Children’s Farm Overalls, 1940s

“For Every Day and Every Purpose” … Advertised as “Just Like His Dad’s,” GWG’s durable and affordable farm overalls for boys were a staple piece of clothing on the farm in the 1930s and wartime 1940s. For young immigrants new to Saskatchewan, owning a pair meant fitting in. Boys wore their overalls all four seasons – over flannel shirts and with wool socks in winter and bare-chested in summer.  

Between Homework and Chores 
In the mid-1940s, only about a quarter of students in Saskatchewan made it to Grade 12. By 1964, mandatory attendance in Saskatchewan schools was raised to 16 years old. This change meant that high school students who were expected to work on the family farm often found the extra demands of school difficult. 

Little is known about who wore these overalls. The patches on the knees and the back suggest hard times and making do. The faded-out signature GWG brand red stripe is reminiscent of a childhood spent in the hot prairie sun.

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