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“Reaping What Was Sown”

A black and white photo where two women wearing hats are concentrating on stacking up oats in the harvest season.
Two women are concentrating on stacking up oats in the field, helping with harvest.

Harvest time brings everyone out to gather the crop. For many years, few women actively worked in the fields. WWII brought about a shift in labor. As many young men went to the front lines, many women went to the fields to help the men that remained at home to keep the food supply going. Women would drive tractors, cut hay, fix windmills or like these ladies, bring in crops. In this week’s Throwback Thursday from the Adele Sudlow collection, two women stack ripe oats that are ready to be threshed. WWII created a shift in what people considered normal gender roles. Women joined the men in the fields reaping what was sown. 

SDAHM 2015:028:416 Donated by Adele Sudlow