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Eastern High: 1935
... the camera zooms in on Jack in the front center of the Fourth of July Ball in 1921. (Which was in fact a real photo with Jack ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 8:18pm -

Washington, D.C., 1935. "Eastern High School." National Photo Company Collection acetate negative. View full size. Before they were famous...Drew Barrymore - front row middle. Matt Damon - third row left side. Eastern alumsGoogle's street view shows the building still standing. Looks like the old place hasn't changed much. Any survivors of this group would be in their 80s. Couple of cute chicks, though, even in those dark ages. View Larger Map Dress codeI pray we could dress ourselves more properly. Bluejeans?? Unless I'm laying railroad tracks, I shouldn't be wearing these! Shorpy, grant me the serenity to wear high waisted skirts some more. Just Missed Mamaw and Granddad!My grandparents were both graduates of Eastern High School -- Mamaw was Class of 1937, Granddad 1934. Mamaw and her family (decidedly non-affluent) lived in the 1200 block of G Street S.E., near Capitol Hill; Granddad lived across the river in Anacostia, 3200 block of Massachusetts Avenue. Both are still around, in their 90s, and always happy to reminisce about the "good old days." I can't wait to show them this photo and see if they recognize any of these folks (including the Drew Barrymore doppelganger)! Modernization for Eastern HighNovember 20, 2009, press release: City officials were joined by the student body at Eastern and members from the surrounding community who gathered at 1700 East Capitol Street, NE to celebrate plans for the historic restoration of the Capitol Hill landmark. Built in 1923, this architectural gem of the District of Columbia, is receiving first-class restoration work,” Mayor Fenty said. “As with several of the schools recently completed by OPEFM, Eastern will have the latest technology and learning amenities while maintaining the beautiful exterior of the original facility. The updated facility will be ready for occupancy in Aug 2010 and will include restored terracotta flooring, a cyber café and an enclosed courtyard all constructed according to LEED Silver standards. On the greatschools.net, Eastern High is rated 1 out of 10, "based on its state test results." Another Celeb.And the one to the right of Drew looks just like Madonna! Exotic BeautyFanhead, you are absolutely right. The first time I saw this photo, hers was the face that stood out immediately. She is stunning. RevengeThe very back row-far right. Poindexter's grandfather. ("Revenge of the Nerds") The GroupI believe this is the drama club. That would explain why they are all so good looking, and so few men. Lady in WhiteThe woman in the front row center with the white top looks EXACTLY like Drew Barrymore. Eerie... What's on her mind ?I wish I could read the mind of the pretty youg girl on the left in front of DiCaprio. Quite attractive. Drew Barrymore in the middle?I didn't realize she was that old! My kind of schoolThree gals for every guy! Rip Van Winkle HighMaybe it's the clothes but that's the oldest looking group of high schoolers I have ever seen. The one in the front center with the white blouse looks like Drew Barrymore, too. Odds are GoodThat at least one person will have their eyes shut when the shutter clicks! Never fails! What a good looking bunch of kids.I can only assume that this was an affluent school. They all look so well dressed and happy. Lot's of pretty girls with modern "faces." The young fellow on the 3rd row from the bottom on the left, could be Leonardo Decaprio's long lost brother. Nice picture! War cloudsThe male/female ratio definitely favors the boys, many of whom likely served in WW2. (My Granddad was married with kids by 1936, and he still got drafted late in the war.) Some great-looking folks here, indeed! Hi Mom!This would have been my mother's class except she was in Mississippi - when she was 15. It is amazing how grown up they all seem to think they are, and yet still children. I guess we all go through this stage. Some look ready for anything, some for nothing at all! We had all the same types in 1965. Where the Boys AreThere are only eight males in this class. Several men who I worked with, when they were older and I was a mere kid, had only one or two years of high school because they had to support their families. Yet these men were avid readers and learners. Things have changed. Whip itWhat's with Tastee Freez boy in the back? Quite the cut-up! Then and NowEastern High is currently closed, and undergoing renovation. The students, 99 percent of whom are African American, are spending the school year in temporary classroom trailers. 61 percent of the enrolled students are eligible for free lunches. Drew's shoesNo one has mentioned the girl second row left, peeping from behind her friend's shoulders. I want to be friends with her! What kind of shoes is Drew Barrymore wearing? They look like Reebok Classics! ConfidenceThe difference between the self-assurance shown on these faces compared to previous school photos is remarkable. Even their manner of dress is individualistic -- no penguin group photo here! The depression is on the wane, the future looks bright. What they do not know is that WWII will suck up many of them to do battle although, because of their age, they may very well be holding down the home front and, only incidentally, profit from it. C'mon guys you're slippingWhere are the comments on that gorgeous young lady on the left standing behind DeCaprio? She is beautiful and very contemporary looking. Old-schoolMy mom went to Eastern High School during WWII. She eloped to marry my dad, a graduate of Anacostia High who was in the Navy. I think that the comment by Shorpaholic that this must be an affluent school can be put down to the fact that people didn't dress as casually back then as they do today. People cared about their appearance when out in public. Based on the stories from my mom and dad, these kids were not rich by any stretch of the imagination. The ShiningI cannot get over how much the girl in the white shirt looks like Drew Barrymore! The photo reminds me of the end of The Shining when the camera zooms in on Jack in the front center of the Fourth of July Ball in 1921. (Which was in fact a real photo with Jack superimposed.) Where the boys are?43 students and one teacher (3rd row left). Only 6 males. Was this photo taken in September when the boys were still working the fields, or is this the home economics class? [I'd venture to say that the number of Eastern High boys "working in the fields" in 1935 was zero. - Dave] (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Portraits)
Forbes Field: 1912
... played the Cincinnati Reds at home with a 6-2 win. Fourth of July 1912, Pittsburgh played The Cincinnati Reds again at Forbes ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/23/2012 - 6:48pm -

Pittsburgh circa 1912. "Entrance to Forbes Field." Grandstand admission 75 cents. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Watch behind you!It's sometimes amazing to look at these old photos and wonder about how safety standards 100 years ago were so different. There are folks sitting on the second tier, one guy on what looks like a crate -- with no support to prevent anyone sitting or standing at the rear from falling with just one simple mistake. Absolutely remarkable to see that. 1909?The flags make me think it's during a World Series, which would mean 1909 is more likely than 1912. [1909 flags wouldn't have 48 stars. - Dave] Child LaborI spot 3 young vendors in the crowd. This could have been a Lewis Hine shot. Flag Display DaysMay 31, 1912, Decoration Day, later known as Memorial Day, The Pirates played the Cincinnati Reds at home with a 6-2 win. Fourth of July 1912, Pittsburgh played The Cincinnati Reds again at Forbes Field and won the game 3-2. I tried to find Honus Wagner in the crowd but figured he was already on the field. Ancestrial SlobsOur Ancestors weren't too concerned with littering. Those gutters are filled with trash! 50 years ago this monthBill Mazeroski hit the only World Series Game Seven walk-off home run at Forbes Field to lead the Pirates to victory against the Yankees. 75 centsAdjusted for inflation, the same ticket would cost you around $17 today. Interestingly, current grandstand tickets for Pirate games now cost anywhere from $9 to $16. Never a No-NoThere was never a single no-hitter thrown in Forbes Field in the 61 seasons it existed. It was also the site of Babe Ruth's last 3 home runs (May 25, 1935), when he played for the Boston Braves. __field Motor Co.What is the name of the Motor Company in the background? [Bellefield Motor Co. - Dave] Dignified PatronsA refreshing scene, so different from modern sporting events. Note the complete absence of team-logo knockoff merchandise. There may be a heckler or two in the crowd, but the drunken, swearing fans of today would be tossed from that stadium tout de suite. FFFans just gathered at the site of the former Forbes last week to listen to a rebroadcast of Bill Mazeroski's series winning home run on its 50th anniversary. The site is currently part of The University of Pittsburgh campus, and home plate is still on the ground (covered in protective plexi) in the floor of the building that takes up most of the space. (When I attended a few years back, legend had it that they had to move it a few feet though, otherwise it would have been in a closet.) Finally, if you're ever in Pittsburgh, check out the Miniature Railroad and Village at Carnegie Science Center -- they made an exquisitely detailed to-scale replica of Forbes Field, and used dust from a donated original brick to make the infield! Boy with BundleBoy to the right has a bundle of sticklike things. Assume he is selling them, but what the heck are they? [Rattan balloon sticks or pennant canes. - Dave] Flags & Bunting & new constructionEvery June or July in the early years of Forbes Field, the Pittsburg Press hosted the Tri-State Track and Field Meet there. News accounts describe the stadium as "bedecked by flags and bunting" for the event. In 1912 there was considerable new construction. The entire playing field was relocated to move the foul line relative to the left-field bleachers. The first-tier seating was also revised, which entailed the pouring of concrete and installation of new railings. The first tier would be what looks like the second story from the outside of the stadium. [A few tricolor flags here. They look French or Italian. - Dave] Auto-palooza!I love the perspective of the long line of brass-era automobiles all lined up for us in this photo, and the contrast of the one lone horse and buggy. Also, there seems to be a teenager sitting in the car closest to us, but I can't tell if he's behind the wheel or not. He's probably as anxious to get his license as the teenaged boys of today - some things never change! One of my favorite photos on Shorpy. Thanks Dave! Precarious PerchesNote that there is a wall to keep you from falling. The crate sitters are on top of the wall. The Fine PrintEach of the the large shields has lists in each of the white columns. Are these "memorial," "ceremonial"? I could make several guesses. Any insight? More Flag MinutiaeSome tricolor flags may be Pittsburgh City flags. The flag on the top ledge above the man on the crate appears to be a City of Pittsburgh flag. Two flags above the glass archway to the far right bottom of the photo may be city flags also. Lots going on here!Such as the kid with the papers in the foreground...I can almost hear him saying to the other kid, "G'wan, get outta here ... I'm woikin' dis side of da street!" And, as for the trash in the gutters, no worse than you'd see in the parking lot of one of today's major stadiums after a big game. And speaking of parking lots, how about the one in this photo? A single row that stretches around the stadium. Shouldn't have any problem finding your car after the game. And the way the fans are dressed is great. No face painters or painted shirtless beer swillers either. Oh, and you guys up there on the beer crates ... be careful! Game Day AttireLast weekend, I went to a college football game. I wore tennis shoes, jeans, and a cute little t-shirt with my team's colors and was very comfortable. I'm just trying to wrap my head around what it would be like to attend a sporting event dressed like the woman in the lower left corner-- a voluminous, light-colored dress and that *enormous* hat. (I also love the hat the woman in between the archways is sporting!) Of course, they would have been used to wearing that amount of clothing wherever they went, but still-- you go, ladies. What a Ballpark!I'm a native here but alas never had the chance to see a game in this famous park. I have a friend though a little older than I who has an actual seat from Forbes Field. A collector of sorts, he's now set his sights on a seat from the now defunct Mellon Arena. Is This Forbes Field???Beyond Forbes Field's left field was the Carnegie Library Building which was built in 1895. Where is the library building? Because of a park and the Carnegie Library there were no houses beyond left field. What park is this??? re: Is this ForbesHere's another picture of Forbes Field. Sure looks the same to me. Grandstand seatsWhen I was a kid my dad took me to many Pirate games at Forbes Field. He started taking me in 1958 when Ted Kluszewski was first traded to the Pirates from Cincinnati. At that time good reserve seat tickets were $2.50 and bleacher seats were 50¢. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC, Pittsburgh, Sports)
A Big Kiss for Gramps: 1941
July 1941. Farmer with his granddaughter at the Fourth of July picnic in Vale, Oregon. View full size. 35mm nitrate ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 11:22am -

