A farm labor sign at one of the highway entrances to Medford, Oregon, was asking for farm laborers.

The idea of labor supply is a fascinating one that is heavily connected with food supply. During WWII, you were serving your country whether you were on the front lines of the war, or back home working on a farm. All hands were on deck, and it’s fascinating to see especially here in Oregon. There were several farm labor camps in the surrounding area, and in the image you can see that they weren’t too picky about who was working. 

Fun fact (for myself): There were several farm labor camps in Coburg, Oregon – a place I drive through regularly to visit family in Eugene. After seeing the images, the layout of the town made absolute sense to me. There are several farms surrounding Coburg, and even more between Coburg and Corvallis. 

I plan on looking further into more local labor forces and seeing where laborers came from and the types of work they were used for. It will be exciting to see!Y

You can find this 1944 Medford farm labor sign picture online. Keep watching this blog for the March debut of the Food and Farming history guide.