Back in the 1940s, summer in Westfield meant the arrival of the “Pennsy Girls”. The Pennsy Girls were young women from economically disadvantaged areas of rural Pennsylvania who were recruited to Westfield (along with teachers who served as chaperones and camp counselors) for seasonal employment on one of six local tobacco farms. Seasonal work was crucial to the economic survival of these young women and their families and the Pennsy Girls worked extremely hard planting, harvesting, and curing local tobacco. These seasonal workers resided in dormitories complete with recreational halls, and were bussed to and from the farms each day. But don’t think that their summers were all work and no play! When they weren’t working hard on the farm, these ladies took advantage of summer in New England and engaged in many extracurricular activities including swimming, roller skating, shopping, and dancing in the recreational halls of their dormitories.
The Westfield Athenaeum archives holds a small but fascinating collection of photographs documenting the summer farm season of these tenacious young women. See below for some of these wonderful photographs.
–Kim L. Pereira, Local History Librarian
