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From All of Us: 1921
... the Civilian Conservation Corps, and Raymond D. Dickey, of Arlington County, a public relations counsel; and a daughter Mrs. Alice D. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/29/2014 - 1:44pm -

Washington, D.C. "Dickey Christmas tree, 1921." Our annual holiday card featuring the family of lawyer Raymond Dickey, who has a decade's worth of Christmases preserved in the archives of the National Photo Co. View full size. Different treesWow. It never ceases to amaze me how different Christmas trees looked back in the day. I don't mean the decorations, I mean the actual shape of the tree. Is it because they were just chopped from somewhere by the homeowners? Or maybe there is a species that has been developed for mass consumption today? I don't mean any disparagement on Mr. Dickey's tree because it looks like it was lovingly decorated, which is the whole idea. It's just that the shape is so strange to me and I've seen it in other pictures of that era that have been posted here that I'm curious. Conical ChristmasThis photo makes me wonder - When did the current "pointy triangle" Christmas tree become popular? Did a bill collector just enter the room?Again, a scrawny tree with no lights. Doesn't look like a happy family, and what could they be staring at? [Look again. There are lights all over this tree. - Dave] Perfection is relativeI've observed that in old photos of plain and poorly shaped women as well as poorly shaped Christmas trees, many viewers raise the subject of appearance. We had trees like this when I was young, usually because Dad always got one that was way too tall and we had to cut off to fit it in the room. We had one as recently as about 20 years ago that looked like a giant tumbleweed, rather shapeless and sparse. However, in defense of such trees, my son pointed out that such spareness of greenery made the ornaments much more important, visible and spotlighted the outstanding beauty of decorations such as these, while the lush, bushy trees often obscure the ornaments. I notice that this year there is a "Charlie Brown Tree" for sale which is basically a very sparse branch on a thin, wispy trunk with only one ornament on the single branch, as in the cartoon. As kids, we loved our skimpy, roundish, scanty Christmas tree (just as God made it) and found it magically beautiful. Perhaps growing up and becoming "sophisticated" makes us see faults instead of beauty? Just look at these magnificent ornaments. May your best ever Christmas holiday be exceeded this year. May Shorpy continue to gain fans and prosper. TriangularIt's spruces that are conical. This looks like pine. The smell of ChristmasAh, what wonderful holiday memories; the aroma of evergreen needles and Daddy's cigar smoke in my face. Reflections on an OrnamentDo you have a bigger version of the bauble above the girl's head? I'd love to see the rest of this room (and maybe the photographer?). Ornaments of days gone byChristmas tree shots like this always throw me into a temporal disconnect; these are the exact kind of ornaments I grew up with in the 1950s. And I'll bet this tree looked fantastic in color and in normal, rather than exploding flash powder light. Christmas VacationThis is definitely a Clark Griswold tree. I only wonder where cousin Eddie is. Modern Tree TastesThat tree is fabulous. I think back in the day, especially if you didn't live somewhere fairly close to a supply of ideal, cone-shaped firs or cedars, you pretty much settled for whatever healthy-looking pine or cedar-like tree you could find. Also, keep in mind that today's Christmas tree farms prune the trees every year to make sure they maintain the ideal cone shape. Let 'em run wild and they wouldn't be so perfect, and probably more sparsely limbed. When I was a kid ('70's), before there were any tree farms around, we would just go out in some of our or a relative's woods & find a young juniper & pull it out of the woods. Love this treeThis is more than a Christmas tree. This is Christmas tree as art installation. I love the fact that it nearly takes over the room and that there is room to breathe between the branches that allows the ornaments and ropes of glass balls to be draped and displayed in all their glory. This is the kind of tree my grandparents always had--very big and wide and decorated with the exact same ornaments. The only thing missing is Angel Hair (was it actually fiber glass?). My grandmother went through a big angel hair period before she moved on to tinsel. Too bad all the trees nowadays look exactly the same-perfectly shaped and boring, and too thick to truly decorate and dress to the nines. Alice Dickey ThompsonIts a bit hard to believe from this photo, but the teenager on the right, young Miss Alice Dickey, is destined to be the Editor and Publisher of Seventeen Magazine and Executive Editor of Glamour Magazine. I'm still hunting for a later photo of her. Some Links from the web: Time Magazine, 1949 Time Magazine, 1950 Women's periodicals in the United States: consumer magazines Washington Post, Apr 2, 1940 Rites for Raymond B. Dickey, Lawyer, to Be Held Tomorrow Funeral rites for Raymond B. Dickey, 62, dean of faculty of the Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Banking and a prominent attorney, will be at 2 p.m. tomorrow at Deal funeral home, 4812 Georgia avenue northwest. Burial will be in Cedar Hill Cemetery ... A native of Harpers Ferry, W. Va., Mr. Dickey was educated at Georgetown University where he was awarded an LL.D. degree in 1899 and his LL.M. the following year. At the time of his death he was general counsel for the Civilian Conservation Corps. For many years he taught the bills and notes course at the banking institute. With his son, J. Maxwell Dickey, he maintained offices in the National Press Building. He made his home at 1702 Kilbourne street northwest. ... Besides his son, J. Maxwell Dickey, he leaves his wife, Mrs. Rose M. Dickey; two other sons, Granville E., chief statistician of the Civilian Conservation Corps, and Raymond D. Dickey, of Arlington County, a public relations counsel; and a daughter Mrs. Alice D. Thompson, of California and New York City, the editor of Glamour Magazine. According to the 1920 Census, those pictured here are: Raymond B., 43 Rose M., 40 Alice E., 13 John M., 9 Raymond R., 3 The census also lists an older son, Granville E., 18. [Note: ages are based on those listed in 1920 census plus one.] Boat Ornaments!I love the viking boat ornaments! I feel inspired to make some for my own tree. Charlie Brown Christmas treeI still get flack over this straggly tree, but it remains my favorite, because I took my three-year-old son into the woods and he helped me select cut, haul, erect and decorate it. Beautiful photo!I love this picture. The Christmas tree looks as though it's been lovingly decorated by everybody in the family without notions of "the perfect tree." As someone who is (not by choice) alone on Christmas, I wish I could join them! OrnamentalismI recognize quite a few of these glass ornaments from our own trees of my childhood. We had some of the Santa ones and quite a number of the various balls. As well as birds with the spun glass tails. My favorite was always the crane with the long neck and beak. They clipped onto the branch on a spring. Over the years we lost many of them and the last went when a friend, well known for his clumsiness) was helping put up the tree and sat on the box of ornaments. Who is that man in the ornament?Look at the silver ball over Alice's head. Looks like a man seated with a dog. Clouded PupilsWhy are the pupils of the two bottom kids clouded? Maybe the shutter speed was just slow enough to get a blink in there? [The "clouded" or "zombie" look is a characteristic of flash powder photography, where there was usually no mechanism for synchronizing the exposure and flash. The photo catches the subjects' eyes both open and closed because the exposure is slightly longer than it needs to be. With the advent of flashbulbs and electrical synchronization of shutter and flash, the exposure generally ends before the flash triggers the blink reflex. In the early days of "flashlight" photography, shutter speed wasn't a factor because there was no shutter, or the shutter wasn't used. The lens cap was removed from the camera, the flash was ignited, then the lens cap was replaced. - Dave] Beginning to See the LightsI think the "Viking boat ornament" may have been a balloon with a sail, as in a Jules Verne illustration. Thanks, Dave, I now see the lights—how could I have missed them? Buety is In the eye of the beholderI don't think there is such a thing as a bad looking Christmas tree. I am often amazed by comments made to the contrary. Nowadays so many times the word "tradition" leaves little to the imagination. Some of the most memorable Christmas trees of my past looked a lot less ornate than this tree by far but they were perfect on our eyes. Back in the early 60's we used to string cranberries and popcorn to put on our tree. [Something tells me you haven't seen Buety lately. - Dave] Good Luck!I think I've spotted the Christmas Pickle! "Village of the Damned," anyone?Even with an explanation, those kids are pretty creepy. Tree Full of HeirloomsLet's hope the kids of these kids are still putting the same beautiful ornamants on their trees this Christmas. Connections, connections...Alice probably edited the Glamour magazine seen hanging in the newsstand in last week's "Zines": https://www.shorpy.com/node/7233 It's amazing how things here are connected. I'll be darned. After reading the tip about Alice growing up to be an editor, I pulled out my trusty copy of Seventeen Magazine from November 1946 from my desk drawer (doesn't everyone have one stored there?)...and sure enough, there she was! What a cool connection. Tree FarmingI'm not sure how long Christmas tree farming has been a business, but I suspect it wasn't during this family's lifetime. These days it can be profitable business, but while it isn't exactly regulated, with rules as to the sort of trees that can be grown, there are preferred types. According to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the preferred types are White Pine, White Spruce, Scots Pine, Balsam Fir, Blue Spruce and Fraser Fir. The trees are pruned for shape and to increase foliage density. I suspect that none of this happened to this tree. Someone probably just went out into the woods and cut down the scraggly runt trees that didn't look like they'd ever amount to anything went it came to lumbering. Then they shipped them off to the city where they'd cost a pretty penny to the buyers and supplement the lumber company's bottom line. I'm guessing these folks got the best of what was available and were damned pleased to get it. Not only does he smoke in the house,but he can't put it down for the Christmas photo. I am assuming that the Dickey family had these made but didn't send them out in Christmas cards ...after all the invention of the refrigerator magnet was decades in the future. Old Clothes?This is one of those photos you can look at in hi-def and notice more and more. This family is obviously prosperous -- it's a huge tree and elaborately decorated, if not in the current shape fashion,also note the train set-so WTH- Mom's in her oldest skirt with stuff crammed in her pocket,junior has holes in his stockings and something safety-pinned to the front of his shirt and the future glamour editor looks decidedly unglamorous. Even given the limitations of flash photography at the time, these people don't look happy,and even in 1921 people had plenty of experience with Kodaks and snapshots and knew how to smile for a picture. Here Mom looks deranged, Dad looks like he's threatening the terrified looking child on his knee, and the two older kids look like they can't wait to get out of there. Merry Christmas! Shorpy on TVI did a double-take during last night's Daily Show with Jon Stewart. An altered version of this photo appeared during a segment entitled Obama's Socialist Christmas Ornament Program. Either it's a remarkable coincidence or someone at the Daily Show is reading Shorpy. (The Gallery, Christmas, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo, The Dickeys)
13 Inch Lunch: 1942
... the west side of Grand Prairie before the city limits of Arlington on the way to Fort Worth. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/23/2022 - 3:14pm -

