MAY CONTAIN NUTS
HOME
Home

Search Shorpy

SEARCH TIP: Click the tags above a photo to find more of same:
Mandatory field.

Search results -- 30 results per page

Dorothy Parker: 1938
... Potomac steamed down the river on a moonlight cruise last night, Dorothy Parker, the former "Miss Columbia Heights," was named Miss ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/27/2012 - 12:23pm -

August 4, 1938. Washington, D.C. "Miss Dorothy Parker has been selected as Miss Washington and will compete for the title of Miss America at the Atlantic City beauty pageant to be held during Labor Day week. 18 Years old, she weighs 112 pounds and is 5 feet, 4 inches in height. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. Albert Parker of Washington." Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size. JiltedThe 1938 Miss America crown went to tap dancer Marilyn Meseke of Marion, Ohio. Love the ShoesYup, she's all decked out to keep her head above water. You got me, Dave!I was expecting the Algonquin and what do we get but yet another lovely girl. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. High HeelsNothing like climbing a ladder while wearing high heels. I'm surprised the lifeguard didn't blow his whistle at her....or something like that! Zoom?Can you zoom on the guys on the high board? They appear VERY INTERESTED. Whew...That is a divine example of feminine pulchritude. SemanticsWith pictures like this, the term 'VIEW FULL SIZE' takes on a new and much more fascinating meaning. Charming photo. Not as nice as...That other Miss Washington, Marjorie Joesting. Not even close. https://www.shorpy.com/node/4282 Fashion notesShe still has the marks on her legs from her knee stockings. It could have been a more professional photo op! A different DotIndeed, I, too was expecting another Dorothy Parker -- "What fresh hell is this?" But this one's definitely a lot easier on the eyes. Miss Columbia Heights Washington Post, Aug 3, 1938 Dorothy Parker Captures City Beauty Crown "Miss Washington of 1938" Wins From Field of 17 Contestants. While the steamship Potomac steamed down the river on a moonlight cruise last night, Dorothy Parker, the former "Miss Columbia Heights," was named Miss Washington 1938 and won her chance to compete in the national beauty contest in Atlantic City. Miss Parker won from a final field of 17 girls selected in preliminary eliminations. She lives at 1228 Shepherd street northwest. Judges of the contest were Lyle O'Rourke, president of the Junior Board of Commerce and drama critics from Washington newspapers. A holiday crowd watched as the girls paraded in bathing suits and then in evening gowns. Others in the contest were Nadine Petrey, Betty Crown, Dale Simmons, Jeanette Tucker, Elizabeth McDonald, Betty Wax, Toni Mann, Betty Jean Smalley, Gere Dell Sale, Louise Emmerich, Beatrice Evert, Sylvia Berger, Dorothy Boston and Tempa Marshall. That Other Dorothy Men often make passes At swimsuited lasses. In Her PrimeThe other Dorothy wasn't bad looking. Plus she was witty, liked a good martini (maybe too much in terms of volume as well as frequency), and wasn't particularly bound by conventional morality. Get around the too much booze part and she'd probably be fun to hang around with. At least the Algonquin Round Table thought so (and they didn't mind the boozing). Flippers 1938 style!Those are not shoes! They are flippers or frog feet 1938 style. Better for walking on the Sea bottom. Really impresses the fish. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Pretty Girls, Swimming)
Welcome to Big D: 1963
... and Mrs. Kennedy. When Dad arrived home from work that night, he had a copy of the NY Post with its terrible headline. He took out ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/22/2013 - 7:44am -

        President Kennedy on that dark yet sunny day in Dallas 50 years ago, minutes before he was assassinated. November 22, 1963. "Overview of crowds of people waving as President John F. Kennedy and his wife sit in back of limousine during procession through downtown Dallas, Texas; Texas Governor John Connally and his wife ride in the limousine's jump seats." New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection, Library of Congress. View full size. There are no words...Life changed for many of us, 50 years ago, tomorrow. The memories of those days forever burned into our hearts. I remember being in Miss Barbara Rappaport's World History class in Abraham Lincoln HS in Brooklyn. Someone came into the class that afternoon, approached her, whispered something in her ear. I still see her, sort of falling into her chair (she NEVER sat in class), with her head in her folded arms, sobbing.... President Kennedy has been shot. We sat there, stunned not knowing what to do, or say. The next days were crazy, with new names popping onto the news minute by minute, it seemed. Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby, Jackie, LBJ, Lady Bird, Governor Connolly, the Texas Book Repository..... on and on, Zapruder film, grassy knoll, Warren Commission. Blood on Jackie's pink dress, running FBI agents, that presidential Lincoln... Madness, it seemed! Our calm quiet, idyllic world, was suddenly insane. Caroline and John-John at the grave. And finally, the eternal image of the skittish horse, following the caisson, with the reversed boots in the stirrups. We grew up really quick on that day 50 years ago. Those days live on in our hearts, don't they? A Very Long And Tragic DayInteresting to read all the comments from the Shorpy community. Those of us aware of what was happening that day can never forget it, and those who weren't around will never understand our feelings. John Kennedy was so alive, with so much to do with his life, that the idea of his life being cut short was all the more unbelievable. I was living in Houma, Louisiana, and had a paper route, for which I collected my dimes and quarters every Friday. The thirty or so customers I had were usually ready for me when I came around after school, and I'd complete my collecting no later than 5pm. That day, it was well after 9pm when I got home. The phrase I heard over and over-- and everyone wanted to talk, if only to an 11-year-old paper boy-- was "I just can't believe it!" --Jim What I remembered that dayThe often asked question, "Where were you when Kennedy was shot"....I was in 6th grade at about lunchtime. The PA had clicked on (always a noticable indication that someone was going to the office) and the principal read a short message about the President being shot but no other information as of yet. I remember my teacher looking down at the floor with his hands folded. We were released for lunch and in the hall kids were crying. I went home, the TV was on, (I remember looking at Walter Cronkite on the TV) and my Mother had tears in her eyes while she was making sandwiches. "The President's dead" she murmured and threw the towel to the floor. Mom was so proud that Kennedy was our president. She voted for him...partly because of his good looks, same age and he was Catholic. It seemed, to me, that she was just about as devastated over his death as she was of her Father's passing just a year earlier. My Father, who worked in Manhattan, came home later in the day (it was a bit early for him to be home at 4 PM) saying that the trip home on the train was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Every rider had a stunned look about them. Even the conductor was speaking in hushed tones. This is what I remember. The AnnouncementI was on the basketball court at recess in the eighth grade when we were told over the school loud speakers. I'll never forget it. A sunny but sad dayMy mother worked in downtown Dallas, in the Davis Building at 1309 Main Street. She rode the elevator down from the eighth floor, and watched the motorcade go by. Just a few minutes later, the president was gone. I can't exactly place where this picture was taken, except that it's on Main. Downtown has changed a lot, and some streets have been removed over the years as new buildings have gone up. "Your president has been shot"A man came into the break room where I worked and made that odd announcement. We were all in shock and it wasn't until later that I wondered about the word "Your" being used to tell the people there this horrible news. The ShotsMy step brother's brother was walking from his Law Office to lunch when he heard the shots and had no idea what that was about... until later. On top of the busI'm trying to figure if that's an old-school air conditioning system or some other modification, to fight the hot Texas heat? Breaking NewsI was in my TV/Appliance store in Jamaica, NY as I was walking toward a bank of playing TV sets, all of which were on ABC Channel 7. A news bulletin lit of all the receivers. An announcer was on screen reporting that shots were fired during the President's slowly moving motorcade in downtown Dallas. As I kept watching further news breaks, it became clear that President Kennedy had been shot. Later in the day, as the news spread the store was filling up with people looking at all the TV sets. Later that afternoon I decided to close the shop and went home. SurgeA crowd would never be allowed to move that way today with a president so close. Just look at the excited people coming forward behind the bus. The few people at the window seats on the bus have really lucked out. Jackie is looking right at one of them, and JFK himself could be waving at the same person. A gaggle of women on the right could reach out and touch the motorcycle cop. They're all waving and screaming for the President's attention, but he's looking at that friendly face on the bus. I was in Grade 1 in Winnipeg and I remember the grief of the funeral like it was yesterday. We Canadians felt as though this American event was ours too, as though we ourselves had also lost this amazing person. Main and ErvayThe view is toward the southwest corner of Main Street and Ervay Street. The Neiman Marcus building is in the upper portion of the frame. Our Latin TeacherMrs. Closser was my grade 10 Latin teacher at Herman Collegiate Institute in Windsor, Ontario, just across the river from Detroit. She was an American in her 50s who lived in Detroit and commuted every day to teach in Canada. Before the end of the period she would leave the classroom to join the other teachers for a quick cigarette in the teachers' lounge. She never came back before the bell rang. Until that November day in 1963 when she burst into the classroom, tears streaming down her face, and stood in front of the class and announced, "Our President is dead!" She collapsed into her chair as several girls went up to comfort her. She didn't come back for a week. I took the bus to a dental appointment, and recall that even the hit parade radio stations were playing sombre music. I'll never forgetI remember that day. It was a Friday. Thanksgiving was near at hand.. I was 10 years old. I was in the fifth grade at South Avondale Elementary School in Cincinnati. It was warm that day for November..I checked and the high was 68. After lunch at school we all lined up to go back inside and it seemed the teachers were anxious to get us back in class. I remember our math teacher Mr Jackson told us that Pres Kennedy had been shot and turned on our Tv in the classroom. We heard Walter Cronkite voice but did not see him until he announced JFK was dead at the hand of an assassin. In the classroom next to ours a teacher, Mrs Keller, screamed and fainted. She was taken to the hospital. She never returned to school. School did not resume until after the Thanksgiving Holiday. After the death announcement school was dismissed..I walked home. On the corner of Reading Road and Rockdale AV a news person was hawking the Cincinnati Post-Times Star.. he was shouting; "Pooossst Timesss Pap-pur!!..President assassinated in Texas..Extrrey! Extrey! Read all about it President is dead..Pooossst Timesss Pap-pur' Over and over again. I the Irony is he was standing in front of a Statue of Pres. Lincoln. I solemnly walked home..things were in a daze. When I reached my home my step-mom was going out to visit my sister in Childrens hospital. She had had her transistor radio with her so she could get the latest news.. She asked did I hear about Pres Kennedy. I told her yes... The next three days all that was on Tv was news about the assassination of JFK. His funeral on Monday was a site to behold. I will never forget that black caisson with his coffin riding atop it. The sadness and grief of everyone. Never ever...That was a long time ago in a World so different than today's.. ThenI had just joined a Mechanical Engineering firm that week located on 15th Street in D.C. We had radios in the drafting studio and time stood still that Friday. Surreal; we just stood around, what was there to say? Fourth grade teacher's wordsWe had just returned from recess at P.S. 81 in the Bronx. Our teacher, Mrs. Stanton, told us to put all of our books and things away. This seemed really strange to us, as it was time for our flutophone lesson. I remember her words, "President Kennedy is dead. He was in a parade today, and he was shot." I remember the feeling in my stomach--as though it had dropped somehow. We were sent home. My parents had copy of the comedy album, "The First Family," which poked fun at President and Mrs. Kennedy. When Dad arrived home from work that night, he had a copy of the NY Post with its terrible headline. He took out the LP, wrapped the newspaper around it, and sealed up the album with heavy tape. My family had lived in D.C. for about about two years in 1960-62. Once Christmas we attended the White House tree-lighting ceremony which the President presided over. When Dulles airport opened, Dad took me to the ceremonies. I was perched on Dad's shoulders. We stood not far from the stage where Kennedy gave his speech. I remember thinking how handsome the President was. WNTC RadioI was in the student union at Clarkson College (now University) in Potsdam, NY. Saw the news come across the teletype we had in the newsroom window there. I immediately crossed the street and fired up the college radio station, WNTC, so the guys in the newsroom could broadcast developments. As Angus said the radio stations were playing sombre music - I distinctly remember being very hard pressed to find something to fill the time between news bulletins since we were a rock and roll station and there was not much appropriate music to be had. Canadians tooI was also in 6th. grade, and I was living on an Airforce Base in Canada's capital, Ottawa. It hit us hard too, although at the time I couldn't understand exactly why. I was only 11 years old, but I remember I cried, somehow knowing he was a man who would have done a lot of great things. He wasn't our President, but somehow it was as though he was the world's President. To this day in my 60's I remain fascinated and interested in JFK, his family, his life. NewsmanMy dad on the evening of 11-22-63, after a long day of covering the assassination from the Oakland (California) Tribune. Dad was a reporter and remembered when the AP wire first came in from Dallas. Soon the whole newsroom was frantic with the shock and the task of putting it all together for the afternoon edition. They got the special edition done in time, almost an entire rewrite, and this photo shows my dad waiting in the Tribune foyer for my mother to come get him and drive him home. The Tribune photographer had been taking photos all day of the activity in the newsroom and caught my dad here as he waited for mom. "The president has been shot"I was in third grade in Northern Kentucky. Someone's mother had driven to the school to inform us of the news she had just heard. An unseen adult came to our classroom door and spoke with our teacher, Miss Reagan. I recall that she took a moment to compose herself, then stated that we were to put away our books. She said that the president had been shot. We were to pack our things to leave for the day, as school would be dismissed early. Soon, each classroom would be called to the cafeteria to pray. There was a hush. A knot in the pit of my stomach. Not much talking, brief nervous laughter that soon ceased. Then the entire student body, 865 children, assembled in that basement cafeteria. I remember standing room only -- we ate in three shifts -- and all those children were led in praying the rosary until the buses came to take us home. No one talked. Some of us quietly cried. We prayed desperately for the president's survival. Everyone was riveted by the unfolding events. Even the bus ride home was subdued that day. I remember being glued to the TV coverage as events unfolded. Later in the day at home Walter Cronkite announced that the president had died of his wounds. The news coverage was nonstop and I recall that the funeral, especially the sight of the Kennedy children, was overwhelmingly sad. Jackie seemed courageous beyond belief -- how could she retain such composure in this tragedy that had me bawling for days? The pomp & circumstance of the funeral proceedings, all the symbolism involved, marked the stature of this event and also somehow, gave solace. When I heard the newsOne of the things forever remembered by us as individuals is not only where we were, but who it was that broke the news. For many, this accidental fact influenced the way we reacted that day in November. I was 21 and working as a draftsman at a small business computer firm. There were five of us in our windowed room from which we could see the production floor. I had just begun to notice that the assembly workers had left their stations and were standing about in small groups. Moments later one of the electrical engineers, who often used our room as a shortcut, came breezing through and asked if we'd heard that someone had shot President Kennedy. The guy was a jokester (often shamelessly irreverent), so we looked up from our desks, smiled, and waited for the punch line. When he continued out the other door without another word we realized in sudden shock that there would be none. It was true, and thus began a season of feeling that ice water in your veins disbelief I would suffer again many years later when I watched the Twin Towers come down on live TV and realized that we were at war. No matter how hardened and cynical we are made by this world, we are never quite prepared to receive startling and painful news of great magnitude, even though we know it can come at any time, and in any form. Change of subjectI was in fifth grade on the day he died. There are many good comments on that day. Still the bus picture has a reminder of my youth. I grew up in Florida but the soft drink Dr. Pepper was not sold in Florida. In those pre-Interstate years, we went to North Carolina to visit the grandparents. The first thing we did when we stopped at "South of the Border" was to buy Dr. Peppers. It had a real bite and a strong aroma. Now Dr. Pepper is still tasty but without the bite and strong aroma. I would love to be able to buy the original Dr. Pepper. UnbelievableI was 11 years old and, like everyone else my age, I was in school. The door to our classroom was at the back of the room. We had just come in from recess and the teacher was beginning our next lesson when the Principal quickly stuck his head in the door, made an announcement, and quickly moved on. Because of his distance from our teacher and the quickness of his words, she didn't understand him. She asked us what he said and a child that sat at the back of the room by the door said "He said the President's been shot!" Well that was a concept too ridiculous to believe, so our teacher just said "No he didn't, I'll go find out what's going on," and she went out the room to the class next door. The next thing I remember was everyone standing in the hall, lined up to be excused for the day. The teacher from the class next door was crying inconsolably. I was like our teacher, and was having a hard time believing that all of it was happening. It wasn't until I got home and found my family in front of the TV watching the news that I finally realized that my perfect little world was no more. How I remember itI was in the seventh grade at Centralia High School in southern Ohio. We were taking a math test in Mr. Potter's class. There was a wall behind us with large windows that looked into the journalism class. We were distracted by noise from that room, and as I turned to look, I saw the whole room emptying. We returned to work but soon the class behind us returned and some of the girls were crying and dabbing their eyes with tissues. They had gone to hear the news on the TV in the study hall on the same floor. We heard over the intercom that Kennedy had been shot, but we didn't know whether he was hurt fatally. I was so stunned. I still cannot believe that Mr. Potter made us finish the math test! My next class was study hall, and when I could, I rushed up there and positioned myself in the middle of the room to get a good view of the TV, which soon showed Walter Cronkite make the announcement. We were all silent. Next and final class of the day was Ohio History, where our young teacher, Mr. Lungo, through tears, said that we should pray for the Kennedy family, and then just sat throughout the whole period crying uncontrollably. When my little brother and I got home, we found my parents outside. My mom was sweeping the walk and my dad was sharpening a hoe. I asked if they knew Kennedy was dead and she asked how I knew that, like was it something some kid of the bus had said? I said no, it was on TV in school. She looked at my dad and wondered if it could be true. Of course, we all went right in the house and turned on the TV. Naturally, they were stunned and just watched in disbelief. You Can Hear Radio Recordings of That DayGo to RadioTapes.com to hear several hours of recordings of that day, as broadcast over Minneapolis radio station WCCO. Eventually the coverage shifts mostly to the CBS network, including Cronkite's announcement of Kennedy's death. There are also recordings from NBC and Voice of America. I was in second grade, Mrs. Gooler's class at Hale Elementary School in Minneapolis, and we had just returned from lunch. The principal came over the PA system to announce the shooting; we were asked to put our heads down on our desks and pray silently for the president. Not fifteen minutes later she came on again to announce that President Kennedy had died and that we would be dismissed early. (In those days, virtually no mothers worked, and we all rode the bus home for lunch and back for the afternoon class.) I remember arriving home and being shocked--SHOCKED!--that my mother was actually WATCHING TV DURING THE DAY! My parents had a love/hate relationship with the TV and had only bought one the previous Christmas because I was given "viewing assignments" at school. They typically watched it only an hour a day for the NBC Evening News and the local news. And as if that weren't bizarre enough, my father came home from work early, which he never did. All normal broadcasting--including advertising--was suspended until the funeral the following Monday. We didn't completely resume our normal activities until after Thanksgiving weekend. No one who was alive then will ever forget where they were when they got the news; a so-called "significant emotional event" like this generation's 9-11. I was asleepI'm probably one of the few who *doesn't* remember where I was. I was 8. We were living in Melbourne, Australia, where my dad was in the Foreign Service. I remember the next day, my mom had to sew a black armband for him to wear to work at the Consulate. I thought it was a bad thing that someone would shoot the President, but it was nowhere near the same impact it would have been if I'd been in the US. School went on normally, as I recall, and there was not much fuss that I noticed. (Cars, Trucks, Buses, Motorcycles, Public Figures)
Beach Boy: 1950
... think of it, "snug" was what Gramma said, too. Also: "Good night, sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite!" Not that we actually had ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 09/29/2011 - 6:57pm -

