Artifact of the Week — December 1, 2016

Posted by on December 1, 2016
Mess hall of the National Youth Administration (NYA) training program at Arkansas College of Batesville, ca. 1938-1941

mess hall of the National Youth Administration (NYA) training program at Arkansas College of Batesville, ca. 1938-1941

This photo is from of the Stevens Collection at Old Independence Regional Museum.  The black and white photo features the mess hall of the National Youth Administration (NYA) training program at Arkansas College of Batesville.  The program ran from 1938-1941.  Bertha Starns, the mother of the donor, was a participant in the program.  Girls are seated at tables where a meal is being served “family style”.   Six girls in the photo are seen dressed as waitresses in white aprons.  These girls were also part of the NYA program.  The NYA was a “New Deal” agency that worked as part of the Works Progress Administration.  Students in the NYA program received a monthly stipend in exchange for their work on the college campus and around town.  Arkansas College housed sixty NYA young women from low income families across North Central Arkansas in the Independence Hall building.  The girls worked 5 hours a day in public labor activities and competed 6-11 hours of course work at the college.  They received $25 a month but were charged $15 a month for room and board and the remaining $10 a month paid tuition and personal expenses.

 

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