January 1942. "Roadside stand -- U.S. Highway 80, Texas, between Dallas and Fort Worth." Acetate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Office of War Information. View full size. No trace of any of this nowThere is about 30 miles separating downtowns Fort Worth and Dallas. This could have been pretty much anywhere along the way. Interstate 30 replaced the part U.S. Highway 80 headed west out of Dallas. Texas Highway 180 follows what was U. S. Highway 80 west of Loop 12. Either way, it's nearly nonstop development between Dallas and Fort Worth now. I remember, in my youth, people commenting that the best thing about Pearl Beer, brewed in San Antonio, was it was cheap. A 13 inch hot dog sounds really ... filling, especially with a bun and toppings. Reminds me that September 30th the month-long annual State Fair of Texas opens and every year there is a new, deep-fried offering. This year it's a doh-muff. It's not the strangest, nor the least heathy deep-fried thing they've come up with. All kinds of sandwiches!I see on the list they have the Ruby and further down I see they have the Carousel Club! Wow, they do have a variety! Pearl Beer? Really? Just the name says "tastes bad" to me. Marketing genius comes in all grades. Brings Back MemoriesBut memory is a fleeting thing at my age. If I remember correctly Sivils Drive In where I misspent a lot of my youth was where Commerce or Fort Worth Ave merged with Davis or Highway 80. If one continued down Davis it crossed Loop 12 and continued into Grand Prairie and passed Yello Belly Drag strip. After that it became Main Street until outside Grand Prairie it was called Highway 80 again. I think this photo was taken on the west side of Grand Prairie before the city limits of Arlington on the way to Fort Worth. https://flashbackdallas.com/2015/12/03/sivils-drive-in-an-oak-cliff-inst... (xXx) (xXx)Gotta love, and wonder about, the (xXx) (xXx) on the front of the Pearl Beer truck. Safety FirstYup, safety first when smoking ... call for Philip Morris! That has to be the best sign. Makeshift NeonThis establishment would have stood out at night, since neon tubing is in evidence. At the peak of the roof is the word BEER, and below it HAMBURGERS. The perimeter of the roof and the eaves are outlined in neon, and the hanging sign also has tubing on it. The transformer for the building neon appears to be behind the centre Royal Crown sign, since that is where the tubing ends. I'm not sure if the "extension cord" hanging out the window is the source of power for all this or not. If it wasn't misspent, it wasn't a youthFulltimer, your memory is very good. I looked at the link you provided, and the Sivils Drive-in was where you remember. Your references are correct as far as I can tell. I also need to change my earlier comment about Interstate 30 replacing U. S. 80 because now I see that from Loop 12 in Dallas to Interstate 35W in Fort Worth, State Highway 180 follows the old routing of U.S. Route 80. A onetime favorite beer.During my five-month career as an enlisted man at Fort Hood in 1964, I drank more than my share of Pearl Beer. It was my first choice among the brands being sold at the PX. Then I shipped to Europe and my whole perspective changed. I like to tell people my mission in the Army, with a little help from some buddies, was to deplete the supply of beer in southwest Germany. Somehow we came up a bit short. xXx originsFrom Wikipedia: "The triple-X logo has long been associated with Pearl. In fact, it was used at the brewery even before Pearl beer became synonymous with the company. When the San Antonio Brewing Association bought the City Brewery and opened it for business in the 1880s, they used the triple Xs in the brewery's logo." "Many people wonder where the Xs came from, and how were they ever used on beer. In truth, the three Xs are actually a quality rating system. The system was initially used in Europe during the 16th Century. As European royalty traveled their lands and visited neighboring counties, a royal courier was sent ahead of the official party. The courier's job was to sample beer at inns along the way. If the beer was only average, the courier would mark the inn's sign or door with a single X. If the inn's beer was deemed good, the sign or door would receive two Xs. A mark on an inn of three Xs meant that the beer inside was excellent, and a must-stop for the royal court as they passed through." Pearl Beer has a long and interesting history and is still produced today in Ft. Worth, TX. The name has its origins in Germany. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Brewing_Company xXx xXxThe triple XXX was meant to denote the strength (and purity) of the alcohol content. Although not really applicable to beer. The use of the triple XXX was made popular by moonshiners and was a sign that their shine had been through the distillation process three times. Pearl beer wasn't actually half-bad. Pearl is still brewed in Texas but the company is now owned by Pabst (another Texas based company). Pearl BeerPearl has a long and somewhat checkered history in Texas. It was brewed in San Antonio for decades. It was a decent (for the time) and cheap brew when I was a college drinker in the early '70s. The brand has been punted back and forth between parent companies for years and most recently revived again by Pabst. They do absolutely no promotion of it so it seems to sell as a curiosity to those who remember it's its glory days. The old brewery site was turned into an extension of San Antonio's RiverWalk and the old brewery buildings were modernized and are now used for all sorts of retail establishments and office spaces. It's worth visiting if you're in the city. Thanks for the edit, Dave. Re-reading is fun-dimental...and sometimes forgotten. They Only Come Out At NightHamburgers and beer. Barefoot on Highway 80During World War II while my dad was overseas in the Army Air Corps, we lived on a farm just south of Highway 80 that ran alongside the Interurban tracks and a main railroad line that carried train car after train car loaded with tanks, trucks and all manner of military equipment painted olive green headed to ports in Houston to be transported to our troops in Europe. I had to cross Highway 80 to get to school. Nearly all the boys went to school barefooted. My school pictures of that time show the boys barefoot and the girls with shoes on. Math on an empty stomachA dime for a foot-long plus, two bits for lunch. What do I get for the extra fifteen cents? A Pearl and a slice of pie, maybe. By the way, I have heard that there are people who actually put meatloaf sauce (ketchup) on tube steaks. Disgraceful! Castlemaine XXXXThere is a dinkum Australian beer from Queensland called Castlemaine XXXX. I met a True Blue Aussie from Brisbane visiting Vancouver several years ago and asked him if he liked Castlemaine XXXX. His response: "Struth, you can start your car with that stuff." (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Eateries & Bars)
Walling Process: 1926
... but it's not a suburb anymore. It's right in the heart of Arlington, Virginia (just a bit off an arterial road) just a couple of blocks ... the sign shop, between Wilson Boulevard and Lee Highway in Arlington. My first residence in Arlington (1964) was the Cardinal House ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/06/2009 - 10:40am -