Continuing my vacation theme, we return to the same beach ten years earlier. I'm wearing the St. Christopher medal that was then a permanent accouterment, but what really kept me from drowning then and forever afterwards was making sure that my extremities were firmly in contact with the bottom at all times. This was when the Russian River region was the vacation destination for denizens of the San Francisco Bay Area and was jammed with sun and fun frolickers during the summer months. About ten years later, freeways made Lake Tahoe more easily accessible and Guerneville and environs went into a serious and sad decline that lasted until the 1980s. View full size. As cute as ...Channeling my grandmother here. She'd say, "tterrace, you are as cute as a bug in a rug!" [My grandmother said the same thing! Not about tterrace, of course. (Not because she didn't think he was cute, but because she didn't know him.) What else is tterrace as cute as? - Dave] TT is A.C.A.A bucket of puppies. A.C.A...A flea with a sledgehammer. Relative CutenessDoes anyone else think that tterrace is "Cute as a button"? Regarding "Cute as a bug in a rug," I always heard the saying as "Snug as a bug in a rug." The latter saying makes sense to me, since a bug in a rug could be seen as snug, but I don't see anything "cute" about it! Of course, I don't necessarily see anything "cute" about a button, either! Maybe I'm just a curmudgeon. [Come to think of it, "snug" was what Gramma said, too. Also: "Good night, sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite!" Not that we actually had bedbugs, or rugbugs. - Dave] AnachronisticMan immediately above your head, to left, holding his arm up to the side of his head. My first thought was that he was talking on his cell phone -- and then I thought "of course not!!" Cute as the devilI was also an expert at being deliberately not cute when I saw a camera being aimed at me. A.C.A."a bug's ear." This shot brings back memories...My grandparents owned a cabin on the Russian from the late twenties till the early seventies. We would spend every summer there. Sometimes for a couple of weeks, or the entire summer. I too used to do the same thing TT is doing in the shallows. Before you could swim, you could kind of crawl and kick against the current, so it felt like you were swimming. A few other memories this shot brought back are... The smell of the redwoods on a hot summer day. The sound of the logging trucks as they sped down River Road. Those great big umbrellas, and drying your clothes on a line. Catching polliwogs and watching them grow into frogs. Canoeing up and down the river. Christmas lights strung around the cabin became party lights. Mudball fights. Fishing for bluegill and smallmouth bass. Talent shows and bingo. Going into Occidental for family style Italian dinners. Riding out to Bodega Bay for fresh salmon Believe me, I could go on and on. Thanks for posting this, and jogging the good times back into the old noggin. Tterrace is cute as a gnat's @$$Gosh, but you are, and so darn emotionally well adjusted too. I love your life, TTerrace. I hope you do children everywhere a favor and make a coffee table book of your photogog memories and your prose so they can show their parents "THIS is how you raise a kid". ACAA sack of kittens. Russian River memoriesThanks, rgraham, for sharing your Russian River memories; we must have led parallel lives. We also often spent the whole summer at our cabin, Father just his two weeks vacation and then weekends. You were lucky in having your polliwogs survive to froghood; ours never seemed to survive past the leg-sprouting stage. Logging trucks: hiking up along the twisty, one-lane Old Cazadero Road in the hills with my father, brother and dog Missie, I'd hear their engines echoing through the valley and tremble in anticipation of meeting one barreling around a blind curve. Aromas that take me back: freshly-oiled dirt summer roads; hay and horse droppings (picturesque, no?) as we walked past the rent-a-mount place in Guernewood Park; the scent of the willows along the beach; and, as someone else mentioned, Sea and Ski suntan oil - I wonder if they still make a formulation that smells like that? Unique experiences: the ice man delivering big cubes for our icebox before we got a refrigerator; attending Sunday Mass under the redwoods in Guernewood Park - imagine, going to church outside!; stopping at the dump off Pocket Canyon Road with a station wagon-full of accumulated summertime trash and watching my father and brother hurling cartons of it into the pit, then, when we finally got home, discovering that a whole box of my toys was missing. Sorry about your box of toys.Growing up in the same county, going to the same high school, and vacationing at the River each summer seems pretty parallel to me. You are a bit older, but back then, times didn't change as fast as today. The river was our aquarium, and would watch the polliwogs' changes in their natural habitat. One of the benefits of spending the whole summer there. There were two kinds. The larger, olive colored ones that turned into bullfrogs, and the much smaller black ones that turned into the smallest frogs I'd ever seen. Remember the sound those bullfrogs would make early in the morning? And yes, the smell of the oiled roads and the willows are also fond ones. Did you ever get to ride the ponies there in Guernewood? The one like a merry go round, only with real ponies. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Kids, Travel & Vacation, tterrapix)
Scranton: 1900
... coupling is being made onto other stationary cars. At night lanterns would be used and an engineer would have to be sure he was ... displaying standard colours to indicate their direction at night, and a wood or metal "target" by day. In 1900, steam was still the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 6:27pm -

Scranton, Pennsylvania, circa 1900. "Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad yards." Judging by the fellow in the white coveralls, I'd say this plate was exposed not long after this one. Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Rock Island boxcarTwo tracks behind locomotive 808 is a Rock Island boxcar. On the left side of the boxcar are the words "Chicago, Rock Island and" (with "Pacific" being obscured.) The right side of the boxcar shows the earliest primitive Rock Island Route "beaver skin" logo. If this image was taken in 1900, then this would predate the oldest known image of the logo by two years. Unfortunately, the boxcar is missing from the stitched version. Scranton D, L & W RR yardsThe two images Scranton: 1900 and Old King Coal: 1900 put together, using some cut & paste techniques. The difference is only one freight train, the smart observer Dave recognized the man in the white overalls, who seems to have solved the "bilocation" problem! View full size. DL&W, et alWonderful of the Scranton DL&W yards, but this was not the only rail operator. Vestiges of track can be found all around Scranton and the adjoining towns. The major players included the St. Lawrence & Hudson, Deleware & Hudson, NY-Ontario & Western, Jersey Central, Erie, Reading & Northern, and of course, DL&W. It is said that some 35 freight lines operated through Scranton at one time or another. In addition, the area was served by light rail, interurban, and trolley companies. The buildings just visable at right in the photo are, of course, long gone and replaced by a shopping mall. MDTCIn the middle-ground about five or so tracks from the left edge of the photo (just to the right of the gas lamp in the foreground), is a Merchants Despatch Transportation Co. freight car, such as seen in this recent Shorpy image: https://www.shorpy.com/node/8252 It's the only MDTC car "representing" in the Scranton image, and the serial number doesn't match, but it's still a pretty cool coincidence. GraffitiAre those large signatures chalked on the boxcars? Interesting to see the predecessor to today's "art crimes." Grimyis the word that describes this photo. re: GraffitiThese chalk marks aren't the same as modern graffiti. Conductors would mark the cars and yardmen would use the marks to help breakup and classify the cars when they were in a yard. Pretty hellish if you ask meOf course, no one asked me. But jeez, what a hellish scene. Lung-blackening coal dust, soot, poisonous coal fires, smog from all the steam, steel shavings and dust from screeching wheels on tracks. I'm surprised you didn't drop dead after an hour here. I love the old railroads anyway. Total Depth of FieldIt would be interesting to know the details on how this photo is in focus from just a few feet from the light fixture to infinity. Is this a Shorpy/Dave technique or as is? [It's a standard view-camera view. - Dave] Gritty CityBeing a postwar baby and raised in Scranton, I too felt that carryover grime. And it somewhat extends to this day! A Slippery Slope.Both photos are taken from an elevated coaling trestle. Coal in bottom-dump gondola cars was pushed by a locomotive up the inclined trestle towards the camera onto a dead-end portion of level track (behind camera) which had sloped-bottom storage bins beneath. The coal was then dumped thru holes in the trestle deck into the bins below. Locomotives to be coaled were run along side the coal trestle at ground level, and then an upward-sliding door at the bottom of the coal bin was opened by the man taking coal, which allowed coal to flow down a chute and into the coal bunker in the tender of the locomotive being fueled. Sand for locomotive traction was usually put into the sand domes of locomotives at or near the coal chutes using the same manpower for both tasks. Sand was kept nearby and dried in the sand house around a coal-fired heater, then moved up to its bins above the service tracks and supplied by gravity to the sand domes on locomotives. On oil-fired locomotives sand would be put into a separate bunker behind the cab to be poured into a hole in the firebox door while the engine was working hard to remove the oil soot from the firebox walls, the firetubes and the superheater elements to improve heat transfer to water in the boiler. Road locomotives were usually coaled and sanded on their arrival from a run before going to the roundhouse. If the rails were wet, the engineer pushing cars of coal would have to take a run at the hill, yet, be ready to stop as soon as the cars reached the level track atop the coal chute, or they would go off the end. The broken blocks of wood visible on the walkway to the left of the track would be used by switchmen to block the wheels of cars on the slope. There is no walkway on the opposite side, as the engineer was on the right of the locomotive and would be pushing the cars on the front of the engine to keep the water in the boiler at the rear over the firebox. If the roundhouse dispatched, say, 20 road locomotives a day, each requiring 10 tons of coal, would mean at least 200 tons of coal would have to be moved up the coal chute ramp (and the empties brought back down). Using 40-ton cars would mean at least five cars a day up the slope. The small yard locomotives would also take coal from time to time, but, as they were usually never out of sight of the coal chute, it was not as important to have a full tender when going to work on their shift. The steepness of the grade might limit the yard engine to only two or three cars a trip up, as care had to be taken. The sand would come in boxcars to keep it dry. One major problem of the camelback locomotives shown to the right was that if one of their side rods or the main rod broke while in motion, the loose end still attached to the crank pin on a driving wheel would flail around, and wipe the cab and the engineer off the side of the locomotive. If the engineer was incapacitated, or worse, and the throttle not shut, you could then have a runaway. The "graffiti" on the sides of the boxcars is probably car destinations chalked on by yardmen at originating terminals. In 1900, not all freight cars would have air brakes, and, generally, they would be handled at the rear of freight trains, the air brake cars and their air hoses coupled directly behind the locomotive. Comparing the two photos, two switchmen can be seen riding the tops of boxcars to the right beyond the locomotives, they in position to relay hand signals to the engineer on their own locomotive in the distance when a coupling is being made onto other stationary cars. At night lanterns would be used and an engineer would have to be sure he was watching the right lamp in a busy yard. Switch stands would have oil lamps displaying standard colours to indicate their direction at night, and a wood or metal "target" by day. In 1900, steam was still the lifeblood of industry and many plumes of steam can be seen both on and off the railway. Another great photo! Tain't GraffitiBack in those days, yard crews would scribble instructions on the car. Things like where it was going, fragile load, destination, repairs needed, etc. Makes switching a whole lot easier. Where do you worka John?Where do you worka John? On the Delaware Lackawan What do you do-ah John? I poosh I poosh I poosh. Whata do you poosha John on the Delaware Lackawan? On the Delaware Lackawan I poosh I poosh the broom -- Song sung by my Italian grandmother, who grew up (after she got off of the boat) near the Jersey City terminus of the Delaware Lackawanna from about 1904 until 1922. Contents and destinationSeveral men of my father's family worked these yards in Scranton. I remember him saying the yardmen would mark this information on the cars to aid in switching. He never said what happened when it rained! Stub end tracksWhat's amazing is the stub end tracks without bumpers or wheel stops on the ends, must of been interesting to park cars on these tracks if you didn't have a brakeman spotting the cars. The box car on the left # 33551 as I can make out, looks like it ran off the end. Also notice the really neat camelback locos on the right. The engineer rode in the cab right next to the boiler (must have been real hot in the summer) while the fireman rode on the rear, stoking the fire, which wasn't much of a comfortable ride either, especially on rough track. Great photo and so clear after 110 yrs. DL&WWe tend to get all nostalgic when we think of railroad travel "back in the day," but it wasn't always perfect efficiency. When my grandmother used to ride the DLW a hundred years ago, they used to joke that the letters stood for Delay, Linger and Wait. Industrial steeplesNot mentioned yet is the forest of church steeples across the skyline. As with many industrial towns, Scranton's population had many countries represented and each ethnicity usually had its own church. My wife's from Scranton, and I remember parking in the lot of a (perhaps) German parish to go to Christmas Mass in the Slovak parish church on the same block. Or maybe it was an Italian parish. A bit of that Hades-like scene remains today in Scranton as the Steamtown National Historic Site railroad museum, a National Park Service attraction. Same Location Scranton DL&W Rail Yards nowMy picture taken from approx. the same location. The old DL&W rail yards are now Steamtown National Historic Site. re: Where do you worka John?In the version I heard, "I poosh, I poosh, I poosh" was followed by 'Poosha, poosha, poosha, poosha, -poosha, poosha, poosha." I was a railroad freight handler in 1955 and I actually heard an Italian freight handler say "poosha" in connection with moving some freight. (The Gallery, DPC, Railroads, Scranton)
Titanic Tots: 1912
... how much they could remember, I found this: On the night of the sinking, Michel, Sr., helped by another passenger, dressed his ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/04/2012 - 2:14pm -

April 22, 1912. New York. Lolo (Michel) and Edmond Navratil, survivors of the Titanic disaster whose father went down with the ship. View full size. Lolo, the last remaining male survivor of the Titanic, died in 2001. G.G. Bain Collection. TitanicI was looking at these kids and wondered how much they could remember, I found this: On the night of the sinking, Michel, Sr., helped by another passenger, dressed his sons and took them to the boat deck. "My father entered our cabin where we were sleeping. He dressed me very warmly and took me in his arms. A stranger did the same for my brother. When I think of it now, I am very moved. They knew they were going to die." Michel, Jr., recalled. The boys were put into collapsible D, the last lifeboat successfully launched from the ship. Michel Sr. went down with the ship. TitanicCouldn't help but notice the toy being held by the boy on the right . . . Toy...Jim Pence wrote: "Couldn't help but notice the toy being held by the boy on the right . . ." Yeah, probably the only compensation White Star ever awarded these orphans... Toy BoatAnyone find it a little macabre that the kid orphaned by a shipwreck is playing with a toy boat? [At least it's not a scale-model iceberg. - Dave] Titanic SurvivorWanted to pass this sad note along, "Barbara West Dainton, believed to be one of the last two survivors from the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, has died in England at age 96." That would leave only Elizabeth Gladys "Millvina" Dean of Southampton, England, who was 2 months old at the time of the Titanic sinking, is now the disaster's only remaining survivor, according to the Titanic Historical Society. I recently finished a photo/video on the sinking ... using much information from the Society .. it is definitely a must-visit website. http://www.titanichistoricalsociety.org/ Also, the youtube piece I produced is located at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwUb0BEkECM if you have chance .. take a look, would love to hear your comments. Dale (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Fires, Floods etc., G.G. Bain, Kids)
Southern California Living, 1967
... we were away. We would eat all our meals out there and at night sleep on the lounge chairs under the stars. Those trees in the back are ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 09/22/2011 - 10:49pm -

Earlier in the decade, Julius Shulman showed us life in the Hollywood Hills. Here's how real people lived 32 miles away in Diamond Bar in 1967. Step 1: haul TV set out to the patio. Step 2: kids follow automatically. My nephews, niece and brother-in-law in a section of a 2-1/4 square Kodacolor negative shot by my sister. View full size. HockneyishnessI wanted to comment on stanton_square's perspicacious observation about the Hockney-like aspect of this shot. I'm sure it wasn't on my sister's mind when she took it, and as I worked with the scan I wasn't specifically thinking of him. But, as I worked with the cropping and composition and the color and density adjustments, I definitely found something of that look emerging, and I decided to stay with it through the final tweaking. DadcutDid every dad in the '60s have that haircut? Mine did. And I had one to match. Tom HattenThe guy in the sailor hat and white T shirt was Tom Hatten. He hosted a kiddie show featuring Popeye cartoons. He would have a guest child on his show every day who would draw on a board, what Tom called a "squiggle." He would then incorporate the squiggle into a drawing. My grade school classmate Nancy Despie was a guest on his show. Tom Hatton still works in local theater here in Los Angeles. Portable TVThe first "Big Screen Portable Color TV" came out about the time this picture was taken. The first sets we sold were 19-inch Sylvanias looking very much like the one in this picture. It was covered in a beigey fabric and was priced around $400. It must have weighed between 50 and 60 pounds. The "portable" tag was a misnomer -- few people (the Governor of California comes to mind) could lift it by the handle. Re: DadcutThat particular hairstyle required Butchwax, or at least mine required a lot of Butchwax. I can still smell it to this day. Reading about his next project.I see that dad is reading up on this summer's project in Popular Mechanics. He's already poured his concrete pad, and installed the arbor. The "good neighbor" fence is done, so what's next? Ah, how about a nice brick BBQ! The extension cord is a nice touch. It doubles as the hookup to the party lights for those swinging good times. TV PavilionMotorola ad from 1961. Artist: Charles Schridde Kids are Kids are KidsA wonderful ode to the weather of Southern California and to the naturally rapscallion nature of modern kids who loved to be able to cut up for the camera whenever possible! Contrast these darling children with kids of the early 1900s. Thanks, Tterrace, from your fans in the chilly and wet Northeast! The Children's HourMaybe the kiddies were watching Engineer Bill on KHJ Channel 9, or Skipper Frank on KTLA 5, or the late and lamented Soupy Sales on ... I forget which channel. This was the year I left home and went into the world. Claremont KidI swear we had the same childhood. I grew up in the same years in Claremont (about 15 miles from Diamond Bar). My TV favorites were Engineer Bill (I drank milk to his "red light, green light" game), Sheriff John with his "laugh and be Happy" song, Kukla, Fran, and Ollie, Roy Rogers, and the Mickey Mouse Club. We often slept out on the patio during summer nights and listened to the sound of the crickets. Those were happy days. Sheriff John, maybeSheriff John on KTTV Channel 11. "Put another candle on my birthday cake, and when I do, a wish I'll make. Put another candle on my birthday cake, I'm another year old today. We'll have some pie and sandwiches, and chocolate ice cream, too. We'll sing and play the day away, and one more thing I'm going to do. I'll blow out the candles..." I can hear him and see him still. Other PossibilitiesIn addition to the channels DoninVa mentioned, it could be tuned to KCOP 13 (A Chris-Craft station). Just maybe it had that second UHF knob that turned slowly instead of clicked on to stations and was tuned to Speed Racer, Kimba, or Gigantor on Channel 52. Thanks tterrace for all of your great photos. As someone who grew up in Buena Park in the 60's and 70's, they sure look familiar (especially those from Knott's which was down the street from my house and where I got my first job). HockneyesqueThough it lacks the archetypal swimming pool, this photo reminds me very much of a David Hockney painting: most specifically in the colors and lighting. Is this a testament to tterrace's nascent appreciation of the emerging 1960s art movement or simply due to the the play of light on the typical California architecture of the era? PortabilityI bet he actually used the handle on top of the TV to move it out there. I don't think ours was ever used for that purpose -- just something I could fidget with. Our "portable" always sat there on the metal rolling cart in the dining room, where I'd watch Gilligan's Island and Brady Bunch reruns. "Green light, Engineer Bill!" Were Engineer Bill and Skipper Frank (was that his name--the guy in the white tee shirt and sailor cap who drew sketches to illustrate his stories?) still on the air in 1967? I remember watching them in the '50s; by 1967 I was too old for them. But I wasn't too old for Soupy Sales in the '60s. There is a great clip on YouTube of him and Pookie the Lion. Nice memories! Sunday mornings with...Tom Hatten Channeling ClaremontI also grew up in Claremont -- 4 years old in 1967; we had moved there in '65 and our tract home had a crappy screened-in "patio room" that we later enclosed with killer 1970s wood paneling. Not coincidentally, that room was also where the TV was -- Channel 52, Channel 13, Channel 11 and Channel 9. A kid's best friend during those years! Speaking of memory kicksThis backyard patio is probably standard for California, but it is weirdly similar to the backyard patio of a house I rented this summer in Santa Barbara. I was immediately reminded of the always-perfect weather, so different from what we have here in CT. Sixties SoCal!Looks exactly like our back yard in Garden Grove. Thanks for the memory kick! Patio O'Summer 1962Almost a twin to TTerrance's photo in layout. Our patio in Penticton British Columbia, the city of Peaches and Beaches and long hot summers,this patio was a must have for the hot days and nights. To the far right my Dad built long shelves that ran the length of the patio, he created an outdoor plug in and we had our tv in the center of the unit, he made swinging doors on the front to enclose it for overnight or when we were away. We would eat all our meals out there and at night sleep on the lounge chairs under the stars. Those trees in the back are Bing cherry and apricot, the one next to the patio which you can only see a few leaves is a cherry tree we also had plum, apple and tons of rose bushes.We kids never wanted to store the patio furniture for the winter that just finalized our summer fun. PerfectI remember watching my dad build a "patio cover" just like the one in the photo at out house in Garden Grove in about 1969. I was about 5 years old at the time. And yes, all dads had that hairstyle. My Hometown!I was surprised by this picture because I actually grew up in Diamond Bar in the 80's/90's. When I first saw that picture, I was shocked that it was in 1967 because it looks so similar to what my backyard was like. I guess some things never change! Reminds me so much of my childhood. Jaime' Vu? I was stunned to find out that my favorite TV childrens Show host was Anonymous outside of my small circle of programming. Mention your favorite TV kids personality and watch 90% of people draw a blank. Ever heard of 'Soupy Sales'? 'Tomorrow will be sunny, followed by monny, twooy....... (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Kids, tterrapix)
My Brilliant Career: 1928
... penmanship, arithmetic, English, &c. Day and night, all the year. Lowest prices. Books, &c., free. Typewriters sent ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/23/2012 - 3:42pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1928. "Strayer's Business College." Now in session: Mimeograph 101. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Strayer's Display Ad, Washington Post, Aug 1, 1904 Strayer's Business College Cor. 11th and F Sts. N.W. Shorthand, typewriting, bookkeeping, penmanship, arithmetic, English, &c. Day and night, all the year. Lowest prices. Books, &c., free. Typewriters sent to students homes. Situations guaranteed. 1,000 students last year. Half price for full course if you enroll now. Call, write or phone for catalogue. Display Ad, Washington Post, Sep 17, 1923 Strayer's Business College Registration Now Being Made for Fall Term Day and Evening Sessions Stenography Typewriting Bookkeeping Accountancy Secretarial Spanish by Native Teacher Call, Phone or Write for Information 721 13th Street N.W. (Next door to Telephone Building) Main 3430 Olfactory ReminiscenceThe ineradicable memories of Ditto fumes, freshly sharpened pencils and the thick crayons we first graders had to use. Polka-Ditto-DotsIt took Miss Marcell some time to notice that the spatters of mimeograph fluid were affecting her fine silk blouse. Mimeograph MemoriesI remember producing a church newsletter on a mimeograph in the early '80s. The stencil masters were coated in some kind of wax. I used a typewriter with no ribbon to cut through the wax and form a stencil. Had to be very careful in typing, as corrections were difficult and never looked right. Too many errors, and I'd have to start over. When I finished typing the stencil, I'd peel off the backing paper and mount it face-down on the drum as illustrated in this picture. Load paper and feed it through, and ink was squeezed through the stencil holes and transferred to the final product. Definitely looked better than a ditto, but the ink tended to smudge and smear. I always ended up with ink all over my hands and clothes by the time the job was finished. Purple HazeI loved the smell. We had those machines in schoolThe copies had a distinct smell that you just don't forget. Careful --Don't get those sleeves caught in the machinery. Also, do we have a photo of her holding the paper up to her nose to inhale that intoxicating aroma. Ahh, memories. Breathe DeepThat scene in Ferris Bueller was not exaggerated -- my olfactory memory is atingle right now with the waft of mimeograph aroma we got as we pressed the paper to our faces. Tear-Away SleevesHopefully she never got those sleeves too close to the machine while it was being worked. More work aheadI love the smell of mimeograph fluid in the morning. Smells like... work. (Or at least it did when I was in elementary school.) Old Timey JewelsGosh, look at the size of those pearls. They don't come like that anymore. Scentimental Journey!Wow, it's been almost 50 years, but I can still smell it. Get thee to a FarkeryOnly a matter of time. Things change . . . and don'tStrayer is now Strayer University and its advertising is ubiquitous in the DC area. Copier smellI wonder if the odor of school copies many remember wasn't more likely from those made with spirit copiers, aka ditto machines. Most commonly these produced copies with purple-colored letters that had a very distinctive, somewhat alcoholic aroma. The masters were easier to produce. Rather than the fragile mimeo stencil material, masters were produced by typing onto a 2-ply sheet, one ply of which was akin to carbon paper, with a thick layer of material that transferred the typed letters onto the master sheet. The impressions of the material on the master actually formed the "ink," which was activated by the spirit liquid. The process didn't require the black, sticky and messy ink of the mimeograph. The downside was that dittos had a lower print run, as the "ink" on the master gradually depleted and the copies got fainter, whereas the mimeo ink could be replenished continuously. But the simplicity of dittos made them practical for such things as classroom handouts and tests. When I was a kid, I used a companion process, the gelatin hectograph, to produce my pretend-newspaper, "The Arch St. News." It's beginning to lookA lot like Christmas. All she needs is a star on her head. Ticker: STRALittle Strayer Business College has grown into Strayer Education, a $3.5 billion publicly traded company. FashionTake another look at her outfit/grooming. Add a belt, a current hairstyle, makeup and pretty shoes and stockings, and what is different? I doubt anyone would wear their best cocktail dress to work, unless to have their picture taken. Huge pearls have been back in style recently, too. I want that dress! State of The Art CopiesBefore the mimeograph was invented, teachers had to write all that information on the blackboard, and the kids copied it into their notebooks. Talk about tedious. The smell was refreshing. Can kids get high on alcohol fumes, or formaldehyde or whatever they used? Teacher's petMy mother was a teacher from 1959 through 1988 and I can well remember helping her mark tests on the old mimeographed papers (or Gestetner, after David Gestetner, the inventor of the particular machine) usually used in the schools and elsewhere. Life became SO much easier for Mom after the "ditto" machine came about. Of course, being able to be the person who got to hand out the freshly produced "dittos" was lots of fun. In case anyone is wondering, the wonderful concoction was methanol and isopropanol. Been there, done thatAnd remember well how bleedin' difficult it was to get the stencil to lie flat so it didn't crease on the first page through, leaving lightning-streaks across every subsequent page, AND how sticky and awful that ink was to get off once it was on you. The only advantages mine had over this one was that (1) it was powered, and (2) it had an auto page counter. And correcting typos with that weird blue Liquid Paper-clone that stank of acetone . . . don't get me started. For organizing the masses, too.Some friends had the Gestetner at their house in Austin, which gave them some heft in the antiwar movement. I also remember, prior to that, when I was in the Army in Germany, a friend drawing an antiwar cartoon with a stylus freehand on one of those stencils. It is hard to imagine how things got done then, but they did. "Then" in this case is about 1969-1973. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, The Office)
The Pike, Long Beach 1963
... It was 1967 and it was full of "hippies, ladies of the night and aimless drifters" according to my Mom. We never made it back and then ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 07/28/2020 - 11:06am -

