The effectiveness of rituals at developing and reinforcing shared social values is tied to the agency that they impart upon participants. Rather than understanding participants in a passive role, a more accurate understanding of ritual looks at the empowerment it provides to individuals who can interpret their actions within a structure of meaningfulness.
A Very Special Christmas
An impromptu kitchen crew helps prepare Christmas dinner for all shipyard workers of the J.A. Jones Construction Company in Brunswick, Georgia, who worked without pay on Christmas Day, 1944, as an act of support for Allied military personnel worldwide. The free meal was provided by Carley Zell. Front, with both hands in flour: Nat M. Campbell, office assistant and payroll superintendent, and a payroll superintendent and war bonds chairman (unknown). Back: George Mon, a director of shipyard security (unknown), Duncan Morton, Santa, and a security guard (unknown).
Santa and Director of Public Relations Frank Poole watch Myrtis Campbell, wife of Nat M. Campbell, as she counts workers filing by while sitting at a cash register in what appears to be a lunch room.
Santa visits with workers of the J.A. Jones Construction Company in Brunswick, Georgia, who worked without pay on Christmas Day, 1944, in support of Allied military personnel serving around the world. In the top section, Santa shakes hands with general manager Emil J. Kratt in front of a line of factory workers; in the bottom section, he assists two female construction workers (in hard hats) while other employees look on.
Santa tours the shipyard and donates his time to help prepare Christmas dinner for the shipyard workers of the J.A. Jones Construction Company in Brunswick, Georgia. The top half of the image is of Santa sitting inside of a train with the number "2" painted across the door; the bottom image is of Santa and several men (including Emil J. Kratt, general manager) in a kitchen stirring several large pots.