Rosslyn, Virginia, 1926. "Walling Process Inc." A graphics business owned by one George Walling. National Photo Co. Collection glass negative. View full size. Frappucino, anyone?The two most interesting pieces (to me) are obscured so I can't see them. The man peeking out from the left pillar (FATI____) and the two images of power lines with words underneath. Also on the left appears to be an ad for "ice coffee" - I don't know why, but I've always thought of this as more of a modern thing. I'd love a frozen coffee right now, but I think the men of Walling Process are years away from the first Slurpee machine. Safe Money7% First Mortgage Bonds. No loss to any investor in 53 years. How times have changed! I bet all that sticky ink got all over their shoes and cuffs despite the overalls. AmazingSuch tedious detail and intense (and messy) work. 83 years later all this is done by one person, in a fraction of the time, with superior results, in a spotless environment with a computer and printer. ... MAThe man with FATI over his head is an ad for Fatima cigarettes. A saying current in 1918 was "Ashes to Ashes / Dust to Dust / if the Camel's don't get you / the Fatimas must" SpellingApparently, spelling wasn't foremost with the folks at Forst's Formost Hams or it wasn't foremost in the Walling Process. Art DecoThis is a wonderful array of (now) vintage Art Deco posters. I wonder what they'd go for on ebay... ColorIf ever there was a Shorpy picture I want to see in color, this is it. Who's up for colorizing? Just the artwork in color alone would be interesting to see. (Though it wouldn't be as interesting as I first thought; initially I thought the floor was covered with spattered paint before I realized there was mold damage to the emulsion.) Looks like funbut I think I'd prefer Adobe Illustrator. Senses TinglingCheck out that web at top. Jeepers! It is also fascinating to see these images created by hand rather than the current digital process. Incredibly artistic endeavor. Flowers From HitlerDid Adolf pose for a poster when he was in art school? That sure looks like him in the poster the Mike White -looking guy is holding. Walling ProcessIn the graphics industry, "process" indicates silkscreen ("screen process") printing. Lyon Village, advertised in the sign just above the artist's head, is still there. It's a lovely community almost completely shaded by trees, but it's not a suburb anymore. It's right in the heart of Arlington, Virginia (just a bit off an arterial road) just a couple of blocks from the edge of the high-rise office towers that have spread out from Rosslyn. A great studio view!As an illustrator, I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be able to get a peek into a period studio in such detail. This appears to be a graphic ad studio specializing in silk screening. The guy on the right is pulling the ink over the screen. The others look like they are posing with proofs. I doubt the guy at the easel has even a drop of paint or ink on that brush, but maybe he is touching it up for presentation to the client. This is from an era of silk screened posters as art, and it would continue into into the 30s with wonderful WPA prints being made this very way. Too bad this kind of commercial art is a thing of the past. I find it amusing that the artists are wearing the proverbial "smocks" over their shirts and ties, and pleated pants. Not the way I go to the studio! If only more pictures like this existed. There are now whole magazines dedicated to giving readers glimpses into artists' working places. Imagine an entire book of period studios like this! Good art, sloppy shopSo many of the workshops we see on Shorpy are a mess. Cobwebs, thick dust, scraps of cloth, buckets of paint and turps, and what looks like a cigarette butt on the table in the right foreground. When I was in the screen printing business I learned that ink travels to wherever you do not want it. The mystery poster may be for Fatima cigarettes; if I had this and the other posters we see here I would have a tidy sum in my retirement account. Color me impressedWhat a fabulous photo! It's strange to see such clean, sharp Art Deco pieces in such a filthy surrounding. On full view, the giant cobweb at the top was the first thing I noticed. I only wish I could purchase that beautiful "Christmas festival" poster on the far left. Lyon Villageis just a few short miles away from the sign shop, between Wilson Boulevard and Lee Highway in Arlington. My first residence in Arlington (1964) was the Cardinal House Apartments, across the street from the Lyon Village Community Center. Lyon Village today is a beautiful and very desirable neighborhood, just as it must have been in the 1920s. Not so Safe MoneyThe first Google search that comes up for F.H. Smith is a reference to its chairman and seven board members being indicted for mail fraud in 1930. I guess some things haven't changed too much in ~80 years. Another one...I'm also a commercial artist. I've done a lot of art for T-shirts that get silk screened. Totally different than the traditional methods shown here, though. I do a full colour painting that gets photographed, Photoshopped and then silk screened in full four(or more) colours on the shirts. Like JohansenNewman, I love seeing period shots -- that place looks just like an art studio should! And Johansen -- What? You don't wear a tie to work in your studio? Well okay, I don't either, but I've sure ruined many an item of clothing due to my extreme sloppiness while working. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Lead-Based InksTwo of the major hazards to which these gents were exposed every day. Pulling a huge squeegee repeatedly is murder on the wrists and hands. Ergonomically-designed squeegees didn't appear until the nineties. Walk into any busy screenprint studio and the stench of the chemicals is overpowering. "The smell? Oh, you get so you don't even notice it." And, I hate to be a nitpicker but...I don't believe that any of this work is actually Art Deco. It's a bit too early for that. The movement really only began in 1925 in France and was unlikely to have filtered down to graphic shops on this side of the pond. Whatever it is, it has the sinuousness of Art Nouveau but I don't know if they still called it that in the twenties. www.Before you were on the web you worked underneath it. The processI'm not sure what Ray, in his comment "Amazing" below, means by "superior results," but I think the case can be made that the golden age of graphic design and illustration ran from roughly about 1900 to 1960. In the long process of learning and mastering the then-complicated techniques involved in producing the finished result, usually under the mentorship of experienced craftsmen, one also absorbed the fundamental principles of design. The techniques are certainly easier and faster these days, but pointing, clicking and dragging alone aren't enough to produce good design. Look at the average web site. "Misuse of dairy bottles"Dairies used to complain somewhat that they were losing money when customers found other uses for their milk bottles instead of returning them. I see two here that won't be going back to be refilled. Cell phones and digital artThanks for giving some insight to those two posters! 16 millon telephones, eh?? Today there are almost 3 billion cellphones! I'd question the "Amazing" commenter. The process is different, but I don't think today's artwork is necessarily created "in a fraction of the time" or "with superior results." Both could go either way: digital art is not necessarily quicker, and you could argue either version's superiority. (The Gallery, Natl Photo)
Everybody Hustle: 1925
... compare. [The taxi ad shows Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery. - Dave] I stand corrected. I was looking for ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/15/2011 - 12:30pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1925. "Holy Name office group." An impressive array of Jazz Age office equipment and hairstyles. National Photo Co. View full size. I see Harry Potterin Drag. The woman on the far rightjust got a humorous email from woman third from left. LOL. Theodore Roosevelt MemorialI believe the "Red Wheel Taxi Company" ad to the left shows an artist's rendering of John Russell Pope's Theodore Roosevelt Memorial design of 1925. This memorial was never funded by Congress and Pope went on to design the Jefferson Memorial in the same location years later. It would be interesting to find the original design of the TR Memorial and compare. [The taxi ad shows Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery. - Dave] I stand corrected. I was looking for something close to the heart of DC and should have "crossed the river" during my search before posting. Thank you for the info. Don't want to work there!Must be a busy place, four supervisors for six clerks and a sign extolling the employees to work faster! I wonder what it was really like? CursiveEven in so mundane a setting as that, beautiful penmanship seems to have been part and parcel of everyone's existence! The artistic flourish in that capital "A" is worthy of framing! HeyI think she's shopping on eBay! Slurp.Is that a dog's water bowl on the floor to the left? Do the Hustle!Let me get my leisure suit, disco ball and sideburns -- oops, wrong decade! Terrific picture. It makes me thankful that I have my own desk and office! Clothing and woodworkingMany of the photographs on Shorpy, from much earlier times, show the clothing of the period, but especially the respect that office workers, and others had for their job, etc. Another aspect of many photographs is that they show such wonderful woodworking and respective detail. More modern times, as well as current construction, exhibits a variety of detail taken from many periods in history. New ideas and designs can provide a fresh look at the use of wood and other materials. Platen PonderingI wonder why it took so many years from the invention of the typewriter (1870) before they were manufactured with cases that enclosed the mechanicals? Certainly a case would cut down on the noise the machine made, and would prevent (especially) dirt and dust from gumming up the works. Next I'm going to ponder why all women's shoes of the 1920s had straps. (The Gallery, D.C., The Office)
Washington Flour: 1926
... farm. The two joined in 1915 to take over the old Arlington Mill, built in 1847, according to a stone plaque in the wall of the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 5:31pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1926. "Wilkins-Rogers Milling Co., exterior, 3261 Water Street." The Washington Flour mill on K Street, formerly Water Street, in Georgetown. The Washington Flour brand had a retail presence at least into the late 1960s. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. The buildingsIt's so great that the two buildings in the picture have survived, and it seems with very few exterior changes. As you travel in the Google videos it's plain to see the brick work and architecture is basically the same as when the picture was taken. I love those Google shots. [Actually both buildings are only about three-quarters their original size; their river-facing sides were lopped off by the Whitehurst Freeway. They started out rectangular but ended up as trapezoids. - Dave] View Larger Map Wilkins-RogersI'm not sure when W-R stopped milling in D.C., but the company still has mills in Ellicott City, on a site that has had a mill since the Ellicott brothers went into business there in 1772. The only product that still bears the Washington brand name, though, is its self-rising flour. Washington also makes Indian Head corn meal, which is the best. http://www.wrmills.com/index.html Cadillac PickupSomebody give us the dope on that odd truck in the lower right is it a Caddy or what? [It's a pickup truck that belongs to the Washington Cadillac Co. - Dave] Check out the boxcars...The front two cars are from the Baltimore & Ohio and Pennsylvania railroads. I always went for the RR's in Monopoly, it's fun to see the real deal! Bulb changingDoes anyone else wonder how they changed the bulbs in those sign lamps perched six stories up? In those days bulbs had to be changed often and they didn't have bucket trucks back then. A Georgetown fixture for yearsIf I'm not mistaken, this mill building was a fixture of the Georgetown waterfront area until a few years ago. Our grade school class visited there once. Those sun-drenched bricks and railroad tracks were later shadowed by an elevated expressway, and that blank facade could be seen close to the roadway. The bricks can still be seen peeking out from underneath the asphalt in places. [These buildings still stand next to the Whitehurst Freeway, where the expressway (built in 1949) crosses Potomac Street. They're part of an office complex at 1000 Potomac that sold for $50 million in 2007. - Dave] View Larger Map View Larger Map Objectionable OdorsI seem to recall that in the 70's there was a rendering plant on Water Street that made quite a stink, and that from the freeway, you could see a sign painted on that flour mill that said "The objectionable odors that you may notice in this area do not originate from this plant." A small correctionThe street that runs by the old flour mill and later beneath the Whitehurst freeway is K Street N.W. I used to police this area for some ten years while with the M.P.D.C. 1959-1969. [The street than ran by the flour mill was Water Street, which became K Street after the Georgetown street renaming of 1895. People evidently continued to call that stretch Water Street for years afterward. - Dave] Re: Bulb changingIt seems to me that the only reasonable way is for the reflectors to move to the roof somehow. One can envision the 5 poles on the left being detached at their bases and pulled in while suspended by their guys. The three poles on the right would maybe pivot upwards at their bases, pulled by their guys, to workers on the ledge. Sounds awfully complicated. There must be a more clever way. A Grind in GeorgetownWashington Post, Feb 29, 1940 Lone Flour Plant Grinds on Canal Washington's flour industry is built partly in a modern city's demand for bread, partly in a century and half of tradition. The city's only flour plant is the Wilkins Rogers Milling Co., at Potomac and K streets northwest. It is housed in two buildings, one more than 100 years old with brick walls 2 feet thick, used formerly as cotton plant, ice plant, flour mill, and now office and warehouse. The other is a modern six-story concrete, brick and steel structure, building in 1922 and housing the present mill. The plant is on a hill between the old Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and the Potomac River. The canal, which used to bring loaded grain barges from the upland farms to feed the Georgetown mills, now supplies all the power used in the mill. The last century, Georgetown boasted a dozen mills at one time, eight flour mills and four grist mills. Some of the flour went down the Potomac and away to European markets. Now the grain comes in by truck and railroad to the K street side of the mill. In the American milling industry, the Wilkins Rogers firm counts itself at the "end of the line," since the flour centers have shifted to the Middle West. Operators of the mill are Howard L. Wilkins and Samuel H. Rogers. Without exaggeration they could be cast in the roles of traditional "jolly millers." Or they could be typed as businessmen who picked up a dead business and built it to a $2,000,000 annual volume. Wilkins is 73 and president of the firm. He was born in New Jersey, but grew up on a farm near Mount Vernon. His family farm was near the old Dogue Run Mill, built by George Washington, a coincidence that takes added note because Wilkins helped remodel the mill. He was educated in Washington schools. Rogers, 61-year-old vice president, is the son of a Loudoun County miller, who taught him the flour business. He is the father of four boys, and would like to see at the least the oldest one go into the same business. Outside the mill his main hobby is raising thoroughbred horses in his Loudoun County farm. The two joined in 1915 to take over the old Arlington Mill, built in 1847, according to a stone plaque in the wall of the new mill. It had been closed for three years. Their friends advised them against the venture. They went ahead, caught a slice of war-trade by selling flour to Italy, and later turned the mill over to producing flour for America's World War needs. The old mill and its machinery were destroyed in a fire, July 4, 1922. The modern mill was built at the same site. At first glance the inside of the mill gives the impression that it was never finished. The interior is like a building still under construction, a tangle of girders, of gigantic funnels, pipes running at all angles, with a network of power belts winding endlessly from floor to floor. Later you find that girders, funnels, pipes, belts are all parts of one huge machine, which transforms whole grain to flour, and corn to meal, with never a hand touching it. Corn and wheat are mostly purchased directly from farms within a 75-mile radius. Behind the Grain DoorIn order to keep the grain from leaking out of the the car during it's long transit from the wheat belt to the flour mill, the boxcars in the photo would have their doorway openings fitted with wooden grain doors, effectively sealing the interior of the car. The car's sliding door would cover the grain door. As show on one of the cars, upon arrival at their destination, the upper boards would be removed and depending upon the facility's equipment, the grain would be shoveled out of the car or unloaded with a mechanical conveyor. By the mid-20th century, wooden grain doors were replaced by ones made of thick paper with light wooden frames. Some of these were reinforced with metal banding. Today, all grain product is shipped in covered hopper cars. Grain is loaded from the top and unloaded from the bottom of modern cars. It is interesting to note that the B&O double door car was designed to carry automobiles. Many cars tended to be seasonal in their use and thus tended to have multiple duties - all part of maintaining a steady revenue stream for the railroad who built and operated these cars. Under the FreewayBy the 1960's, this was about as "industrial" as Washington got. Under the Whitehurst Freeway you had Washington Flour, Maloney Concrete and the rendering plant, all adjacent to the Pepco power plant. The DMV also had its impound lot down there on the banks of the then horribly foul-smelling Potomac. On the north side of K Street were a number of clubs, jazz, blues & live performance, including the infamous Bayou. In the '60s and '70s, while preppy Georgetown students and affluent trend-setters populated the clubs and restaurants above M Street (the 3rd Edition, Pall Mall, Charing Cross, etc.), it was a very different scene below M and down under the freeway! By the late '80s it was essentially gone, gentrified away. My GrandfatherMy grandfather Harrison Goolsby was caretaker of Mr. Wilkins's 365-acre farm, Grassy Meade, off Mount Vernon Boulevard in the 1940s. You could also get to it from Fort Hunt Road. I surely wish I could find a picture of the old place. Mr. Wilkins's daughter sold out to the contractor, Gosnell, who developed it into Waynewood Estates. I would appreciate any help on this matter. Everybody's pretty much died after all these years. My mom and dad lived in the lower house. Thanks ever so much, Edgar Note the old wooden boxcarwith the "outside" metal frame. I recall seeing boxcars of this construction well into the 1960s. Pennsy box carThat old box car is known as a X-26 single sheathed car. It was built in March 1925. The last car of that series was retired about 1958. Been around the block a few times. Odor in areaI remember the odor from the area. I was told it was the tannery next door to the mill. Makes sense as a tannery does smell. My best friend's father worked at the mill until his retirement. I, too, remember that sign.Pirateer has it almost exactly right. The sign was set at such a height as to be easily readable -- indeed, impossible to ignore -- from the Whitehurst Freeway. It read: THE OBJECTIONABLE ODORS YOU MAY NOTICE IN THIS AREA DO NOT ORIGINATE IN THIS PLANT I know, because my sister and I used to read it aloud in unison at the top of our lungs whenever we passed by. I'm sure our parents looked forward to those drives. My mom, who is quite an accomplished oil painter, did a rendering (as it were) of the old plant that is at once realistic and beautiful. I'll have to ask if she still has it. Flour PowerThe firm's ads used the phrase "water-ground" to describe its flour. When the original water-powered belt transmission system was replaced with a water-powered electrical generator and motors, permission was granted by authorities (FTC?) to continue using the the phrase. Rendering plant?Does anyone remember the name of the rendering plant that produced the horrible smell? My mother grew up in Georgetown and I remember her mentioning the business by name and telling me that it had been there since the late 19th century. The name sounded German, as I recall. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Railroads)
Momma's Marine: 1916
... their machine for the Army at Fort Myer (also where Arlington Cemetery is), and Lt. Thomas Selfridge volunteered to be a passenger ... [Fort Myer isn't in D.C. -- it's in Arlington County, Virginia. - Dave] A Very Handsome Chap He is one ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/28/2012 - 9:10pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1916. "Mrs. George Barnett and son." Lelia Gordon Barnett, wife of the Marine Corps commandant, and her son Basil Gordon, who in 1923 became the first person to crash an airplane in the District of Columbia. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. What an honor!Did he survive? [He did, but his passenger, 21-year-old Edwin Trusheim, was not so lucky. "Goodbye, old man, it's all over," were the pilot's parting words. - Dave] Last Flight of The Elaine Washington Post, Dec. 10, 1923 Passenger Killed, Basil Gordon Hurt As Plane Crashes Edwin Trusheim, 21 years old, of 210 B street southeast, was killed, and Basil Gordon, 29, stepson of Maj. Gen. George Barnett, was seriously injured when the airplane in which they were riding crashed to the ground on a vacant lot at Half and L streets southwest shortly after 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon. Trusheim, a passenger in the machine, which is owned by Gordon, was killed almost instantly, being crushed under the heavy motor as the craft was wrecked. Gordon, who piloted the plane, was taken to Providence hospital, where , it was said last night, he has a good chance for recovery, despite the seriousness of his injuries. Yesterday's accident is the first time in history that an airplane has fallen within the city limits of the Capital, despite the great amount of flying which has been done in the vicinity during and since the war. According to witnesses, the plane was about 2,000 feet in the air when it began to flutter. As it neared the ground, and when at a height of about 700 feet, it went into a nose spin, and struck the ground first with its propeller, the heavy motor being pushed onto Trusheim, who was riding in the front seat. … So far as could be determined, the wings and struts were in good condition, and the theory was advanced that the cause of the trouble must have been in the motor. Failure of the motor at the height at which the plane was flying would have made it impossible to right it before hitting the ground, it was said. … Gordon tested his plane, and then he and Law climbed into it and took off. For fifteen minutes they circled over the field, and made a short trip over the city. "The machine ran very smoothly," Law said last night. "Though I had never been up before, I had the greatest confidence in Basil's ability to control the plane, for he has quite a reputation as an expert aviator. During the flight we talked about how well the machine was running, and what a beautiful view of the city we had. We made a perfect landing." After Gordon returned with Law, Trusheim said that we would like to make a flight, and a few minutes later "The Elaine," as Gordon had christened the plane, took off on her last trip. For a few minutes the plane flew swift and straight over toward the city. Then to the little group of relatives standing at the flying field, it was seen to hesitate, to shiver, and then, with a quick, whirling motion, descend. With realization that something had happened, Mrs. Gordon and Miss Gordon, with Law, jumped into a motor car and started for the city. It was nearly an hour before they could locate the scene of the wreck in the little hollow south of the Capitol. And by they time they arrived on the scene the victims had been removed. Will fight for foodLooks like Momma didn't feed her Basil quite enough. That is one skinny soldier. Like Mother Like SonI can see where he got his good looks - from his mom. Such a proud mother. Ooo-rah! Riding BreechesThe riding pants indicate that this guy was one of the Horse Marines. And, yes, they did exist. Focus, focus, focusWhy are the buckles on his boots and the buttons above them in perfect focus, yet the rest of the photo is a bit softly focused? [The shoes didn't move. - Dave] Wally and BasilMrs. Barnett was first cousin to the mother of Wallis Warfield, the future Duchess of Windsor. She and her son showed amusingly understated enthusiasm in 1936 when King Edward abdicated and announced his intention to marry Mrs. Simpson. Basil is quoted as saying, "I haven't seen Wally for six years. She seems to be going places." How thymes changeCan you imagine any modern-day Marine Corps commandant naming his son Basil? He must have grown to become quite a sage. [Yes, he'd be mustard right out of the military. But the General had no input into Basil's name -- he was his stepfather; Basil was named after his father. - Dave] Mrs. CommandantPolitically, Mrs. Barnett was a force to behold in WWI Washington. Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels crossed her when he tried to install his favorite marine (John Lejeune) as commandant of the Marines, in place of her husband. After Daniels asked his most senior officers for resignations (effective at the end of the war) and received them from all but Barnett, he blamed Mrs. Barnett, quipping that Barnett's Indian name would have been "'the-man-who-is-afraid-of-his-wife.'" When Daniels ordered the change, Mrs. Barnett worked through the crippled president's personal physician and her allies on Capitol Hill in an unsuccessful bid to countermand it. Her son Basil, said to be one of the most undisciplined members of the Corps, asked her to help get him released when he was confined to quarters. It did not succeed. BreechesSomebody called this marine a soldier in a previous post. Marines don’t like that. Anyway I respectfully disagree about the breeches. Although horse marines did exist, I believe riding breeches were de rigueur for all officers back in 1916. This young man appears to be a lieutenant. Shape Up or Ship OutGawd, a Marine without a spit shine on his Class A uniform boots. Horrors! Not the first crashActually, the first aircraft crash in DC proper was on September 17, 1908. On the date mentioned, Orville and Wilbur Wright were demonstrating their machine for the Army at Fort Myer (also where Arlington Cemetery is), and Lt. Thomas Selfridge volunteered to be a passenger ... [Fort Myer isn't in D.C. -- it's in Arlington County, Virginia. - Dave] A Very Handsome ChapHe is one good looking young man. Must have been terrible to crash and mortally injure a friend. On a happier note I adore his mom's shoes. Commandant BarnettMy dad was in Marine training in 1917. Here is an excerpt from one of his letters dated August 5, 1917, Marine Barracks, Port Royal, South Carolina: I got to see Brigadier-General Barnett, the head of the Marine Corps, a while back. He was inspecting the training camp on this island and we were drawn up in two lines while he passed between them. I will save this picture and put it into his album just for additional background to his military history. Thanks Dave. Mum's remarriageWhat a charming photo. Enjoying all the comments here, too. Here's the announcement of his mother's remarriage to Lt. Col. George Barnett in 1907. They met at a supper dance on Dec. 9, 1906, and he immediately began wooing her. In fact, he was said to have "pursued her as if he was assaulting a military objective," according to "Commandants of the Marine Corps." They finally wed on Jan. 11, 1908. Barnett was later the 12th Commandant of the US Marine Corp., ousted by some guy named Lejeune in 1920 (joke) and died in 1930. I've found shockingly less on the Marine in the photo, though he served in the Great War and was still stationed in France for a while thereafter. The elder Basil Gordon, who had wed his mother in 1892, died in 1902, leaving her with four young children. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Portraits)
At the Polls: 1924
November 4, 1924. Arlington County, Virginia. "In line to vote at Clarendon." National Photo ... Makes Me Wonder How old do you have to be to vote in Arlington County? The polls roll to you As a young child in Hamtramck (a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/02/2010 - 4:17pm -

