Students building furniture

Ruth Morton, who served as Director of Community Schools for the American Missionary Association (AMA) from 1936-1951, kept a scrapbook that documented the AMA's work at various institutions in North Carolina, Georgia, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, and Alabama. This photograph and Morton’s caption illustrate the types of industrial education offered at AMA schools. The caption reads, "The young men were especially anxious to learn furniture making. They did excellent work with few tools. Although, we planned for good shop facilities, emphasis was put upon learning maximum use of tools that would be readily available to farmers when they were in their own homes."