Description: This photograph shows a street sign in Akron, Ohio, which reads "Don't Jaywalk, You May Live Longer" in English, Italian, and German. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B01F02_012_001
Subjects: Signs (Notices); Traffic signs and signals; Akron (Ohio)--Social life and customs; Ohio--Emigration and immigration--History
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: This 8.5" by 11" (21.6 by 27.9 cm) photograph reflects both the safety environment that Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company encouraged and the ethnic diversity of those employed in the Youngstown steel industry. The sign posted at the company's employment office indicates that "unless you are willing to be careful to avoid injury to yourself and fellow workmen, do not ask for employment. We do not want careless men in our employ." The text is also written in other languages, including Hungarian, Romanian, German, Croatian and Slovak. In November 1900, a group of 55 Youngstown citizens, led by James A. Campbell, raised $600,000 in capital to create the Youngstown Iron Sheet and Tube Company. Land was purchased along the Mahoning River approximately three miles east of downtown. In 1902, the mill opened for production. Spectacular growth marked the company's second decade, some of it spurred by the demand for steel caused by World War I. In 1923, YS&T purchased the Brier Hill Steel Company of Youngstown and the Steel and Tube Company of America of East Chicago. During the 1930s the company survived the Great Depression and the 1937 "Little Steel" strike to emerge as a leading steel producer. In the 1960s, YS&T began to experience a decline. The company merged with the Lykes Corporation in 1969 and LTV Corporation in 1979, at which time all Youngstown operations were phased out. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om1628_1920463_024
Subjects: Business and Labor; Immigration and Ethnic Heritage; Steel industry; Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company; Safety; Signs (Notices)
Places: Youngstown (Ohio); Mahoning County (Ohio)