November 4, 1924. Arlington County, Virginia. "In line to vote at Clarendon." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Great to see todayVoted in the neighborhood this afternoon! 2 to 1Not counting the men on the posters there are two males for every female. Even though one male looks a little young to vote. Canvas canvassI swear this is a Norman Rockwell painting with all the characters of expression. "He is Bound to Win"That's about as catchy a slogan as it is truthful. SuffrageI see women are acting on their new right obtained only four years prior. Politicking!Carrying a poster of your favorite candidate into the polling place wouldn't work these days. Didn't these guys see the distance markers outside? Makes Me WonderHow old do you have to be to vote in Arlington County? The polls roll to youAs a young child in Hamtramck (a city entirely within the borders of Detroit) in the early 1950s, I remember going with my dad to vote. Trucks would deliver small dark green sheds the size of a small one car garage and deposit one or more in the streets for use as voting booths. They had small wood burning stoves for heat. I also remember storage yards where these sheds were parked wall to wall between elections. When I was a Boy Scout in the early 1960s, these sheds were sold off by the powers that be and our Troop 473 purchased one for a song and had it delivered to the back lot of the church that sponsored our Troop where we stored our camping equipment. Attached is a picture of similar shed I found on the internet. Who needs exit polls?Just count who's holding a picture of whom! Mama's VoteTo me the woman on the far left of the photo looks like Vicki Lawrence. Mama in her younger days! It's a Wonderful Life!Mr. Gower (sixth from left) is casting his vote for George Bailey. Sign we cannot seeobviously must say "No hat, no service." She's rockin'... the wool cape! Bound to LoseDemocratic presidential nominee John W. Davis did win Virginia, and the rest of the South, but he lost every other state in the country, including his home state of West Virginia. Trounced by Republican incumbent Calvin Coolidge in a landslide, he retired from politics and returned to his legal practice where he finished his career arguing in favor of the "separate but equal" doctrine in front of the Supreme Court in the year before his death in 1955. John W. DavisI believe Mr. Davis was the only presidential candidate who hailed from the great state of West Virginia. He was a lawyer, Congressman, Solicitor General and Ambassador to the UK. He was active as a lawyer until the end of his life arguing before the Supreme Court for the steel industry in the Youngstown Steel case in 1952 and unfortunately for the separate but equal doctrine in Brown v. Board of Education. I feel betterElection results have me down. But something about seeing those old dudes in line to vote for somebody -- a face, a name, a lame campaign slogan -- who's been basically lost to time has made me feel better in a way. Just another election, right? Warts and AllThis system is still the best! Congrats to all who voted and Thanks to all the candidates, winners or losers, for stepping up. Proud AmericanAfter my grandfather became a citizen in the 1940s he always wore a suit and tie to vote because he considered it such an honor and privilege. (The Gallery, Natl Photo, Politics)
Whistle Bottling Works: 1925
... to Shorpy, so maybe you've posted some previously. [Arlington Brewery is the closest thing I can think of. My dad and his brother ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 2:22am -

"Whistle Bottling Works." The Whistle beverage plant in Washington, D.C., in 1925. View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. 703 North CapitolThis appears to be a recently opened bottling plant at 703 North Capitol Street. Papers as late as February 1925 list Whistle Bottling Works at Fourth and F Street Northeast (possible the same facility as the old Jueneman/Carry brewery). However, by the summer of 1926, S. Farber was bottling Green River ("The Snappy Lime Drink") at 703 North Capitol NW. Consistent with this is a 1922 ad for Phillips Bros. & Co (Sausage, Smoked Ham, Bacon, Cooked Ham, Frankfurters) at 705 North Capitol. This complex saw earlier use (circa 1900) as a Pabst brewery. Indeed the top edge of a "Pabst" seal appears visible behind the For Rent sign at #705. #705 was also site of Plaza Wine and Liquor which was owned and operated by H. Gilmour (Gillie) Young from 1934 to 1980. Now this entire block is high-end office space. Whiskey Bottling Works......is how I originally read the title of this post. "Ah, for the days when they distilled American whiskey somewhere other than Kentucky" was going to be my comment. It wasn't until I saw the Hires logo that I realized I'd misread the title. I know I'm not as cask-conditioned as some of the commenters here, but I am old enough to remember when you could buy the Hires kits and make root beer at home. I always wanted to get my parents to buy some Hires extract, but they had too many horror stories of perfectly good closets ruined by exploding bottles of home-brewed root beer. Were there any distillers in pre-Prohibition D.C.? I'm fairly new to Shorpy, so maybe you've posted some previously. [Arlington Brewery is the closest thing I can think of. My dad and his brother tried making root beer at home when they were kids. Their glass gallon jugs exploded in the attic. Too much yeast, Dad said. - Dave] Ladies WelcomeThe luncheonette on the right has "ladies welcome" on its window... were there some luncheonettes just for men back then? Why would they put that on their window? [Eating alone (or without a male escort) in a restaurant was something a lot of women had never done before, or felt uncomfortable doing. - Dave] Home BrewWhen I was roughly Jr. High/early High School age, a friend's mother made root beer at home. I don't recall anything exploding, but then she was a Home Economics teacher and knew how to follow a recipe. The stuff wasn't all that great, but it was free, so who was I to complain? Utica ClubInterestingly, Prohibition had been in place since 1920 and continued until 1933. Yet, the building has an advertising sign for Utica Club Pilsener, which sounds like beer to me. I can't imagine that they were selling it out in the open or that they were selling it at all. Was it just nostalgia or were they expecting the repeal momentarily. The "ladies welcome" sign may have been code for "not a speakeasy." [Low-alcohol beers and malts were legal during Prohibition. Utica Club Pilsener was marketed as a soft drink. "Ladies welcome" and "Tables for Ladies" was common restaurant signage from the early part of the century into the 1940s. - Dave] Hi-res BottlingYou know you've been geeking around with computer graphics for too long when you see a sign for Hires pop and instantly read it as "Hi-res". Area Brews and suchThe big DC brewer was Christian Heurich but the local beer center was Baltimore, which had dozens of breweries in the '50s and still had five (including the brand-new Carling plant) in the mid '60s. There was also the huge Calvert distillery on the south side of town and a Seagram's facility in Dundalk. Everything is gone now. On that blockIn 1925, my grandfather and his brothers had the "P.O. Visible Lunch" on that block at 727 North Capitol, so named because it was between the Post Office and the Government Printing Office. "Visible Lunch" referred to the glass-front cases that allowed customers to watch food being prepared; my dad always told me it was one of D.C.'s first cafeterias. Any pictures of the P.O., Dave? [We have pics of the City Post Office here, here, here and here. - Dave] Phillips Bros. & Company Advertisement, Washington Post, Oct 8, 1920 Have You Tasted Phillips' Old Time Sausage all pork and a perfect blend. Made from the finest quality of pork and spices under the supervision of experts. Now on sale in all markets and leading grocer and meat stores. Specify "OLD TIME" if you want the best. There's none just as good. manufactured only by Phillips BROS. & CO. Factory at 705 N. Capitol St. Telephone Main 5926 Advertisement, Washington Post, Dec 24, 1920 Is It Clean? Some sausage is made under the cleanest of conditions and from the choicest of pork and some isn't. OURS IS! If you don't believe it, drop into our plant at 705 N. Capitol Street any old time and see Phillips' Old Time Sausage in the makeing. IT'S sold in the green wrapper. Phillips Brothers & Co. 704 N. Capitol St. Telephone Main 5926 (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
Streamliner: 1938
... system converted to diesel buses. Now the D.C. suburb of Arlington County in considering bringing the trolley back to the Columbia Pike ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/23/2012 - 11:39am -

Washington, D.C., circa 1938. "Streamlined street car passing Washington Monument." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Which end is up?Oh, there it is, just follow the arrows! Something missing here?OK, I give up, where is the overhead line that supplies power to the car? The "antenna" is there but it seems locked down. We still have a few cars of this vintage running (for special occasions only) here in Toronto. [There's no overhead line because the power supply was underground. - Dave] That's the PCC!In the 30s, the heads of all the major urban transit operations got together and decided that they needed a more modern streamlined image than the old "trolley car," most of which were still boxy wood contraptions. They set up a President's Conference Committee (PCC) to come up with new concepts and designs. The result was the PCC car -- all metal, quiet, sleek, fast and MODERN! Production started in the late 1930s, to be interrupted by the War of course. We LOVED riding them, feeling like we were Junior Buck Rogers in that streamliner. Old Number 1135The car shown is No. 1135. A nearly identical car, 1101, is preserved at the National Capitol Trolley Museum in Maryland. Click for more info. Although the trolleys got power from underground when in the District, the electric power aerial was raised when in the suburbs to draw power from overhead wires, as shown in the color photo. The last Washington trolley ran in 1962, when the old D.C. Transit system converted to diesel buses. Now the D.C. suburb of Arlington County in considering bringing the trolley back to the Columbia Pike corridor. What was old is new again! Up and DownPower for the streetcars was underground only in central D.C. For example, the Wisconsin Ave line switched from underground to overhead somewhere around R Street. There was a worker who spent his shift in a hole in the ground who handled the "shoe" which picked up the underground and another who put up the overhead pickup. All this on the hill. Process reversed for cars coming back from Friendship Heights. UndergroundThere is under the car, between the rails a slot in the pavement like a cablecar. Washington, DC did not allow streetcar overhead, so when the cars crossed the city limits, the car would stop over a pit, the pole would be lowered, and a "plow" would be attached to the bottom of the car. Being the pitman must have been a great job in the winter. You can see the slot between the rails here. Clang, clang!My love for streetcars, cable cars, and trolleys knows no bounds. If not the fastest way of getting around, they're a damn sight faster than NYC buses in rush hour. (I'd love to know how streetcars compare carbon-footprint-wise with cars and buses.) Chevy ChaseI remember seeing these cars in the 1950s, when they pulled into Chevy Chase Center station. At that time they were painted light green and orange on white, the colors of D.C. Transit. At that station, there were a maze of overhead wires, quite impressive! A ride, as I remember, cost 35 cents. What comes around...The city of DC has just last week begun laying tracks for a modern streetcar system on H-street NE. As a homeowner there, I have been thinking about the history of streetcars in the city a lot lately. There is a federal law on the books banning overhead wires in much of DC. The law was passed sometime in the late 1800s. The law continues to be a hurdle, as the kind of underground conduit system used on the old system is very expensive, difficult to maintain, unreliable, adds insurance liability to the system, and gets clogged up by snow in the winter. Before DC can send trains down the new tracks, it will most likely be necessary to have Congress make an exception to that old law, something that will no doubt be difficult to do, as DC has NO representation in Congress. Modern streetcar wires are very thin and unobtrusive, but progress towards alleviating the second-worst traffic congestion in the country (after LA) will likely be held up over politics. I look forward to traveling to work above-ground like these people here in the next-generation modern air-conditioned street cars. [The District is represented in Congress by delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat. - Dave] Power Supply for CarThe car has a trolley pole in the down or retrieved position as it drew power from a conduit through a steel slot between the tracks. This system was required by local law and was also used in Manhattan, NYC. When car left D.C. limits, pole was raised to engage trolley wire power source and "plow" under car was disengaged as conduit power source ended. The conduit power system was much more expensive to construct and was only used where required by law. PCC Fun FactsPCC cars were in regular service in San Francisco till 1980, and are still operated, along with other historic cars, on the new "F Line" that runs along the Embarcadero and Market Street, as a tourist attraction connecting to the cable car routes. The PCC embodied many advances - rubber bushings and wheel cushions to reduce rattle and vibration, hypoid gears to eliminate noise, and later on, an all-electric model that eliminated the chugging compressor for air brakes. It was discovered that even standing passengers could deal with greater acceleration if it was smoother, so the old 14-point controller handle with its surges of power was replaced with an automated 99-step controller that produced seamless acceleration and braking. The design is widely recognized as a classic and was exported or licensed to Europe and South America. So they're coming back!A ridiculous, expensive, unsightly indulgence for train buffs and people who think they're "saving the planet." With the tab picked up by you, the taxpayer. Buses are much more cost-efficient and accomplish exactly the same thing. TourmobilesI'm not sure which is worse, these or the modern ubiquitous Tourmobiles. PCC CarsWhen I lived in St. Louis in 1950, I depended entirely on their wonderful public transport system to get around the city. They still had a lot of the old "growler" type streetcars and many buses, but there were many of the PCC type trolleys also. PCCs were faster and quieter than the buses, in fact, I have been waiting for a car on a downtown corner and did not hear the PCC car until I heard the "twang" of the trolley pole on the wire and found it only 25 feet away from the stop. Absolutely silent and smooth as silk. Out on the open track beside Forest park they would get up to what seemed like 50 mph. Maybe not that fast, but they really moved. The brakes, BTW, were a large electro magnet that fitted between the wheels and grabbed the railhead when stopping. Philly picklesPhiladelphia had the very same streetcars, painted green. As a child I called them pickles, because that is what they most looked like. Sometimes the connection to the overhead wires would break and the driver would walk out with a long pole and put it back on to get the car going again. They were running well into the 1980's. I never got to ride in one. I only saw them from the windows of the family car. Buses may be more cost-efficientBut who ever heard of a bus named Desire? Wow, Nice Shot!So nice to see a streetcar cruising past the Washington Monument - hope they succeed in reintroducing them here, whether they be powered by underground conduits, or overhead wires. Also, very, very nice to see the Washington Monument unencumbered by that ridiculous security hut at the base, which ruins the proportions and mars the simplicity of the great obelisk. DesireSad but true, I have seen the bus named Desire. It ain't pretty. These still run in PhiladelphiaThe No. 15 trolley still runs along Girard Avenue to the zoo. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Streetcars)
Goodyear Blimp: 1938
... hangar was near the Washington-Hoover Airport and the Arlington Beach Amusement Park According to "Answer Man" at the Washington ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/28/2012 - 12:08pm -

