Old Photos of a Pre-war County Fair in West Virginia

In 1938, LIFE photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt went to a fair in West Virginia, and he came back with marvelous portraits of the fairgoers as well as wonderfully atmospheric shots of the displays, attractions and the fairgrounds themselves.

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Black and White Photos of West Virginia Coal Mine Life in 1938

West Virginia coal mine life during the 1930s was tough. The Coal companies used the miners to dig the coal, then turned around and rented them company houses and sold goods at the company store. As these photos show, the miners and their families practically worked just to keep alive, while the mine owners made a killing.

Boiling juice of sugarcane into sorghum molasses

Card gambling in center of town

Children of Pauline Clyburn, rehabilitation borrower

Children of riverboat family

Coal miner waiting to go home in friend's truck

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