Embedded Files
"To Janie's strange eyes, everything in the Everglades was big and new. Big Lake Okechobee, big beans, big cane, big weeds, big everything. Weeks that did well to grow waist high up the state were eight and often ten feet tall down there. Ground so rich that everything went wild. Volunteer cane just taking the place. Dirt roads so rich and black that a half mile of it would have fertilized a Kansas wheat field. Wild cane on either side of the road hiding the rest of the world. People wild too." (p.129)
Janie and Teacake have arrived on “the Muck” of the Everglades. The landscape, the people, and the work are unlike anything Janie has ever experienced before. Explore some of these images and sounds from this time and place, and feel free to research other sources of information about this incredible place.
This recording of "The Weeping Worry Blues" comes from Belle Glade, which at the time was a central gathering-place for the Everglades region's seasonal agricultural workers. The performer is singer and harmonica player Booker T. Sapps (see photo), who was recorded both on his own, and as part of a trio with fellow harmonica player Roger Matthews and guitarist Willie Flowers.
Here is a brief documentary film from the 1950s about the Everglades.
And finally, here is a photograph of field laborers working the crops of “the Muck” in the 1930s.
What are your impressions of “the Muck”? What does this unique place make you think of, imagine, or feel? Convey your impressions in whatever manner you wish, however, perhaps this time try experimenting with a new medium.
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