The Pike at Long Beach, California, August 1963. An old-style amusement park with wooden roller coaster "The Cyclone," closed in 1979. View full size. Hear that?This picture has a special quality for me. It seems, if you concentrated, you could just hear the music, and smell the scent of those wonderful/awful amusment park treats. I love the cars! Wonder what they'd be worth now? Pike TykeI was just a few weeks old and living up north in Contra Costa County when this was taken. Oh, myI moved to LA in the year 2000. The only remnant of this place was an arcade, under a peaked circular roof. A couple of years later amid rampant condominium construction, only the roof remained, like a giant coolie hat on cinder blocks. It looked like someone wanted to save that roof. I moved away. Did they put it to some use? Long Beach is wonderful, it's always *almost* Santa Monica. Shhhh. Save it for me. The Incredibly Strange CreaturesUnless I'm horribly misaken, this was the amusement park featured in the Ray Steckler classic bad film "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies"! I highly recommend the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment of it. Incredibly Strange but trueYep, the Pike was the place where "Incredibly Strange Creatures" was filmed. It might be one of the best "worst" movies of all time. The PikeI started school at Long Beach State in 1964, in contrast to the weeks old tyke. The Pike was great fun to walk around in during the day, even if your pockets were empty. Got a little edgy though when the sun went down. Lots of sailors foreign and domestic roamed that place the nights I went there. I remember it as kind of seedy and hinted of lurking danger in the darker corners. But those were enticing features to me and my friends in that era. We loved it. A dose of real life beyond a sterile campus setting. Magic BusIs anyone else salivating at the sight of that new-looking split-windshield Microbus? Scary!!Nothing in this world is WORSE than an "Incredibly Strange Creature Who Stops Living and Becomes a Mixed-Up Zombie"!! 58 Merc1958 Mercury Monterey in the foreground. Nice. '63 T-BirdThat's a Thunderbird next to the MicroBus. The side "vents" indicate it's a '63. In a way, this was really the last summer of the 1950's... just before the Kennedy assassination and the British invasion. SailorsI was one of those "domestic sailors" and rode the roller coaster many times between 1964 and 1966. There were many attractions in the Longbeach area at that time. The PikeLoved the Pike. Rode the Cyclone when I was 11. Nobody ever mentions the diving bell that dove into a tank with a bunch of tired old fish and a lazy stingray. Got tattooed there at 18. The Pike NowMy in-laws always told me about the Pike so my wife and son met some of her relatives there last summer on what was my first trip to California. The Pike is back...sort of. They have a ferris wheel that offers a nice view of the area and a carousel. Aside from that, there are some restaurants and shops and that's about it. I think the area where the Pike "was" is now all condos and parking lots. Josh Family outingMy Dad heard about the Pike from guys at work and convinced Mom that it would be a fun outing. When we arrived we were not allowed to get out of the car. It was 1967 and it was full of "hippies, ladies of the night and aimless drifters" according to my Mom. We never made it back and then they tore it down. My Aunt remembers good times there in the 40's with her friends and cute sailors. 1962, 10 Years Old.Mom gave me five bucks and cut me loose there for the day, barefoot. I would dip in the plunge till pruny and dry while I hit the arcades with penny toss and a ride. Wild Mouse, Cyclone, Tilt-a-Whirl and a strange airplane ride at the end of the park where you could control your spin and turn yourself upside down on a windy day. I rode it several times and grew up to be a pilot by age 17. Laugh house later was torn down and found to have been storing a real mummy as from an old 1800's traveling carnival. When money was found in its mouth he was identified. Mom worked across the street in the Heartwell building. All back while Rainbow Pier was still in existence and the Long Beach Arena was a planned dream. Thanks for the photo of my time. ClickWhat was the name of the photo gallery where you stood behind the funny painted standups and got your picture taken? MadnessThis place was also seen in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963). There are a couple of stills from the movie here.. http://members.cox.net/mkpl4/mmmmw/thumb.htm near the bottom of the page under "Long Beach." That coaster looks huge in the movie. The Old Pike DaysWalt Disney said he built Disneyland because the Pike was too seedy for his daughters. My dad took me on the roller coaster when I was 12 and scared me to death. Gawd I was glad when the ride was over. I went there in 1968 in my Navy days and my buddies got me on the Tilt-A-Whirl at full speed. I was sick for two days. Now the place is just a lot of tacky condos. Dancing at the PikeIn 1962 I met Dennis Patrick Smith of Long Beach at the Pike. We loved dancing there, or walking on the beach and finding snack places in Long Beach. I went back to school and my romance with DPS continued by telephone and letters. In 1964, I was back in Long Beach and that summer we loved the bumper cars. What incredible atmosphere the whole area provided! My relationship with DPS continued for 19 years, but in another realm, much like the decline and demise of The Pike. The mental pictures of Pike memories still conjure up nostalgia like no other, and particularly dancing on that ocean air dance floor. Days at the PikeSummertime at the Pike. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
Chicago: 1905
... Pilsen and I loved taking pics in the area. Here is a night shot of these same bridges from last winter. Over the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/05/2018 - 1:47pm -

Chicago circa 1905. "12th Street Bascule Bridge." Dinosaurs of the Carboniferous Period. Detroit Publishing Company glass negative. View full size. Bascule BridgesMore on the bascule ("seesaw") design here. These bridges used a system of counterweights to balance the span. Today's viewIt looks like this bridge is down, but the 2 in the background are still standing. View Larger Map Drainage CanalSomehow, a tour of a drainage canal sounds rather disturbing. Now that's marketing!Daily Excursions to the Drainage Canal! How could anyone resist that? Floaters.Daily Excursions. Step right up, buy your ticket to see the effluence. I.M. WestonDespite being in a canal, there was no smooth sailing for this steamer. The permit for its travels between Chicago and Lockport was revoked for the drunken rowdiness of its passengers. From Proceedings of the Chicago Sanitary District Board of Trustees. June 4, 1902 PRESIDENT DIRECTED TO REVOKE PERMIT ISSUED TO STEAMER I.M. WESTON FOR NAVIGATING THE DRAINAGE CHANNEL Under the head of new business Mr. Braden stated he had been informed that the steamer I.M. Weston plying between this city and Lockport is selling liquors and carrying boisterous crowds on its trips down the Drainage Channel and moved seconded by Mr Jones that the President of the Board be requested to revoke the permit granted said steamer until such time as the proprietors have given assurances that the boat will be properly conducted. The motion prevailed unanimously and it was so ordered. Steamer Weston: R.I.P. 1902 Port Huron Daily Times, September 6, 1902 The little passenger steamer I.M. WESTON which has been engaged in carrying excursionists down the Chicago Drainage Canal to Lockport for several years caught fire in the canal near Summit on Friday and burned to the water's edge. No one was lost. The I.M. Weston was built in 1883 as a passenger steamer, she later saw use carrying fruit before reverting back to passenger trade. 95 tons gross; 57 tons net. Zug IslandIs one of those bridges on Zug Island? Any kid growing up in Detroit was easily made to study harder by the threat of working on Zug Island. Cruising by it on the Bob-Lo boat was enough to scare a C-student into a B+ student by the end of the cruise. Bascule BridgeWe have two of those bridges here in Detroit! [Chicago wants them back right away. Or else. - Dave] Re: Today's view12th Street is today's Roosevelt Road (named for Teddy). I'm not sure if either bridge in the Google view is what you see in background of the photo. The top (north) bridge is no longer in use - it served the old Grand Central Station (B&O and others) at Wells and Harrison until the late 60's/early 70's. Follow the old right-of-way going north and you can still see traces of the platforms. The south(bottom) bridge connects Union Station and the BNSF with the Illinois Central mainline. Bascule Bridges - Zug IslandActually, one is at Fort Street and the other one is on Jefferson. I think there is one on Dix at the Ford-Rouge Plant, also. There might even be one on Zug Island. Uh, Dave, Chicago is out of luck -- we're not giving them back! Carboniferous DinosaursCouldn't be a more appropriate caption. Not only do we have the steamboat and steam switcher locomotive, but a steam-powered dredge in the background. Impressive! Dancing About ArchitectureMy wife and I took a two-hour river cruise sponsored by the Chicago Architecture Foundation a couple of weeks ago while visiting the Windy City. The tour was informative and relaxing and the expert commentary was provided by a docent from the CAF. We passed under several of these bascule bridges. We happened to be there during the Chicago Air Show, so we had the added fun of watching fighter jets and vintage aircraft screaming above the city. I highly reccommend the experience. More on the CAF's tours and activities: www.architecture.org Goober Pea Roosevelt Rd. BridgeThis is the "modern" bridge as it appeared in April 2008, view looking north from the river (click to enlarge): Hey...I used to live thereSo, as far as Chicago's development goes, I would say that this is an area that remains quite similar today. Until a few months ago I lived nearby in East Pilsen and I loved taking pics in the area. Here is a night shot of these same bridges from last winter. Over the RiverThe bridges in this area were all taken down and rebuilt between 1919 and 1921 for the straightening of the river. Chicago Drainage CanalAt the time of this picture, Chicago had recently reversed the flow of the Chicago River. Previously, the river and all of Chicago's sewage flowed into Lake Michigan, which is also where Chicago got its drinking water. A drainage canal was dug (some claim that more material was moved in the excavation of this canal than during construction of the Panama Canal). The drainage canal, along with a system of locks, caused the Chicago River to flow downward through the Des Plaines and Illinois River systems to the Mississippi. It was an incredible achievement, but maybe not so good for the people and fisheries downstream. Those bridgesThe two bridges shown prominently are long gone. They did provide access to Grand Central Station but were removed when the South Branch of the Chicago River was straightened in the 1920s. The railroad built a single leaf bascule bridge to replace the double bridge a few blocks to the south. That bridge is seen in the "today's view" and "I used to live there" photos. It is the one that is up. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Chicago, DPC)
Three Indians: 1915
... officials of the exposition that it is not moving, day and night, rain or shine. The motorcyclists of this country have been as one ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/06/2013 - 11:57am -

Washington, D.C., July 1915. "Motorcycle team, relay to Frisco." Frank S. Long, F.L. Leishear (whose Indian store we saw here) and Josiah McL. Seabrook. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. California, screamin'They sure did take a circuitous route (NYC and then way up to Albany). The stretch from Reno down into Sacramento must have kept the lads awake with fear if that lap's bikes had no front brakes either. The first time I drove from Reno to Sacramento - and this was on a road they could not dream of, I-80 - one item that caught my eye was a sign, "Caution. Downgrades next 40 miles." Light fantasticThe one smart enough to put the light on his bike will win it for them. Gold mineThe guys from "Pickers" must be drooling. Maybe they could find out who these men are and see if their families have these bikes behind the barn. Safety first!At least for the fellow with the tossled hair. He has on his protective gloves! Rudimentary brakes.Emergency stops much have been pretty exciting on those old bikes- I don't think they even had front brakes. No stoppies for them! Nice!I've been sitting here soaking up this picture. Just fabulous! Great shot, great clothes, great bikes! Wish I could go for a ride with them. Thanks again Dave. Handsome BravesBeautiful bikes! These have many, many similarities to this amazingly restored model, snapped last spring in Charlotte, North Carolina. They may be a bit newer, with kick starter, no leg-power pedals, skirted fender, hand-grip clutch, an electric headlamp on the rear bike (as opposed to Prest-o-Lite [acetylene]), and "soft-tail" rear suspension. I guess any of this could have been optional equipment. DatingI believe that the date of this photo is probably 1916 and not 1926. The Indians pictured appear to be 1915 models. I believe that 1915 was the last year of the inlet over exhaust engine (which these bikes have)and the first year of the kick starter. [You are close -- the year is 1915. - Dave] World's Fastest IndianWhen you see these bikes it really is incredible that Burt Munro took a similar model, a 1920 Scout, modified it and drove it to several land speed records. In 1967, with his engine punched out to 58 cu.in. (950cc) he set a class record of 183.586 mph. To qualify he made a one-way run of 190.07 mph, the fastest ever officially recorded speed on an Indian. The hogs of their dayLaugh at the funny horn if you like, but those bikes are Indian "standards" with 1,000-cc engines. Too bad they didn't add front brakes until 1928. Murder Inc.Maybe these fellas were part of the traveling team of hit-men for Murder Inc. They sure look like they want to kill something. a-OO-gah!Although the braking wouldn't be the greatest, at least they'd be able to clear a path with a mighty squeeze of the horn. Silent RIt was Shorpy that taught me that these are "Motocycles." 119 Hours to FriscoWashington Post, July 18, 1915. RELAY RACE TOMORROW Motorcyclists to Carry Message From Capital to Pacific. START FROM WHITE HOUSE Three Washington Men Will Cover the First Lap, From This City to Baltimore -- Expect to Make Cross-Continent Run in 119 Hours -- Secretary of War to Start Riders. With all arrangements for the transcontinental motorcycle relay race completed, the riders for the first lap of the long journey await the starter's word. The start will be made from the White House at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. They will carry a message from the President to the officials of the Panama-Pacific exposition at San Francisco. The Washington team, which will cover the first lap, will be composed of Frank S. Long, F.L. Leishear, and J. McL. Seabrook, mounted on Indian motorcycles. These men will carry the message from here to Baltimore, where another team will take it up and carry it over the second lap which ends in Philadelphia. From there the route across county is via New York, Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago, Davenport, Des Moines, Omaha, Cheyenne, Salt Lake City, Reno and Sacramento to San Francisco. Fast Time Is Scheduled. On account of the absence of the President, the message will be handed to the riders by Secretary of War Garrison. It is due on the Pacific coast 119 hours after leaving Washington. The riders in the Eastern part of the country will have little difficulty in keeping up with the schedule on account of the good roads, but some of the Western relays are more than 200 miles in length. The longest lap will be between Elko and Fenley, Nev. This stretch is 274 miles long. One of the purposes of this relay is to demonstrate the utility of the motorcycle for military use. The relay is intended to show that the motorcycle is capable of delivering messages under all conditions of road and weather. There will not be one minute from the time the message leaves Washington until it is delivered to the officials of the exposition that it is not moving, day and night, rain or shine. The motorcyclists of this country have been as one volunteering their services as dispatch bearers, and it has been a task for John L. Donovan, chairman of the competition committee of the Federation of American Motorcyclists and manager of the relay, to select the riders. HornyThe furthestmost bike from us has an electric horn, but the others have the bulb variety; I'm guessing it was an optional extra or later add-on. Also interesting to note that heavy cardigans seemed to be the outer garment of choice for moto-cyclists at this time. I wonder when and why the black leather jacket took over. Front SuspensionIt's called a trailing link suspension as the arm pivots ahead of the axel axle. Not too common at all. I believe some early BMWs used this type for awhile as well. In All It's Its GloryHere is a picture of a restored bike that is exactly like the ones in the picture. Note the kick start is on the left side and there is no gear shift to the left of the tank. Apparently slightly later models had the space occupied by the kick start mechanism replaced with a transmission that included a gear shift from it to the left side of the gas tank. Front SuspensionThe Indian front suspension was designed so there was caster to the wheels. According to the old guys I knew 60 years ago, this caster made for very secure handling and less tendency to high speed wobble. You haven't lived until you have experienced a case of high speed wobble!!! UnpunctualThe messages were delivered 36 hours late according to the article below from The Salt Lake Tribune from July 26, 1915. Research indicates that the riders were trying to show that taking a dispatch on a motorcycle across the country would be faster than placing the same message on a train. As originally scheduled, the race would have gone through Sacramento during the national Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM) convention in Sacramento, but this did not happen because of the belated arrival of the dispatch rider. The FAM was the organization behind the race. All riders were asked to conduct a rehearsal ride on July 11th. The purpose of riding in teams of three was to ensure that if something happened to the primary rider or his motorcycle another rider would be immediately available to continue the mission to San Francisco. Of the three riders pictured here, Seabrook punctured a tire before reaching Baltimore, and he dropped out; Long ran into a pile of rocks in Baltimore, and he was injured; so Leishear became the only man to make it to the first transfer point. By Bryan, Ohio, near the Indiana border, the racers were five and a half hours late because of rains and bad roads. By the time the riders reached Chicago they were 12 hours behind schedule. Some time was made up on the way to Moline, Illinois as the deficit was reduced to just eight and a half hours upon arriving there, and seven hours at Des Moines, Iowa. In Nebraska the lead rider had an accident, but the other riders were far behind him. Consequently, by Rock Springs, Wyoming the riders were 19 hours behind their scheduled arrival, and at Ogden, Utah 18 hours overdue. I did not find where the other 18 hours were lost, but many sources mention the 36 hour late arrival. The official route, dates, and times as originally scheduled were shown in the Ogden Standard (Ogden, Utah) on July 17, 1915. Note the earlier start time than what actually took place. July 19: 6:00 AM, Washington. D.C. to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Poughkeepsie, Albany, Utica, Syracuse, Rochester to: July 20: 12:45 AM, Buffalo, New York to Erie, Cleveland, Toledo, Bryan, South Bend, Chicago, Sterling, Davenport to: July 21: 3:15 AM, Victor, Iowa to Walnut, Omaha, Columbus, Kearney, North Platte, Julesburg to: July 22: 3:15 AM, Cheyenne, Wyoming to Pine Ridge Station, Rawlins, Rock Springs, Evanston, Salt Lake City, Ogden to: July 23: 12:45 AM, Kelton, Utah to Cobre, Elko, Rye Patch Station, Battle Mountain, Tenley, Reno, Colfax, Sacramento, Tracy, to San Francisco. (The Gallery, D.C., Motorcycles, Natl Photo, Sports)
Grand Central: 1910
... difficult to get a better shot unless you go there late at night. The Terminal is open until 1 A.M. and I'm sure it would be deserted but I am no longer the Night Owl that I was. They used to be open 24/7 but the homeless took advantage ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 4:59pm -

