Review of "Sunday Afternoons on the Porch: Reflections of a Small Town in Iowa, 1939-1942," photographs by Everett W. Kuntz, text by Jim Heynen

 Review of

Sunday Afternoons on the Porch: Reflections of a Small Town in Iowa, 1939-1942, photographs by Everett W. Kuntz, text by Jim Heynen, ISBN 9781587296536

Five out of five stars

Images of life in rural Iowa

 Everett Kuntz was an avid amateur photographer. In 1939 he spent his life savings of $12.50 for a camera. He made a camera case from an old boot along with other scraps of metal. From 1939 to 1942, he took pictures of many scenes in and around the small town of Ridgeway, Iowa (population then about 350). The title and the image on the cover are based on a very common small town tradition in the summer. Church on Sunday morning and then a family gathering on a large, shaded porch.

 As is mentioned on page 83, “… cash from Iowa farms increased by 60 million dollars between 1938 and 1939.” Therefore, the Depression was starting to ease in Iowa at that time. People are depicted in many different activities, from a woman milking a cow by hand to outhouses, the kitchen ware for Sunday dinner laid out on the table, work gangs taking a break, children in a classroom, girls and boys in their finest contrasted with girls and boys in their play clothes, outdoor picnics, and sports and other entertainment.

 While Kuntz was a good photographer, the fact that he was an amateur makes these images especially revealing. While there is some hamming for the camera, there is none of the stiffness that people often have when in front of a professional. The people in the images are clearly at ease with having their picture taken by someone they know.

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