July 1941. Farmer with his granddaughter at the Fourth of July picnic in Vale, Oregon. View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the FSA. Cordon sanitaireWow! Getting physically and mentally irritated by smokers, even from 200 feet away! If you need a private sphere with a radius of 200 feet from which all possible causes of irritation are banned, you might as well go live in Siberia or face it that you may have a problem living with other, sometimes imperfect, people around you. The Fat Lady at Wal-Mart>> I think that fat people are ugly, disgusting, and are doing harm to their bodies. Whoa, back the fat train up here. Where do you get off saying that from nowhere?! Adjust your perception, buddy. Most of the civilized world is getting fatter. Whatever will you do with your sensitivities 20 years from now? People will smoke, people will eat. Not everyone who is a smoker or fat is flawed in the ways you think they are. Perhaps smoking was an option back in the Depression to stave off hunger... and they never could quit. Perhaps Mrs. Fat in Aisle 3 buying chips isn't fat because she wants to eat junk food and be lethargic. Perhaps she can't afford healthy foods, like most. Cheap carbs are always more accessible for the poor than vegetables and lean meats enough to feed a family. Especially in this day, in the economy at hand. Complain not about other people's life, health and such. Take care of yourself and learn to appreciate the good in people. Not what you are judging them for. Note: for future reference, if you cannot spell "exercise," then you cannot preach to others about it. Sorry. Love, The fat woman at Wal-Mart, doing the best she can. Health and stuff...Good health is great, you need it to tackle those issues which are more important than smoking. People were considerate and loving as this picture illustrates, and sadly many of those caught up in the smoking mania of the first half of the 20th century discovered its dangers too late. My generation watched the parents of the 1950s, including my father, die in a long, painful manner directly attributed to smoking. Your lungs can repair themselves, to a point. When I was a child, our home was filled with a smoky haze; allergies and asthma followed me for years after I'd moved out. I was around 30 when I noticed my lungs didn't hurt while jogging. But I digress. Keep yourself healthy. Really. You want to be around the next 20 years to benefit from medical advances that are being developed now. It'll make our current life seem as distant as these views from the past. (Hope there’s no rule against mentioning the future in Shorpy comments!) SmokeophobiaYou're lucky and I wish you continued good health. I was a smoker as well but I got the message and quit. I have three married daughters and neither they or their husbands are tobacco users and I'm hoping my six grandchildren won't be either. You've got to play the odds. The phobia is not out of hand in this country. Tobacco is a killer and the cost in heartache, pain and money is beyond reason. The people who grow it, sell it, smoke it or tax it have to realize the danger of this addiction and end it once and for all. I don't mean to preach, this is, after all, a photography site and not a soapbox for do-gooders or health nuts, but your comment had to be answered. Walmart, etc. etc. etc.If you keep it to yourself, and/or keep it private, you are simply a polite adult who has a valid opinion. You should set your own boundaries, and if you do not like smokers, chose to do what you can to not be exposed to it. If you yell at others, impose your will upon otherwise law abiding citizens (no i am not talking about someone lighting up inside the hospital waiting room or other unlawful place) you are being a rude, selfish, jerk. I think that fat people are ugly, disgusting, and are doing harm to their bodies. Do i go to walmart and yell at every 400 lb person in a scooter that I see? Do i walk up to someone in the junk food isle and preach at them about nutrition and excersize? No. I do not. I am an adult and I know when it is appropriate to express my opinion in a civilized society. [One reason the Shorpy "comments" section is the delightful place it is! - Dave] Smoking NazisSmoking Nazis, nothing quite like them. I do not smoke, but I fully support the freedom of your decision to do so. I had a friend who smoked, then quit, and abruptly became someone I no longer wished to associate with. She would accost strangers for smoking near her, and speak loudly and in a derogatory tone about anti-smoking rhetoric whenever someone with a cigarette was within shouting distance. The final straw was when I went to a museum with her, and we were out front taking pictures of our kids near a fountain, and someone lit up (200 feet or more away, down wind,in a heavy breeze, in the OUTDOOR designated smoking area) and she went over and berated him in public about killing her children. I was mortified. It is nobody's business what I or any other consenting adult does to his or her body, as long as it is legal. I'm sure I could find fault in any of your lives should I want to. Too much fried food? Drive too fast? Maybe you drink beer, or eat red meat, or a multitude of other "sins"? Relax people, there are other things to worry about in this world, and none of them are people smoking. For the record, I have family members who smoke. Some have developed cancer. Some are 80 years old and in great health. It is, and remains, their decision to partake in this habit, for better or for worse, and it is not my business to preach at them to quit. I have enough personal flaws that I'm sure anyone could point out that affect both me and the ones around me, and I know each and every single one of you do too. NonsmokersWith all due respect the smoke police are out in full force. I was at an Eagles game last month and I went where I thought was a smoking area, I lit up and lo and behold, someone yelled "smokers" and about 4 security guards came running at me, give me a break. I am a adult and choose to smoke, I am aware of the risks and I respect a nonsmoker's space, I wish people would stop telling me to stop, sorry to sound off on here. SmokersI'm probably not your ex-friend, but I can relate. When I quit I became far worse (more sensitive) than the self-righteous non-smokers I resented and swore I'd never be like. It stinks and irritates me, physically and mentally. And, sorry, smokers are not just doing something to their body, they're invading my space -- even from 200 feet away. That said, I'm not going to editorialize about historic pix (unless to note how the purveyors of these poisons took advantage of otherwise decent folks). Grandpa and the BabyIt shows what we didn't know or think of then. The possibility of burning the child or even worse, the ingestion of secondhand smoke leading to the lung problems of that and succeeding generations. We've got the info now, but there's still plenty of smokers out there. SmokophobiaI came to look at the comments for this photo just because I knew there would be complaints about the cigarette. I was not disappointed. I grew up in a household where every adult smoked heavily. I do not smoke. My little pink lungs never exploded from secondhand smoke and at 40 I still have not developed lung cancer. Smoking phobia is really getting out of hand in this country. Dr. Mel on smokingI am not going to argue on secondhand smoke, global warming, etc., but it strikes me that every time a cigarette is visible in vintage photographs, comic books or advertisements you get this sort of extremely well-meant comments. Baby on firePrimitive thought he might be, I imagine granpa knew not to set the baby on fire with his cigarette. And this brief exposure to second hand smoke probably imperils her less than the lead exposure from paint and auto exhaust of the time. I look at that and I'm glad they had a moment to play together. A Big KissAnd actually there was a kiss. All kinds of love for Grandpa. 30 years later......could've been me and my Grandpa. Plenty of family photos & memories involving smokers here...good AND bad. I think it's a sweet photo, as are the others...happy kids, happy grandpa. Touched a nerveSorry, it's just a fact that to me--a reformed, addicted smoker--secondhand smoke is physically and, yes, mentally (the holier than thou theory, I suppose) bothersome. I certainly didn't say I need a private sphere, much less require one, but surely you don't think Siberia would provide refuge from all possible causes of irritation?! Not my choice, anyway, if in fact I required such an orb. Of course, what's wrong with wishing for a bit more clean air? I mean, this isn't Shorpyland circa 1941 anymore. We've heard the Surgeon General's warnings about the harms of cigarettes since 1964. Smoking GrandpaAt one time, my sister and I divvied up a collection of family photographs. She refused to keep any photo of our grandfather in which he was holding a cigarette or a drink. Because of that, she wound up with only a few pictures of him as he was rarely without a cigarette or his whiskey. Cancer and cirrhosis helped lead to his death--as did diabetes and high cholesterol--but if I shunned any reminder of his smoking and drinking, I would have few mementos of him. So in this photo, accept that a cigarette is present and look at the real subject of the photo--a happy day, a loving family, and a charming memory. BTW, I love the Shorpy comments section for all the lively discussions. I don't always read blog comments, but at Shorpy the comments are often as fascinating as the photos. Warts and AllI can't understand anyone who wouldn't want pictures of a family member with a cigarette or a glass of whatever they drank, if the person was a smoker or someone who had enjoyed a drink from time to time. It is part of who they were. You can't remember people in an idealized form - the whole person includes their faults as well as their strengths. Just one more...Actually, one of the factors that inspired my quitting smoking (after 8 years, in my 20s) was that every picture of me featured a cigarette. I didn't want that associated with whatever legacy I might leave. Grandpa.I'm 30 years old, a smoker, and from a family of smokers. I smoke because I like it. I'm intelligent enough to know it's a dangerous lifestyle choice. So is unprotected sex. So is eating McDonalds, and so is driving too fast. I just want to say that I would do anything to have a moment like this with my grandfather, just one more time. Just a moment of it. I wish I had appreciated these kind of moments more when I had them. My grandfather died recently at age 86, not from smoking. I miss you, Rudy. I rememberThe aroma of my mother's purse -- tobacco, face powder, perfume and blackjack gum. She smoked and she loved me. Absolutely no one lives forever. I'd take a grampa who smokes and loves me over one who snarks at his fellows, compulsively goes to the gym, bitches about the dearth of organically grown veggies, fat people taking up his visual space. He is going to die, hopefully not alone with people who resent his hysterical attachment to himself. Cigarette hysteria is rampant, mean, dehumanizing, elitist and snotty. [Someone seems to have touched a nerve or two. - Dave] (The Gallery, July 4, Kids, Russell Lee, Small Towns)
Boys and Girls: 1941
... his buddy around piggyback, maybe practicing for the Fourth of July picnic. Or it could be that his friend is just really, really ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/09/2018 - 9:29pm -

July 1941. "Boys and girls. Caldwell, Idaho." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the FSA. I see the makings here of a double date. Brokeback Mountin' ?Note also the belt buckle moved to the left. This was common in that era, I am told. [How fashion-forward. My own theory is that Ballcap is hauling his buddy around piggyback, maybe practicing for the Fourth of July picnic. Or it could be that his friend is just really, really clingy. - Dave] From Caldwell to EternityThese two high school boys likely either enlisted or were drafted into the military after December 7, 1941. I hope they survived. The girl in the mismatched outfit (stripes and plaid together?) seems to be thinking, "Gee, I wish he would hold me like that." That black boxWhat is that? A radio? A small lunchbox maybe? [It's a Kodak Brownie camera. - Dave] Boys & Girls"He's Just Not That Into You," circa 1941. What, no Onion?"So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time" - Grandpa Simpson Belts, BanksI used to wear my belt buckle a loop or two to the left as a schoolkid in the early 1960s. I like the bank's hours. Closing at 3 p.m. weekdays and noon on Saturdays. Boy, they really had us in those days. That place must have been packed on Saturday mornings! The BoysThose boys have to be brothers, right? Look at their eyes and noses. [And ears. Shaped the same. Attention citizens (especially eightysomethings) of Caldwell, Idaho: Who are these people? - Dave] Signs reflected in the windowThis is a wonderful photo; it captures a reality far from the experience of my family, and yet endearing and easy to imagine. I particularly like the expression on the face of the "huggee." The stores across the street, reflected in the bank's windows, include: * George's Shoes * ??eurer's Cash Store * No?????? & Sons (?) [Meurer's Cash Store. Fascinating! - Dave] Well...You have to admit that's one way to stay out of the Army. Kodak BrownieHey, I have one of those cameras. Great StudyI love the way each pair has a more "serious" member -- the boy hugging the other boy, while ostensibly "goofing around," seems to be looking quite intently at the cute girl holding the camera, who is also the more "serious" of her pair, with her girlfriend looking very diffident with her thumb to mouth gesture. I can easily see a double-date with this quartet, in which plaid skirt girl and cap-boy are awkward and embarrassed, and camera girl and hugger-boy end up going steady, getting engaged and? [I see three possible pairings here. - Dave] Belt buckle to the leftIt's my understanding that belt buckles could be worn to the side for a couple of reasons. For musicians, it's so they don't scratch the backs of their guitars; for guys working on their hot rods, it's to keep the paint on the car from getting scratched if you're bending over to work under the hood. So an old musician/hot rodder/rockabilly boyfriend told me... I love the repetition of all of the stripes, from her shirt, the columns and the reflected awnings, mixed with the squares, like the bricks, plaid skirts, windows and paneling. Brothers?If this is the way "just friends"--or even brothers--interacted in the 1940's, I'm all for bringing back the good old days. Banking HoursSomething in defense of the bank workers in those days: My mother worked at a bank in the Netherlands in those days: after 3 p.m. there was a lot of work to do: All the accounting was done by hand. And on Saturday: if there was one penny of difference between debt and credit sides, they had to work in overtime until the difference was found (1 penny difference could have been caused by the difference of 2 bigger amounts), and the overtime was not paid to the workers! Buckles and BrowniesI remember the older boys with their belt buckles to the side like that. It meant they were "cool." Still have my Brownie camera like that, and the box for it. I haven't seen 620 film for it on sale for decades. It has two viewing windows, the one on top as seen in the picture is for vertical pictures. Another is on the side for horizontal ones. No flash, only one button to take the picture, and a little crank to advance the film. No wonder they were only about $3. But they worked well and were sturdy enough that Mom let me take ours to school sometimes. "You break it and your dad will tan your hide!" Side buckledIn the early 60s I wore my belt buckled at the side after seeing West Side Story, like the guys in the film. I think this is a great photo, very nostalgic, and it would be nice to think that all four of these people were still around. (Nicer still to think that they paired off.) (The Gallery, Bizarre, Russell Lee, Small Towns)
Atlantic City Boardwalk: 1908
... If the photo was taken in 1908, it was probably before the Fourth of July. - Dave] Ah yes, the old Chalfonte In the early 1940's, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/24/2011 - 1:14pm -

Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1908. "Chalfonte Hotel and the Boardwalk." With some sort of spillage splotch in the middle, "double chair" rental on the right and a 45-star flag topping it all off. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. Chair rental50 cents for the double chair rental seems like a lot in 1908. Unless that included one of the many men standing around to push you? Kind of like a rickshaw. [Chair rental circa 1908 was 50 cents an hour. In 1913 the A.C. city commission, in a move to cut "chair congestion," passed an ordinance raising mercantile taxes on the chairs by $5 a year -- to $10 on single chairs, and $20 for double chairs. The commission's goal was a doubling of the rental rate to a dollar an hour. - Dave] Sandy ClothesWow. I can't imagine how long it must have taken to get the sand out of those heavy wool clothes. Double ChairsFrom a WPA guide to Atlantic City: The next milestone in the history of the resort was the invention of the rolling chair in 1884. M.D. Shill, a Philadelphia manufacturer of invalid chairs, go-carts and perambulators, came to Atlantic City and opened a store to rent out baby carriages to summer families. He also rented out invalid chairs for convalescents and cripples. Within a few years these invalid chairs evolved into the double chair with a pusher. Triple chairs followed, completing the fleet of comfortable sightseeing chairs of today. Tim-bers!Wow, those are some beautiful timbers stacked on the beach. Timbers like those would cost a fortune today. TransitionsAtlantic City transitioned from this sedate scene to a bustling family-oriented seaside resort by the 1940s. I remember the Steel Pier and the Diving Horse. By the early '70s, A.C. hit rock bottom...then gambling was legalized. The rest (along with visitors' money) is history. Tanning and HorsesLooking at all the clothes these people are wearing makes me realize that being tan probably wasn't as common, at least for city folk. There is hardly any skin showing on anyone. Also, note the horses bottom left. I guess someone had the job of cleaning up after them on the beach/boardwalk. Neat picture, btw. And I agree about the time machine, though I'd like a ticket back in case things didn't work out. Wow...Can I go back in time please... One way is OK... Sign me up and get me outta here! 45 StarsIf the flag has 45 stars and the date is 1908, the hotel owner should have bought a new flag. Utah was the 45th state, admitted in 1896. Oklahoma was 46th, admitted in 1907. [The 46-star flag was adopted July 4, 1908. If the photo was taken in 1908, it was probably before the Fourth of July. - Dave] Ah yes, the old ChalfonteIn the early 1940's, while the tires were still mileage-viable on my dad's 1937 Chevy 2-door, we traveled to AC from Newburgh, NY, several times as a family. We usually bunked at the Chalfonte or its sister hotel down the block, Haddon Hall. As a kid my favorite place on the AC boardwalk was the James Salt Water Taffy shop. They sold pressed paper cartons of those filling-yankers in really neat-looking wire barrel shapes. For many years, I used one of these as a piggy bank. Hotel lobbiesCirca 1926 Ethel Waters made a record called "Jersey Walk," about a girl who dances in the hotel lobbies "just to hear those bellhops yell... 'Shake 'em up kid, shake 'em up kid, shake 'em up lady...'" Janet Klein and her Parlor Boys recorded it much more recently. Postal PhotosI see that Palace Postal Photos are best. I assume that is a place you could go to get a souvenier photo made to mail to the folks back home. Got any of those in your bag Dave? [Afraid not. - Dave] The Chalfonte and The Haddon Hall down the blockThose were family favorites for mini-vacations from upstate New York, so long as the tires on my dad's '37 Chevvy two-door had viable treads. Best shop on the AC Boardwalk for me was the James' Salt Water Taffy shop a few blocks west of the Chalfonte. They packaged their product in a molded papier-mache carton in the shape and color of a white barrel. I used one of these for years as a kid for my spare pocket change. Nap time!I like the man on the beach taking a siesta. What strikes me most about this picture is how lazy we've become in regard to architecture. Maybe a glass brick is easier to heat and cool as well as construct but dang, look at that beautiful building! Shill Rolling ChairI recently purchased a Shill Rolling Chair that seats three people. The brass plate mounted on the front of the white wicker frame says the charge was 75 cents an hour for one person or $1 an hour for two or more. I am curious about the age of the rolling chair. Based on the price per hour, would you know the age of my chair? (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Sports)
Merry Taxmas: 1920
... 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 ... 
 
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)
A Familiar Facade: 1909
... of which are the Stars & Stripes. Guess it's not the Fourth of July. I love this building -- even more impressive in person. 97 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 2:00pm -

August 1909. "The Flat Iron Building, New York." One of Detroit Publishing's favorite subjects, making its eighth appearance here. View full size. Pieter Brueghel the ElderThis photograph evokes a Brueghel painting. Billions of blistering bollardsThey are skinnier than usual, but this is the most bollards I remember seeing in a shot on Shorpy. Here they seem to function as yellow and white lines would today. Trompe l'oeilUntil I clicked "View full size" I thought it was a winter scene with lots of beautiful snow in the foreground. But now I see they're all in summer togs. The street paving seems unnaturally even -- except that part where I guess a giant water wagon came through and made a hard right. A couple of street sweepers with tools unequal to the task seem to be following along. And the hatted horse from Philadelphia has turned up here! Oh say can you seeI count 15 flagpoles in the neighborhood but only five flags, only two of which are the Stars & Stripes. Guess it's not the Fourth of July. I love this building -- even more impressive in person. 97 percent occupancyIt looks like most of the Flatiron is occupied with tenants due to all the awnings that are extended on the sun side. The small buildings to the left and directly behind are still standing and the building in the foreground to the right is there as well according to Google street view. It's interesting to view how city planners allowed for those wide sidewalks during this era. Love the rare automobiles lurking about in this shot. It can't be long before they take over in NY. Beloved iconI stood not far from there not too long ago, riveted in rapt admiration. Thrilling. The Flatiron's grace and mystique is timeless. Better get a move onIt's almost 9:30. Some of those folks are going to be late for work. All that trafficand no honking! Olden ArchesFifth Avenue, to the right of the Flatiron, ends at Eighth Street. There we have a fading glimpse of the Washington Arch and behind that, Washington Square Park. The Arch, dedicated in 1895, is really Greenwich Village's most famous landmark. The park attracts a most varied clientele including NYU students and faculty, chess players, buskers, dogs and their owners, break dancers, soapbox orators, potheads plus their vendors and that's during the daylight hours. WindowsWhy are there so many awnings out of the windows? [Sun hot. No AC. - Dave] One horse townSomeone else pointed out how quickly street scenes went from mostly horses to mostly cars over a short period. Compare this photo with the 1916 photo in Harrisburg. Creepy CordialsThat huge guy at the top left serving the cordials was a little creepy...look at those eyes. I assume he was selling this.... Must be cars around!Or perhaps those are not oil stains on the road? [Shorpy veterans will recognize the isolated dribbles as horse pee. - Dave] I get lost in this imageEvery time I see the Flatiron Building I think about Michael explaining his love and excitement of the Flatiron to Walt. That one building inspired him and changed his life. Like Michael told Walt, "You've gotta see it!" I can get Lost in this image. It is a trip through time. Peculiar vehicleCan anyone explain the reason behind the design of the vehicle in the center foreground? It looks like some sort of bus, designed so that customers are funneled past the driver, perhaps to facilitate payment. [It's the rear end of a double-decker bus. Hence the spiral stairs. - Dave] 1908 or 1912?I don't know which year this photo was taken in, but it was definitely taken about 15 minutes after this photo, which is dated 1912. The awnings and windows in the buildings are in identical positions in both photos, and the same trucks are parked in front of the Hotel Bartholdi. [A good observation. Aside from the clock, people and vehicles (and the big wet street-cleaning path), the two photos are almost identical. Library of Congress gives the year of this image as a qualified "1908(?)"; the other image is part of a nine-part panorama with the date range "1910-1915"; I averaged that out as "circa 1912." Further scrutiny of each of the nine images in the panorama turned up one showing an Order of Acorns banner with the slogan "Give us Home Rule, We will do the rest" flung over Broadway -- a banner mentioned in the August 29, 1909, New York Times. So, dates of both images henceforth changed to 1909. Thank you and good night. - Dave] P.O.V.Nice to see a photo of this icon from a slightly higher perch. I wonder if it swayed like a sailboat in a really strong wind? A Little AstronomyGiven the clock that reads about 9:28, and the direction of shadows, one could estimate the day the photo was taken. Not much has changedWhat I find amazing is that so many of the buildings down both Broadway and Fifth Avenue are still in existence today. I used to work in 141 Fifth Avenue (the domed building behind the Flatiron to the right) StreetcarsWhat is the power source for all those streetcars? -- I don't see any overhead wires. [The power source is underground. Note the slot between the tracks. - Dave] (The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC, Streetcars)
North Pole Colorado: 1956
... referred to the colorized photos – e.g., the garish Fourth of July offering – that have been posted. Then again, I would have ... -- webmaster gift from God on a holiday weekend! Perfect Fourth of July page topper. - Dave] Fire up the slide projector This ... 
 