April 13, 1938. Washington, D.C. "Goodyear blimp Enterprise at Washington Air Post." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. InflationIn the mid-1960s, in Miami, Goodyear blimp flights were $5. I don't know which blimp was stationed there part of the year. I never took that flight, to my now deep regret; flights for the general public have ceased, I understand. Follow the BlimpI took a road trip from the east coast to Chicago a few years ago, and stopped in Akron for a night. Tthe next morning as I got on the turnpike the Goodyear blimp appeared overhead and followed overhead for at least an hour. I suspect they were navigating by following the highway. I miss hearing the GoodyearI miss hearing the Goodyear blimp. I say "hearing" because as a kid in Southern California, I would hear its unmistakable low drone and would run outside to see it passing over the neighborhood. Trans AtlanticHave any of these types ever crossed the Atlantic? You Sayin' I'm Fat?I resemble that remark! Air TrekGoodyear's Enterprise was named after the winning yacht of the 1930 America's Cup. Seeing this picture makes me wonder if this blimp may have been young Roddenberry's inspiration. She was enlisted in the US Navy as Training Airship L-5 during World War 2 from 1941 to 1945. Boldly going where no one has gone before!The very first aircraft owned by the United States also bore this title. It was a hot air balloon used during the Civil War. Go for a Ride!The dirigible hangar was near the Washington-Hoover Airport and the Arlington Beach Amusement Park According to "Answer Man" at the Washington Post, in 1932, you could go up in the Goodyear blimp for $2.50. Gene RoddenberryRoddenberry was influenced by a lot of WWII things. The Enterprise was named for the aircraft carrier, and James T. Kirk was the general commanding the Ordnance Department early in the war. There are others. Summer 1954I remember playing in my front yard during summer vacation and hearing something I didn't recognize. I ran into the back yard and saw the Goodyear, not the one pictured, fly past the back of the house. It was sufficiently exciting to be the topic of conversation for the next few days, and there was even a picture of it docked at the local airport the next day. Exciting times for a Carolina kid in the early '50s Navy Blimps in the 40'sEvery summer we would go to Falmouth Mass to the beach. The Navy blimps would pass overhead out to sea. Once one went so low the landing ropes dragged across the beach. I never realized they were on patrol looking for U-boats off the coast of Massachusetts. I assumed they were training and actually they were armed and did fight U-boats off our shores. Look, up in the sky, it's a bird, no, a blimpA Goodyear blimp still resides in Southern California and can be seen most days when one is driving on the 405 freeway through the city of Carson. You can also often see it over large events such as football games where a helicopter used for photography, would disturb the spectators, but a blimp used for aerial shots makes everybody smile down below. Hearing a blimpI don't remember seeing blimps in Florida in the late 40s but forty years later I recognised the sound and went outside to see a blimp passing overhead. A Ride in the GoodyearI was lucky enough to get a ride in the then-current Goodyear Blimp in about 1969, thanks to my father's position at nearby El Toro Marine Base, which was near the Lighter Than Air facility in Tustin, which had giant hangars that allowed Goodyear to do certain maintenance. In return they provided a day of rides for military families. This blimp has since been replaced with a newer version, but our blimp's control wheels and cables were charmingly exposed to the attentive eye inside the little cabin which was clearly designed for lightness rather than jetliner strength, and seated about 12. After achieving a satisfactory weight balance, the pilot revved the motors, the blimp moved majestically ahead, and about 50 feet later he cranked the elevator wheel, the nose came up, and we ascended as if climbing a staircase. Not scary, due to the gentle response, but unexpectedly graceful, like the dancing hippos in Fantasia. We cruised the coast for about an hour at a nice viewing height. The sound of a blimp in flight...That low drone sound of an approaching blimp's engines STILL makes me run outside to have a look. I even have a memory (or imagine that I have such a memory) of standing on Bush Avenue in Newburgh NY as a 4 or 5 year old kid and seeing a huge dirigible flying doen over the Hudson toward NY City. I went up in herMy mother's school chum took my two older brothers and me for a ride in this blimp in 1938 (might have been 1939) from the old Wash airport. We circled the city for about a half hour. The windows were open. I sat in the middle seat in the back row. It went up at about 45 degrees and on returning it nosed down at about the same angle. Ground crew caught the ropes and pulled it down to a level attitude on the ground. What a thrill it was for a 7-year-old. Navy BlimpsEnterprise, along with Goodyear's other private blimps was transferred to the Navy at the beginning of the war. The became the basis for the L-Class training type. Apparently they weren't armed and had too short an endurance for long patrols. They had a crew of two in military service. The most common of the naval blimps was the K-Class which had an endurance of just over 38 hours aloft and carried four depth charges and a .50 caliber machine gun as well as various detection equipment and a crew of 10. 134 were built, and the last K-ship (K-43) left service in March 1959. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Zeppelins & Blimps)
Colorometer: 1942
May 1942. "Arlington, Virginia. Auto refinishing plant. Mechanical paint mixer." 4x5 inch ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/03/2022 - 10:46am -

May 1942. "Arlington, Virginia. Auto refinishing plant. Mechanical paint mixer." 4x5 inch acetate negative by John Collier for the Office of War Information. View full size. Have Colorometer? Gotta Add Color!This picture was just begging to be digitally color enhanced, 80 years later! Mattos calendarMattos was a longtime DC area supplier of automotive paint and body shop supplies, no longer in business. I went to high school with John Mattos. Surprisingly neatIn spite of all the clutter, the paint shop is pretty darn clean, especially the area where he mixes the colors. You'd think there would be more paint spatter caused by the mixer on and around the stand it sits on. I'm sure the fellow is familiar with linseed oil soaked rags and spontaneous combustion, so I'm guessing the rags on the floor aren't dripping in oil ... and the ones on the shelf are probably clean. I wonder if they used fans to get fresh air in? I worked at a screen printing shop years ago and if you didn't have doors open, you'd get quite a buzz. I'm guessing the empty can on the floor at the base of the mixer is his ash tray : / A fire marshal's paradise.Turpentine, paint thinner, paint and lots and lots of oily rags lying around. And not a No Smoking sign in sight. Colorful CommentI wonder what they did with the mistakes? Also, I like the cans of tint with the dispenser built in. Someone please tell methe colorometer made a science fiction whirling sound before the correct color emerged. Data StorageNotice he keeps all of his data in that notebook ... back in 1942, they used to put their notebooks on their laptops. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, John Collier)
Keep on Truckin': 1975
... My room, too! Yeah, that looks a lot like my room in Arlington, Texas in the 70's! I wish I still had all that stuff! Some of ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 09/29/2011 - 6:22pm -

January 1975. My nephew James, at 15 no longer Jimmy, has discovered long hair, rock 'n' roll, and black light posters. This is in his bedroom in Novato, California, captured by me on 35mm Kodacolor II. That's him in the lower left, in case you missed him, like I did until I first scanned this neg a couple years ago. View full size. Re: James at 15I also remember James at 16. Lance Kerwin. This picture is, like, soThis picture is, like, so far out man. It is too groovy for words. I'm just going to send you the positive vibes. Those flocking postersI had a summer job in a poster warehouse about a year after this picture was taken; we took pallets of the flat posters, rolled them, stuffed them in those long plastic sleeves, and distributed them to various retail places. A machine handled most of the rolling automatically, but if it couldn't keep up we had long spindles turned by a motor and controlled by a foot pedal for hand rolling. And the flocked posters all had to be hand rolled. I had to do it a could of times, and it was awful: the flocking of course went everywhere-- nasty, itchy stuff. The could of women who did most of the hand rolling would bundle themselves up in smocks and masks for those, but since I was sixteen I couldn't be bothered with that. A year ago one of our computers had to be rebuilt and I ended up at the store in the aisle with all the tubing and fluorescent dyes to make it glow. I almost had a '70s flashback. Spencer GiftsThen there is that store in every mall called Spencer Gifts that *always* had the black lights, strobe lights, mirror lights, lava lamps, and posters on display in the back. I couldn't wait to have my own money to buy all that! I remember...Brings back a ton of memories about my 3rd floor attic room posters. I had the Beatles' Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (LSD), Led Zep, and various psychedelic designs. Numerous hours of air guitar listening to my portable LP player (Grand Funk, Led Zep, Blue Oyster Cult...). Oh the MemoriesMy brother and I shared a room and had our friends over for a painting party. We painted the walls and ceiling flat black and installed a black light on the ceiling. Then all our friends painted what they wanted in fluorescent colors. Poor Mom. I made it up to her several years later when my friends and I paneled the room. There is a big surprise under that paneling that someone had to have found sometime in the early 1980's. In the Black of the LightGood Gawd Gertie! There's a 'collectible' fortune in black light posters on those walls.... I had the Disney-themed "Ain't Gonna Work on Dizzy's Farm No More" poster, among others - of course the publisher was soon firebombed out of existence by the Mouse's corporate lawyers - I was maybe James' age when I got them, and the lovely un-filtered UV lamps to "power" them - how lucky I am to still have my vision intact and my skin cancer-free - oh man, the ozone those things made...! Anyway, later on, a Female with whom I was experiencing a permanently deteriorating relationship decamped from our shared abode one afternoon, in the process relieving me of some of my cash, ALL of my stash, and a selection of my posessions - among them: those posters. Noelle - if you happen to read this - it's been nearly 40 years babe - keep the rest of the Stuff - but gimme back my posters already! tterrace = the Garrison Keillor of Larkspur Psychedelic dreamsOur local Target store at that time had a separate room just off the entrance which sold only the record albums of the day and all sorts of black light posters and was completely bathed in just funky black lights, disco balls and flashing multicolor rotating lamps which would cause anyone to feel they were "tripping out" just by being in there. My kids were teens at the time and once took my elderly mother in there to which she reiterated the old phrase "These kids today are all hopped up on goofballs" which now cracks us all up every time we hear it since I believe that was actually coined in the era of beatniks back in the '50s (When I was young). We still say it now and then just to remind ourselves that every new generation has their own trends and fads which the older generations are not tuned into. Life goes on... What, Me Worry?I remember the black light fad of the 70's very well. I new some folks that had whole rooms devoted to those posters and their music. Alfred E. Summed It UpI well remember when I "achieved" my age of discovery. Everything was under control, or so I thought. My contemporaries and I all had the same mantra: "What, Me Worry?" Hey that's my room!... in 1970. On Commack, Long Island. Black Velvet MemoriesFor a second there I was right back in my 15 year old self's bedroom with the black velvet black light posters and disco lights. Man, oh, man the 70's were made of funky. The PostersI still actually have all those posters, I save freakin' everything.. part of the legacy.. :-) .. and yes, my room was a homage to rockstars I admired and blacklight posters.. anyone remember the Wheaties blacklight poster with the Zig Zag man running? No need for bleachOne good thing about black lights: they make your teeth whiter than white! I saved one item.Almost all of it got lost to The Cleaning Mom, relocations, marriage (to, of all people, The Cleaning Wife), and attic roof leaks, but I still have an original 1969 green Lava Lamp in perfect operating condition. It has a place of honor on my computer desk and, since it takes about 2 hours to warm up, is used on long winter weekend evenings. James at 15Anyone remember the TV show from that era? TrippyMy mom wouldn't let me have a black light since she was convinced that I would either go blind or get cancer from the ultraviolet light. I actually do have a neon black light that works but haven't set it up anywhere due to fear of our kids breaking it. Sorry Mr. CrumbThat "Keep on Truckin" poster looks like one of the many unlicensed knockoffs that bedeviled R. Crumb at that point in his career. Keep on Truckin'I had the same poster. My friend's irises turn a weird milky colour under blacklights. One of the local nightspots has blacklights and we checked everyone's eyes and of 100+ people, hers were the only ones that did that. Very strange. I'm having a flashback hereOh man, Keep on Trucking, the Fabulous Furry Freak Bros., Fat Freddy's Cat, Mr. Natural and Rudy the D*** - ah, my misspent youth. My room, too!Yeah, that looks a lot like my room in Arlington, Texas in the 70's! I wish I still had all that stuff! Some of us never grow upOh man, now that's cool! Black lights, posters, incense and hanging out at Spencer Gifts. Yeah, that was me too. Yeah. I'm still into it; Mad, R.Crumb, old rock, fragrant sticks of incense and other oddness. I'm just too weird to give it up. LikewiseLooks a LOT like my room circa 1972...I had the LSD poster, Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk...and all that. Brings back memories! I just bought a 1975Ford F150 that has been sitting in a field for 14 years. It has a "Keep on Truckin" bumper sticker on it still…. On another note, I was removing the bumper recently, as I am doing a body off resto on the truck, and dropped it on my foot and broke it. (the foot, not the bumper) The truck is going to be for my daughters 16th bday in July 2014. The frame is being powder coated this week. I'm crazy excited to give her a "brand new" 1975 truck. This also brings back cool memories of the posters in the 70's. Thanks. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
Rear Entrance: 1937
... roads are dirt. The Key Bridge Marriott was built where Arlington Brewing Co. was. Its building was erected around the turn of the ... on an aerial photo of Rosslyn at this time and the 1943 Arlington street/lot map (see both attached), the address of this house was ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/14/2013 - 12:06pm -

