Lewis Hine is surely one of my heroes.
An Oshkosh native, and
a Columbia student, like me,
his father
ran a restaurant in Oshkosh,
just like
my own.
Hine, even his name is like mine.
Sociologist,
social reformer, and
photographer extraordinaire,
Hine's photos
were timeless images of
American immigration,
urban squalor,
child labor, and
New York City
during first third
of Twentieth Century.
He captured or created iconic images
we will remember.
Forlorn working children,
Bewildered and weary immigrants,
construction of the Empire State Building, and
creation of the Manhattan skyline.
Penniless, he died
leaving great gifts to America.
Photo poems
for the ages.
Steve Heins