Posted by Samuel1940 - 07/06/2009 - 12:04am -

My father and his sister in 1956 at "North Pole Colorado -- Home of Santa's Workshop," at the foot of Pikes Peak. Dad was 6 and his sister 8. View full size. Don't like what's happening here.There’s been a definite and regrettable shift in this site. Virtually all the photos used to be fascinating windows into a time none of us knew. Some of them were great photos, some were banal, but with very few exceptions they were, as the motto says, "interesting." Now there are more and more pictures that seem to be posted here just because someone wants to say, "Look at me!" Everyone has family photos; I have thousands, stretching back eighty years. My father was a talented amateur and local-newspaper photographer, and a high percentage of my family pictures are much better than the fuzzy family album excerpts that have appeared recently. My family albums are interesting to me, but I’m not so full of myself (as my mother would have said) that I think I should post them on a website of historic photographs. And speaking of my mother, she used to say that my coloring book work was wonderful. However, I know now that applying a crayon to pictures someone else created does not: (a) make me an artist, or (b) produce anything that’s worth other people's time. So Dave, I hope you'll turn the dreck filter back on. If there’s a shortage of good pictures to post, I certainly don’t mind if you post fewer pictures. Don't let this terrific site that you created be ruined. [There is maybe some confusion here. This photo is in color because it was taken on color film. And it's certainly not "dreck." Color vacation photos are a summertime tradition on Shorpy. We've published dozens over the years. - Dave] SuspendersYep, all us little shrimps wore suspenders back then. This is about 1953. Bring on the dreck!The North Pole is a place I know well, having visited it several times a year when I was a kid. I like this photo, not much had changed between then and when I was a kid in the 80s. The pole had some kind of refrigeration gizmo built into it, so it was always covered with ice. Leaning on it was a nice break after playing around on a hot summer day. I love EVERY photoI too am a follower for quite a while and while I do enjoy the "historical" photos the most, these snapshots into your family's life are very interesting as well. I am just a little younger than your dad, but we didn't have a decent camera -- much less color film -- until well until the 1960s, so these provide a glimpse into what my life might have been like if I could remember back that far. Your photos are so well-presented in all of their original (and occasional retouched) glory, that I have found myself feeling like I was a witness to history. Keep 'em coming. It's your site and it's your choice. We just get to share. [Thank you, SLP. Again let me note: These are not my photos. Check the "Submitted by" tag above each photo to see who posted it. In this case, Samuel1940. This is just one of almost 1,500 user-submitted photos in the Shorpy Member Gallery. - Dave] Just Sayin I thought it was obvious that the crayon analogy referred to the colorized photos – e.g., the garish Fourth of July offering – that have been posted. Then again, I would have thought it was obvious that the blurry snapshots and colorized pictures fit in with the rest of the content about as well as a Spike Jones number fits in at the Philharmonic. Nothing wrong with a good Spike Jones number, but it doesn’t fit in everywhere. And as for the other color vacation photos posted in the past: (a)they've generally been well composed and technically good for their day, and (b)they've generally contained something more interesting than Dad and Aunt Maggie standing in front of Santa's workshop. In conclusion: It's your website, and while I'll defend your right to ruin it, I won't say it's not a shame. [I can't help but think you might not be seeing something other people don't fail to appreciate. And that "garish" flag photo -- webmaster gift from God on a holiday weekend! Perfect Fourth of July page topper. - Dave] Fire up the slide projectorThis pretty much distills the essence of the mid-1950s family road trip. Well done. CriticsI feel compelled to add my 2 cents here. I spend a lot of time on Shorpy.com. As a matter of fact, over a two week period, I went through *every* page of photos so I could see them all, and now check in at least once a day to see what's new. One of the features that I enjoy about Shorpy is the member photos. Not all of the member photos are 100 years old, but I find them interesting and entertaining -- especially if the poster adds some background to the shot. I appreciate that Dave allows members to upload their own photographs here. I think that's very generous of him. As to this photograph in particular, I grew up in the Bay Area of California and we had our own Santa's Village in Scotts Valley. Having also been born in 1956, comparing the Colorado Santa's Workshop to my own visits to Santa's Village is kind of fun! My advice to folks who don't like member photos is to just skip them. There's a whole lot more on this site to engage you. I guarantee it. View of the PastTo me, Shorpy is a view into the past. The professional photos are usually well composed or at least have an interesting subject (even if the chicks in the figure-hugging swimsuits ain't all that hot). And the user-submitted photos are, for the most part, an incredible look into the lives of some humans in another part of the country. I'm all for that. I'm sure most of us would like to step into a time machine and go to some other time and place just to experience it firsthand. But flux capacitors are still prohibitively expensive, so that ain't happenin' any time soon. I'm all for more "family photos," color or B&W, just as long as they aren't colorized via computer. Hand-tinted, maybe, but none of the colorized examples that have been posted recently are worth diddly, except that fiddle. It's a big websiteMore content is more content, and it's grand. I look at and occasionally comment on the pictures that interest me, and skip the ones that don't. It doesn't seem so terribly difficult. Colorized photos? Great; the originals are still a click away. Family pictures? Wonderful; they bring back memories for some and are a "window" into an unknown time for the younger Shorpyites. I suppose I don't understand why people who enjoy one sort of thing feel they have to put a stop to any different sort of thing -- which others might enjoy just as much. Nobody's taking anything away from anyone here, at least as far as I can see. Different POVs, I guess. Too cute!This photo is absolutely adorable. Love the details. These kids look so happy and wholesome. It's historical from a textiles and style stand point as well. Love that crazy little shirt he's got on. The little girl probably became President of a university and the little fella has all kinds of possibility written across his face! They look so amiable that perhaps they didn't even torture each other in the back seat. Too cute. ~Love the guy with the fish too. [Let's not overlook that lollipop. - Dave] PeaceOutOkay; last one. I think folks have moved on, anyway. I really don’t think the problem is my insensitivity to some subtle magic that more perceptive individuals can appreciate. (That is, of course, one of our stock responses when someone criticizes a thing we like.) My reasons for writing are laid out pretty clearly in the earlier posts: The pictures I’ve complained about are not good, and I think they’re out of place here. Of course some people are going to defend them. There are always people who rise in indignation when anyone dares to suggest that one picture or poem or pasta is better than another. Such elitist snobbery must be opposed! But come on now . . . “The little girl probably became President of a university and the little fella has all kinds of possibility written across his face! They look so amiable that perhaps they didn't even torture each other in the back seat. Too cute.” Honestly, is this the audience you’re aiming at? There are millions of people who love their unicorns on black velvet, too. Should you throw a few pictures of those on the site? I’m baffled by all this. You’ve started two sites that I know of. (I started coming here from Plan59.) Both were much, much better than 99.99% of the sites on the Web. Now you’ve left one to wither on the vine, and you’re letting the other one be dragged down to the Cute Overload level. I hate it when people who can do good work don’t do it. [Ever program a website on a holiday weekend? - Dave] Re: PeaceOutCluelessness abounds! Not a Joe I knowDave has the site set up so that if you see something that doesn't interest you, you can move right along to something that does. Dave, it's your site, and I defend your right to "ruin" it by letting people air their fractious views, but I wish you wouldn't: comments like these are beginning to grate and take the fun out of Shorpy. Didn't Mother also say that if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all? I don't see how denigrating user photos or user comments benefits anyone. Speak for Yourself>> There’s been a definite and regrettable shift in this site. Virtually all the photos used to be fascinating windows into a time none of us knew. And they still are. This photo was taken in 1956. I was born in 1968. Thus the photo was taken during a time I didn't know. Insofar as I find the 1950s a fascinating era, this qualifies. Sidewalk SuperintendentsPoor Dave. How is it that some people seem to think they can run your site better than you do? Did the cover price they paid to get into your saloon entitle them to complain so loudly about the floor show? There may be only a few whiners and gripers out of the thousands of mostly silent readers, yet the grumpiness seems pretty strange. But never mind. They remind me of the Yogi Berra quote: "Nobody goes to Coney Island any more. It's too crowded." Not a Joe I'd like to know.>> There are always people who rise in indignation when anyone dares to suggest that one picture or poem or pasta is better than another. Such elitist snobbery must be opposed!" You seem to be the epitome of what you claim to object to. You've stated your opinion, and it has been duly noted. Now you can do one of three things. 1. Leave and be done with it. 2. Stay and enjoy, but don't continue to belabor your point regarding the content. 3. Go and start your own web site, and post only that which you deem appropriate. I enjoy whatever is posted here. Keep up the good work! Straw men>> There are always people who rise in indignation when anyone dares to suggest that one picture or poem or pasta is better than another. Such elitist snobbery must be opposed! As far as I have seen, no one has made this point in any of these discussions, and certainly not in this thread. I haven't read all the comments on everything, of course. NotAJoe, can you point to any comment in support of these pictures of which you so disapprove in which anyone has said, or even implied, that "no picture is better than another"? (Of course, if this is an attempt at reading the minds of those who differ with you, I can only say -- as one of those who is capable of skipping past pictures that are not of personal interest to me -- that it is not a very accurate try.) Shorpy as Time Machine...For the life of me, I cannot fathom how anyone can complain about the content of this or any other website, when there is so much from which to choose on the Internet. Speaking of Shorpy, this site offers wonderful glimpses into the past, part of which I did know, part of which I might have known, and part of which was before my time. Even when admiring others' photographs, I'm reminded of times, events and places in my own life that I would absolutely love to return to and relive. I'm 45 years old, and just last month I laid my 59-year-old brother to rest, God keep him. I'd show him some of the content here (especially that which dealt with automobiles; our family has a history in auto refinishing) and even he was moved to reminisce. Now that he has become the most recent of my dwindling family to leave this mortal coil, I see Shorpy as more of a connection to the past, when times may have been a little more hardscrabble, but a lot of things were simpler. Sorry for the ramble. To Dave and all the contributors here, I thank you sincerely. Keep up the good work. The Way I Read It.It reads" "Always Something Interesting." Not: Always Something Perfect. On pins and needles...Can't wait for the debut of NotaJoe's website. I hope he allows comments! [I wouldn't be surprised if both he and the nice person who posted this photo were halfway to Mexico by now. - Dave] It's ALL goodThis is THE best site for vintage photographs that I have found on the Web, and believe me, I have searched for them. I enjoy each and every photo posted here. Some I don't dwell upon as long as others, but each one has its own merit. No one has mentioned the fact on this particular thread that you are willing to post dissenting views, and that it's OK to have them. It's fine that NotaJoeYouKnow doesn't approve of certain things. You acknowledge his views and move on. As many people have expressed: KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. This is a wonderful site which I treasure highly. I love the family photosFamily snapshots help me position myself alongside folks of backgrounds alien to mine, sometimes in settings very different from those I know, and in many cases before I was born. I've never visited a "Santa's Village" or "North Pole," but I see the joy that these children take in visiting one with their family, and that brings these people, so different from me, together with my family (as I am sure my children would sport similar grins in similar settings). Samuel1940, Illegitimi non carborundum. Keep 'em coming, Team Shorpy. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Travel & Vacation)
Our Treasures: 1941
... July 4, 1941. Vale, Oregon. "One of the floats in the Fourth of July parade." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the ... Treasures indeed What a unique and creative idea for a Fourth of July float ... darling tykes spilling out of a treasure chest. Just ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/09/2020 - 1:58pm -

July 4, 1941. Vale, Oregon. "One of the floats in the Fourth of July parade." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Vale OregonThe parade had arrived at North Main and "A" Street, looking north. Treasures indeedWhat a unique and creative idea for a Fourth of July float ... darling tykes spilling out of a treasure chest. Just weeks before Pearl Harbor and America's entrance into WWII. And the little guy with his back to the camera, holding the lid, seeming to embody every American virtue with his strength and watchfulness. This picture makes my chest hurt and I think I have something in my eye. C.M. CRANDALL ATTORNEY AT LAWBorn in Illinois in 1861, admitted to practice in 1896, and working 52 weeks a year in 1939 (according to the 1940 census), the lawyer responsible for the gold-leafed second-floor window shingle would have turned 80 in 1941. According to a 1916 news article in the local Malheur Enterprise, "Mr. Crandall is a gifted orator and is ever ready with a gilt edge impromptu speech on most any occasion." FlagCan anybody identify that flag? Onward Christian SoldiersThe flag is called the Christian Flag. See the Wikipedia entry for more information. (The Gallery, July 4, Kids, Patriotic, Russell Lee)
The End of the Innocence: 1941
... Caldwell, Idaho. The summer of 1941, on or around the Fourth of July. Water fountain outside the bank seen in the post above. View ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2013 - 3:35pm -