New York circa 1910. "Incline from subway to suburban concourse, Grand Central Terminal." 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. New but OldIt is a testament to the restoration of Grand Central Terminal that this view is essentially identical now, after being hidden for decades. NowadaysHow does this look today? Can anyone share a picture? Echoes of the pastAs I recall, the ceiling curvatures at the corners of that juncture (at the bottom of the incline) are excellent for focusing sound. It's like the whisper galleries at science museums: If you and a companion stand at the foci of opposing corners, you can hear each other plainly while speaking with your "indoor voice." Must ... look ... awayThis corridor makes me want to grab a skateboard and break something. YepI'm there just about every day. It really does look about the same. I think the floor has been redone, but I will check tonight. Wow!Amazingly beautiful! September 2010Not the best shot ever, but you can see that, other than the floor tiles, the area looks essentially the same today. RestorationBuilding Conservation Associates has served as a restoration consultant at Grand Central Terminal since 2004 working on the exterior restoration, inspection of all landmark spaces of the station, the Vanderbilt Hall Restoration, and the Oyster Bar Restaurant ceiling stabilization. The Exterior Restoration project was awarded the Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award by the New York Landmarks Conservancy. One step at a time. Might be interesting to share this photo with them in case this is in the master plan. Re: NowadaysThankfully the view is pretty much exactly the same (although that clock may not be there anymore). The Oyster BarJust to the right of "the whisper gallery" at the bottom of this ramp is that great Oyster Bar near the commuter-trains level of. My dad took me there for lunch once when I was a kid, and introduced me to the delights of a slab of warm apple pie with a wedge of cheddar. Many years later, when I had the wherewithal for a pricey solo lunch, nothing beat a trip down that ramp for an order of savory oyster stew served at the bar there. +100Per Tobias Vendenbempt's request. Fast Forward 100 The same shot as of this afternoon. ClassicSymmetrical; lines straight; everything in focus; proper exposure. No need to do anything else. Anyone have a current picture?I'm so glad to hear that this spot has been restored! I'd love to see it in color, and see exactly what the people a century ago saw. I love the chandeliers! Great GeometryBeautiful, simple and impressive. Grand Central PassageI finally got to Grand Central a couple of days ago and took the picture of what I believe is the "Incline." The bridge above the passage is Vanderbilt Hall where a wonderful Holiday Fair is in progress. It's most difficult to get a better shot unless you go there late at night. The Terminal is open until 1 A.M. and I'm sure it would be deserted but I am no longer the Night Owl that I was. They used to be open 24/7 but the homeless took advantage of the warmth and good cheer of the Railroad people who couldn't evict them legally. Speaking of good cheer, I wish all our Shorpyites, staff, commenters and visitors the best for the holiday season and good health, prosperity and peace in a world at peace (I guess its possible) for the new year. Beautiful chandeliers The chandeliers that light Grand Central are just as beautiful today as they were then. BeautifulGreat comparison shots, thanks so much for posting them - what did you mean, Swein, about the terminal being "hidden for decades"? Kinda miss the clockYou suppose they lost the clock? I would think replacing a clock with a replica is no big deal? Why don't they? Old tiles did look better than the new ones. Thanks for placing the images. Wonderful to see they restored it this well. The Missing ClockI'm not sure I'd have noticed the clock if Tobias hadn't asked about it. It can't be restored because the wall it's mounted on is no longer there. If you compare the 1910 original with the contemporary photos, you'll see that the crossing over the ramp is now an open bridge. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)
THINK: 1941
... and visit the hair salon. Maybe a bubble bath and early night with a few fashion magazines. She's cute. Safety fan in 2004 I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/29/2022 - 11:22am -

December 1941. "Washington apartment house turned into office space for the Foreign Function Bureau." Acetate negative by John Collier, Office of War Information. View full size. StinkI’m sorry but that sign is just a little bit insulting. And what would it say today? Hydrate. De-stress. Work harder. If I could put such signs in the workplace, I might do: Awake and sing! ["THINK" is an IBM mantra that goes way, way back. - Dave] ThinkingOnce again I can't help but think about my own mother who went from Ohio to Washington, D.C. to work for the government during the war. She met my father there and eventually they wound up back in Ohio! Top, TOP SECRET Foreign Function Bureau: an agency so obscure that a newspaper search actually turns up no matches (Not entirely surprising, perhaps, as it looks like they're working with some kind of encrypters punch machines.) OK, I'll be grateful if I even get partial credit on this one, tho I guess one could make an argument a punch card is in a sense 'encrypted'; and even worse I may have actually operated something like this: Cal was still using cards in the early 80's and one of the perks of being an upperclassman was knowing there were places where you could go and DIY cards, rather than waiting in line. IBMLooks like an IBM logo on the back of the machines they are using. I wonder if the 'Think' sign was some swag provided by IBM. "THINK" ... maybe not so much.It looks like they are using IBM Type 016 Electric Duplicating Key Punch machines. That has to be a tedious and boring job. Just a small thingI like their nails – practical and efficient yet still pretty. Somebody out there ...must know what these machines are -- they don't look like anything I've ever seen. The have some sort of adjustable scale device on the right, but not a standard keyboard so I don't think it's for making address labels or dog tags. The labels are too blurry and indistinct to read. I'm stumped. [They look to be Hollerith tabulators (punch-card machines) made by IBM, a technology that goes back to the 1890s. - Dave] Now I see it! On the girl's right is a stack of cards held down by a weight, and on her left is a collection tray. Thanks Dave! CrinklyI love black crinkle finish equipment. Seems very heavy duty, and at the same time very attractive. Ouch!Honey, after work my right hand and the right side of my neck are sore and cramped. I wonder why? Can you rub them a little? On another note, what are they entering? What kind of machines are those? Foreign Function BureauI had never heard of the Foreign Function Bureau so I did an internet search. Curiously, every link is to this photo, or other photos by the same photographer from the same series. [The FFB does get a shout-out in this 2016 romance novel set in 1942. - Dave] Looking forward to it!I bet the office parties are really wild! Best behaviorNo folding, spindling or mutilating going on there! I think, therefore I ambored ... really, really bored. And my right hand is killing me. The woman in the middle has a cord attached to the side of her machine (on her right) that the other two don't have. I wonder why the difference. I remember typing computer punch cards in college. Fortran was clearly not the future, but it was the only system they had to teach. If you made a mistake typing, the mainframe rejected your entire submission and you had to search out the flawed card, retype, and resubmit the whole thing ... only to learn your next typing mistake was three cards later. I think the most brilliant feature ever invented for any computer is "undo." It's one of the first things I ask about on any new program. I think we should have it in real life. "Oh, did I say that? Let me just hit undo." Three Horses BroochThe woman in the middle is sporting a very cool brooch depicting three horses. You can get one on eBay for about $40! DoorstopBy the 1960's, the standard issue THINK sign came glued onto an IBM blue plastic easel, with an angled back support. We found that the angle of the support made the sign a perfect doorstop to the computer room door, 9 edge face down. Once the metal sign came off the easel, I took it home, along with the red CHECK STOP light from the 1620 when it went to its reward. Preferred the massive 026 keypunch, you couldn't move the 029's keyboard around far enough to be comfortable. IT&TMy first summer job was stock-taking for IT&T in The Hague. We had to enter our results onto Hollerith cards but the machine to do that with was a lot smaller than the ones in the picture. Guess we were a lot slower in doeing so as well. This was in 1971, in 1980 I was enrolled in a programming course where they still used cards. No holes to punch though, you had to mark the spot with a pencil (and again and again ...). After that was Teletype. Pity they are gone as well, we used to have nice parties with the extra money we got from selling the mountains of used paper. Logo Looks FamiliarThe logo on the machine looks like one I had on my tool bag as a teletype tech in the Air Force about a hundred years ago. The machine is definitely used to create punch cards. Punch cards were used in data processing as early as the 1930s and while I couldn't find this particular machine listed in any Teletype Corp listing I have access to, I suspect this is an IBM design, the construction of which was contracted out to Teletype Corp, and was part of the expansion of the government taking place both before and after the U.S. entry into WWII. [The IBM machines in our photo have nameplates reading MOTOR DRIVE DUPLICATING KEY PUNCH. They appear to be Model 016 punches, introduced in 1929. - Dave] No snark intendedBut the wee lass in front needs a self-care day. Lose the frazzled look. Get a manicure (her polish appears chipped but it's understandable given the circumstances) and visit the hair salon. Maybe a bubble bath and early night with a few fashion magazines. She's cute. Safety fanin 2004 I worked in an industrial setting that still had a floor fan with a blade guard you could put your fist through. Even then, given the hot summer temps, it took me a while to bring it to the manager's attention. (Technology, The Gallery, D.C., John Collier, The Office, WW2)
Metamora of Palatka: 1902
... which flows through a dense semi-tropical forest. The night scenes, when this tangled mass of shrubbery is lighted by torches, are ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/20/2012 - 1:37pm -

Florida circa 1902. "On the Ocklawaha." Steamboat Metamora of Palatka. Photo by William Henry Jackson. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. Palatka PixThe Putnam County archive has more pictures. Walt's inspirationSince no one has mentioned it yet, I have to: This is the jungle cruise at Disneyland. Spanish TrimmingsThe spanish moss just dripping off these trees seems almost like a holiday garland and thus oddly appropriate for the season. And they complain about propellersI wonder how many manatees got brained by that mixmaster! Or perhaps the paddle was better at turning gators into shoes. Metamora lost to the swamps.I can find nothing on the Metamora in steamboat lists. I believe the reason for the small wheel is that the boat is small. No more than 12 feet wide and maybe 60 feet long. Not much room for large compound steam engines to move a bigger wheel. Note the chains and rudder arms aft of the wheel. A very simple steering setup. Lucas New LineFrom the Ocala Star Banner of May 8, 1966: Another interesting sight was the arrival of the "Hart Line" or "Lucas New Line" steamboats from Palatka, which was a 24 hour trip through tropical scenery. "This tortuous stream"An ad from the 1903 edition of the Foster & Reynolds Standard Guide to Florida. OCKLAWAHA RIVER. Most Attractive and Romantic Trip in the South! No visitor can afford to visit Florida without having enjoyed a sail on this tortuous stream which flows through a dense semi-tropical forest. The night scenes, when this tangled mass of shrubbery is lighted by torches, are marvelous. A steamer of the LUCAS NEW LINE OCKLAWAHA RIVER STEAMERS will leave Palatka for Silver Spring on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 12.30 p.m., after arrival of trains from Jacksonville and St. Augustine. Returning leaves Silver Springs Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 12.30 p.m., after arrival of trains from Tampa, Ocala, and other places on the West Coast. ASK MR. FOSTER, at the Standard Guide Information Bureaus, Cordova Corner, St. Augustine, and Palm Beach, for further information and printed matter of all the Hotels, Routes and Resorts here advertised. Enclosed PaddlewheelWhat is interesting about this little steamboat is the fact that the stern paddlewheel is completely enclosed. Was this an attempt to keep it free of vegetation in this tough swamp enviornment? A very fascinating boat. Florida QueenWithout that caption, this could have been shot anywhere from Africa to the deepest Amazon. Looking for Bogart and Hepburn! On the OckHave kayaked the Ock many times. It's quite beautiful with much wildlife to be seen along the way. One obstruction, the Rodman Dam in Putnam County, constructed in the 1960s as part of the ill-fated Cross-Florida Barge Canal, is scheduled to be removed as part of a watershed restoration project. Trail BlazingI love the way the angle makes it look as though it's blazing its own path through the swamp!! Wonder how often random snakes and critters ended up on-deck. Smoke on the water?What is the stuff that looks like smoke, and is reflected in the water, but apparently coming from pipes there at the waterline? Wouldn't the exhaust come from the stack? [It's steam. - Dave] Metamora modelI was recently at the Florida History museum in Tallahassee and they had a wonderful scale model of Silver Springs. One of the boats in the model is the Metamora. New LineYes, the Ocklawaha steamers' inboard paddle design was intended to reduce fouling in the tight confines of the river. Lucas' New Line was a less successful imitator and rival of Col. Hubbard Hart's original and larger Palatka-Silver Springs line. Hyacinth countermeasuresThe Ocklawaha, in common with many Southern streams, was totally overrun with South American water hyacinth (a pest to this day). Bringing the wheel inboard let the hull of the boat act as a sort of "icebreaker" to push through the floating mats of weed, and kept the wheel clear. Metamora looks a bit run down.The lowest tier of siding appears to be covered with the familiar Florida algae and fungus. There are lots of broken slats in the stateroom shutters. I wonder if deferred maintenance had anything to do with Metamora's upcoming loss on the river. I would love to build a model of this little tub-- anyone know where I can get plans? MetamoraI stumbled across this forum and found it interesting as the co-owner and Captain of the Metamora was my grandfather Joseph Edward Lucas. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Florida, W.H. Jackson)
Ghosts of Atlanta: 1864
... Virginia. The Bottom of the Playbill Reads: Benefit Night / Maj(?) I. Smith / Leader of the Band / of the 33rd / Mass. / The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2012 - 7:20pm -

"The War in the West." 1864 photo (half of a stereograph) by George N. Barnard. Atlanta Intelligencer newspaper office by the railroad depot. Exposure times were so long that anyone walking appears only as an ectoplasmic blur. View full size. Note tents in background and troop train with soldiers atop the boxcars. where was this in Atlanta?Anyone know where this was in Atlanta? Looking for an approximate street address. Masonic lodgePerhaps the large masonic lodge in the background is still standing ... might be a clue. Try the main PeachtreeTry the main Peachtree Street / locate the address of the Atlanta terminal at the time / try Five Points area / could it be near Kennesaw? good luck--former Atlanta area resident and interested in knowing as well. Masonic Lodge (1864) in AtlantaI have been researching, and it appears that the Masonic Lodge, and another building called The Trout House were on Decatur St. in Atlanta. Click on this link http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cwpb/03300/03304v.jpg (Trout house beside Masonic lodge.) Here is a site with several images of Georgia during the Civil War...scroll down to 1864, and you will see the listing for this picture. http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/cwphotos.htm Now I am off to find out if this Masonic Lodge is still standing. Where was this in Atlanta? (answer)I have been checking around and asking around about where this area in this photo might be, and a new friend on an Atlanta school site gave me this information... Quote: "Decatur Street is one of the main 5 roads that leads to Five Points, which basically is the center of downtown Atlanta, and was the center of town at that time. I think, but not sure, based on that picture and some of the other photos of the Union troop encampments, etc, that the Masonic Hall and Trout House were pretty close to what is now 5 Points. Most of that area of Decatur Street now has been renovated over the last 25 years and is where Georgia State University is located. I am fairly certain that neither of these structures is there any longer. When I went to GSU in the 1960's, I travelled almost the length of Decatur Street to get there. I do not recall ever seeing either of them, even back then, at that time, and to date, much of that area was torn down with Urban Renewal funds from the feds. It was mainly run down buildings and older businesses. It is possible that one of those run down buildings may have been one of the structures. However, Decatur Street runs east for a few miles, and they may have been futher east than I think. During the Civil War era, though, most of that area was rural. The actual Battle of Atlanta that is depicted in the Cyclorama painting took place away from the center of town out in the rural area of Decatur St/Road & what is now Dekalb Ave.(same road). At least this clears up a little bit for us all. sherri Underground AtlantaMy guess is that this was taken near the corner of Peachtree SW (then Whitehall) and Wall St. That would put it in what is now Underground Atlanta, I think. Whitehall StreetWAR-TIME CAMP IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA, IN THE OLD CITY PARK At the extreme left is the old Trout House, the principal hotel at the time; tracks of three of the chief railroads here crossed Whitehall Street, on which the "Intelligencer" office fronted. http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/gordon/ill5.html Whitehall & AlabamaMy guess is the corner of Whitehall and Alabama Streets looking northeast. Currently Peachtree Street. Back then Peachtree changed to Whitehall south of Five Point. Atlanta DepotNoticed that the same photographer walked a block or so to the right after taking this one. Does that help narrow the location down? Masonic LodgeBy the Masons' own records, the Lodge in the background stood on the corner of Lloyd (now Central Avenue) and Alabama Street, at south angle. So I would guess that if we're one block west it's on what is now Pryor Street or if two blocks Peachtree. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Alabama+Street+Atlanta&oe=&ie=UTF8&hl=en&h... Ref: http://www.ap59.org/html/atlanta_59.html HandbillIf you look on the corner of the building, you can just make out the word "frolic." Can't quite tell what comes before. [Cobblers? Gobblers? - Dave] Atlanta Intelligencer office I have mapped many of Barnard's photographs on this interactive map. This picture is marked as Pushpin 10. The playbill pasted to the building in the foreground advertises a stage show by Union troops to raise money for Mrs. Rebecca S. Welch, whose husband and son (Confederates) were both killed in Virginia. The Bottom of the Playbill Reads: Benefit Night / Maj(?) I. Smith / Leader of the Band / of the 33rd / Mass. / The Laughable Pantomime / The Cobbler’s Frolic / at the Atheneum / tonight / Saturday /Nov. 5th Location of this buildingThis building was located close to where the Peach Drop tower currently is, at Underground Atlanta. Because of the viaduct that created Underground Atlanta, it would have stood below the current street level. It was on Whitehall Street (now Peachtree). (The Gallery, Atlanta, Civil War, Geo. Barnard)
Bensenville: 1943
... does anyone remember Peter Paul Candy's Walnettos? Good night Gracie. Coffee with cream and soot. On the far right side of the ... of the rail yard in 1949 and ocassionally grabbed a late night sobering coffee on the way home. White stuff At first I would say ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 4:45pm -

