dawn and suggests that her claimed age of 12 was likely falsified.<br /><br /><strong>Interpretation Note</strong><br />This photograph presents industrial labor as a family economy structured by dependency and necessity. At first glance, the scene appears almost ordinary, with workers leaving for a break and a child running. However, Hine's caption turns it into clear evidence of generational exploitation. His narrative draws attention to the economic pressures that bound entire families, even very young children (likely under 12), to mill work. Details in the caption about withheld wages, uncertain ages, and shifts that began before dawn show how mills and families together shaped a child's working life. Terry Cook suggests that archives grow out of the social pressures and assumptions of their time, shaping what gets saved and how people make sense of it. With that in mind, Hine's photograph feels like a product of its own system that turns the ordinary routines of mill work into proof of the social and economic conditions he wanted to expose. The photograph also hints at how child labor was viewed then, since Velma's job is shown as normal work rather than as a loss of childhood or schooling. Altogether, it shows how records created within a certain worldview can end up supporting the accepted ideas about labor in early 20th-century industrial settings. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874–1940 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived National Child Labor Committee Collection, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1914-10 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource National Child Labor Committee Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource No known restrictions. For information, see “National Child Labor Committee (Lewis Hine photographs)” <a href="https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/res.097.hine">https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/res.097.hine</a> Relation A related resource LC-DIG-nclc-02928 (color digital file from b&w original print) LC-USZ6-1305 (b&w film copy negative) LC-USZ62-77132 (b&w film copy negative) Library of Congress item record: <a href="https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2018677734/">https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2018677734/</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Photographic print Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Still Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context LC-H5-3821 LOT 7479, v. 6, no. 3821 [P&P] Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Opelika, Alabama, United States Alternative Title An alternative name for the resource. The distinction between titles and alternative titles is application-specific. Whistle blows noon at Opelika Cotton Mill, showing Velma Smith, the smallest girl in the photograph, 1914 Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1 photographic print Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Photographic print Bibliographic Citation A bibliographic reference for the resource. Recommended practice is to include sufficient bibliographic detail to identify the resource as unambiguously as possible. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, National Child Labor Committee Collection, LC-H5-3821. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Opelika, Alabama, United States Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1914 Provenance A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource. Part of the National Child Labor Committee Collection. Archival framing Archival silence Class and labor Cotton mill towns Early 20th century Gender and labor industrial labor Institutional power Photograph Progressive era Representation and bias South United States