Fascinating Vintage Photos Show Life and Independence Day Celebration in Vale, Oregon in 1941

In July 1941, Photographer Russell Lee visited the small town of Vale in Eastern Oregon. He was working for the Farm Security Administration to document the everyday life of Rural Americans coping with the Great Depression. Russell photographed the parade, rides, carnivals, landmarks, and life in Vale.

The people of the town were celebrating the 165th anniversary of the Independence Day of the United States. During that time the population of Vale was over 1,100. The fashions and style in Lee’s photographs are suggestive of a monoculture, a small town where things and people are in their right place and fit there.

Take a look at the photographs below and vote your favorites. And don’t forget to check, People of Pie Town in the 1940s by Russell Lee.

#1 Children enjoy cold sodas at a concession stand after the parade.

2 Points

Upvote Downvote

#2 Fun at the water fountain, picnic grounds, Vale, Oregon, July 4, 1941.

2 Points

Upvote Downvote

#3 Citizens of Vale, Oregon, take off their hats during the Pledge of Allegiance (radio program) on the Fourth of July, 1941.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#4 Decorating a car for the Fourth of July parade, in Vale, Oregon, in 1941.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#5 Spectators await the fourth of July parade in downtown Vale, Oregon, on the corner of Main Street and A Street.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#6 Cold drinks inside Vale’s Red Robin Coffee Shop, on Independence Day in 1941.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#7 A boy looks in a store window at Hubley brand cap guns, in ‘Army’, ‘Dick’, and ‘Cowboy’ models, on the fourth of July in Vale.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#8 “He’s Our Uncle”, one of many patriotic themed floats in Vale’s Fourth of July parade.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#9 Vale’s Fourth of July parade passes through downtown.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#10 Farm boys in town for the Fourth of July celebration.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#11 Legionaries parade on the Fourth of July in Vale.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#12 Children on ponies in the Vale Fourth of July parade.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#13 Boy scouts in the parade, July 4,1941.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#14 Street scene after the Fourth of July parade.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#15 At the hamburger stand.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#16 A family picnic, after the parade.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#17 After the picnic, relaxing with a comic book.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#18 Motorcycle riders, after the parade, before putting on a demonstration.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#19 Boys, Vale, Oregon, July 4, 1941

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#20 Boys’ tug of war.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#21 An artist at a concession stand in Vale, July 4, 1941.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#22 Ticket taker for pony ride concession. The headline on the Oregonian in her lap reads “Nazis Killed in Uncounted Thousands – Berezina River Runs With Blood.”

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#23 Boys play arcade games.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#24 Carnival rides in the background, Bingo players in foreground, Vale, Oregon, July 4, 1941.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#25 Girls watch the greased pig chase.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#26 A couple hold hands as they spin around an amusement park ride on the midway, in Vale, Oregon, on the Fourth of July, 1941.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#27 Bicycle riders ready for the parade on the Fourth of July in Vale.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#28 Women exit a carnival ride.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#29 At the greased pig chase.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#30 Interlude, after watching the Fourth of July parade.

-1 Points

Upvote Downvote