May 1943. Bensenville, Illinois. "Bensenville yard of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad. Track repair and work on the cinder pits at the roundhouse." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. View full size. Close-by observationI can smell the creosote and burning coal. As a kid I would be as close to all this action as I could possibly get. Only to go home, and due to the soil on my clothes, be told to stay away from those trains, it’s not safe! Great image. Uncle Clark is goneBut he'd probably have answers for the dozens of questions this photo raises. Not so many whos, but a big list of whys and whats. He was a railroad man for MoPac all his working life. One thing that I can guess is that most of those guys down there were probably "seasoned," meaning in 1943 there weren't too many young men around. InspirationPhotos like this create great inspiration for my model railroad. This is wonderful...thank you Dave StrandedThe locomotive near the roundhouse wall seems to be stranded on an isolated section of track. Hope they don't need its services any time soon. What's A Cinder Pit?Page 63 has a cross section of the pit. No PrivacySpot the guy taking a leak! Goings OnsThat looks like the side and roof of a locomotive cab over there on the right on the ground. Probably junk. I'll take it! Somebody spill something being soaked up by the white stuff? The 2nd engine and tender from the right appear to be on a section of track that no longer goes anywhere useful. As my daddy used to say:"Get in the roundhouse Nellie...they can't corner you there." And also, as my ADD makes my mind wander, does anyone know what ever happened to Robbie Benson? And a similar sounding town, Bentonville, in Arkansas, is where Sam Walton opened his very first store. And does anyone remember Peter Paul Candy's Walnettos? Good night Gracie. Coffee with cream and soot.On the far right side of the photo, between the rail cars and the sliver of road, is a chimneyed structure. That building was a restaurant and bed stop for trainmen. I lived a few miles south of the rail yard in 1949 and ocassionally grabbed a late night sobering coffee on the way home. White stuffAt first I would say it would be ballast, then again it looks like a huge pile of cocaine. Casey Jones better watch your speed! RobbieRobbie Benson is still acting, doing voice-over work and directing. He has two projects "in development," if you know what I mean. There's a company that manufactures caskets in the form of classic cars in Bentonville, Arkansas. You can order Walnettos via the Internet, but neither Peter nor Paul are involved any longer. Hang in there. Ash Pit 101For Howdy and others - On a coal-fired steam loco, the fuel is burned at the rear of the boiler in a large chamber known as the firebox. At its bottom is a large grate that actually holds the burning coal. Oxygen is drawn from below the firebox and through the grates for combustion. Coal has many impurities such as sulfur, iron, ash, and dirt that only partially burn, producing cinders. Other impurities mix with oxygen then fuse with ash and dirt to produce a hard lump called a “clinker.” As the fuel burns, these waste products drop through the grates into an ashpan below. The ashpan has to be emptied regularly, usually at every service stop and again at the end of each run, as the accumulation of cinders can restrict airflow to the point they greatly reduce efficiency, or in the worst case, actually extinguish the fire. As the ash was still red-hot, it was typically emptied into a special holding area below the tracks – thus the "pit" in ash pit — lined with heat-resistant stone or firebrick. It was usually hosed down, but some larger terminals had water-filled pits to speed cooling. A big terminal like Bensenville could easily generate well over 100 cubic yards of ash every day. Cinder was free and could be used like gravel, so it was reclaimed for a variety of jobs. The black material covering most of the area in the photo is cinder. Remains of the RoundhouseIt appears this view is looking WNW. The roundhouse is gone, but you can still spot its remains (including the turntable) in aerial photography. Coordinates 41°57'13.50"N, 87°55'54.58"W (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Chicago, Jack Delano, Railroads)
St. Louis: 1900
... had just emerged pale and enormous from the dissolving night. "God sees everything," repeated Wilson. "That's an advertisement," ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 8:43pm -

St. Louis, Missouri, circa 1900. "Olive Street west from Sixth." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Goody GoodyBefore anyone asks. Lions and misfits, oh myI want to shop at the Misfit Clothing Parlor! And how many lions can you spy in the facade of that Louis Sullivanesque building at right rear? Sanitation strikeOr did the Cardinals parade pass us by? Not Sullivanesque -- Sullivan!The building with the lions rampant is 705 Olive St., built in 1893 as the Union Trust Building by the firm Adler & Sullivan (yes, that was the noted architect Louis Sullivan). It was altered in 1924 and lost a few members of its pride. (See www.builtstlouis.net/opos/705olive.html) View Larger Map Cries out for a medley..."Clang, clang, clang went the trolley, Ding, ding, ding went the bell"... where's Judy Garland when you need her. Curbside TrashSt. Louis needed to emulate New York City and employ those White Wings to clean up its streets. Not a trolley, a cable car!Interestingly, that's not a trolley in the photo. A "trolley" is by definition an electrically-powered streetcar. What we have here is a rare photo of a St. Louis cable car (note the cable slot between the two rails, and the lack of a trolley pole on the roof of the car). This cable railway ran until 1901. The presence of trolley wires above the street could indicate that this photo was taken while the line was in the process of being converted to electric traction. [Look again. It's electric. - Dave] I stand correctedThe close-up zoom tells the tale -- it is an electric streetcar running on the rails of the former cable line. Thanks for the great photos and web site! 13 January, 2010Looks slightly different this morning . . . LOVELY parking garage, though. Louis Sullivan DesignThanks for showing this photo that includes Adler & Sullivan's Union Trust Building. I have a doorknob and escutcheon (backplate) from this building mounted onto a door in my house. Every day when I turn the ornate knob (being able to feel the raised UTB letters) I will now think of this photo! Erker Bros. SpectaclesThey remind me of "the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg" in "The Great Gatsby": Standing behind him Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg which had just emerged pale and enormous from the dissolving night. "God sees everything," repeated Wilson. "That's an advertisement," Michealis assured him. WowSt. Louis used to be a city! God is in the detailsHere's a view of difficult-to-photograph Union Trust as it was originally constructed (taken from the south facing north along Olive). The scale of the lions with the shields near the entrance beggars the imagination. They appear to be about 30 feet high (compare them to the pedestrians' heights who are walking just under them in the original Shorpy photo.) Sadly, these were removed during the 1920s "remodeling." Fellow Louis Sullivan fans, check out the ornamentation of the cornice in this building -- it's simply amazing. Pure art. Sullivan was one of Frank Lloyd Wright's mentors, as I recall. Sullivan rocks. 1. Sullivan's fertile mind 2. Cornice Some things are still thereErker's is still a eyeglass establishment in the St. Louis area, so not quite everything there is gone. The trolley tracks are still mostly around yet; just visible under asphalt, especially in parking lots and alleys where they peek through broken pieces. (The Gallery, DPC, St. Louis, Streetcars)
Merry Taxmas: 1920
... for the 1919 income tax, according to estimates made last night by officials. It is believed that the returns for 1919 will show a ... offices were packed from opening until the closing last night. Hat LOVE! Oh, oh, OH ... the hats on those three ladies in the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/04/2012 - 4:54pm -

"Income Tax circa 1920." One of the happiest times of the year in our nation's capital, like Christmas and the Fourth of July rolled into one joyous orgy of giving. Excited citizens lined up around the block waiting their turn at the Internal Revenue Service, checkbooks in hand! National Photo Co. View full size. Hat manI love the mustachioed fellow in the bowler (near the front of the line) looking straight at the camera. He perfectly represents a certain kind of look. Smilin' JackJust picked a pocket or something. No other reason for a cheerful countenance... Imagine I'll see many of these same expressions at the post office tomorrow. Steve Miller Writin' checks someplace near the crossroads of America The old proI like the look of the balding clerk in the foreground. He's wearing a pretty good suit and spats(!), he's neatly stowed his hat and coat on the shelf below the counter, and he looks like he's patiently explaining something dead simple for the forty-eleventh time that day. I'll bet he raises african violets, plays a mean hand of bridge, and calls his wife "Ma." Gotta see a man about a horseMan in pork pie hat and leather jacket: "I'll put a sawbuck down on Tea Biscuit in the third race at Pimlico." Bald, bespectacled clerk: "Sir, I believe you have the wrong office!" Last Minute Throng Washington Post, Feb 15, 1920 May Pay Income Tax in District Deputy Collector at 1418 H Street Will Aid in Making Up Returns. Income tax returns may be filed by residents of the District at the office of the deputy collector of internal revenue, 1418 H street northwest, which will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day from February 16 to March 15. Collectors of internal revenue are mailing income tax forms for 1919 returns to persons who filed returns last year. Obligation to file returns, it is stated, is not removed by failure to receive the forms. The tax may be paid in full or in four installments, the first of which must accompany the return form. Payment may be made in cash, money orders or by check. Form 1040A for reporting incomes of $5,000 or less and form 1040, for incomes in excess of that amount, may be obtained at the office of the deputy collector. A corps of income tax experts will be available at 1418 H street to give assistance to taxpayers without cost. The office of the deputy collector will be open today from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Washington Post, Mar 16, 1920 5,000,000 Report Incomes Last Minute Rush Packs Local Office Until Close at Midnight Five million persons have made returns to the bureau of internal revenue for the 1919 income tax, according to estimates made last night by officials. It is believed that the returns for 1919 will show a substantial increase over those for the preceding year. Tax offices in every large city were thronged yesterday by a last-minute rush to file returns before expiration of the time limit. Washington offices were packed from opening until the closing last night. Hat LOVE!Oh, oh, OH ... the hats on those three ladies in the front. Especially the one on the left, which looks like a big, black velvet powder puff. Oh, how I covet those hats ... My PreferenceI liked Easter better. No withholding back then.Things were made a little easier in the early forties when withholding for taxes was started. ResemblanceThere's Calvin Coolidge, second behind the group of ladies, paying his taxes just like the rest of us, and none to happy about it either! Spats!That bespectacled clerk! Love the spats! Like a character out of "Some Like It Hot"! Wonderful. And the lady in the foreground who looks like she's waiting for an answer about a deduction and the clerk is trying to come up with a reasonable no for an answer! Paper everywhereI assume that the tax returns lying on the floor and in the garbage cans are the ones from citizens expecting refunds. CalendarThis is definitely 1920. You can see the March calendar on the wall with March 1st on a Monday, as it was that year. Tax day moved from March 1 to March 15 in 1918. It was not until 1955 that April 15 became the due date. Although Sundays are holidays on the calendar (denoted with a dark coloring), Saturday is treated as a work day, just the same as Monday through Friday. [It could also be 1926, calendarwise. - Dave] No love for the tax man then either.As far as I've been able to determine, the top tax rate in 1920 was over 70 percent. Some Things Just Don't ChangeI got mine done early this year and I kept all my papers off the floor! I know that the tax rates have gotten a lot worse since then and I would venture to say that the politicians are MORE wasteful today as well. I wish fashion would turn back to the hat for men. I think it must have been great when we all wore hats. What a stimulus for the economy too! At first I thought that the three ladies in the front row were a three headed beast like the Knights Who Say Ni. Did anyone else have to take a second glance? Progressive taxWhat I find amazing about this photo is that the line is integrated. During this period, segregation was still in full swing. I would have thought they'd have had a separate line for each race. How very progressive! VignetteFront-of-line Gal: Cute, trying hard on the clerk. Her Friend: Willing, but unlovely. Jealous of her friend's means. No taxes of her own to file. Nosy Old Gal: Well, a nosy old gal Smiling Fedora Guy: Checking out Front-of-line Gal. Getting a refund. Top Marginal RatesGraph of the Top Marginal Tax Rate over time (via Truth and Politics): Eisenhower was a Socialist! Mr. SmootMr. Smoot must have handled complaints, since he got to hide behind bars, out of the reach of throttling hands. No SmokingThe spats guy talking to the fellow with the leather jacket in the front of the line, "Sir there is no smoking in the building" There were no refunds in 1920 - because withholding of taxes from paychecks (one of the worst ideas in our history) did not begin until 1943. [There was no withholding, but there were plenty of refunds given to people who overpaid their taxes or received adjustments. - Dave] Chapeaux and TaxesI soooo wish that we still wore hats, they were so stylish! and yes, I could just die for that great looking powderpuff hat that the lady to the left in front has on too! Get in line! TaxingThe following is taken from the website stanton_square cites: "the rate does not take into account all possible exemptions and deductions, so taxes actually paid may have been lower than these nominal rates indicate." I am no tax expert but I do know that the deductions allowed are the highest when the marginal tax rate is the highest. In other words the deductions allowed when the marginal rate is 90% are much higher that the deductions allowed when the rate is around 28% which is what many of us pay today. Only Government Workers PaidUntil 1943 less than 4% of the U.S. population paid "Income" taxes. Of the 4%, Government workers; Federal, State, and local were the only subjects of the Income tax. The Victory Tax of 1943 (a truly voluntary tax) was the genesis to the delusion that private sector workers owe taxes too. The tax code (IRC) didn't change in 1943, but after a generation of voluntary payers you'd never know. [What a lot of delusional nonsense. "Patriots" do not drop the ball and make their tax-paying fellow citizens pick up the tab. In 1918, income tax was assessed on married couples whose household income was more than $2,000 a year, or single people making more than $1,000 a year. It had nothing to do with whether you were a government employee. In 1919, 5 million returns were filed. - Dave] (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo)
El Paso: 1903
... Town of El Paso, I fell in love with a Mexican girl... Night time would find me at Rosie's Cantina...etc... Sign punctuation ... Having just watched the HBO series Deadwood last night, I smiled when I saw "The Gem" and "Billiards" on the same building down ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 9:55am -

"El Paso, Texas. 1903." Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size. DateDoes the overhead banner not say 1889? [1903. - Dave] Telephone cablesWhat a remarkable chapter in the history of telephone communications this photo displays. Notice how the lower six crossarms on the closest telephone pole, which used to hold 36 wire pairs, have been rendered obsolete by the three cables strung in the upper foreground of the photo. I'd guess that those cables hold 25 pairs apiece, but they could be a hundred pairs each. Nowadays there can be up to two thousand pairs in a cable. This marked a glorious transition for a forest of wires to a telephone system with some hope for future expansion. El PasoNot an automobile to be seen. However we can see streetcar tracks and a Bell Telephone sign. What else was going on in 1903.When I see the date on a picture or when a Hymn was written I try to relate the date as to what else was going on in the world. El Paso in 1903 with no cars was to change because in Detroit Henry Ford was starting the Ford Motor Co. Driving through El Paso today on I-10 you do not see much of El Paso because of all the cars you have to keep your eyes on. Great PictureLots to see here. But I keep coming back to the 2nd store from the right. Just beyond the W.G.Walz banner. Does anyone else see two eyes looking at the lens? El Paso Grand Midwinter CarnivalThe El Paso Midwinter Carnival will take place from January 12 to 17 Inclusive, some of the features of which will be: World's championship Miners' Drilling Contest, prizes $2000; Roping and Tying Tournament, prizes $2000: Fraternal and Civic Parade, prizes $1000: free shows on the streets. Oriental midway, music, parades, bull fights, confetti battles and generally a hot old time. Ammunition can be bought on the grounds. Programmes of the El Paso Grand Midwinter Carnival shoot will be mailed on application. -- Sporting Life Oregon and MillsBased on the address of the old Grand Central Hotel and the bend in the streetcar line, this appears to be taken from the corner of Oregon and Mills (formerly St. Louis), looking almost due west. Just to the right of the photographer would be San Jacinto Plaza. 1886 map. [The label in the lower left corner of the photo says it's El Paso Street. - Dave] View Larger Map Mama was a cowgirlMy mother was born in El Paso in 1918 and I imagine it looked pretty much the same 15 years after this photo was taken. Out in the West Texas...Town of El Paso, I fell in love with a Mexican girl... Night time would find me at Rosie's Cantina...etc... Sign punctuationSomething I've always been curious about - this is the first example I've seen on Shorpy since I signed up. From the pre-Civil War era up through about the turn of the 19th-20th century, sentence fragments on billboards are always followed by periods. See "Antiquities." in this photo for an example. A nineteenth century hardware store might advertise: Tools. Wire Fencing. Lumber. Nails and Staples. You see it in newspaper ads of the 1800's as well. By the 1920's this usage is just about extinct, you never see it today unless intended to create a mock-dramatic effect. Somehow there must have been a change in the teaching of business English that caused every ad agency in America to decide "this usage must go!" [Check out this post, and the comments. - Dave] Sign Punctuation and the Future of ShorpyYears from now, Shorpy.com (or its successors) may generate comments on the ersatz punctuation evident in commercial signage circa 2009. An infamous example is the use of apostrophies to indicate plurals (e.g. "soda's"). Period Signage, Signage PeriodsThe use of periods in 19th-century signage seems to derive from the similar usage on book title pages. The typographic fashion for long phrases and numerous ornamental typefaces on the same page or sign was perhaps thought to be more confusing to the reader without the periods. So in the present photo, the periods help us to sort out the discrete phrases in the "wordy" sign at the far left: "Wholesale & Retail Dealers in All Kinds of Mexican & Indian Curiosities. Mexican Straw, Felt & Fur Hats." As page and signage design simplified in the 20th Century, the perceived need for the periods became redundant and was dropped from designers' and editors' style sheets. The use of a period in single-word signs such as "Office." or "Coalyard." also renders the word into a declarative sentence, as if spoken in an announcement to the viewer. My favorite badly painted 20th-century building sign, with too-evenly spaced block letters, would have benefited from the addition of periods, or at least better spacing. As seen from the road in Beirut in 1973, it read as one word: "GARGANTUADANCINGCREPERIERESTAURANT" Electric streetcarsLooking at the streetcar system I don't see any overhead catenary system, but I am viewing the image on a google phone so the detail might not be as clear. In most cities where I have researched, primarily in the southeast, the electric distribution was handled by the streetcar companies as a secondary service to sell excess power not used in the primary transportation network. Streetcars were animal powered until electric motors were improved to handle the cars; steam powered trolleys were considered undesirable and banned in the franchise agreements needed to operate. In some cities the power was generated by the local mill since they had the hydro power, others it was a municipal system or local business group. Lighting was primarily gas until the late 1890's. The electric system is present with a transformer and service cut-ins but I was curious to know if the streetcar was still animal powered? [The photo shows an overhead catenary line. - Dave] S. El Paso StreetThis same photo (and 112 others from Detroit Publishing, some already seen here on Shorpy) is contained in the Dover Publications collection "Main Street, U.S.A. In Early Photographs" (1998). The book's caption notes this is South El Paso Street's 100 block, looking to the south. At the time the photo was taken, this area was the business center of El Paso, "although that hegemony slipped away in the subsequent decade." The two buildings at the extreme right were torn down in the 1980's for the exppansion of the Paso del Norte Hotel. Believe me, Dave has managed to bring up a great amount of detail from the mud of the original photograph (and I ain't talking about the street.) Steve Miller Someplace near the crossroads of America J.W. HardinThe outlaw J.W. Hardin was killed here 8 yrs prior to the photo. I'd say it was a rather hectic town at the time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wesley_Hardin CoincidenceHaving just watched the HBO series Deadwood last night, I smiled when I saw "The Gem" and "Billiards" on the same building down the street. Must have been a common name in those days. CURIOUSMIGHT THAT BE A SIGN FOR AN OPTOMETRIST? [I BET IT WAS. ARE YOU HARD OF SEEING? - DAVE] Making it workThe sign painters have also effectively worked the decorative brickwork and windows into their design. It is hard to say if the people who originally designed and built the structure on the left had any aesthetic compunction about using the walls as a billboard - or was this the work of later owners? Imagine spending $50 million to build an office building today and then using it for advertising space. [It is hard to envision. - Dave] 1886 MapThanks Vic for the map. I see those railroads via El Paso. My great-great grandpa went to El Paso from Ohio in 1870's to work on the railroad for few years. I make the connection with family history, personal letters with this map. Thanks so much. (The Gallery, DPC, Horses)
Hessick and Son: 1925
... much coal my dad put in the furnace before going to bed at night, it always ran out by morning. Winter mornings it would be in the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 12:41pm -