Caldwell, Idaho. The summer of 1941, on or around the Fourth of July. Water fountain outside the bank seen in the post above. View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. Slurp. Public FountainsThat fountain is familiar to me, except in my Deep South hometown in 1941 it would have had a sign reading either WHITE or COLORED. I grew up with those signs all around me and was ecstatic when they were finally taken down. BicycleIs that a spring for suspension on the front? Cool looking bike. Spring or light?Isn't that the headlight? [It's a spring-thing. - Dave] BikeIn fact I'm pretty sure it's a spring, making for a pretty interesting design that didn't take off. It appears as though the front fork is bolted to the column that attaches to the handlebars and then extend up to the spring. The spring is then attached to the column just above where it passes through the frame. The lower bolt acts like a pivot point, theoretically at least giving a somewhat smoother ride. I can see all sorts of ways it could go wrong though. Spring ForkThis is the spring fork setup used on millions of Schwinns and other bikes over the past hundred-plus years. Still in use. Not unusual. The BikeFrom my bike-restoring friend Rich: We can say for sure that it is a Schwinn-built bicycle. It could be wearing any of at least 100 different badges, as Schwinn made private label bikes for hardware stores, tires stores and many other outlets. The model is called a Motorbike. It dates to around 1938-40. It has options such as front drum brake, knee-action spring fork and 2-speed New Departure shifter. Schwinn PhantomI owned a slightly-used Schwinn Phantom back in the mid-1960s that I bought for $30. Its heavyweight design with the spring fork was ideal for delivering my newspaper route. I wish I still had it! Mike_G SchwinnsThat may explain why I thought the design was unusual. I don't think they sold Schwinns in my part of Canada. The big bike manufacturer up here was CCM (originally Canadian Cycle and Motor) and I recall a number of British manufacturers but I don't remember Schwinn being an option in Saskatchewan in the 1960s. That a Schwinn MotorbikeThat a Schwinn Motorbike the era it about right 1938-1940s That bike would sell for today around $2500 to $3500 today. The only thing that is missing is the tank. The kids back in the day would take off the tanks and throw them away because they wanted to make there bike lighter so they could ride them faster. Boy if they only knew what there bikes would worth today. This is a wonderful picture of the past of how wholesome America was. Today if you drink water from a public fountain you would get probably get sick. lbc-cycles of Long Beach, Ca. Early 1950s Schwinn TigerI have an early 1950s Schwinn Tiger 2-speed that says "Aviation Corp. by Bendix." Is this equipped with the same chain guard as any other Tiger? The chain guard is missing. Is this a common equipped bike or not? How rare is it? 1937-41 SchwinnThe handlebars and rear carrier aren't stock, appears to have a Sturmey-Archer rear hub, (the Shimano rear hub had the shift cable on the other side of the bike) and the tires are Goodyear G3 airwheels. The front brake hub is worth $400-$450 in good shape today. Great photo!!! (The Gallery, Bicycles, July 4, Kids, Russell Lee, Small Towns)
Asbury Park: 1905
... appear to be set up for a parade. This could be for the Fourth of July, a major holiday at the time, except that there is hardly anyone ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 8:19pm -

New Jersey circa 1905. "Boardwalk, Asbury Park." "Notice: Bicycle riding on the plank walk is strictly prohibited." Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Oops. Wrong coast.Oh, yes. This "Winter" you speak of. It's some type of "season", isn't it? BeachwoodKnow we know where all the old-growth forests went -- to the boardwalk at Asbury Park. Has anyone been to Asbury Park in the last 10-20 years? Boy has it gone downhill! Calling Mrs. PuffWhat's with all the boats? I couldn't be that they are intended for lifesaving. You could drown twice before they got one off the pier. No ShowI’m curious to know what all the benches are for. It would take quite a crowd to fill all of them, so what would they be watching? Baby,We were born to stroll. RaysInteresting that in 1905, almost all the men are wearing hats and the ladies are under parasols. They must have been aware of the damage the sun can do. When I get my time machine,I'm going to make the woman in front cover her arms, such boldness, then it's straight to the roller coaster. At EaseThe awesomeness of this picture makes me yearn for simpler days. Not that these folks had things easier than we but just look at the carriage on the street to the left. Can you say, "leisurely"? Where's Doc Brown when you need him. Landlocked LifeboatsWhat do you suppose those dory-like boats were doing on the boardwalk? Props for photos? Exhibits? It looks like it would be very difficult to get one of these in the water unless there was some ingenious system of pulleys whereby they could be lowered onto the beach below. I can't read the "Notice" sign...tried to enlarge it, but I'm not very good at PhotoShop. Any ideas, Shorpy Nation? [Try reading the caption! - Dave] Ahhh...the caption!Yes...now I get it. Folks on the boardwalk were supposed to use the boats instead of bicycles! Check out the expression on the gal adjacent to the stern of the first boat. I think she's heebie-jeebied by that rat on the boardwalk a few steps in front of her. Off seasonAnother clue that it is not the high summer season is that none of the men are wearing their straw boaters. In 1905, these were a strict summer ritual from May through Labor Day. Big guy advised little guyI can see you've got a hungry heart and you're on fire. Don't worry, kid, someday the name Springsteen will mean a lot to people around here. Lifeboats in winter storageNote the lack of crowds, despite it being the morning of a a sunny day. There is no one on the beach or in the water. It's clearly the off season. I'd guess that the boats were stored high and dry on the boardwalk during the winter, and moved down to the beach for the summer. Tan, anyone?I can come up with three reasons people covered themselves while strolling along the boardwalk in 1905. I don't think they were worried about skin cancer. Modesty was becoming. This is not far from the time when Brits referred to arms and legs as "limbs" so as not to raise the eyebrows of society matrons. Middle and upper-class city dwellers didn't want to look like members of the laboring classes. "Red-neck" is a modern term, but the look has been around for a long time. Back then, you didn't want to be one. See Shorpy. Tanning for white folks has only been thought a mark of beauty and health for a couple of generations. Look at how pre-WW I advertisements portrayed women's complexions. Lily-white was in. Now we're starting to wear clothes again when we walk in the sun. Plus ca change . . . Sun and parasolsIt was considered very declasse to have a "tan" -- ladies had fair skin, farm girls were tanned. The woman in the front seems to be noticing the camera. And there is a well-dressed black man near the bottom of the frame. I'm always pleasantly surprised to see how many of these old photos are integrated. The bleachers appear to be set up for a parade. This could be for the Fourth of July, a major holiday at the time, except that there is hardly anyone around. Could this have been taken in the early hours of the morning? [This looks to be early in the season. - Dave] Decisions,decisionsI wonder which the dog finally chose-- the statue or the bush. What about reading caption?Dave, I understand your reply to Gooberpea to mean that the viewer should see button for "View full size." But on my monitor the sign about warning is still illegible with enlarged view. Wouldn't a reminder about the keystrokes to zoom in on page be more appropriate? If your remark to Gooberpea was supposed to be about the boats, the question of why they are where they are, I too am given no clue by the caption. What refer you? [Sometimes I wonder about you people. - Dave] Re: Lifeboats in Winter StorageI think the boats are lowered down to the water and not carried to the beach. They look small enough to be able to be rowed out under the boardwalk. I've never been to the boardwalk, but it seems to me that it's high enough to have clearance underneath for small boats such as these. Could that be the case? PhysiquesThe Men are Portly for the most part, but the Women have those nipped waists far as the Eye can see. Something to be said for corsets. And nowI was in Asbury Park in 2008. Things are looking up. BicyclesWay down on the South Jersey shore at Wildwood, bicycles were allowed on the boardwalk until 10 a.m. Unless one was cycling in a crowded area, enforcement was pretty lenient through the forenoon. (The Gallery, Asbury Park, DPC)
Chapel Hill: 1939
Fourth of July 1939 near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. "Rural filling stations ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2012 - 2:40pm -

Fourth of July 1939 near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. "Rural filling stations become community centers and general loafing grounds. Cedargrove Team members about to play in a baseball game." Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange. View full size. cokeThis is the first time I don't see a sign for Coca-Cola Gas PriceI wish the price of gas was still 21 cents! Look at the old gas pump. That gas is not that cheapDoth sayeth The Inflation Calculator: What cost 21 cents in 1939 would cost $2.91 in 2006. Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2006 and 1939, they would cost you 21 cents and 2 cents respectively. Where are the Volvos?Seriously... I thought they always existed in Chapel Hill Re: Coke Pepsi was inventedRe: Coke Pepsi was invented in New Bern, NC, so one doesn't see nearly as many Coke signs as Pepsi in NC. That said, I don't see a Pepsi sign, either. RC but no CheerwineAt least they sell RC. But no Cheerwine? What a shame. TK www.tk42one.com Where in Chapel Hill?Anybody have any idea where in Chapel Hill this is? Loafing soon to stop!They will be off to war soon. RE: Where in Chapel Hill?It says "near" Chapel Hill, but the baseball uniforms say "Cedar Grove" which is a tiny crossroads north of Chapel Hill in Orange County, NC--Closer to Hillsborough. Poor RC ColaRC cola is the third best cola on the market. Wonder why it doesn't have a bigger marker share. RC and a Moon pie!Yum...Yum HatsI wish these hats were still fashionable for men. Even though these fellas are scruffy, they still look sharper then guy in trucker hats, message tees and jeans. Howard & SheltonTom Howard and George Shelton (see leftmost poster) had a radio program sponsored by Royal Crown Cola. In this case, they seem to have been promoting chewing tobacco, though. Route 86I'm guessing this might be off Old Highway 86. One of my relatives had a station like this, but smaller about halfway between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Rural America, Stores & Markets)
The Housewife's Friend: 1915
... & a bottle of "Mad Housewife" brand Chardonnay to a Fourth of July party this Friday! Hooray! Perhaps someone will pour it directly ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/22/2008 - 12:58am -

"Kitchen Appliance." A three-burner Alcohol Utilities stove with griddle and toaster circa 1915. View full size. National Photo Company Collection. How about a shot of Tequila, Agnes dear?Yes, please go ahead and pour me a stiff one, Ethel! They seem to have forgotten the shot glasses...I think Agnes is going to pour the shot directly into Ethel's mouth, while straddling her chair, like they do nowadays... naughty pair of minxes! Up in FlamesThat woman never cooked a day in her life I am willing to bet. If she were to light that stove, her pretty ruffled sleeve would probably be aflame within seconds. On a positive note, I'm impressed with the forward-thinking equipment. Had no idea they were that advanced in 1915. AlcoholAlcohol as a cooking fuel, I wonder if any housewives caught things on fire using it. "Gee Madge, in 90 years, something called a "George Foreman" will replace our griddle." Nom nom nom!Bacon in a jar! Poof.Just looking at the one woman with the denatured alcohol bottle and its sinister sounding name, "Pyro," alongside the other one's ruffled sleeve. This doesn't bode well. Cooking MarvelLadies! New from the Alcohol Utilities Company of New York - You, too can be a "Pyro" maniac with this wonderful alcohol fueled stove. Make your whole family's breakfast in one place: a griddle perfect for Diamond's sliced bacon, a toasting rack, with an additional burner provided for your eggs. And... it's portable ... portable ... portable. (Fake ad copy provided my imagination) AlcoholActually alcohol is relatively safe for use with a stove. Most boaters use it primarily because it doesn't explode (like propane) and a fire can be quickly doused with water. Cool HeatLooks a lot like today's Coleman stove. Is the tank in the middle used to store the alcohol? Also many people use alcohol for those little heaters under their fondue pots. Today is my Shorpy birthday!I've been a member of Shorpy for 52 weeks and 5 hours now...and I could NOT be more delighted that these "naughty pair of minxes," as Marcelle put it, are featured on this most auspicious of days! Oh, and I'm bringing veggie burgers & a bottle of "Mad Housewife" brand Chardonnay to a Fourth of July party this Friday! Hooray! Perhaps someone will pour it directly into my mouth while we saucily straddle our chairs, "like they do nowadays"! And if you act now...!We'll send you set of miracle knives free! I love this picture- the ancestor of the infomercial. PrudyReminds me of the costume Prudy was wearing in "Support Your Local Sheriff" when she did, indeed, go up in flames. Don't tell me this was before your time -- it's a classic. Another FarkThe contest results. (The Gallery, Farked, Kitchens etc., Natl Photo)
Red Robin: 1941
"Cold drinks on the Fourth of July" at the Red Robin Coffee Shop in Vale, Oregon. The year was ... table were somewhere in the Pacific by the time the next Fourth of July came around. Certainly everyone in the picture had their lives ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/08/2008 - 11:07am -