September 1937. "House in Negro quarter of Rosslyn, Virginia." Washington, D.C., and the Key Bridge form the background for this curious scene. Medium-format negative by John Vachon. View full size. You Are HereThis might be about where present-day N. Fort Myer or N. Lynn Street are now. Interesting to see roads are dirt. The Key Bridge Marriott was built where Arlington Brewing Co. was. Its building was erected around the turn of the century and brewery closed in 1916. Ultimately it became Cherry Smash Bottling plant. The Rosslyn area had been location of saloons and brothels until closed in early 1900s. When I was a child in early '50s it was terminus of RF&P railroad and Capital Transit streetcars and also the location of car lots and pawn shops. QuestionIs that marijuana growing by the side of the house? I'd saythis is a second story job. Current viewThe attached photo was taken in the same general location as this LOC photo. The green space in the foreground of the current photo is the George Washington Memorial Parkway National Park. This portion of the parkway was built between the 1940s and 1950s, and the neighborhood in this photo may very well have been torn down to accommodate it. AnswerAllie: I don't think so. To the extent one can tell at this resolution it looks more like Jatropha multifida. Possible some type of cleome (from the flower stalks), but I don't think any cleome has leaves that are heavily serrated like these. OkraI think that's okra--all overgrown after a long summer. Marijuana?It looks more like castor bean plants to me. They're quite easy to grow pretty much anywhere. The beans are highly toxic though, and are actually used to make the poison ricin. Castor beans most likelyLooking carefully at that whole stand you can see at least 5 clumps of what appear to be what Nicodeme says--castor bean plants. My mother used to grow them and they make beautiful red accents in a garden, often quite tall, too. I think this is a flower border, despite the ramshackle house. Although not particularly well-tended, there does seem to be a rough logic with lower, flowering plants along the front and the taller at the back. Castor plants are often very red. Ought to have been quite a colorful border. More on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_bean_plant Mom locked us out!I wonder if that was the story behind the three boys on the roof, trying to get in through the window; that Mom was out working and didn't get home as early as she expected (or the boys' job doing yard work was finished before expected). Is that a church at one o'clock?(I think those buttresses would have caught my eye if that building still stood.) And for more on the Georgetown Tower of Flour see https://www.shorpy.com/node/5510 Not Mary JaneIf it was they could afford to move to a nicer place. Ancient AutoAnyone know what make and model car that is? It clearly has not moved in years. RepurposingIn the lower right, you can see that the rear doors from the abandoned truck have been used to patch the roof on the structure next to it Where is this?It would appear that the location of this photo is now about where the Key Bridge Marriott is located. Re: Mom locked us out!Not really, that downstairs backdoor is open and ajar. Looks more like these boys are just fooling around, maybe watching the photographer at work. Old W&OD TerminalIf you look off to the left, in the foreground, below the Key bridge you can see the W&OD terminal which was torn down in 1939 to make way for the GW parkway. Address of this houseBased on an aerial photo of Rosslyn at this time and the 1943 Arlington street/lot map (see both attached), the address of this house was 1934 North Fort Myer Drive, on the southwest corner at the intersection of North 20th Street. The present-day intersection is N. Ft. Myer Dr. and eastbound Lee Hwy. Credit to Jeff Clark, John Dowling, and Steve Palmeter on the "Northern Virginia History" Facebook group for help in zeroing in on the exact location. (The Gallery, D.C., John Vachon)
Got Meat?
1917. Arlington, Virginia. "Fort Myer officer training camp mess." Vegan schmegan. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/27/2012 - 1:50pm -

1917. Arlington, Virginia. "Fort Myer officer training camp mess." Vegan schmegan. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Happy in his work I wish I enjoyed my job as much as Mr Schmegan seems to. What a great face.So friendly. Reminds me of the Stubbs BBQ sauce guy. Happy ChefI'd gladly eat whatever he's cooking! Dumping DermalogicaIf a man can look that great in those conditions nearly 100 years ago this modern skincare stuff's a scam. ProudNow there is one proud man. He knows he is appreciated. HappyHe's good looking! And such a friendly smile! Military RoastAlso doubles as a doorstop. Mmmmmm good!Wow, a handsome man and a big 'ole steak. Whoowee. That's a great photo! HaaaaandsomeHe's a looker! A cook in 1917, a supermodel in 2009. Rake material?Decidedly handsome, but too hard-working a man to be a rake, probably -- though you do never know what people get up to in their off hours. Perhaps the next addition to the Handsome Rake gallery? Add him!He is the next candidate for the "Handsome Rake" category! Why not a soldier?It's a shame African-Americans soldiers were reserved to see only duties like that ... what a shame. [Do your homework. There were plenty of black soldiers in WWI. - Dave] The 369thOne of the three most highly-decorated American units in WWI was the 369th New York (aka the Harlem Death-Rattlers), a National Guard unit with black enlisted personnel and white officers from old-line New York families like the Stuyvesants. Fabio and a personal chef rolled into one!!Upturned collar, bursting buttons, dazzling smile, and he can cook! The 369thWhile the 369th New York - also known as the Harlem Hellfighters - was part of the AEF they, along with the other units of the 92nd and 93rd Divisions, served under French command. The 369th was initially assigned to the French 16th Division and then transferred to the French 161st. There were some black officers in the 369th, notable ragtime and jazz musician Lt. James Europe who served as the regiment's band master. The 366th Infantry Regiment was entirely Black, both enlisted men and officers. SmileI can count on two hands how many times a Shorpy photo instantly brought a smile to my face. This one is at the top of the list. There's something about this chef's infectious smile that immediately makes you grin. I also get a sense of pride for his abilities. Look how tenderly he holds that slab of beef! Amazing. Oh, my!That's one good-looking man! He should have been in the movies! Hubba HubbaWooo hooo. Sorry I am being a leering wolf. What a beautiful man. (The Gallery, Handsome Rakes, Harris + Ewing, WWI)
Diner at Seven: 1940
... and model for the Pinball Machine. It's a 1937 Bally "Arlington" Probably named after Arlington Park in Illinois, Bally was based in Chicago. Who knew there was ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/27/2018 - 11:03am -

February 1940. "Truck driver in diner. Clinton, Indiana." Medium format negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. French Fried Popcorn- - am I reading that right?? [Mrs. Klein says, "Yes." -tterrace] Milk for the truck driverAnd I see Sen Sen in the background. They tasted like soap to me. Bus DriverHis change dispenser is on the counter to his left. [That's what those pants made me think. I saw Greyhound drivers still wearing them in the 1950s in Marin County, California. -tterrace] [Also, his cap-badge says BUS. - Dave] I'd kill to have that light fixture!There's so much going on in this photo. The more I look at it, the more questions I have. 5 cents a bagWhat in the world is french-fried popcorn? I want some! French-fried popcorn?Pretty much what it sounds like: Heat a deep fryer load of oil, put in a basket, and pour in the kernels. Cover(!!) and wait until the popping slows to a stop; lift out the basket full of popcorn. Local NewsThe driver is reading the February 19, 1940 issue of The Daily Clintonian. The reward mentioned to the left of the masthead was for E. C. Harris, who stole the money from a $26,000 Clinton bond issue, and for Earl "Doc" Potter, a former cemetery superintendent who had embezzled city funds. Street Car ConductorThe gentleman looks like a street car (light rail) conductor. There was a spur of the Terre Haute, Indianopolis & Eastern Traction Co. that ran up to Clinton from Terre Haute. Clinton was a small town of about 7,000 residents at the time. About 3,000 of these residents have strong ties to Italy because their parents or grandparents came from Northern Italy. [As noted below (as well as on his cap), he is a BUS driver. - Dave] Baby It's Cold OutsideLook at the condensation on the window. Not a good night to be outside in your shirt sleeves. Whre in Clinton?Can anyone zoom in on the Store License (over the shoulder of the waitress)? The address and perhaps the name of the owner might be legible. Clinton is not that large a town. I suspect it might have been near the bus station--when it existed. Bulk Buying Bargain!Charles Thomson. 3 cents each, or five for 15 cents! What's in the little tubes?The name is obscured. Something-phos? Sanitized for your protection...Note the transformer and wires up on the wall (next to ceiling light) probably leading to a neon sign in the window behind the valence or maybe an outside sign. The way the wires are strung and the way that switch is wired to the overhead light, I predict a fire in their future. Especially since someone spent all that time, cutting up crepe paper to trim the shelves. I wonder about the condensation on the window indicating the temperature outside. Probably the result of all that cookin' going on inside. If you have pots boiling or a steam table holding food at temperature, you would get condensation inside the windows. Also very surprised to seen "whoopie pies" on the desert shelf, a Pennsylvania delicacy. Finally, I note the "Sanitary" nut dispenser. "Sanitary" was a big buzzword then, even to the point of there being diners named "Sanitary Diner" in Indiana back then. The Pinball MachineMy Cousin the Pinball Guru came up with a make and model for the Pinball Machine. It's a 1937 Bally "Arlington" Probably named after Arlington Park in Illinois, Bally was based in Chicago. Who knew there was an Internet Pinball Machine Database. http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=88&picno=6566 What's in the tubes -- Answered?If you check the illustration above the tubes, you'll see a hand pouring a tube's contents into a glass. This leads me to believe it's either a headache powder, or something akin to Alka-Seltzer. Sometimes it pays to do internet research, or just ask."We received your inquiry on a picture that was found of a 1940s diner in Clinton Indiana. "We believe that it was the Speed Grill on 114 N. Main St. Thanks." Christina Hardesty Librarian Assistant Clinton Public Library 313 S. 4th St., Clinton, IN 47842 PHOSShort for phosphate. I have found kali phos (potassium phosphate), ferrum phos (iron), calc phos (calcium), and mag phos (magnesium), all homeopathic treatments for a range of ailments from pain and fever to anxiousness and sadness. But I haven't been able to find an image of those 1940 tubes, and I can't make out the word to the left of PHOS on the display panel. [It's Bromo-Phos liniment. - Dave] FirestoneI wonder what kind of product is sold under the brand Firestone: "Mar..tips"? or ".......ES"? [Matches. -tterrace] (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Eateries & Bars)
Going Nowhere: 1930
... [I-66 uses two stretches of W&OD right-of-way through Arlington. - Dave] Looks Comfy This car looks about 1000 times more ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/22/2012 - 6:43pm -