Washington, D.C., 1925. "Hessick & Son Coal Co." The company's catchy slogan: "Anthracite and Bituminous Coal in All Sizes (Furnace, Stove, Egg, Chestnut, Pea) for Immediate Delivery." National Photo Co. glass negative. View full size. Valley of ashesAll that's missing are Doctor T. J. Eckleburg's spectacles. Two Scales...Two scales for in and out weights....Exit weight minus Entrance weight equals the weight of the coal load. The coal came out of the bottom of the rail car into the pile below, how did they get it from the pile into the trucks for delivery? I don't see any conveyors unless they are hidden behind the building. [Or they could just weigh the truck twice on the same scale. The coal comes out of the chute to the left. - Dave] Black goldWhen I first looked at this photo, I immediately sensed the "smell" of coal in my mind although it's been 40-plus years ago that I last knew the aroma. Note the worn doorway threshold; many a gritty boot has trod there. Clear as a bellThis is one sensational negative! Perfectly developed as well. True GritThat place has "Dirty Jobs" written all over it. A coal bin in every basement....Younger people may not realize that in days of yore, the homes in cold climates (northern states) all had an area of the basement walled off from the rest of the cellar, in which a very low-to-the-ground window allowed passage of a chute (like a children's slide) with which the coal truck would deliver large amounts of coal, a ton or more, to be used by the home's occupants over the winter. We had a coal stove and a coal-burning furnace before we switched over to oil and gas. I would not want to go back to those laborious days. Coal, coal, everywhere...So why is there a pile of firewood stacked to the right of the scales? [They sold wood, too. - Dave] The Gentle Art of Coal Delivery With regard to an earlier comment: if you were LUCKY, coal would be delivered direct from the truck to the basement chute. My grandfather was not so lucky: the chute was to the rear of his house, and there was no alley. Coal was dumped on the curb in front of his house. He'd have to transfer the stuff around back via wheelbarrow. He was very happy to convert his boiler to natural gas. One could still see the rail berm pictured in this photo until very recently on the block bounded by N Street to the north, M Street to the south, 1st Street to the west, and the Amtrak right-of-way to the east. Immediately prior to the construction currently underway, the site required some environmental remediation, including the removal of underground storage tanks of some kind. Another perspective on coalI heat my house with wood. I wish I had ready access to coal! It's hotter than wood, burns slower, and I would think cheaper too. Coal bins and thingsNot just in the Northern states. I grew up in North Carolina in a two-family house in the late 1940's. My father had to go to the basement to feed the stove to keep the heat up. We had ice delivery to keep the icebox chilly, but later upgraded to an electric fridge with the coils on top. For radio reception, there was a small hole in the living room floor to run an antenna wire from the console radio to the plumbing pipes in the basement to do the job. Ah, the Good Old DaysCoal by the truckload, ice by the block, radios the size of refrigerators. Arghhhh! Makes you appreciate what you have today. FossilsWe had a coal fired furnace until I was 11. Sometimes I would break up pieces to see if I could find fossils. I don't think I saw anything but plant impressions. At one point, we had an "Iron Fireman" installed to feed coal from the bin into the furnace. I think it used an auger feed, similar to what farms use for grain. Coal Delivery in My Old NeighborhoodIn the terraced street I lived on back in the mid-1940's, semi-attached duplexes lined one side, and garden apartment buildings lined the higher-elevation side. The coal bins for the duplexes were in the front, and chutes were used for easy delivery into the basement bins from the trucks parked on the street. On the other, apartment side, the land itself was higher, and the coal bins were in the back. Because of the lie of the land, chutes couldn't be used, so the deliverymen had to shovel the coal into very large canvas sacks and lug them up to a basement window in the rear, through which they then unloaded the coal. That must have been a job from hell. Back-breakerMost coal trucks had tilt beds and the delivery man guided the coal onto the chute. The guy that delivered for my dad did not have a tilt bed and actually shoveled the whole ton of coal from the bed to the chute. I never knew what that was all about, but it was unusual. Cold in the MorningsI grew up in Michigan, and we had a coal furnace to heat our house. One aspect no one has touched on is that no matter how much coal my dad put in the furnace before going to bed at night, it always ran out by morning. Winter mornings it would be in the 30's or lower inside the house. I'd get dressed in bed under the blankets. There would be frost on the windows -- not on the outside but on the inside. Ah, the good old days. Coal RenaissanceLocal antracite coal has made a comeback in Pennsylvania these days, probably due to the outrageous cost of heating oil. One block of coal, say the size of a cinderblock, is enough to keep a woodstove hot overnight. The stove goes in the basement below the ductwork. Not the warmest arrangement, but a cheaper alternative. Has the coal been watered?I remember my dad running out to ask the coal delivery driver if the coal had been watered so the coal dust didn't get all over the basement where my mother hung clothes to dry in the winter. If it hadn't been he'd have the guy sprinkle it with the garden hose. Also remember them stuffing rags around the coal room door to block the dust. Remember: "Take out the ashes!" Dad had his first heart attack stoking the furnace on a Saturday morning. He was in the hospital for three weeks. When he got home Mom had converted the furnace to fuel oil and no more coal. Chicago coalI'm in my mid-50s and probably among the youngest to remember coal deliveries, in Chicago (alley, dump truck, chute.) And the smell! I can't describe it. Probably for the best, but Chicago does not smell nearly as interesting as it did 45 years ago. "Them" were the days!We had two coal-burning stoves in our third-story walkup. Every summer, in the heat and humidity of an Eastern big city, my mother ordered "two ton of coal" to be delivered. She claimed it was cheaper during the summer. The delivery men had to haul up the whole two tons one burlap bag at a time. This was up rickety wooden stairs in an unlit stairwell without a handrail. I doubt they were making more than 25 cents to 50 cents an hour. I was, at most, 7 or 8 at the time; I recall them sweating profusely. As I stood there and watched, they would pass me and still be able to crack a smile. That was brutally hard work. They truly earned the little money they made! Old King CoalI worked for Hessick between 1984 and 1989 and was told many times about its history in the coal business. This photo might be the old Washington Coal Depot on Rhode Island Avenue NE. I believe the coal silos are still there today. Ashes and clinkersMy first apartment, over a carriage house on an estate, had a coal furnace that I hated. The only good part was the ashes and "clinkers" - the chunks of "stuff" that wouldn't burn. It was the best material I have ever found for putting on the ground for traction on ice and packed snow. Coal shifting.There were conveyor belts on wheels, powered by gasoline engines, that lifted the coal from the piles on the ground into the trucks for delivery. Deliveries to our house were made by a five-ton truck with solid rubber tires and a huge chain like a bicycle's to drive the back wheels. It cost extra to use the chute, so my father, ever thrifty, would just have the driver dump the five tons on the sidewalk and we would shovel the coal into the basement window by hand. It took most of the day for us to shift it into the coal bin. In the basement, the bin was about six feet away from the furnace. As the level of the coal was lowered, 2x8 boards were removed from the door. King Coal I still use lump coal in my house and shop. Far easier and cheaper than wood, not to mention cleaner and easier to contain. I buy it by the barrel full. The acrid smell is nostalgic perfume, nauseating in heavy concentration, but wonderful in small wafts. The neighbors are all too young to know the smell and I have occasionally heard them asking one another what that "odd smell" is! I keep it a "secret," but the DeSoto in the driveway ought to give clue that something is going on. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo, Railroads)
Sex Was My Racket: 1943
... Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad resting in his caboose at night." Pinup reading material includes: STREAMLINE YOUR HIPS! and SEX WAS MY ... well behind the train and stop any oncoming traffic. At night, he'd use a red lantern. I presume that the flag is there for not ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/20/2021 - 1:03pm -

March 1943. "Barstow, California. A brakeman on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad resting in his caboose at night." Pinup reading material includes: STREAMLINE YOUR HIPS! and SEX WAS MY RACKET. Medium-format safety negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. And, of course ...He's sleeping in bed. [A major cause of slumber. - Dave] Ouch! Shoulda written he's SMOKING in bed. Room With A ViewLooks like more than one caboose in the photo. Who's making all that "racket"?Betty Grable? Politically CorrectOur company once bought an insurance policy that protected us from race, sex, color, creed, disability, nationality, age or any other discrimination suits that could have rendered us liable. Our broker came to the store to inspect the premises. The first thing that went were the Girlie Calendars and risqué pinups in the warehouse area. Necessity is the Mother of InventionIt looks like this guy could have benefited from a few carefully-chosen pages from the Sears catalog. Extra PaddingSmart man. Looks like he borrowed the mattress from the upper berth, and brought a third one for good measure. Now if he can just keep that arm extended until the cig goes out... I see the light!I have that lantern that's above his bed, my grandfather was a CNR (Canadian National Rail) railman and it was passed down to me over the years. It's built like a tank and is just as solid as it looks. Head On CollisionThese days, this photo would cause a collision of the ATSF (BNSF) and the EEOC. The door dingusis a spring latch to hold the door open - handy on moving rail cars. These are usually at the bottom corner and clamp to a small plate on the floor with a half-round projection. I suppose there was a higher shelf to mount the plate on. Normally, they come loose with a pull. Maybe this one stuck because mounting it in the middle of the door didn't give as much leverage, and so the string. Details, detailsThe gadget on the lower part of the door is a spring loaded hook to hold the door open when the crew wants some air. The attached string is to easily/ quickly unhook to shut the door. Since our man is dressed, I would say the cigarette is to time the nap. The lantern above is to wake up if the Engineer pulls an emergency stop. What's it for?So who's going to explain to me the purpose of the cord running from the door handle to the attachment on the door? Barstow, CaliforniaStill every bit as exciting in 2012. Notice: Brakeman SmithBe sure to sport your brand new bib overalls. Today is picture day on the ATSF. Hot fingers!@ Histry2. He's probably not smoking in bed. That's just a way to get a ~15 minute nap. One tends to wake up when the hot ash gets near the fingers! It's a tried and true tradition. Railroader's kidMy dad was a railroader (machinist) and my best friend's dad was a brakeman. Now and then we got to visit the caboose. I remember lots of posters in there that our mothers probably didn't want us to see... but I also remember the main bunks being in the cupola. What a great way to sleep, with that rhythmic clicking of the rails. Between my freshman and sophomore years of college, I commuted by rail (then the Northern Pacific, later the Burlington Northern) on a railroad pass. I went west in the early morning and came home in the late afternoon. I usually fell asleep (again, that rhythmic clicking), and the conductors would always wake me up at my home town stop. We were all family then. Emergency Equipment!Look at the casing above the door. This appears to be a signal flag - undoubtedly a red one - held in place by a couple of angled nails. In case of a breakdown, the conductor would walk down the tracks, well behind the train and stop any oncoming traffic. At night, he'd use a red lantern. I presume that the flag is there for not only easy access but also because a flag is so much easier to misplace than a big old lantern. (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Railroads)
All Tucked In: 1941
... View full size. All I Can Hear Is, "Good night, John-Boy", "Good night, Mary Ellen", "Good night, Jim-Bob!" Those are some close quarters. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/12/2021 - 11:50am -

March 1941. "Mother and children from North Carolina farm. They came to Norfolk, Virginia, so husband and older sons could get employment in defense industries." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. All I Can Hear Is,"Good night, John-Boy", "Good night, Mary Ellen", "Good night, Jim-Bob!" Those are some close quarters. I've had to share a room with a sibling, but never a bed! Three to a BedWasn't always bad but my two little brothers -- four and five years younger -- had a bad habit of wetting the bed. So except for wintry nights when it was cozy, I often slept on the floor, rolled in my blanket. No sheet!Poor little pooters in the right bed do not even have a bottom sheet, just sleeping on the bare mattress. I have slept many nights with several of my siblings in the same bed. Sometimes, if we had company, we’d have to sleep half with our heads one way and half the other way, at the foot of the bed. One advantage is plenty of warmth! Once on a bonechilling night we had so many quilts we could not turn over; had to get out of bed to turn over. On those cold nights, you hope you would not have to go to the outdoor toilet. No matter which way the outhouse was oriented, the wind always seemed to blow in the back and up through the openings. Pleasantly SatisfiedMom’s very pleased with her bugs in a rug. A very precarious perch for those canning jars.I just wonder how long they survived those five kids. One looks a little wobbly as we speak. Crowded quarters!So, when come winter, 6 dogs?? When you have no space to giveToo bad John Vachon did not identify his subjects by name. Some of these five kids, plus at least two older sons mentioned, might show up in an Internet search. The mother's pride as she looks at her children is heartwarming. The walls are in much better shape than Piano Man's. But small children sleeping directly on a mattress does not usually work out well. Class clownLooks like Mama is chuckling over the young'un who's pretending to be asleep. There's always that one. Sharing a bedI'm the youngest of 9, and for the first 3-4 years of my life, I shared a bed with my youngest sister, and my brother. There were 3 bedrooms other than my parents room, so the three of us not only shared a bed, there were 6 of us total in that bedroom. Some would call this tough times, but it made the family bonds all that much stronger. The funniest part of this was that two of my sisters used to talk in their sleep. As each one would speak, the other would hear it and respond, even though the conversations were unrelated. Problem solvedIf my siblings and I had had to sleep like that, we'd have killed each other. That would reduce the overcrowding. Looks FamiliarTwo of my brothers and I shared a bed for a number of years. We would hold singing contests and vote for the winner. Being the middle brother, I got the middle and was always warm enough in Minnesota winters with surplus army wool blankets. We would do back scratches like the Three Stooges. We would laugh and make noise until our grandmother would threaten us with her shoe. And she knew how to use her shoe having raised 15 children herself. Great memories. (The Gallery, John Vachon, Kids, Norfolk)
Naval Maneuvers: 1901
... love to see that gas chandelier in the foyer ablaze at night with a circle of fishtail flames flickering through the globes. Ahead ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/29/2012 - 1:28pm -

Annapolis, Maryland, circa 1901. "Cadets at residence of superintendent, U.S. Naval Academy." 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Many years later... in a land over the rainbow, the sister of the young lady with the hat died in a tragic accident when a house fell out of the sky and struck her. The Munchkins were thrilled! Exquisite shotAnd a very explicit look. "How can I tell her that I love her?" No lack of confidence here.Every one of these young people has the look and body language of supreme confidence. Ok, except for Mr. Daydreamer behind the hat lady. He's somehow fascinated and mesmerized by the millinery I suppose. WhatisitOne of the young men is holding something that I can't even guess what it is. [Perhaps one of the dainty folding fans favored by sailors of the era. - Dave] The GazeI don't see love in his eyes. He's probably thinking "Why on earth does she keep a dead pigeon on her head?" This fellow's nameMidshipman Smitten. Love triangleObviously, the young man in the closeup below is smitten with the girl with the puffy hat in front of him. She, in turn is eyeing one of the likely lads to her right. Hat in handMidshipman Smitten obviously has a thing for the cute young lady directly in front of him, and she is holding his cap! She stole his hatto get his attention, so they are mutually smitten. GaslightWould love to see that gas chandelier in the foyer ablaze at night with a circle of fishtail flames flickering through the globes. Ahead of his timeI'm wondering about the melatonin-advantaged (Asian? Hispanic?) fellow in the middle of the picture. I wonder what sort of career he could have had in the Navy. Or perhaps he was an exchange student from Japan? This was about the time they were working hard to create a "modern" Navy. [He's probably Filipino, his countrymen numbering among the "newly acquired peoples" granted admission to U.S. military academies in 1901 following the defeat of Spain in the Spanish American War. - Dave] "Academy" - the miniseriesFollowing the trials and loves of The Class of '05 - Purvis, son of a Congressman, ambitious and dim and in love with Fanny, the Superintendent's daughter; Jake, the brilliant but diffident cadet unaware of Fanny's longing looks but well aware that her father, "The Admiral" is prepared to stop at nothing to have him drummed out of the Academy; Violet, Fanny's beautiful "City" cousin, whose dazzling smile turns the heads of most of the men on campus; Manolo, the first Filipino cadet in the history of the Academy whose dark, exotic looks have attracted the eye of Walter, Fanny's older brother, whose aspirations lie not in the Navy but on Broadway - Manolo, alas, has already fallen for Bert, the Academy's football star ... I'll be waitingFor "Academy" Season 1, Episode 2. Written by Mudhooks, produced by Dave, directed by Shorpy. Hilarious Comments on this Pic!I think there is a possibility that the young man staring across the porch and the girl, are brother and sister. They seem to favor. Edvado, that is exactly what I was thinking. Miss Elvira Gulch. Poor girlMisses #1 and 2 overwhelm Miss #3 who is mostly hidden to the right. I bet she complained of not being given enough "face time" in the photo. CNOErnest King, CNO during WWII, was Class of '01. Any chance he's in the picture? I feel a song comin' onThe trio of theatrical looking lads on the extreme left seem posed to begin singing a rousing rendition of a show-stopping musical number, perhaps something like "Anchors Aweigh" or some other toe-tapping, patriotic naval song. Can't you just see them stepping off the porch and doing their drill down the sidewalk? Season 2 of "Academy"Heart-broken after the disappearance of Jake during a daring rescue of Bill the Goat, the college mascot, from the crow's-nest of the USS Chesapeake, Fanny reveals to Violet a terrible family secret. Sixteen years early, "The Admiral", while on a drunken and debauched week in New Orleans, fell madly in love with one of "les filles" at Madame Fricassee's "Maison de Mauvais Parfum". Alas, "Collette", the object of his desire, was in fact Mabel, the laudanum-addicted, wayward wife of none other than "The Admiral's" own brother - and mother of Violet. Nine months later, "Collette" gave birth to a son and promptly died of Yellow Fever. The ever-resourceful Madame Fricassee employed the services of even more resourceful Sam Huckabee, private detective, to track town "The Admiral". A financial arrangement was reached and Oswald, the product of the brief union of "The Admiral" and "Collette", was raised by Madame Fricassee and "les filles". Eventually, "The Admiral" agreed to have him enrolled at the Academy, as long as Oswald was never told of his actual parentage. Fanny had come across "The Admiral's" stash of letters from Madame Fricassee and reveals all to Violet. Violet, in turn, has her own secret ... Feigning indifference to one another Oswald and Violet have secretly eloped and Violet is with child. Another possibilityIs that the Asian-looking midshipman is Hiroaki Tamura, graduated 1900. Last of some 15 Japanese cadets who attended between 1869 and 1900. Another Japanese graduated in 1993. If I may ask an obvious questionWas parting one's hair in the middle mandatory in those days? The one guy in the picture whose part is slightly off-center is wearing his hair in the manner that matches most photos of President Roosevelt at the time. The Superintendent's daughterThe Academy's superintendent from 1900 to 1902 was Commander Richard Wainwright. He and his wife Evelyn had one daughter, Louisa. She was chosen to christen the submarine USS Shark (SS-8) in 1901. The Boston Globe reported on October 29, 1902 that Miss Wainwright wed Lt. Walter Stevens Turpin (in the drawing room of "the superintendent's new residence"). He was the son of a former Maryland state senator. Do not look for him in this photo; he graduated from the academy in 1894, and was stationed at the Crescent Shipyards in Elizabethport NJ in 1901 and the USS Indiana in 1902. Dating the MidshipmenI’m thinking this photo was taken in 1894-1896. Big balloon sleeves on women's clothing started to appear around 1894 and by 1897 were gone. Also the hats they’re wearing are more typical of the mid 1890s. The LOC gives the date range of the U.S. Naval Academy photos as between 1890 and 1901. [This particular image is listed in Detroit Publishing's 1901 catalog. - Dave] Update on cadetsBIG update! The one in the center, seated between hat lady and the woman you can't see much of is future Vice Admiral Joel Roberts Poinsett Pringle USNA 1892. The cute boy who is entranced with the girl is the future CPT William Lord Littlefield, Class of 1896. Behind Pringle is Motohiko Takasaki, class of 1895, Empire of Japan, who designed the class ring for that year. On the right side of the picture are L-R, Roscoe Spear and Charles Webster, class of 1894. DonY commented that the fashions on the women suggested the date to be the mid-1890s, rather than 1901. He was correct! The only time men from all of these classes would have been there, still as Naval Cadets, was in the Summer of 1894. Pringle was back from the two years "service afloat" that was required after graduation, and would be appointed an Ensign, in July. Spear and Webster would have been preparing to start their service afloat. Takasaki and Littlefield still had to finish their studies. The dean at USNA, that year, was CPT (later Commodore) Robert Lees Phythian. He had two daughters, Bonnie, born 1871, and Cordelia, born 1874. My guess is that the object of Cadet Littlefield's affection was Cordelia. He didn't marry her, though. In fact, she married then LT Pringle, in 1899, and their daughter and her children also carried on the USNA/Navy tradition! Here's a Lucky Bag photo of the class of 1895, in which you will see Motohiko Takasaki and a few others found in this picture, but which I can't identify. Click to enlarge. Included in the group photo are Worth Bagley, the only line officer killed in the Spanish-American war, in the far upper left corner, and the very tall you man on the right side, in the very back, who was John Robert Monaghan. Monaghan was killed in 1899, in the second Samoan civil war. There's a picture of our smitten Cadet Littlefield here. (The Gallery, DPC)
Favorite Daughters: 1916
... 7, 1916 -- In "The Gypsy Prince," presented last night at Rauscher's for the benefit of the Junior League, one of the most ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/18/2014 - 10:20pm -

Fair Exponents of Dance and Song in "Gypsy Prince" CHORUS OF "FAVORITE DAUGHTERS"        March 7, 1916 -- In "The Gypsy Prince," presented last night at Rauscher's for the benefit of the Junior League, one of the most striking features was the chorus of "Favorite Daughters," represented above. Reading from left to right, they are Miss Mildred Anderson, Miss Margaret Howard, Miss Katherine Burdette, Miss Margaret Fahnestock, Miss Marie Sims, Miss Pocahontas Butler, Miss Dorothy Deeble and Miss Grace Overman. Washington, D.C., 1916. "Gypsy Prince, group." Eight Misses whose act was a hit. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Come up and see me sometime!Miss Margaret Fahnestock struck a flirtatious pose. Scandalous! Obviously an OlioBecause everyone knows that gypsies are more into florals than geometrics. Life Was Uglier Back ThenThank God for the brassiere! A Name To RememberWas Pocahontas Butler named after Chief Powhatan's daughter or perhaps she was a descendent of John Rolfe? Or was it a gag? What About BobThey're all dressed like sisters of the "Big Boy" mascot! Miss Margaret Fahnestock Born 1894 in North Carolina, she would marry an Army officer, live a full life, and die at the tender age of 102. OverdoneYou have to be so careful with plaids. "Pocahontas"Really? Miss MatchMiss Deeble did not get the memo to wear white shoes. The puzzling demographics of namesPeople named Dorothy and Mildred are 80-100 years old. People named Grace, Marie, Katherine and Margaret are everywhere. People named Pocahontas are . . . what? The name gameThen as now, some people give their children names of personal interest rather than of any particular practicality. One of the secretaries when I attended high school in the 1960s, a lady likely a contemporary of these in age, was named Aloha. When I began teaching in the 1970s a coworker had a student named T9C, pronounced Te-nine-cy. Pocahontas Butler WoodsonPocahontas Butler Woodson was interviewed by the author of a book about her father, Sen. Marion Butler, in 1986. Three months before this photo was taken, she was mentioned in The Washington Post. No one will notice!I suspect they had the girls sew their own costumes. That was common, even when I was performing in high school and college groups, in the early 70s. At any rate, I assume they at least had everyone hem their own skirts. Most are blind stitched by hand, but a few were done by machine. I'm sure those choosing to do the latter thought "Oh, no one will ever notice!" I also find it interesting that a few bought their white shoes from the nurse's supply store. (The Gallery, Harris + Ewing, Pretty Girls)
Bal Masque: 1922
... this picture is taken, it's entirely possible this is the night before the march on Washington, making the photo VERY historic. ... their faces and they had their meetings under cover of night. Sad This one reminds me of being a little girl, in North ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/31/2011 - 4:35pm -