"Cold drinks on the Fourth of July" at the Red Robin Coffee Shop in Vale, Oregon. The year was 1941. Can we stay just a little longer? View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. The calm before the stormI wonder what they were all thinking, here. I'd bet at least some of them were wondering if it would be the last peaceful Independence Day for a while. Chances are, the two young men at the table were somewhere in the Pacific by the time the next Fourth of July came around. Certainly everyone in the picture had their lives change considerably. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, July 4, Russell Lee, Small Towns)
Charlestown Navy Yard: 1906
... a wee bit. Constitution Turn Around Every Fourth of July the Constitution is turned around in the harbor. In 1986 I was ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/05/2022 - 1:22pm -

Boston, 1906. "Bird's eye view of Charlestown Navy Yard." After 175 years of military service, Boston Navy Yard (originally called Charlestown Navy Yard) was decommissioned in 1974. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Series of platformsOkay, I’ll bite. What is that series of tables or platforms with horizontally-striped legs in the lower left quadrant? I was thinking maybe supports for the keel of a boat in drydock, but what to make of that one-story brick structure to their right? It would be directly in the way to the water. USS Constitution Is that the USS Constitution partially hidden behind those buildings lower center right? I have a souvenir piece of wood from the Constitution I received as a gift. Also, I have a used artillery shell casing. I understand they have to do maneuvers and fire weapons to keep it commissioned. Old IronsidesYou can just see parts of the obscured USS Constitution in the foreground. Almost hidden treasureNear the foreground, that sailing ship's bow belongs to the U.S.S. Constitution, a.k.a. Old Ironsides. The venerable frigate was undergoing restoration. Another 1906 view, (available for download courtesy of the Naval History and Heritage Command at ) shows more of the Constitution from its stern. USS Constitution (aka Old Ironsides)You can see the bow of the USS Constitution in the foreground area of the picture. This ship is the oldest commissioned naval vessel in the world. Also know as Old Iron sides as the attacking cannon balls seemed to bounce off the mostly oak sides during the Revolutionary War. It still resides in Boston and is a major tourist spot. Just this week it was announced for the first time ever a female commanding officer will take the reins in mid January 2022 PeekabooI see you, "Old Ironsides." The venerable USS Constitution, partially hidden but never invisible, just indivisible in the right side of the photo. Old IronsidesShe wasn't launched until 1794, so she didn't fight in the Revolution. Her reputation dates from the War of 1812. Drydock PumphouseThe round building in the center right of the image is still there, showing its age a wee bit. Constitution Turn AroundEvery Fourth of July the Constitution is turned around in the harbor. In 1986 I was invited to be on the ship for this. My brother in law was lead restoration and maintenance carpenter for this ship for thirty years. What a gig. He got me on the ship, it was amazing, it was pulled and guided by tugs but on the ship you didn't notice that. It was just gliding through the water. As it's turning by Moon Island they fire the cannons in salute. That ship rocked as the cannons were fired, looking up the giant masts were swaying from the force. A wow moment for sure. Interesting too, in working on the ship, my brother in law said in restoring it there were no laminated wood parts. When he needed certain wood he'd fly to Central America, into the forests there, put an "X" on a tree and say "Ship it to Charlestown". Different viewI have an album of the navy yard and nearby Chelsea naval hospital, pictures seem to be from 1875-1900. This one view seems to show the same smokestack in the center left. though I'm not entirely sure. The are many others so if you're interested let me know. USS St. Louis (C-20) in backgroundThe funnel and mast configuration of the partially obscured ship just to the right of middle is most likely the St. Louis. The other two ships in the same class were in the Pacific in 1906, based on Wikipedia. Two vessels in the right backgroundThe black-hulled vessel nearest the camera has a raked black stack with a white band. This is a freighter, as evidenced by the cluster of cargo booms on her afterdeck. Behind this black-hulled freighter is a very interesting naval vessel which has two military masts with fighting tops. She has a large gun turret on her foredeck. Her funnel has an oval cross section. This is either a pre-dreadnought battleship (BB) or more likely a Monitor (BM). I'm unable to identify her; perhaps some Shorpy Sleuth can provide an ID. Is that not the stern of the vessel to the left of the photo?They usually slide backwards coming out of drydock. I can't tell for certain but this looks like a series of drydock berths to me, with Connie in the foreground and two others to her port side. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Boston, DPC)
Made in the Shade: 1941
July 1941. Youngsters at the Fourth of July picnic in Vale, Oregon. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/08/2008 - 12:41pm -

July 1941. Youngsters at the Fourth of July picnic in Vale, Oregon. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. The Forties........when no one wore shorts. ShortsI dunno, check out the comic book -- the big blond guy with long hair (Samson?) is wearing shorts. Cotton ShirtsThat's an unusual shawl-collar shirt. Both boys' shirts are probably 100% cotton and look like they have been ironed. Note the sharp creases on comic book boy's shirt. Love those "white sidewall" haircuts! ComicWhat comic book are they reading? Yep, it's "Samson"James Lileks recently posted an unfortunately-drawn piece of cover art from the series. The hulking white girly-man in Spandex looks the same: http://lileks.com/institute/funny/07/65.html -- bloghwhoring @ http://indigestible.nightwares.com/ Crying over comicsI start crying when I think of the many comic books that I sold or threw away years ago. Adults hated them and couldn't get rid of them fast enough. Corrupting the youth of America! (The Gallery, July 4, Russell Lee, Small Towns)
Noogie Knights: 1941
July 1941. "Roughhousing at Fourth of July picnic, Vale, Oregon." Mess with the boys of the Baker ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/14/2020 - 7:31am -

July 1941. "Roughhousing at Fourth of July picnic, Vale, Oregon." Mess with the boys of the Baker Motorcycle Club at your peril. 35mm acetate negative by Russell Lee. View full size. Big goon holding your armsHow well I remember those days -- Indian burn, Pink Belly Noogies, the joys of youth. One thing you learned how to do was to fist fight. After a while enough was enough. Polio Survivor?Young Mr. Petit is wearing a leg brace, perhaps related to polio. I could be wrong and would like to know further thoughts. Forever YoungThe only Petit boy in the Baker High School yearbook is Lawrence Petit, Class of 1938. Five years to the day after this photo was taken -- July 4, 1946 -- he was killed in a motorcycle crash when a tire blew and his bike went down an embankment. (The Gallery, July 4, Motorcycles, Russell Lee, Small Towns)
Desperado: 1941
... July 1941. "Store with cap guns and fireworks for sale, Fourth of July, Vale, Oregon." 35mm acetate negative by Russell Lee for the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2020 - 12:15pm -

July 1941. "Store with cap guns and fireworks for sale, Fourth of July, Vale, Oregon." 35mm acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Regrets"If only I hadn't spent all my money on licorice twists!" I give upWhat in the world is on the front of this young man? [A dog. - Dave] Cap RollsThe "ammo" for a cap gun is a roll of red paper with small amounts of explosive powder. The smell of the smoke emitted along with the shot was part of the experience. "A dog"A plaster dog, at that. I bet his mother just loved it! Well, at least it didn't need to be housebroken. HubleyA first-rate brand. Ask the kid who owned one. Very nice inventory, I am partial to the pearl handled 1911. General Patton would not approve ... of pearl grips on a cap gun. And while I like a good Hubley, I'm a Fanner 50 man. (The Gallery, July 4, Kids, Russell Lee, Stores & Markets)
Bustling Beantown: 1906
... Italy, aboard the SS Romanic and landed in Boston on the Fourth of July, 1906. I wonder if he had time to stroll around the city a bit ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/19/2012 - 12:55pm -

Boston circa 1906. "Washington Street." On our left: National Fireworks. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Lowest rates to the West!Seems to be the downtown ticket offices for no less than 6 railroads: Grand Trunk; B & O; Canadian Pacific; Boston and Albany; Chicago; Milwaukee and St. Paul; and finally the New York, New Haven, and Hartford, who advertise the lowest rates to the west via something I can't make out. Of course they don't say you'll most likely have to go southwest through Connecticut first, but you'll get there. I love any glimpse of the New Haven's glorious script logo, but the hand-set sign above is a real treat: notice how the flourishes on the 'N,' 'Y,' 'v,' and 'f' match those in the logo. Simply wonderful. My HometownThis is my hometown. I spent a significant part of my youth in the '50s and '60s on Washington Street, shopping with Mom and later running around with my friends. Now I just study every detail and drift back to my father's youth and try to visualize the sights, sounds and smells of Boston at the turn of the 20th century. Thanks, Shorpy, for preserving this for us today. Old SouthThe vine covered tower in the background belongs to the Old South Meeting House (also called the Old South Church), built in 1729-1730. As the biggest gathering place in colonial Boston, it housed the mass meeting of December 16, 1773 that led to the Boston Tea Party. Curiously, the main entrance to the building is not through the tower, but around the corner on the broad side of the building (along Milk Street and out of the picture). Horse senseSpeaking of equine exhausts, note the advertising for Daniel's Horse Colic Cure. An essential product for the time, I suspect. Filene's BasementWhatever happened to Filene's Basement? Wilse Neat!A fireworks store right in the middle of town! Bowling and Pool right across the street. All I need now is some alcohol. If only there was a Boston Tavern nearby. Angled signsMan, I would have been afraid to walk under those angled signs hanging from the upper floors. Also, I would like to believe that the shop on the extreme right of the photo whose sign is cut off is selling fish tacos. [Alas, the original negative indicates otherwise. "Fishing Tackle," presumably. - tterrace] Street-Sweeping FashionAnother example of the strangeness of women's fashions of that day - dresses so long that two-stepping was the only way to avoid the equine exhausts found everywhere. Women must have been gathering and hiking those street sweepers all the time, yet I can't recall seeing that action on Shorpy. Wonderful tip-down signage. And isn't 50 cents/hour for pool a bit steep for those times? 100+ years laterThings have changed a bit, as one assumes O.F.C Rye"Mellowed by ten years repose in the wood." Pa was hereMy grandfather, Francesco Conte, came to America from Naples, Italy, aboard the SS Romanic and landed in Boston on the Fourth of July, 1906. I wonder if he had time to stroll around the city a bit before heading to the north shore, where he soon settled. If so, my imagination tells me this is pretty much what he saw. And coming from a small town just outside of Naples, it must have been quite a sight for a 17-year-old. Another amazing photo from my favorite website ever! Thanks. +98Below is the same view (north from Bromfield Street) from May of 2008. So many signsSo many signs to read - a wonderful image. Have you spotted Charlie Chaplin walking away from us towards the horses on the right? 50 cents per hourI agree it seems like too much for the times. It would only cost 25 cents to play 10 games at 2.5 cents a cue which is what the competition and the parlor in question is also charging. Blueprints Gone The Way of Horse Colic CureThe Makepeace Blueprints sign advertises the services of B.L. Makepeace, a firm still in the architecture and engineering reprographics business. The "fish tacos" stand may well be Stoddard's, another firm still in business but just in cutlery and other carriage trade products. Filene's b'mentwilso127- If you want to see what became of Filene's Basement do an internet search for "Filene's Hole". I bike/walk past every day on my way to work. It's a sad state of affairs for what was a true Boston icon. (The Gallery, Boston, DPC, Streetcars)
One Nation Indivisible: 1941
... during the Pledge of Allegiance (radio program) on the Fourth of July." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/24/2008 - 12:00am -

