With reference to the close - up photo you cite: notice the day - glow red poles attached to the leading edge of the wooden stairs: those are plow guides, used to show
snowplow operators where low - lying objects may be concealed under snow.
Everson, who was born in the working - class community of Mansfield, Ohio, depicts details in the lives of people living and working in similar American communities: a mechanic repairing an old car in a backyard, a black beauty queen in a segregated pageant, men boxing,
snowplow operators in winter, young men walking into a courtroom, the aftermath of a murder.