June 28, 1922. Washington, D.C., or vicinity. "Ku Klux Klan meeting." 8x10 inch glass negative, National Photo Company Collection. View full size. Beyond scaryIt's amazing just how much power the KKK had in this country in the '20s. They controlled elections in many areas and kept Catholics from serving in many venues (including the governor's position in my home state). Let's hope their reign of terror is completely finished. Cowards hide your faceThis was not too many years ago. The same mentality still exists. Oh myWhat dangerous fools!!!! Sad that these people still exist today. Low-RentI grew up and have lived in a very rural section of NC all my life. I can remember the subject of the KKK coming up in conversation with my grandparents and great-grandparents. According to them the KKK was always made up of the "low rent" crowd and looked down on. Men in SheetsThe most scary image I can think of for Halloween. Herb, where's the good pillowcase?Grampa, is that you? A sign of ageTo me 1922 seems shockingly recent for as photo like this to have been taken near our nation's capitol, yet to my 14 year old son, it's nearly a century ago. I pray we can change as much in the next 90 years. Not the Klan of TodayIn the 1920's, the Klan was less about racism and more about maintaining the status quo of the day. Which sure, was racist but as others have said we can't look back on photos and judge them with standards of today. What I find interesting though is that this photo is in Washington D.C. In 1922, the KKK held a march down the streets of Washington. They were met not by outrage, but cheered by the citizens and treated like heroes. At the time it was fashionable to be part of the Klan, since they stood for good American values. Meaning God, Country, and Family. (Racism as I said was there, but keep in mind the period.) The culmination of this march was the swearing in of U.S. President Warren G. Harding as a member in the White House. (This is largely disputed, but there is evidence that supports it.) Harding renounced that membership about a year later, after consultation with his advisers. It didn't help that he had passed the anti lynching law, which brought much of the old Klan's activities to light in 1923. However when this picture is taken, it's entirely possible this is the night before the march on Washington, making the photo VERY historic. [Your timeline may be a little confused. The Klan was forced to postpone or abandon various parades in 1922 and 1923 due to community opposition in the Washington suburbs. Its "march on Washington" came in 1925 (and then in 1926), after Warren Harding had died. Serious historians dismiss the "evidence" of Harding's induction (the alleged deathbed reminiscence of a New Jersey Klan leader many years later) as ludicrous; rumors to that effect may have been spread in response to a speech he delivered in 1923 denouncing hate groups, a move that was widely viewed as a rebuke of the KKK. - Dave] Scary!The really "UGLY" side of America. Not that long agoMy family is from Columbia, South Carolina. After my grandfather died in 1953, about six months before I was born, hidden among his personal effects were found his robe and documents indicating that he had at some time been a member. Neither my grandmother nor anyone else in the family had a clue. I can remember seeing newspaper ads announcing meetings well into the 1960s, a few in the 70s. I once read or saw in a documentary that the highest per capita membership was in Indiana. It's almost hard not to laughIf the import of this were not so serious, it would be difficult not to laugh at the image of so many grown men with face-masks apparently in homage and thrall to other grown men in such ridiculous attire. Appalling as were their attitudes and their beliefs, this group, at least, could hardly be accused of being tainted by the presence of the opposite sex. Presumably most women would have considered these menfolks' activities as faintly ludicrous. InitiatesThis has all the look of a fraternity initiation with the pledges assuming various uncomfortable, subservient postures before the older (robed) members. Also, the apparently portable/reuseable burning cross (with guy lines) seems to be an innovation that I've not noticed before in pictures like this. Soft Serve Ice CreamEverything reminds me of food today to the point that I feel like Homer Simpson. I do have to say though that any group that has to wear masks and hoods to hide their true identities have to be feeling profound shame at what their group represents. Since 1922 when this was taken, we have had a Catholic and an African-American president and there may one day be a Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Mormon,or any other faith-based leader of our country that shows most humans MUST be getting smarter, even though lots of old-timers might disagree. This picture says a lot though, in that all the participants would not reveal their faces and they had their meetings under cover of night. SadThis one reminds me of being a little girl, in North Carolina, from 1959-63, when I was 5-8 years old. My dad was stationed at Camp LeJeune and we were living in base housing. On the base, the only segregation was by rank. Off base, it was a different story. There were "whites only" signs, separate restrooms, and footage of KKK rallies on the local news. I saw a little girl about my age, at one of those rallies. She was standing on the hood of a car and her father, wearing one of those scary, idiotic hoods, had his arm around her. I felt very sorry for her. A sign of age. We haven't changed all that much. I passed a group of five Klansmen, dressed in white and red robes (they looked so silly) picketing outside of Mount Dora, Fla., in 2001, right beside a major highway! Just when you think it's safe to go back on the road. Cross BurningsMy mother was born in Independence, Missouri, in 1915. Together with my grandparents she lived there until moving to Los Angeles in 1937. In the 1960s my older brother once idly remarked that it would be "interesting" to attend a cross burning, to which my mom replied "they weren't all that great." Upon further questioning, she reluctantly recalled that such events sadly weren't uncommon in 1920s Missouri, frightening (though memorable) as they were to a small child and certainly beyond that to whomever was being targeted. The soft optionVile as that bunch was, and I don't at all minimize it, it could have been worse. What you're looking at here is the "Second Klan," which was primarily political in its orientation. The guys in front, kneeling and wearing masks, are waiting to be inducted into the Real Organization so that they can wear robes. Nasty to a huge degree, but not a patch on the original KKK, which was organized by die-hard Southerners as what we today would call a "resistance group" along the lines of the IRA or Shining Path. They didn't march in the streets wearing robes, they moved around in the shadows assassinating people and engaging in what can only be called terrorism in general. Imagine if that had taken hold. The original Klan was derailed by its insistence on racial repression, which weakened it enough that the Government was able to infiltrate and eventually suppress it. If they'd stayed with States' Rights and the like, instead of concentrating on "beating up the n--s" (as an ancestor of mine supposedly put it), they might still be around as an organized force not all that different from al Qaeda. It may be difficult to comprehend, but in this case vicious race prejudice was the soft option. ColorizedThat flame is colorized, right? It really stands out because of that. I'm sure there's something clever to be said about colorization and the black and white photograph, but I'll leave you to work out the details. Famous peopleI think I see Hugo Black and Robert Byrd. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo)
Up in Smoke: 1919
... had a long career in theater and film, spending a quiet night at home tossing scripts into the fire. George Grantham Bain Collection ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 8:30pm -

New York circa 1919. The producer, playwright and director Stuart Walker, who had a long career in theater and film, spending a quiet night at home tossing scripts into the fire. George Grantham Bain Collection glass negative. View full size. Odd Choice of Rug for a New York PlaywrightAm I really the first one to comment on the swastikas on this rug? They are backwards swastikas (I think). They predate the Nazi era by at least 15-20 years. I think I heard something about the swastika being an American Indian symbol for peace or something. Decorating Faux PasGuess that rug wouldn't be a popular home decor accessory in a few years from when this picture was taken, all thanks to a certain bunch of Germans... It's amazing how many people think the swastika originated with the Nazis. How cozy.Interesting motif on the fireside rug. Interesting Indian RugVery interesting geometric designs on that rug, especially at the corners. Otherwise, it seems like a pleasant homey scene. Fireside rug motif..very interesting! Interesting rugLooks like an Indian rug from the Southwest. Those aren't swastikas, they're the four corners of the universe, I think. Or the Navajo called it the "whirling winds". What's withWhat's with the swastika rug design Adolf?? Carpet For SaleTwenty years or so later, the Indian patterns on his rug would mean something so very different! Nice swastikasProducer, playwright, director... and Nazi? Or is this a case of the older, perhaps Hindu, use of the symbol? Lucky rugNotice the swastikas on the rug, which were considered good luck symbols and certainly ubiquitous before its subsequent notoriety. Are they Swastikas?When one gets as old as I am, one's brain file is so crammed full of facts that we tend to be unable to remember things we learned. I do know that I did learn about the origin of the swastika, but in 1919 it was not yet a Nazi symbol. It might have been an early American Indian symbol but it had a different meaning than it does now. Also, that is not a very safe fireplace, it is an accident waiting to happen. Maybe he was destroying manuscripts he disliked since shredders were not yet invented. I love the swastikaI love the swastika rug.....must be from Asia, and is a symbol of good fortune since Nazis came later. "Good Luck" SwastikasStuart Walker's hearth rug is a nice tourist-quality Navajo wool rug of the sort that could be purchased in Santa Fe train station gift shops throughout the Southwest, as well as in East Coast department stores. From about 1895 to about 1930, Native American swastikas were a popular mainstream American "Good Luck" symbol, and were often paired with horseshoe and even shamrock motifs as good luck charms. Americans were also familiar with the many Chinese "Good Luck" swastikas seen on imported carpets, wood carvings and vases. During this period the silversmiths Daniel Low & Co., of Salem, Mass., manufactured thousands of small sterling silver swastika charms for bracelets, earrings, pins and watch fobs, which sold quite well in Low's mail-order catalogs. Almost all American "Good Luck" swastikas disappeared with the start of World War II, and the terrible meaning of the Nazi swastika has erased these harmless "Good Luck" swastikas from our collective memory. Now I knowNow I know why I never was published. What can I say? RuggedIt's almost certainly a Native American, probably Navajo, rug. I'm pretty sure the design in the center part is still used on them. And yes, if it was still around 20 years later that rug probably went in the fire, too. Unfortunate designThe first thing I noticed were the swastikas on the rug, but then I noticed the date in the caption. Strange how history can change the way we view things that were once commonplace. Interesting Swastikas....There are Swastika's in each corner of the carpet and the main emblem looks like a derivative. I wonder if it is an East Indian rug. They Runed ItIt's very sad, the way the Nazis usurped the swastika. The Nazis were very much into paganism, and used many pagan runes for their symbols as well. Floor covering designThe kitchen floor covering in my grandmother's old home was factory printed with swastika symbols. I think it was installed in the 1920's. Navajo RugThe one poster was exactly right that this is a Navajo rug woven by hand using wool from sheep raised by the family and probably mostly natural dyes. It would be worth a couple thousand dollars in today's market, swastikas notwithstanding. A little about the swastikaThe swastika exists in more cultures than just Native American or Hindu. Further, it's not so much that the Nazis were into paganism, but that they borrowed signs of power from a variety of cultures to symbolize and encourage their own power. The swastika and double lightning bolts, as examples, are symbologically memorable and strong, which is why they appealed to the Nazis. Further, the Nazis altered the symbols slightly to make them *more* powerful and unique to themselves, such as turning the swastika 45 degrees so that it appears to spin, and the arms are going clockwise. There's a fascinating chapter about who chose which symbols for the Nazi party, and why, in the book Dictionary of Symbols. Use of The Swastikawas so very common in design and in marketing. The Ladies Home Journal had a mail-in "Swastika Club" for young girls in 1910. Members got a swastika badge and materials teaching good homemaking practices. I think that the magazine had a monthly column aimed at members. SpringtimeMax Bialystock searches for the perfect flop... Pristine fireplaceThat's the most sparkling-clean fireplace I've ever seen. Any thoughts on whether this was a new home, a seldom-used fireplace, or whether Walker's housekeeper spent her days scrubbing bricks and mortar? My mom has a large decorative garden urn which has been in her family since the 1920s and is decorated with swastikas. Needless to say, we've always felt it prudent to keep it in a spot where casual acquaintances don't see it. [That might be asbestos board painted to look like bricks. - Dave] NOT a swastika.The swastika is made from four backward 7s (an easy way to remember) but what you see in the pictures is, among other things, is a Native American symbol representing the thunderbird. NOTE: made from forward 7s. [Incorrect. Swastikas can go either way; the Native American symbol is also a swastika. - Dave] (The Gallery, G.G. Bain, NYC)
King of the Road: 1963
... stove that doubles as a heater. We don't spend every night in a motel when we travel, either. A tent packs up pretty easy in the ... 
 