"Car interior. Washington & Old Dominion R.R." Our third and final look at Pennsy car 4928 on the tracks of the W. & O.D., whose right-of-way is now plied by commuters taking I-66 into Washington. 8x10 glass negative. View full size. Next stop, Willoughby!It looks like the old railroad car in that "Twilight Zone" episode. Is ComfyIt IS more comfy than a modern jetliner. I volunteer at a railroad museum where we refurbish and display old RR cars and have sat in many of these. The seats are like your couch at home; there is more than ample room to cross your legs and the passenger next to you can still get up and leave his seat without tripping over your legs. Some of the newer (1920s-30s) ones have pivoting seats that let the whole bench swivel toward the aisle. Like so many modern things, the "good" has been engineered out of it. We used to get things such as durability and ruggedness for free, but now it's all designed out as unnecessary, as exemplified by the sardine-can seating of modern airliners. [I'll bet airplane seats are pretty durable. And of course there's a reason airline seats are closer together. The per-mile cost of moving a pound of passenger through the air is much higher than it is on the ground. - Dave] ContrastWhile a bit seedy and mussed up, the interior of Old 4928 looks fairly decent. Like an old dowager queen waiting for a rescuer, hoping for salvation. But, alas, it probably never came and we are the worse off for that. The W&OD lives, sortaThe Washington & Old Dominion ran from Alexandria out to Purcellville in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Today, its right-of-way is a much-used bike path that stretches from the west end of Alexandria west, passing through wooded areas, suburban sprawl, and eventually rural stretches as it gets outside the Washington Beltway. It's a wonderful trail to ride. Most folks don't realize that one small (maybe a mile or two) of the RR still is in daily use: the stub that goes from the former Potomac Yard (and Conrail/Amtrak mainline) east into Old Town Alexandria, dead-ending as siding at the warehouses on the banks of the river. On a daily basis, two- and even three-engine trains of boxcars and coal hoppers pass by my office window, servicing the coal-fired Mirant power plant and the riverfront warehouses. With Old Town becoming increasingly an upscale tourist destination, it's nice to have reminders that it's still a working port! W&ODI-66 does not follow the W&OD Railroad. The W&OD's right of way is instead now a trail, from Shirlington to Purcellville. The right-of-way west of Purcellville was sold before the rest of it, so it will likely never extend further west than that. [I-66 uses two stretches of W&OD right-of-way through Arlington. - Dave] Looks ComfyThis car looks about 1000 times more comfortable than the coach seats in a modern jetliner (and the TGV trains in Europe for that matter). Doesn't look comfortableHard wooden armrests, scratchy fabric, no headrests, and no lumbar support all add up to uncomfortable in my book. All Aboard...When I was a child, and the Pennsylvania Railroad had not yet become Penn Central, there were still 1910-1938 era cars in use similar to this one. Far from being uncomfortable, they had soft mohair seats with very plush and pliable springs, and those seatbacks could be shifted to the front or back of each bench, allowing one to ride facing forward, back, or to create two adjacent seats that faced each other for a cozy group alcove. None I ever rode on had carpet runners like this one. They had linoleum or tile. The thing you cannot see in the picture is how noisy those very oldest cars were to ride in. The windows, when they were wood, banged, and the tracks were not yet welded into a seamless beam (done for the Metroliner in the 1970's), so at every segment of rail the windows rattled and the train went clack-clack-clack. The silversides of today are quiet and smooth riding, but they have none of the art deco and pre-WWI charm of these cars. Each train ride was an excursion into art history. You never knew in advance what art era you would be studying. W&OD TrailHere's a map showing the trail. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Railroads)
Just Wonderful: 1925
... did and the bandit fled in the direction of the river. Arlington county authorities and the local police are investigating the holdup. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 5:28pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1925. "Ford Motor Co. truck, John H. Wilkins Co." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. And NowIt's an AutoZone parking lot. View Larger Map Lizzies!Five Model T Fords in one shot! Must have been fun to hear them trundle off to work in the mornings... Jeff Interesting Parking BrakeI like the rock in front of the rear wheel. Is that Robert De Niro??I am not kidding. The guy loading the truck is De Niro. Rhode Island Avenue NEIt appears that this was on the 500 block of Rhode Island Avenue NE - the John H. Wilkins Co. is referenced to have been located at 525. Nothing remains today. View Larger Map Interesting parking brake on the truck.Note the half-brick under the right rear wheel, with the solid tire. What was "just wonderful" on the side of the truck about? [Coffee. If you look closely you can see lettering. - Dave] If we look carefully, we might findthat little rock that serves as a brake. Parking Brick is SetA high-tech method for ensuring the truck stays put. Still in use today. It's hard to improve on perfection. DeNiro's doppelgangerYou talking to this bag of sugar? NapsterLooks like the guy in the next truck over is taking a little snooze. Wilkins CoffeeThe Wilkins Company slogan was "Try Wilkins Coffee - It's Just Wonderful!" From 1957 to 1961 Jim Henson made 179 TV commercials for them in his pre-Muppet days. Dozens of these can be found on the internet. The coffee was reputed to be quite good and although it disappeared from DC area grocery stores in the mid-1990s, it supposedly is still available through Royal Cup Coffee's commercial and office service sales department. About the time this picture was taken the John H. Wilkins Co. was being charged by the Federal Trade Commission for unfair methods of competition. They were in the habit of leasing or loaning coffee urns to customers without payment except for an expressed agreement that the customers would purchase all their coffee and tea from Wilkins. The charges were later dropped. Also about this time period the Wilkins Co. bought a new fleet of trucks that were painted white. KermitWilkins Coffee adverts on TV in the 1950s made Kermit the Frog famous and helped launch an empire. Highway RobberyJohn H. Wilkins started in the wholesale grocery business but eventually specialized in roasted coffee, forming the Wilkins Coffee Co. in the mid 1920s. Wilkins Coffee, a long-lived Washington institution, is now remembered on the internets for early TV commercials featuring a young puppeteer named Jim Henson. Washington Post, Dec 12, 1924 Robber Takes $1,200 from Truck Driver Wholesale Grocery Delivery Man Held Up on the Highway Bridge A robber held up a truck driver and robbed him of $1,200 on the Virginia side of the Highway bridge shortly after 6 o'clock last evening. C.F. Chenault, driver for the John H. Wilkins, wholesale grocer company, 519 Rhode Island avenue northeast, was returning from Alexandria after having delivered a large quantity of groceries there. A colored "jumper" was riding alongside him. The robber had leaped on the running board of the truck before the two men saw him. He ordered Chenault to stop the truck and hand over all the money he had. This Chenault did and the bandit fled in the direction of the river. Arlington county authorities and the local police are investigating the holdup. Re: Is that Robert De Niro??I agree it is DeNiro in "Back to the Future" 1985. The mole is even on the correct side and position of the face. Rhode Island AvenueWhat a great photo. It could only have been made better if the photographer had caught a streetcar going by on its way to Hyattsville and beyond. Chief Navy Coffee Roaster Washington Post, Jul 26, 1960 Mrs. John H. Wilkins Dead; Widow of Coffee Firm Founder Mrs. John H. Wilkins, 77, widow of the founder of the Wilkins Coffee Co., died Sunday at her home, 3411 Woodley rd. nw., after a long illness. Mrs. Wilkins, born Aida Seal in Washington in 1883, was a member of a sixth-generation family here and a descendant of the Seal family that settled in Maryland and Virginia in the late 17th Century. One of her relatives, George Washington R. Seal of Winchester Va., was among the first to manufacture artificial gas for use in lighting that city. Another ancestor, Samuel Douglass, settled in a community originally known as New Scotland Hundred in Charles County, Md, which eventually became Georgetown in Washington. At the time of her marriage to Mr. Wilkins at the turn of the century, her husband owned a small retail specialty shop at 1921 14th st. nw., and sold coffee, tea, butter and eggs. From a small roaster and five bags of green coffee, Mr. Wilkins expanded his business into a million-dollar corporation by 1947, the time of his death. Mrs. Wilkins leaves a son, John H. Wilkins Jr., current president of the coffee company; a granddaughter, Mrs. Cooley Kennedy, and a great granddaughter, Christina Lyn Cooley, all of 4200 Cathedral ave. nw. A private funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Gawler's Chapel, 1756 Pennsylvania ave. nw., with interment in Rock Creek Cemetery. Washington Post, Apr 1, 1967 John H. Wilkins Dies at 65; Headed Coffee Company Here John H. Wilkins Jr., 65, chairman of the board of the Wilkins Coffee Co., died of a heart ailment yesterday at Doctors Hospital. Mr. Wilkins had been chairman of the company's board since last June, and had been its president for 19 years prior to that. Born here, he was a fifth generation Washingtonian. After graduation from Babson Institute of Business Administration, in Wellsley, Mass., he joined his father, the late John J. Wilkins Sr., in his wholesale coffee and grocery firm here. In 1923, a fire destroyed most of the firm's warehouses. Mr. Wilkins persuaded his father to terminate his grocery business at that time, and from then on, the firm's efforts were concentrated on processing coffee. Wilkins Coffee Co. built its main plant in Landover, Md., in 1965-66. The company also operates plants in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pa., Baltimore, Richmond, Norfolk and Raleigh, N.C. Mr. Wilkins is also one of the four founders of Tenco, Inc., which became one of the largest processors of instant coffee in the world. Nelson Rockefeller, now governor of New York, was active in the firm before it was sold to Minute Maid Orange Juice Corp., which was later bought by Coca-Cola Corp. During World War II Mr. Wilkins served in the Navy as an activated reserve officer. For 26 months he served at Pearl Harbor, and then was assigned to be chief of the Navy's coffee roasting plant in Oakland, Calif. After about four years of service, a heart condition forced him to resign. Mr. Wilkins was especially active in the Washington Heart Fund, where he headed the first Greater Washington fund drive and was honored as the fund's first life member. He was also a member of the New York Coffee and Sugar Exchange, National Coffee Association of the U.S.A., Metropolitan Washington Board of Trade, Merchants and Manufacturers Association of Washington, National Association of Manufacturers, Army and Navy Club, University Club and National Press Club. He is survived by his wife, Ruth M., of the home address, "Chestnut Lawn," near Remington Va.; a daughter, Lyn W. Kennedy of Washington, and a granddaughter. I am unable to find any notice in the Post regarding the death of John H. Wilkins, Sr., in 1947. Are the pages recording his death are missing from the digital archives or was his death so scandalous that it went unreported in the newspapers? [He had the temerity to expire elsewhere. Below, item from 6-14-47 - Dave] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
Riverdale: 1923
... have known where they were. This view is looking towards Arlington/Rosslyn, Va. across the river. What I said about Riverdale is ... on the Virginia side looks flat. Does anyone see Arlington House? [The hilly parts along the river are north of Rosslyn, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/01/2018 - 12:10pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1923. "View of Naval Observatory and Washington from Massachusetts Avenue hill." Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size. Riverdale?Dave, I didn't remember the Naval Observatory, but something that high wouldn't have been near the railroad. The Naval Obs. is southwest of Riverdale, on the opposite side of center city. It's just a bit north of Georgetown; that's not considered Riverdale, is it? Harris & Ewing certainly should have known where they were. This view is looking towards Arlington/Rosslyn, Va. across the river. What I said about Riverdale is quite true. As for the Georgetown neighborhood, I've run a few trains down there as well, on the long-gone Georgetown-Silver Spring branch. ["Riverdale" is a pop-culture reference. - Dave] Been thereI've driven through the outskirts a few times; I've pulled a LOT of freight trains through there; I've even piloted a few MARC commuter jobs through Riverdale, but I never saw it look as appealing as it does in this old photo. (That heavy humidity looking like smoke, is still there in season.) JuxtapositionsI think it must be the juxtaposition of familiar still extant landmarks with bits of forest and anytown USA houses that makes this look like the best Model Train layout ever to me. My reaction is completely different than it has been to many other circa 1923 pictures on Shorpy! This is, for me, a view of my childhood somehow perfectly blended with the world of my grandparents, rather than a straight picture of the distant past. Amazing PhotoShows just how small Washington was back then. And why Cleveland Heights was considered a good place to go to escape the "City." Love to see a photo from the same spot today. I'd guess the Alban Towers wasn't even a dream yet. Confused by VirginiaThe Virginia side is pretty hilly around the cemetery, and rises over towards Crystal City. Everything on the Virginia side looks flat. Does anyone see Arlington House? [The hilly parts along the river are north of Rosslyn, out of frame to the right. Where today's Memorial Bridge crosses into Arlington, it's flat. Below, a Google Earth screen grab. Arlington House is the red dot. - Dave] Confusing PerspectiveThis is a really confusing perspective. It would appear that these are the Wisconsin Avenue streetcar tracks and that the shot was taken from somewhere near the intersection of Wisconsin and Massachusetts Avenues. You can see the Lincoln Memorial in this picture, which was completed in 1922, but not the Memorial Bridge, which didn't begin construction until 1926. What I'm having a hard time understanding is where is Arlington National Cemetery in this picture? [The Potomac as seen in this view is C-shaped and loops from top right to the left, then back to middle right. Virginia is on the right, between the arms of the C. Click the handy locator map below. - Dave] Capital TractionIf you look down toward Georgetown, you can make out the twin stacks of the Capital Traction power plant (built 1910-11). The incinerator that sat across the street and had a tall stack had not yet been constructed when this photo was taken, as it went up around 1932. The other stacks are, I believe, industries located along the C&O Canal, one of which, a shop that ran along Grace Street, is still extant -- even the smokestack! Staying PowerIt looks like several of these structures are still around in 2018. In 1913, the building at 3600 Calvert Street NW was 11 years old and served as the schoolhouse for an orphanage and reformatory called the Industrial Home School. In the 1950s, the residents of the school were moved to Laurel, Maryland. The main building was torn down. The schoolhouse became the Guy Mason Recreation Center. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Railroads, Streetcars)
Capitol Refining: 1925
... Cotton Oil and Provisions Corporation, at Relee, near Arlington Junction, Alexandria county. The Capitol Refining Company is a ... Soon to Operate. To Employ 200 Persons. Industry at Arlington Junction Will Help Virginians. Within ten days the Columbia ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 6:42pm -

