Instead, the council worker laid the groundwork while Buirski carried a few of her pictures to show what her project was about. Most of the children in the collection are shown working with their families, cutting asparagus in the Basin, picking olives in California or hoeing cotton in Florida. Migrant families have long fascinated photojournalists. But in those 60 or so years after the Depression, the migrant family has changed. Most workers now are Mexican-American, and many migrant families travel from a home base in Texas to Washington, New York or California.
Migrant families are intact families.
Newer immigrants have joined Hispanics in the fields, people such as Viravon Keophilia and her family, Laotian refugees shown working in Florida in Buirski's collection. These people are very serious about family life, disciplined and hard-working. An average work day goes from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., leaving little time for the troubles that plague urban youth. The long days create familial bonds strong enough to repel negative outside influences. It's only when the children go to school that they become inundated with negative influences.