July 1941. "Citizens of Vale, Oregon take off their hats during the Pledge of Allegiance (radio program) on the Fourth of July." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. Interesting poseInteresting pose for holding one's hat. I'm sure there was no malicious intent meant. Man With HatThe Finger! Hear hear. I memorized itHear hear. I memorized it before those other two words were added. And I still like it much better that way. From the looks of thatFrom the looks of that finger, particularly the knuckles, he may very well have had trouble bending it, I know mine looks a bit like that and it's quite painful to bend. It's also swollen compared to the rest so he may have been recovering from an accident or infection. Life before the red menace!One Nation Indivisible, With Liberty and Justice For All. America before McCarthyism. AmenWe won WWI... We won WWII... I went to high school... (my father did not) I fought in WWII... I purchased a home... (my father did not) I put my kids thru college (I did not) All with out those two words... But I remember when in history class "E pluribus unum" was referred to as "our motto" and we sang "My country,' tis of thee, sweet land of liberty... I am an old codger near 92 but I feel we lost something, where is Thomas Jefferson when we need him? The FingerI wondered if I would be the only one who noticed the guy giving the photographer the finger. We started including "under God" when I was in the third grade. Confused us a little. I don't think any of us really fully knew that we were indeed pledging our allegiance to the U.S.A. It was rote to recite daily, before classes. (The Gallery, July 4, Russell Lee, Small Towns)
Vegetable Men: 1908
... of vodka. Really kicks it up a notch. Very popular at Fourth of July picnics. BAM!! Changes Boy have our veggies changed. Are ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 10:54pm -

Richmond, Virginia, circa 1908. "Sixth Street Market (typical vegetable men)." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Sixth StreetIs still an historic area, just a few blocks from the Capitol and not far from the river and Carey Street. Some of the streets down that way still have cobblestones. The Other Street ProduceI suppose if you're naming the produce you have to include the road apples as well. BigAre those watermelons in the front? They sure grew them far larger than you can get today. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.At first glance I thought someone crashed the cart with merchandise. What an odd way to sell food. Don't forget to wash your vegetables before cooking! Danger MelonWe have a procedure down here that involves one of those big green melons and a fifth of vodka. Really kicks it up a notch. Very popular at Fourth of July picnics. BAM!! ChangesBoy have our veggies changed. Are those acorn squash behind the watermelons? I used to love real watermelon. Remember the kind that was red and crumbly with tons of black seeds and FLAVOUR? Not those sickly pink watery things that you can get now. Really BigLook at the size of that corn! I wonder . . . Where Erwin thinks his veggies come from. No matter where you buy them, they all grow in dirt. [Not necessarily -- many vegetables are grown hydroponically. If you buy fresh tomatoes, chances are at least some have come from giant dirtless greenhouses in Maine or Canada. - Dave] Re: BigThe vendor's advertising agency told him putting melons closer to the camera makes them look real big. Compare the size of the cobblestones near them with those behind the wood crate. WatermelonsPeople don't want the big ones today. They don't fit conveniently in the fridge. If you want to get ones bigger than around eight pounds, or seeded melons (which taste better), you have to grow them yourself or find a really good farmer's market. Life expectancy in 1908Men: 49.5 years. Women: 52.8 years. Food sanitation probably had something to do with that. [A statistical note: That's life expectancy at birth, a number that reflects the high infant mortality of the era. Life expectancy for people who survived childhood gives numbers that are quite a bit higher. - Dave] Big melonsThose watermelons are bigger than the typical melon sold in (U.S. anyhow) markets today, but that's a deliberate thing. Grocers have found that they can sell a whole lot more watermelon (and charge a higher price per pound) when the melons are smaller. Lots of time people want "some watermelon" but they don't necessarily want 40 pounds of it in their fridges. You can still buy (or grow yourself) big watermelons. In my opinion, most of the watermelons sold today are varieties selected for lack of seeds and size. These factors dominate and taste comes a (very) distant third. Seedless melons have been a very bad thing. Are they seedless ? We get watermelons as large as that but I doubt they are seedless. It seems the man has a smaller amount of veggies. But then maybe that's all he grows. Arsenic and Old ApplesThis was back when fruit crops and potato fields were sprayed with substances like Paris green, lead arsenate and copper sulfate. Wash 'em good! (The Gallery, DPC, Horses, Richmond, Stores & Markets)
High Tension: 1941
July 1941. "Kids' tug-of-war at the Fourth of July celebration at Vale, Oregon." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/19/2018 - 1:38pm -

July 1941. "Kids' tug-of-war at the Fourth of July celebration at Vale, Oregon." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Noise Payette Lumber Company Vale is close to Idaho where we find said lumber company. [Is Noise near Boise? - Dave] Stupid spell check;) Boys Will Be BoysBoise will be Noise. Still a big dealThe high fence (with barbed wire at the top) suggests this occurred in Vale's rodeo arena. For over a century Vale has hosted a four-day rodeo that concludes on July 4, complete with parades, concessions and races. It just occurred to me:In a mêlée or a scrum, don't mix barefoot/stocking with boots. That could hurt the footwearwise challenged participants. (The Gallery, July 4, Kids, Russell Lee, Small Towns, Sports)
Harry's Villa: 1901
... yesterday. That tree stand must be for watching the Fourth of July parade. BTW, is that Buster Brown standing on the railing??? ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2013 - 3:45pm -

Mississippi circa 1901. "Harry's Villa, Bay St. Louis." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Simply grandI love this photo. How wonderful. I have never seen a picture of such a well dressed crowd looking so casual. If you could step back in time and just land here, it wouldn't be so bad to hang around for a day. "Buster Brown"I expect Buster's name was either Beauregard or Leroy! TextureSuch an interesting shot. I love all the texture from the tree, roof, and dirt. The people are interesting too. Like the little boy on the railing and the zonked out guy in the hammock. Carbide lampThe bike "horn" that one person noted is a headlight powered by carbide pellets and water mixed to create a gas and then lit (like early mining lamps). Very cool photo that is now my desktop wallpaper. Love it! A beautiful and lost timeMost of Bay St. Louis appears to have been swept away by Katrina. Almost all of the beachfront lots are still empty, with nothing but slabs, or front steps leading to houses that no longer exist. Shady Rest"There's Uncle Joe, he's a movin' kinda slow, on the hammock." I Wonderhow many more years went by before that tree crushed Harry's Villa? Arboreal TemptationI'm sure any of Harry's younger guests would have been tempted immediately by that tree. Good ole Harry even provided a platform to make it up to the first level. I wonder how many took on the challenge before the yelling and running around got started. Hanging outEveryone looks so front-and-center for their photo op, except for the fellow in the hammock, who couldn't be bothered. I'm just wild about Harryand his villa, but can't find any info on it. Another copy of this picture is located on the Hancock County MSGenWeb site, but sans remarks. It is quite a nice little 19c Greek cottage, and I love the tree "house." The good old daysI love the bicycles, especially the one leaning under the platform surrounding the beautiful tree. Check out the horn! [As noted above, that's a headlamp. - Dave] Takes my breath away.This image is just plain fantastic. From the vintage bicycles to the fantastic clothing modeled by some easy going town folk. An instant in time captured that seems like so long ago, but looks like it was taken only yesterday. That tree stand must be for watching the Fourth of July parade. BTW, is that Buster Brown standing on the railing??? Amazing photo!The house looks like a facsimile of the Jefferson Davis House - Beauvoir - over in Biloxi about 30 miles away. The seating area around the tree is called a "Shoo-Fly" - it was built up off the ground so that in the evening people could sit (and smooch?) above the ground and avoid the low flying mosquitoes, gnats, and flies that are fairly pervasive during the warm summer months. Wonderful placeBay St. Louis, Biloxi, Gulport, Waveland - all along the Mississippi Gulf Coast a lot of these houses were owned by families from New Orleans who stayed there in the summer to escape the worst of the heat and humidity in the city - at least you had the breezes off the Gulf. My father's parents had a house in Gulfport on the beach, and Dad talked about how my grandmother, his sisters and he would go stay there in the summer. My grandfather would stay in New Orleans, and come out to Gulfport on the weekends, taking the train that used to run regularly from N.O. along the towns on the Gulf. This was back in the 1940's. People had been vacationing there since the 19th century. When I was a kid in the 1970's my parents and I would sometimes stay on the weekends at a house in Bay St. Louis which was owned by cousins of very good family friends of ours, when it was loaned to them. The house had originally been built in the 1880's. It was a big Queen Anne house, originally a third of an even more enourmous house. During some earlier hurricane, the center of the house was heavily damaged, so the center was torn down, and two houses made out of the left and right portions. Considering the remaining houses were not THAT close to each other, and were both sizeable themselves, the original must have been truly gigantic. I remember 12'-14' ceilings, floor to ceiling windows, wallpaper that must have been from the 30's, no AC, huge screened porches with swings, thinking back on it now. The house was sold 30 years ago, and completely renovated by the new owners-I passed by it about 10 years ago. It was destroyed in Katrina, as were all the places around it. WealthAnother thing that I haven't seen commented on (yet) is that this family is probably very well off financially. The title itself loosely implies this is a home away from home. Also everyone has shoes on (odd for this time period for younger children). And that kid on the railing is quite plump. All these little things add up to... Harry's done well for himself. It's just an observation... nothing else should be taken from it. [This is most likely a boardinghouse for vacationers. - Dave] Note the Spanish MossNote the Spanish Moss hanging on the tree in the upper left of this photo; this is a good representative example for those of y'all not familiar with it. Well before Katrina, Camille devastated this area in 1969. Until then, US Highway 90 between Pascagoula and Bay St Louis was one of the prettiest scenic drives in US, with old large houses, many antebellum, white fences, and large oaks with spanish moss on one side, and white sandy beaches on the other side. --- Just a hop, skip, and jump along the coast east of Bay St Louis: https://www.shorpy.com/node/6834 https://www.shorpy.com/node/6834 https://www.shorpy.com/node/6230 https://www.shorpy.com/node/5717 https://www.shorpy.com/node/4617 https://www.shorpy.com/node/3699 https://www.shorpy.com/node/3698 https://www.shorpy.com/node/733 No PeekingIs that a modesty panel inside the railing around the Shoo-Fly? I should imagine that a glimpse of an ankle or (heaven forbid) a leg would be quite unseemly during this time period. Wouldn't want anyone at sidewalk level to see anything they shouldn't. (The Gallery, Bicycles, DPC, Travel & Vacation)
Goatmobile: 1922
July 4, 1922. Takoma Park, Maryland. "Fourth of July celebration." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/25/2012 - 6:54pm -

July 4, 1922. Takoma Park, Maryland. "Fourth of July celebration." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. If gas gets much higher......this is how I'll be getting to work. (Come to think of it, goats could trim my lawn and help me make my own goat cheese; Billy & Nanny are looking pretty good right now!) (The Gallery, Animals, July 4, Kids, Natl Photo)
Wrapped in the Flag: 1917
... Opera. And on that high note, Shorpy wishes you a Happy Fourth of July! View full size. Stella Today is my mom’s birthday ... daughter Stella. Happy birthday, Mom, and happy Fourth of July, all you American Shorpy followers. (The Gallery, G.G. Bain, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/04/2014 - 10:01am -