Posted by delworthio - 12/23/2008 - 4:33pm -

This is how you pull over for a family meal during a road trip. It's the early 60's and the family is off to visit Canada. Kodachrome slide. That camp stove used white gas. View full size. PumpedI too fondly remember the rectangular hand-pumped Coleman stoves with the fuel vessel hanging off the front and the stamped metal wind-breakers: simple yet reliable. (I currently use the backpacker descendant that looks like a moon lander: it has never let me down even in the coldest weather). Growing up we mostly used our full size Coleman for camping but I can identify with the comments regarding use for the roadside midday lunch break. If it were my family we would probably be stopping for lunch at one of the many scenic rest stops along the old national road as it crosses the mountains in western Maryland. Oh the MemoriesWow this photo brings back memories of my dad heating chicken and dumplings in the can and assembling bologna sandwiches on white bread with mustard for many a roadside dining experience on our yearly family vacations. He branded it "clean food" in his campaign to convince my brother and me that it was the best thing ever. This was in the 1980s - I guess it was a tradition he carried on from his own childhood vacations. I doubt the tradition will carry on with this generation since I'm much more likely to just GPS the location of every Starbucks along the way. A Tent SituationMy wife, daughter and I camp two or three times a summer at state parks, and we regularly leave all our cooking stuff on the table (including our old drab-green Sears-branded Coleman stove), our clothes and such in the tent (we do lock up the valuables in the car, though). We'll go out for multi-hour hikes, or even drive into whatever town we're near, and when we come back usually the only trace of visitors is muddy raccoon prints on the table. Alas, we do all our cooking when we get there, though. My version of this scene would be ordering sammiches at Subway. Coleman Camp StoveSitting in my father's garage is that very same green camp stove (ca. 1961) still in the original box. I can remember my mother cooking on it for us during our car camping trips around the state of Oregon during the 60's. He still has the red Coleman cooler also. That stove brings back memoriesWe cooked on one of those for a whole year while hand-building our geodesic dome house in 1971 and waiting for the power company to install underground power. The stove used expensive gallon cans of Coleman fuel. There was a gas station in town that sold white gas (naphtha) for cheap, but it had impurities that clogged the stove. So we had to go back to the $4/gallon stuff. Doing it rightTraveling in style means camping with a chrome percolator. InterestingThe idea of stopping on the side of the road to cook from a Coleman stove is a novel idea in this culture and would now be considered really weird. The roadside picnic area where this was taken is probably now a McDonald's. I'm 37 years old and although I've been camping several times we've never stopped enroute for a picnic. It's obvious the older generation was not as prone to be discouraged by a little hard work and inconvenience and didn't mind taking some extra time if it meant doing something important. Our family van on a long trip is packed to the brim with junk, mostly stuff we don't even need - DVD players, cellphone cords, GPS units, boxes of clothes for the in-laws, huge suitcases, etc, etc. Then it's on the interstate - no time to stop except quickly for fast food. What a refreshing change it would be to recreate a trip like the one pictured here on the backroads of America. Where in Canada?Being as how I'm in Prince George, BC, and this scene could be practically anywhere but in the mountains or on the prairies. By the way, I looooooves Shorpy! Coleman StoveAh! A good old "green monster" coleman stove. My Scout troop still uses identical ones to this day, a testament to their being indestructable. We only changed the tanks to newer red ones a few years ago. You know it was a great design as you can still buy the same stove today, it has a few very minor improvements but for all intents is the same stove they made 50 years ago. ColemanI still have my Dad's two burner Coleman, 55 years old, works like a charm Don't miss the Tupperware!Another iconic item of the 50s and 60s is behind the stove -- Tupperware! Road FoodMy girlfriend & I usually stop and make sandwiches at least once on a vacation trip. Not as extravagant as firing up a stove for a hot meal, but it's a nice break from fast food and a chance to unwind. What impresses me is that the stove also has its own stand. No stooping down to the ground for him. No man who takes a chrome percolator on a road trip should stoop. Background to dramaBlissfully unaware of the drama playing out behind them: on the left, a speeding Corvair; on the right, unsuspecting, a pair of pedestrians precariously perched on the shoulder. What will the next few seconds bring? Sudden terror, or just a request to pass the mustard? PercolatorIt appears to be an electric perc. How did he make it work way out there? Dad cooking.Dad is doing the cooking just as I did for our family when on camping trips. My children loved the camping life as we traveled and still have wonderful memories of it. My kids, now 56, 62 and 65, still talk about my Rabbit Ear Pancakes. In the late 1940s we could leave our stove and cooler on the table, the sleeping bags in the tent at the campsite and they would still be there when we got home from a movie in town. Times have changed. Camping 40's and 50's StyleYou've hit on a passion of mine! I fondly remember many road trips while growing up. We used the same stove. For those interested, you should check out 40's and 50's style Teardrop trailers. I am just completing one now. We are taking a week long Florida trip starting tomorrow and will spend our time in State Parks sleeping in our teardrop. Mine can be seen here: http://home.earthlink.net/~tony.cooper/TDProj/album.htm Many varieties including originals can be seen here: http://pages.prodigy.net/rfs2growup/mystry07.htm Talk about living nostalgia! [I grew up in Florida! For a few summers in the mid-1960s we'd haul the family Avion up from Miami to Juniper Springs, in the Ocala National Forest. You should check it out if it's not too cold. - Dave] Sault Ste. MarieI failed to mention that on the slide this was phonetically written: "Soo St. Marie, breakfast." The trip was from our home in Northern Indiana and up through Michigan. I'll post the other slide with Mom doing the cooking (includes tailfin of their car!). Maybe that one will show us the percolator better. I'll have to ask Mom if she remembers where they would plug that in. My wife and I do the cooking like this while camping at Bonnaroo, but not while on the road. We don't have this stove but use the modern equivalent and use her dad's old Coleman camp oven, which is basically a metal box that sits on top of the grill and bakes. It has a temperature gauge on the door so you adjust the flame accordingly. Perfect for biscuits to go with the bacon and sausage gravy. Or Naan to go with our Indian MRE's. Road foodMy Texas Bride told me that when her family traveled her dad would buy a loaf of bread, a pound of bologna and a quart of milk. So one day while traveling up to Valentine, Nebraska, we were in the town of Thedford and I bought a loaf of bread, half-pound of bologna and a quart of chocolate milk and went to the park for lunch. I loved it. She did not! About theft of camp gear, we ran into a case of this in Yellowstone Park and Sinks Canyon State Park in Wyoming. Sad that this happens but happen it does. Great stove!We use those guys in WW2 reenacting. Nothing perks you up in the morning like Tim from the 5th Armored brewing up a pot of tea on that thing! I've been looking for one of the "pocket stoves." eBay? eOuch!! I'd like to just say, for the record, that roadside cooking is still alive and well. This summer I took a 10 day driving trip to Wyoming with very little cash. Well, I should say what cash we had was eaten up by gas!! We started out with a few camping meals, jam and jerky. Along the way we would pick up bread and fruits. Finally after 5 days I said "enough" and demanded a hot meal. We got a small "disposable" grill from K-Mart and cooked up dinner on the side of the road by the bison preserve. It could have been torture, trying to shield that thing from the wind at 1 in the morning, but watching planes come over the Tetons lit up by the full moon made things romantic and magical. Maybe in 50 years, those shots will show up on Shorpy! Roadside foodI remember stopping along side the road in Utah, Nevada, Colorado and many other states on our road trips. We had NO money, so we stopped at local stores and bought bologna, bread, chips and fruit. I still remember this after all these years. A trip to fast food would have been long forgotten. A side-of-the-road picnic? It's is branded indelibly in my brain!!! They're everywhereAhhh, the ubiquitous ol' Coleman stove. I think Lewis and Clark had one too. Juniper SpringsJuniper Springs will not be too cold to visit at about 83F, today at least. I may just take the 29 mile drive out there to see if any other Shorpies are there! But back to the Coleman stove -- they can also be quite dangerous or upsetting. I once got one as the #1 Christmas present for a previous spouse. Wrong move. GuessCan't say exactly why, but if I had to guess I'd put them somewhere in Northern Minnesota. Something about that dwelling in the background looks Range-Finnish. I would love to do a family vacation like this someday. Sad to say, but who has the time for a leisurely Americana road trip? Guess it's time you have to make. Our trips to CanadaWe did exactly the same thing on our trips to Canada to visit my aunt. I remember the food tasted wonderful. Manifold menuI'm still surprised to find that people eat out 3 meals a day while traveling. No wonder so many are so deep in debt, so addicted to credit cards. It's easy enough to find a rest area or city park to eat lunch. The TV tells us that the world is dangerous, but I've found most places are fairly friendly. At worst, they just leave you alone. I still have the green Coleman stove, but I never did like the darn things. We have a small propane stove that doubles as a heater. We don't spend every night in a motel when we travel, either. A tent packs up pretty easy in the car. Now, for true road-food, you take a piece of meat, some cut-up potatoes, onions, and carrots, a little oil, salt and pepper, wrap it up in foil, and lay it on your engine to cook while you drive. When you get hungry, you have a hot meal ready to go. Or is that just an intermountain western US concept? Great photo -- looks like a fun trip. Road trip!I'm 23 and plenty of my friends go on road trips and we rarely stop for fast food. When we got to our major destination this summer, we cooked a 12 pound turkey over a fire. It was magical and cooked perfectly. I think I might be in the minority here, but when I have kids, we're totally road tripping and cooking for ourselves. CookingMy buddy used to do that on backpacking trips. Before starting up the hill he would stop and buy meat and vegs and had a little spice kit in his backpack. We'd build a fire once camp was set up and he'd wrap everything in foil and through it in the coals! I must say it was very da kine!!! (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Travel & Vacation)
Saucy Stories: 1920
... of it was on the order of "He drinks to calm himself. Last night he got so calm he couldn't move." In all probability, that Billboard ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/12/2011 - 2:37pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "O.J. DeMoll Co., Autocar truck." The cigar store has an interesting selection of magazines, including one called Saucy Stories. Mold-spotted National Photo Company glass negative. View full size. The BillboardThat Billboard magazine in the window would come as a shock to someone reading it today as it *gasp* didn't include any music charts! The first hit parade wasn't published by the magazine until 1936. Instead readers were likely to find reviews of motion pictures and live events, as well as listings of upcoming shows. [Subtitle on the cover is "A Weekly Theatrical Digest." - Dave] Saucy StoriesAccording to the Magazine Data website (philsp.com) Saucy Stories was founded by H.L. Mencken and George Jean Nathan in 1916, then sold by them within in a year. I am surprised that this was displayed in the window as I have always thought of this type of pulp as being an under the counter item. As a pulp magazine fan I would love to see a close up of the magazines. [Click the first link in the caption for a closeup. - Dave] O.J. DeMoll & Co.The photo is at 12th and H streets northwest. The July 24, 1919 Post reports that the Howard P. Foley Company is remodeling the building at 806 12th street for use as a store and office building. (click for larger version) BillboardThough Billboard is primarily known as a music magazine, it predates the rise of the record industry. It began as a trade publication for advance men (theater, music, even circuses) who went town to town posting bills to publicize upcoming entertainment events. Dedicated coverage of music and music sales came much later, through the connection that a touring musician had advance men, as well as a vaudeville or comedy, or theater troupe. But early Billboard was about touring road shows and the people who worked behind the scenes to publicize those. PricesWe often see the prices and think nostalgically of the old days. Well, look at some of the prices listed here. Songs rolls for $1 - which in today's money would be $12. Even if you buy music now (and seemingly fewer and fewer do), we pay a dollar a song on iTunes. But, how about a new Aeolian-Vocalion for $2000! That would be around $25,000 in present day dollars. Saucy, Not SpicyMost of the stories in Saucy Stories were much like those in Captain Billy Fawcett's Whiz Bang. Most of it was on the order of "He drinks to calm himself. Last night he got so calm he couldn't move." In all probability, that Billboard had ads for various acts and actors that could afford advertising, the "pipes for pitchmen," ads for novelties, "slum," carnival routes, and other items relevant to amusement business generally. It might interest some to know that at that time, a concessionaire generally paid 5 percent of their gross to the venue. Today that's as much as 70 percent. No wonder hot dogs are so expensive at the state fair. Old Radio Man Popular MechanicsThat issue of Popular Mechanics at the bottom of the narrow rack is from March 1920. The cover features an elephant carrying a motorcycle. Why the Bulletin?The newspaper covering one of the doors appears to be the Bulletin, an afternoon daily published in Philadelphia (and, in this instance, reporting on the progress toward ratification of the Ninteenth Amendment). With the headquarters of both the evening Star and the morning Post a few blocks away, the choice of the Bulletin seems odd. [I'd imagine there were dozens of newspapers called the Bulletin. This particular "Bulletin" seems to be a page of Washington theater listings. - Dave] VocalionThey needed a huge truck to deliver piano rolls? [Vocalion was also a brand of Aeolian phonograph (and later, record label). DeMoll was a big dealer in player pianos and Aeolian phonographs (its 12th Street showroom was named Aeolian Hall). Click below to enlarge. - Dave] Autocar truckSome interesting items to note. This is one of the first cab-over-engine trucks. It also has a front bumper, hand crank, and leather crank holder. Note the tarp that rolls down for the windshield, with the two celluloid panels for viewing. Also the side curtains, rolled up on the camera side. The truck has two side lamps, no headlamps, and solid rubber tires. Brakes at the rear only. Year of the truck is about 1912. System Magazine"System" magazine--anyone know what topics it covered? ["The Magazine of Business." - Dave] It's a jungle out thereEdgar Rice Burroughs, creator of Tarzan, wrote for System Magazine. He was turned off by the fact that writers like him, with no business experience, were supposed to provide advice to business managers in the journal. He began sending stories out to be published, first science fiction stories, then the Tarzan stories, in order to be able to leave the magazine and make it as a writer on his own. Autocar PricesThis Autocar motor truck sold for $2325 ($2150 for chassis only) - not much more than the highest priced Vocalion. Photo and all the specs are in the 1912 Official Handbook of Automobiles - page forward and back for other Autocar models. Victor, Columbia, Edison, VocalionThe Vocalion brand name started out in the pre-World War One player piano era, and lasted all the way into the late 1930's. As it went along, the company made the transition from piano rolls to distinctive red shellac records (with a quite beautiful Gothic-style, multicolored, lithographed label), to what were called "race" records (aimed at the emerging African-American market). By the late 30's, Vocalion was recording everything from novelty groups like the Hoosier Hot Shots to the immortal, haunting Delta blues of Robert Johnson. There seems to have been one, consistent policy in force at the label: "Maybe it's obscure, but if it's good, we'll issue it." Vocalion Records finally disappeared in the buyout of its parent company, the American Record Corporation, by CBS in 1939. However, many of its best recordings were reissued on the Columbia label, as a result, and continued to sell. All-Story WeeklyThe All-Story Weekly in the middle on the right is the March 6, 1920, issue. Grandma's DeMollMy grandmother had an O.J. DeMoll upright piano in her home in the Anacostia section of Washington. After she died we inherited it. Unfortunately, the movers bounced it around, shifting the harp and soundboard. The piano wasn't worth much, so it was eventually hauled away. We still have the stool that went with it -- it is now a rather nice plant stand. I wonder if that truck delivered our old piano to my grandmother's house. System magazineSystem Magazine was published and edited out of 151 Wabash Ave, Chicago, by Arch W. Shaw (b. Michigan 1876, d. 1962), one of the preeminent business book publishers from 1910 to 1930. Helped Harvard (where he taught now and again) get its Business Review magazine going in 1922. Also a partner in the Kellogg Company. The magazine became Business Week in 1929. Shadowland magazineWhat caught my eye in the magazine rack close-up is the Shadowland Magazine. I've googled this but have only come across worn copies being sold on eBay or old magazine sites that have a lot of missing web pages. I was wondering if someone could perhaps point me in the right direction for this particular magazine. I'm a big fan of old photographs, publications, music, architecture, and culture (and subculture). [Try Alibris.com - Dave] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
Evil Clowns: 1925
... look like the Mikado met Pagliacci during a Midsummer's Night Dream. Yep.. Underestimated the creepiness factor again. Clown ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/27/2012 - 3:42pm -

Washington circa 1925. "Y.W.C.A. Circus." Very little to go on here, but maybe that's just as well. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Send in the KlownsJust when I thought those Klan photos were the kreepiest ever, this showed up. All those parading Klansmen would have screamed and run the other way if their parade had collided with the YWCA Circus parade. Ugh!Creepy! Can't Sleep.....Clowns will eat me. Note to self: do not read Shorpy when you have insomnia. Now you will have nightmares! No laughing matterThe guy in the middle is trying to eat my soul with his eyes. Also, calling clowns evil is entirely redundant. What else could they possibly be? Re: PagliacciNow I realize what this photo reminded me of... the Seinfeld episode where their unhinged accquaintance was dressed as Pagliacci. And the look on Kramer's face when he was asked by the clown whether he was still scared of clowns. "Yeahhh..." Hey little girlWanna have some candy? I'm sure someone can answer this, is there some historical basis for a clown costume? Some circuses have these "Zippy the Pinhead" costumes, is it because it is easier to smuggle kids out of a circus? P.S. clowns creep me out. All Dolled UpWho's to say these aren't Klansmen all dolled up in their Sunday-go-to-Beatin' robes? CreepshowNow there's some good fuel for a clown phobia. Meeting of the kindsSort of Emmett the Clown meets the KKK. Just what we'd expect.Clowns and Washington go hand in hand. Point of order"Evil Clowns" is redundant. [As is this comment! - Dave] Kalico Kurtain Klown KostumeThat's the first Maria von Trapp original clown costume I've ever seen. I also don't believe I've ever seen clowns in sensible dress shoes with tidy spats. HaHaHaHaHaHaDidn't anyone else see Heath Ledger's Joker in the guy in the middle? CreepyThe Head Clown seems to be enjoying this a little too much. These two "Circus" photoslook like the Mikado met Pagliacci during a Midsummer's Night Dream. Yep..Underestimated the creepiness factor again. Clown AntecedentsHistorically speaking, the clown "look" can be traced back to the costumes of commedia dell'arte in 16th-century Italy. Been ThereAs an old, retired circus clown the comments here break my heart, but that photograph scares the snot out of me. I knew it!Oh my gosh. This photograph startled me out of my chair. I knew clowns were evil and this photograph proves it. Bad Clown. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Scary Clowns)
Walnut Street: 1910
... Crosley Field in his own honor, and was the first to hold night baseball games (in 1935). A rite of passage for kids in my era ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/29/2012 - 2:41pm -

Cincinnati, Ohio, circa 1910. "Walnut Street." A detailed street scene in the business district. Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size. Mercantile LibraryIf I'm not mistaken, I believe that those top floors are the Mercantile Library. They've just celebrated 175 years. http://www.mercantilelibrary.com/ I worked hereThis is the Bartlett building. I worked there 1989-1991. American Airlines had a reservations office on the top four floors (they moved out about five years ago) and a ticket office at street level. My office was on the 11th floor and my window was in the center of the eastern side. I loved that building. Sometimes we'd go up to the roof at lunch and have a great view of the river. The top floor was storage and had all sorts of stuff stashed away. I never took the time to explore that area too much. Slightly creepy apparitionI have no idea what might be causing the illusion, but there's a really angry looking cartoon-like face in the window at the lower left-hand corner of the taller building. It sort of resembles a Peanuts character screaming "AAAUUUGH!" GAME TODAY globeThis sign must refer to the Reds/Redlegs having a home game the day this picture was taken. Maybe the cigar store below it was a place to buy tickets. Had the Crosleys an interest in the team as early as 1910? And who else besides me remembers those little Crosley cars and that innovative Crosley "Shelvador" refrigerator? Until then, no-one thought to put shelving on the inside of a refrigerator door. Those high-up window signsWhen I see those 10th-story windows advertising various trades, I always wonder what use they were. Maybe a couple dozen people working in the building across the street would be able to read them, but they certainly seem like they would be invisible or too far away to the multitudes at street level. It's an Alternate LifeThe lawyer occupying an office on the top floor of the building on the far right is George Baily. I guess Frank Capra had an alternate ending or storyline, one where George is forced to leave Pottersville, goes to Law School and winds up in Cincinnati. Scary scaffoldingThose guys at the bottom right obviously must know what they're doing. What's missing?Someone removed a bunch of something from the top and left of the big building. Evidence? [Part of the sky was masked out on the negative. - Dave] Business, IndeedLoads of lawyers in the building to the right, and insurance and accounts to the left. Love the auditor looking out the window -- to keep an eye on the lawyers?? Porkopolis?I don't see any hogs in the streets. Must be after they lost the butchering title to Chicago. Drach ArchitectDrach Architect (top floor) designed the Cincinnati Water Works building shown in this Shorpy post. Oh, that CrosleyPowel Crosley (law office, fourth floor, lower right in photo) was the father of Powel Crosley, Jr., a Cincinnati icon for years. Jr. not only invented, patented and built automobiles and low-priced radios (among other consumer products) in the first half of the 20th century, he was also a giant in early radio and television broadcasting. As kids growing up in southwest Ohio, our standard joke was that one could hear "blowtorch" WLW radio (700AM, still o the air) by wrapping one's mouth around a metal fence strand and receive a signal through our (metal) fillings. Crosley's biggest claim to fame may have been his ownership of the Cincinnati Reds, beginning in 1934. He rechristened Crosley Field in his own honor, and was the first to hold night baseball games (in 1935). A rite of passage for kids in my era ('50s-'60s) was to attend opening day at bandbox-sized Crosley field, skipping school of course. Early retouchingWhat happened to the sky on the left side of the photo? [It was inked out. - Dave] Powel Crosley Law OfficesThis is the office of Powel Crosley Sr. He was the father of Powel Crosley Jr. and Lewis Crosley. Powel Jr. later bought the Cincinnati Reds baseball team and the ball field that they used until 1970 was called Crosley Field. Powel Jr. was interested in automobiles and was tinkering with cars and selling auto accessories shortly after this photo was made. Powel Jr. was born in 1886 and was 24 years old at the time of this photo. Interesting reading about the Crosley family can be found in the book "Crosley" by Rusty McClure. Some interesting old photos can be found there too. Sidewalk BustleMost of the bustle looks to be on the sidewalks. The streets are relatively quiet. Even the street vendor is standing in the street so as not to block the pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk. I imagine today it would be the opposite. Medical ArtsDo I win the prize? I spotted two doctors' offices, two dentists' offices, and a rare osteopath. (You just don't see those very often). Powel Crosley Sr.Today's famous-name-in-gold-on-a-window is Powel Crosley, who was then a 60-year-old attorney and real estate developer with two precocious sons (Lewis and Powel Jr.). In 1910 Powel Sr. asked college dropout Powel Jr. (not for the last time) when he was going to start making something of himself. Powel Jr. loved cars but couldn't get traction in the business, until he invented a new type of tire and borrowed $500 from dad to try to market it. With the help of Lewis, Powel Jr. used that product as the foundation for what would become one of the nation's largest auto parts companies. A business empire that included radios, refrigerators, proximity fuzes, radio stations, ownership of the Reds, and many other successes followed. East Fifth & WalnutThis is a view from the corner of East Fifth and Walnut looking south down Walnut. Fourth is the next intersection on Walnut, where the street can be seen beginning to slope down toward the Ohio River. Most of the buildings on the left still exist. View Larger Map Fort Thomas streetcarThe streetcar has a destination of Fort Thomas which was across the Ohio River in Kentucky. I remember Fort Thomas quite well as it was the home of the military induction center for the area. In those days if you were 18 or over, you were required to serve in the military. You either joined or eventually got drafted. I took my physical for the Air Force at Fort Thomas in August, 1961. That was an experience I will never forget. For those of you who have been through it, I'm sure you will agree. Let's Get These Buildings Straight ...After much surfing, I have obtained the following results: The tall 15-story building on the left is the Traction Building (now the Tri-State Building) of D.H. Burnham & Co. (1902); the shorter building next to it on the right (looks like 11 stories, but it's actually 13) is the Young Men's Mercantile Library Building (Joseph Steinkamp & Brother, 1902-1903); and the third tall building on the left is the First National Bank, again of D.H. Burnham & Co. (1903). The Union Savings & Trust Co. (now Bartlett) Building (D.H. Burnham & Co., 1901-1902) is on the right in the background. It seems that all four are still standing. I'm not from Cincinnati, so I hope I got this right. (The Gallery, Cincinnati Photos, DPC, Streetcars)
War of the Worlds: 1905
... be great to see one of these in action (in a photo) at night time. I had never heard of them until now, except for use in modern ... when carbon-arc rods were developed that lasted all night. Daily servicing of a limited number of tall towers was relatively ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 3:34pm -

Detroit circa 1905. "The Campus Martius." This middle section of a three-part panorama features City Hall and one of Detroit's celebrated arc-lamp standards, or "moonlight towers" -- appropriately reminiscent of Wells and Verne in a plaza named after Mars. Detroit Publishing Company glass negative. View full size. Thanks for your SupportAt first, I thought the triangular arc lamp base was sitting on the ground. The shadow reveals that it is perched on that single pole at the street corner. Hats and HighballsImmediately behind the Detroit Public Works Department's exercise of infrastructure improvement was John J. Gorman's hat store. As the roof sign shows, "that's all" was the motto of the Whiskey produced by Baltimore's Wilson Distilling Co. before and (for a short time after) Prohibition. Seagram's bought it out, closed the plant and moved what was left to Louisville. How Many Martians Does It Take?This has to be the place were the "light bulb" jokes started. Now I want a highballI want one of those Wilson High Balls, with perhaps a San Telno cigar. Burned OutGuess it's a good thing we don't have moonlight towers now. The "kids today" would probably climb them and spray paint them. Also, there would be those insisting "these things cause cancer." False MoonlightIt would be great to see one of these in action (in a photo) at night time. I had never heard of them until now, except for use in modern movies. It's time....Time for a Wilson High Ball. That's All. LinesAnd so became the wired aged. Wires everywhere. You never knew so many lines in the sky until you got that new camera and went outside to capture a scene, without the wires. And so it begins…In an era of fine architectural detail and flowing lines of sight, the encroachment of the bland stark vision of industrial need and simplicity continues its blight on the aerial view now known only to the farmers, mountaineers, astronomers, and those who would strive to leave society and culture behind. First the telegraph, then telephone, then electricity took to the skies in coincidental trade for the odor of animal leavings in our cities and towns. I have all my life cursed the pole and line, and welcomed those forward thinking communities that had the foresight to legislate the burial of all utilities. Perhaps someday, when in a much improved economy, and with less desire to spend on wars and trips to the moon, an investment can be made in finally putting to ground that which hangs outside our windows, standing between us and the clear blue skies with fluffy white clouds which lend our minds to daydream. As an addendum, many millions of man-hours spent in Photoshop would be averted to more useful agendas, such as staring at the clouds and stars. [Or you could just move to a better neighborhood. - Dave] More TowersI see a second one way off in the distance at the right edge of the picture, and possibly a THIRD one way off beyond that! A neat history of the "moonlight towers"Is here. What time is it, really?I notice the two clocks appear to read about 4 minutes different, even though they are within sight of each other. How DID they change the light bulbs?Reading the "moonlight towers" link reveals how labor intensive early city lighting schemes were. Imagine lighting and extinguishing gas lamps on every corner! It was regarded as a triumph when carbon-arc rods were developed that lasted all night. Daily servicing of a limited number of tall towers was relatively manageable - but how did they ascend to the top? Surely not via the alternating rods forming a rudimentary ladder. Close scrutiny of the link images reveals a "man basket" that hoisted a worker inside the tower, using the pulleys visible in the photograph. Moonlight towers in TexasThere are more than a dozen survivors in Austin, where they are local landmarks. Some sources claim they were purchased used from Detroit. Regarding towersI find it interesting that people a century ago were so accepting of the wires and towers that brought them modern conveniences. Today we don't need towers for lighting -- but we do need them for our radios, TVs and cellphones so I find it paradoxical that so many people today oppose every new tower application. Yet they are typically the first to complain when their radio, TV or cellphone can't get an adequate signal. Early Detroit IronIs there at least one and possibly three early automobiles parked along the right curb? Texas TowersRichard Linklater used them famously in "Dazed and Confused." http://www.dailytexanonline.com/2.8461/moonlight-towers-guide-austin-thr... Lady in WhitePlease, no snarky comments, but I have a question. There is a woman on the extreme right side of the photo, about 1/3 the way up the page (approaching the curb). She's dressed all in white, and she seems to be the only figure dressed in light-colored clothing as far as I can see. Is this "normal but rare" for the time, or is there some other explanation? [White dresses not particularly unusual for the era. Many more can be seen on these pages. - Dave] (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)
« first‹ prev…15 [16]17…next ›last »
Syndicate content  Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2024 Shorpy Inc.