New York, 1917. The American soprano Marcia Van Dresser, who participated in War Bond and patriotic programs at the Metropolitan Opera. And on that high note, Shorpy wishes you a Happy Fourth of July! View full size. StellaToday is my mom’s birthday (age 86), and because her Brooklyn-born mother loved the stars and stripes so much she named her Canadian-born daughter Stella. Happy birthday, Mom, and happy Fourth of July, all you American Shorpy followers. (The Gallery, G.G. Bain, July 4, Patriotic, WWI)
Fish Fry: 1940
1940. "Farm family having Fourth of July fish fry along the Cane River near Natchitoches, Louisiana." ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/05/2019 - 12:06pm -

1940. "Farm family having Fourth of July fish fry along the Cane River near Natchitoches, Louisiana." Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size. TaggableWow! I think this one would qualify for inclusion in the "pretty girls" category! That Face Jump ahead 79 years and she'd be on the cover of a magazine. [Modern Maturity? - Dave] Oh, My!She's special! And probably a redhead, which makes her even more special. Is That Cornbread?Yum. If it is, it will be homemade and not out of a packet. When I first went to dinner at my in-laws' house, they served cornbread, homemade in the oval cast iron pan that allowed for individual cornbread Twinkies shaped goodness. It was made from scratch by my mother-in-law who hailed from Kentucky, and it was the best tasting new thing I had since I arrived in the states. Now I have a wife who carries on the tradition passed down to the generations of her family. Missing SidesI hope there are also hush puppies and grits on the menu, otherwise it can't be a legit fish fry. Points for the cornbread though. Keeping it glassyI love the way she's holding that beautiful glass so delicately, as if she were seated at a sumptuous table in the dining room of a mansion rather than in a humble field. Her handsome male companion has a distinctive everyman quality about him, but she looks as though she could have been a model or a movie star. Fortunately for her, she wasn't. Father and daughterIf you look closely at their faces, especially the lines round the mouth, the nose and the head shape, it seems the fellow on the right is her dad. She looks about 17 or 18 years old. Her hands show signs that she has already put in years of work on the farm. I bet they caught the fish from the canal behind them, probably catfish, which with Cajun seasoning is a divine repast. Jessica ChastainSomeone’s gotta say it. Laughs GaloreI've enjoyed Dave's witty commentary for over 8 years, but the reply to Fitz got me really rolling. Once I got normal again, I went straight to Patreon and signed up. This place is just too great to pass up. Thanks Dave. [Thank YOU! - Dave] (The Gallery, July 4, M.P. Wolcott, Pretty Girls, Rural America)
And a Dog Named Gyp: 1922
... would not even look up to watch a fireworks display on the Fourth of July. Like Mom always said, "it takes all kinds." I sort of feel ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 10:34pm -

May 2, 1922. Washington, D.C. "Something new in auto tops. George R. Wharff of Old Orchard Beach, Maine, and Joseph Fossard returning from Florida. When they lost their top, they thatched it with palm leaves, which seem to answer every purpose. Gyp, their companion on the trip, has traveled 10,000 miles on the front fender as shown in the picture." National Photo glass negative. View full size. The CarCirca 1917 Chevrolet Model 490. Some interesting things to note are the toolbox on the running board and accessory spotlight. It must be hot because the upper portion of the windshield is opened for "air conditioning." There is evidence of accidents if you look at the wrinkled front fenders, and the headlight lenses are two different brands. From Maine to Florida and back would have been quite a trip in 1922. Me and YouI remember to this day the bright red Georgia clay. And how it stuck to the tires after a summer rain. Jacksonville Spuds? I can't quite make out what is written on the car just below the driver's side windshield. It looks like it could be "Jacksonville Spuds".....maybe our intrepid travelers are potato farmers back home? As a side note, I'll bet that Gyp was an awfully good dog! I've Got a Lovely Bunch of CoconutsEight reasons I love this photo. 1. Everyone has a hat (except Gyp). 2. The car owner doesn't much believe in tire tread. 3. He also doesn't believe in washing his one and only window. 4. Rather than take a half step behind the fellow with the pipe, the guy back there has his back to the camera. Don't see THAT often. 5. Wish they weren't all blocking the great vaudeville info behind them. 6. They aren't telling the truth about losing the car top. It is right there under the thatch. You can see it. 7. But then it is also hard to believe they really had a dog ride 10,000 miles on a fender. 8. And what is with the coconuts the guy in the back is holding? CosmosI would like to know the location of the photo, evidently a theater with "continuous vaudeville shows". Could the theater name be Cosmos, as in Cosmos club? [This is the Cosmos Theater, 921 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. - Dave] Seeing the USAHe's been seeing the USA in his Chevrolet -- about 33 years before we heard Dinah Shore tell us to do it. Spot the nonconformistWith his back to the camera in spite of all the fanfare and hoopla over the thatched roof and photo op. I was once with a "different drummer" type who would not even look up to watch a fireworks display on the Fourth of July. Like Mom always said, "it takes all kinds." I sort of feel sorry for Gyp the dog. His face is frozen into a kind of permanent, flies-in-the-eyes squint. He must have been mighty hot lying next to that engine. And last of all, how much coconut can one person eat? Where's the crank?I can't see the crank lever up front; was it detachable, or those early Chevys already had electric starters? Blessedly lost in thoughtI just spent the last half hour in total oblivion, completely lost in my own head, imagining these two fellas,who sure seem friendly enough, telling this crowd all about their trip,their palm-top auto,their coconut collection and their good dog Gyp. And that's why I so dearly love Shorpy. PosterOh how I wish I knew who the vaudevillian with the saxophone on the poster was! Sax posterIf I didn't know better, I'd say it was Groucho Marx. Red Green and his nephew Haroldwould have looked about like these guys in 1922. The palm leaves were the period equivalent of duct tape. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Dogs, Natl Photo)
Potato Polo: 1941
... 1941. "Getting potatoes from bucket in potato race at the Fourth of July celebration in Vale, Oregon." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/13/2021 - 2:45pm -

July 1941. "Getting potatoes from bucket in potato race at the Fourth of July celebration in Vale, Oregon." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. That's a Girl!!!... on the left! Mixing it up with the boys and quite possibly showing them "how it's done". (The Gallery, Horses, July 4, Russell Lee, Small Towns)
Hot Truck: 1967
... 7, vintage 1964 Van Pelt/GMC, seen here leading the 1967 Fourth of July Parade, driven by Fire Captain (later Chief 1968-82) Craig ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 01/26/2014 - 12:13am -

Admit it: you want one. At the very least you want to drive it. Play with the siren and red lights. Wait -- OMG! Is that a water cannon?!?!? Larkspur (California) Fire Department Engine No. 7, vintage 1964 Van Pelt/GMC, seen here leading the 1967 Fourth of July Parade, driven by Fire Captain (later Chief 1968-82) Craig Shurtz. This is the 300 block of Magnolia Avenue, just down the hill from our house. Kodachrome slide by me. View full size. Adios, PontiacOn the first day that the Pontiac brand is officially dead, a tip of the hat to the little Tempest convertible at far left. Did Armor-All for tires exist back then? Toyopet DealershipSo that would be the street view for the place where you got the pic of the red Toyopet, seen in this photo? re: Toyopet DealershipYep, that's the one, and the used car lot is the same one in this shot. Regarding Armor-All, as a kid I always wondered how that dealer got the tires on his used cars so black and shiny, this back in the 50s. I thought it looked so cool. Armor-All apparently didn't come around until 1962, so there must have been something else he used. A little unfortunate history about this truck, or its duplicate the Department acquired in 1967. See the guy hanging onto the bar in the back? Sometime in the early 70s, this or the other truck, while responding to a call, glanced against a curb while speeding down Magnolia Ave. and it rolled, killing one of the volunteers so positioned. After that, they were forbidden from riding like that. Shorpy Fire BrigadeClassic fire-fighting apparatus are a wonderful sub-genre of Shorpy. Thanks to tterrace for sharing this Kodachrome image of a 1964 Van Pelt/GMC in our new favorite small-town, Larkspur, CA! A few previous posts of Shorpy Fire Engines. Couple Gear Tractor, 1913. Champion Water Tower, 1914. American LaFrance Metropolitan Steamer, 1916. ToplessLousy truck to drive in a rainstorm. OyotaI see you could have crossed the street to see some exotic little Toyotas, too. I wonder what became of this classic firetruck. I haven't seen an open-cab unit in many decades. Water CannonThe "water cannon" is called a monitor. They're handy for fast delivery of water without having to lay hose, or after all the hose is already stretched. And yes, driving or riding the fire truck to a fire with lights and siren on is a total rush. I did it for eleven years. The men and women I worked with were the salt of the earth, and some of the finest people I have ever known. And we were very, very proud of our equipment. I spent many a Saturday morning washing our trucks even though my poor wife couldn't bestir me to wash our own cars or cut the grass. Mine has a full cab!What a surprise to see the same base frame fire truck I bought just this last June!! 1967 GMC 9500 series with a American Fire Apparatus ladder body on it. 65 foot Grove Ladder truck with a duel stage Barton pump. 637 CI gas V-8 and a five speed transmission. Hope this link works to show you a picture. Thanks Shorpy, this is a great thing that you do!! Red is bestNow the trucks are white with a yellow stripe. Boring! I liked the red ones with real chrome much better. Black Plate SpecialCalifornia license plates were black with yellow letters and numbers up until 1970, when the black turned blue. It was right around this time that personalized plates first became available. Nowadays, they're just boring white with black fonts. So clean!I had something similar in 1967 (I was 5, smaller size obviously). And they're white and yellow now? Still red here in the UK. Home-brew Armor-AllBack in the early '70s my brother taught me a neat trick that always made our dad's car look clean with really nicely black tires: a mixture of equal parts water and glycerine, applied to the rubber surfaces with a paintbrush, and then finished with a damp cloth. Very inexpensive. Made the tires look as if they had been covered in today's Armor-All -- for a couple of hours, at least. Later in that decade, some entrepreneurial guy came with the idea of selling "tire paint," which was pretty much a mixture of glycerine and black paint that you applied directly to the rubber. Those had two rather odd consequences: your tires actually *shone* under the light, and the paint tended to create small cracks on the rubber surface over time. Think of it as the kind of liquid shoe polish they sell (or sold?) for when you're in a hurry. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, tterrapix)
Summer Games: 1941
July 1941. "Spectators at kids' contests at the Fourth of July celebration in Vale, Oregon." Medium format acetate negative by ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/19/2018 - 1:30pm -

July 1941. "Spectators at kids' contests at the Fourth of July celebration in Vale, Oregon." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee. View full size. De-ColorizationThis could be a black and white photo of a Norman Rockwell painting. (Not really, of course). Fantastic image! Dad in the CrowdI've been following Shorpy for 8 years or so, and have carefully viewed every one of Russell Lee's Vale photos you've posted through the years, searching for my family. My parents moved to Vale in 1939 as newlyweds, and I kept hoping to catch a glimpse of my mom or dad or even my older sister, who would have been 18 months old in July of 1941. I was 3 years old when my family left Vale in 1954, so I have no memory of any of their friends or neighbors, so couldn't identify anyone else in those memorable photos. But today I was so excited to finally see a familiar face: my dad, front and center in this group photo. My first clue (because I didn't spot him right away for some reason) was the Boy Scout to his right. Dad was Scoutmaster in Vale for many years, and that row of boys may have been his Scouts. In a year or two, during the War, Dad would become the young mayor of Vale. I wish he were still alive so I could show this to him! The photo on the right is my folks' wedding photo, taken in 1939, for comparison. He was 24 years old. (Click to enlarge) (The Gallery, July 4, Kids, Russell Lee, Small Towns)
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