A glimpse at the industrial side of Washington circa 1925, labeled "Capitol Refining Co. plant." This tank farm, where the Pentagon stands today, was described at the time as being in "Relee, Alexandria County, just south of the highway bridge." National Photo Co. Collection glass negative. View full size. OMG!I hate it when Giant Amoebas attack! Cattle, Cotton & Oil, Oh My!I find it curious how this site evolved from a stockyard and abattoir (slaughterhouse) into a cottonseed oil refinery and then finally the petroleum refinery pictured. The cotton-seed oil may have been used for food or industrial applications such as lubricants and paint. I wonder if equipment for refining cottonseeds could be reused to refine petroleum? [Were any of these petroleum tanks? - Dave] Update: After seeing the later White Dome post, I am pondering if perhaps the "refining" refers only to vegetable and animal oils and not to petroleum products at all. I guess its my fossil-fuel-centric lifestyle that led me to the conclusion that this was a petroleum refinery - that and pre-conditioning due to the long series of photos of service stations on Shorpy. Washington Post, Jun 5, 1908 Packing Plant For City Washington's industries are to be increased here of a plant with an annual output valued at from $4,000,000 to $5,000,000. The company, to be known as the Columbia Cotton Oil and Provisions Corporation, proposes to absorb the Washington and Virginia Stock Yard and Abattoir Company and to enlarge the plant and add equipment, not only for slaughtering of cattle, but for the refining of crude cottonseed oil. ... The proposed plant, it is said, will be the only one of its kind east of Chicago and south of New York, and the only complete compound plant on the coast between New York and Savannah. ... The annual capacity, according to figures submitted to the manufactures committee of the Chamber of Commerce, will be 100,000 barrels of crude cotton-seed oil, 125,000 hogs, 10,000 cattle, and 25,000 sheep and calves which will be converted into lard, lard compound, lard substitute, cooking oils, lard stearine, oleo stearine, hams, bacon, sausage, canned meats, fertilizer, hides, and a variety of fresh cuts to be put on the market. Washington Post, Jun 2, 1913 Refiners Buy Oil Plant The Capitol Refining Company, which was recently granted a charter by the Virginia corporation commission, has purchased the plant of the Columbia Cotton Oil and Provisions Corporation, at Relee, near Arlington Junction, Alexandria county. The Capitol Refining Company is a subsidiary of the Jacob Dold Packing Company, an independent concern, whose main establishment is in Buffalo, N.Y., and its announced that about September 1, after extensive repairs to the plant, operations will be resumed. Relee, Va.Is it possible that Relee stands for Robert E. Lee? His estate was nearby. [You are correct. The use of Relee, Virginia, as a place name seems to have begun in 1909, with the establishment there of a post office, rail stop and telegraph office, all connected with the Columbia slaughterhouse and rendering plant in what used to be Alexandria County, at the current location of the Pentagon. By 1935, use of the name seems to have pretty much stopped. - Dave] Washington Post, November 11, 1909 Finishing Big Plant $450,000 Abattoir and Refinery Soon to Operate. To Employ 200 Persons. Industry at Arlington Junction Will Help Virginians. Within ten days the Columbia Cotton Oil and Provision Company will begin operation of its $450,000 plant, which has been building near Arlington Junction across the river for the last nine months, and will mark one of the greatest strides forward in the industrial development of Washington. In the abattoir 4,000 hogs a week will be killed, and a strong demand will at once be created in Virginia and surrounding States for porkers. ... The cotton oil refinery and abattoir will be run in conjunction in the production of lard compound, which will be one of the most important outputs of the establishment. ... The plant essays the importance of a town which has been recognized already by the establishment of a railroad stop and a postoffice by the United States government. The name is Relee, in honor of R.E. Lee. It is Relee postoffice, Relee station, and Relee telegraph office, all of which are in operation. Day of JudgmentCould the "accidental" location of the "cloud" be any better placed in terms of composition? Actually makes the shot better, I think. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Railroads)
Chillin': 1925
... Washington, D.C. April 29, 1925. "Girls from Keith's at Arlington Beach." Showgirls from the local B.F. Keith vaudeville house taking a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 11:49am -

Washington, D.C. April 29, 1925. "Girls from Keith's at Arlington Beach." Showgirls from the local B.F. Keith vaudeville house taking a dip in nippy weather. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Ten Hut!Yup, the weather is nippy, and they're standing at attention! My personal favourite is the third one from the left. Nice hair. Color Them BlueIf the weather was as nippy as assumed, these women were real troupers to look so cheery for the camera. [Nippiness is revealed by close visual inspection. - Dave] Far Left" All right, Mr.Keith, I'm ready for my close-up." Swimsuit FabricI thought it looked like wool but I can't imagine getting that wet. Wifey thinks it might be gingham. My daughter just laughed. [Swimsuits back then were generally wool. - Dave] Good news bad newsThe bad news: I am going to learn colorization! The good news: I am starting with flesh tones on this photo. Just kidding! "Close visual inspection"What do you mean, Dave? Goose bumps on their arms and legs? [Something like that. "Nippy" -- such an apt description. - Dave] Prymaat's momThe third from the left is an authentic Conehead girl! Cold ComfortI suspect wool was the bathing suit material of choice because, unlike cotton, it tends to retain its insulating power when wet. It's also resilient. Nevertheless, the insulating power of these suits seems to be insufficient in some regards. We have a large Roman statue-fountain in our garden that we've named "Nippy" (or perhaps "Nipi") for similar reasons. CaptionsLeft to right: 1. Same to ya, Bud! 2. Ain't this fun? 3. I hope this pic makes it big time. 4. Let's get it over with. 5. Yup ... I'm cold. Hope it doesn't show. 6. Any one else think I'm cute? 7. Oh! So embarrassing! No more stockings!The practice of wearing stockings and shoes with bathing attire, still so evident just a few years earlier, seems to have been passe by the mid-twenties. How fortunate for the girls! Sand permeates every piece of clothing worn to the beach and stockings and shoes would have gotten very nasty! (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Swimming)
Nathaniel Dial Children: 1922
... ship. He was awarded the Navy Cross, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. The other boy was Joseph Dial, born about 1914. He ... in World War II. He died in 1967, and is also buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Finally, you can see another photo of the same ... 
 
Posted by Ken - 09/08/2011 - 6:19pm -

The children of U.S. Senator Nathaniel Dial, May 27. 1922. From the National Photo Company collection. View full size. This is intriguing for someThis is intriguing for some reason. DialAren't you glad you use Dial? Don't you wish everybody did? It's the children..Their faces look so fetchingly wise. Sailor SuitThe little one was ahead of his time. It would be another 12 years before Donald Duck would make an outfit like that his trademark. WowI glimsped at the photo at first, but then I had to look back, and stare. They all look so aged. It'sThey all look so aged. It's hard not to stare at them. Wondering...I cannot help but to wonder, as I look at all of these photos, if the people I am looking at are still alive. (and yes, obviously many of them are not....) Nathaniel Dial ChildrenThis is Joe Manning. I did some quick research, and identified the older girl as Fannie Dial, born Sept 3, 1907. She married Matthew White Perry. In 1930, they were living at 1026 16th St, Washington, DC. They had four children. One of them, William Perry, died in 2007, in Beaufort, South Carolina. Matthew died in Washington in 1973. I was unable to find Fannie's date of death. You can see a 1924 photo of her here. The other girl was Dorothy Dial, born May 27, 1909. She married Harold Ogden Smith. They had four children. He died in Maryland, January 15, 1989. Dorothy died June 18, 2003, at the age of 94. The older boy was Nathaniel Dial, born March 21, 1911. In December 1944, he was killed while on a Japanese prison ship. He was awarded the Navy Cross, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. The other boy was Joseph Dial, born about 1914. He served in World War II. He died in 1967, and is also buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Finally, you can see another photo of the same children, several more of Fannie (or Fanny), and several of older sisters Rebecca and Emily, on the Library of Congress website. Go to http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/mdbquery.html Then enter "Dial" in the search box, click search, and then Preview Images. If you browse through the 98 photos, you will eventually find all of them. They are very interesting, and reflect what was most assuredly a privileged family. According To Wikipedia . . .Which is not always the best source . . . In 1846, the four-year-old Prince of Wales was given a scaled-down version of the uniform worn by ratings on the Royal Yacht. He wore his miniature sailor suit during a cruise off the Channel Islands that September, delighting his mother and the public alike. Popular engravings, including the famous portrait done by Franz Winterhalter, spread the idea, and by the 1870s, the sailor suit had become normal dress for both boys and girls in many parts of the world. (From the entry for Edward VII) They are all gone now.I'm one of the older girl's grandchildren. Two of her sons are still alive, but that generation has passed. An amazing story about a boy in a Shorpy photographI know this is many years later than comments are usually posted about a photograph, but there is a story, here, which I believe needs to be told, and will be of interest to many of my fellow Shorpy-ites. I would like to add to the information Joe Manning provided for Nathaniel Minter Dial, who is the oldest boy in this photo. Known widely as "Minter", he was appointed to the US Naval Academy in 1928. While there, his classmates came up with the "imaginative" nickname of "Sun". He made many friends, lettered in Lacrosse for multiple years, and met his true love, Lisa, in the Fall of his "plebe" year. He graduated in 1932, and was commissioned as an Ensign. He married Lisa, and they started a family. Tragically, Minter Dial was one of those most unfortunate Americans who found themselves in the Philippines at the beginning of the war and were ordered to surrender to the Japanese. Like most others who shared that fate, Minter Dial didn't survive the war. The Smithsonian magazine, online, has a very touching story of something that was no less than a miracle. It's about how RADM George Pressey, who had been Minter Dial's best friend and teammate at USNA, found his friend's class ring, at Inchon, Korea. It had been found during the excavation of a site that had previously been a POW camp. It's a story that I will never forget! Read the story here. Following up Nathaniel Minter's storyI have just come across this thread. Thanks for your comments @Noelani.... Not meaning just to promote myself, I wanted to let you know that I have completed a book and documentary film that will be coming out this autumn on Minter's story. (I'm Minter's grandson, carrying his name). In case you are interested to find out more, please come by www.TheLastRingHome.com.... It's been a lifelong journey for me too. (The Gallery, Kids, Natl Photo)
It'll Buff Out: 1942
May 1942. Arlington, Virginia. "Operations in auto body plant and storage of 'frozen' ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/16/2022 - 8:50am -

May 1942. Arlington, Virginia. "Operations in auto body plant and storage of 'frozen' cars. Buffing surface of a car body prior to painting. Cars 'frozen' by Office of Price Administration ruling stored on Virginia farm." Photo by John Collier, Office of War Information. View full size. Patient IDA 1941 Ford DeLuxe Tudor Sedan is undergoing buttock surgery. Deep freezeThe caption refers to the Office of Production Management order halting production of all non-military vehicles as of January 15, 1942. More than 400 auto dealers descended on Congress (sound familiar?), but all they got was a delay until February 2. All sales of 1942 model civilian vehicles were prohibited. One result: the 1942 Plymouth "military vehicle" below. Tires also became a crucial commodity (and object of theft), and in July 1942 there was a plan (evidently never implemented) for government confiscation. It has been suggested that a main purpose of gasoline rationing was to preserve rubber. Speaking of buffThe autobody guy should be wearing safety glasses. What did you say???Nobody thought too much about eye and ear protection back then. Heck, I didn't think about ear protection until the mid-'90s. By then, the damage had been done. Love the old cars from the 1940s. They always remind me of Mighty Mouse cartoons! What a GrindI don't believe he's buffing. He's grinding the old paint to prepare for body work. The air tool he's using was too weak to power a buffing pad and spun too fast. A buffing wheel would have been a thick sheep's wool pad. Also why would you buff a fender that's rusted out on the bottom. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, John Collier, WW2)
Triangle Service Station: 1925
1925. The Triangle Service Station in Arlington, Virginia, at Mount Vernon Avenue and Military Road. View full ... Post, the Triangle Service Station (Esso) was in Arlington ("South Washington") at Mount Vernon Avenue and Military Road. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 10:06pm -

1925. The Triangle Service Station in Arlington, Virginia, at Mount Vernon Avenue and Military Road. View full size. National Photo Company Collection. AntennaInteresting to see the long-wire (shortwave) antenna suspended across the roof Pumps?Does anyone know what those gas-tank-looking things in the center behind the "Diamond" sign are? [Lube carts -- mobile motor oil pumps that could be wheeled over to your car. - Dave] 23, 27Why are there numbers 23 and 27 on the pumps? Were those early octane ratings, or prices for regular and premium (called high-test in those days)? And, I think Triangle later merged with Cities Service, later Citgo. Re: AntennaIn those days, even normal broadcast (medium wave) radios commonly used an outdoor random-wire antenna. Loop type antennas that were contained totally within the radio hadn't been invented yet. Service StationIt appears the road was recently re-asphalted what with dark pebbles on the entry apron. But the question for anyone who might have knowledge, what do the numbers 23 and 27 on the gas pump columns signify? Perhaps an earlier measure of octane, or simply the price at each pump? In any case, there does seem to be some sort of differentiation in the fuels. [They mean 23 and 27 cents per gallon. - Dave] Triangle Service StationAccording to a 1931 display ad in the Washington Post, the Triangle Service Station (Esso) was in Arlington ("South Washington") at Mount Vernon Avenue and Military Road. Military & Mount VernonAt present, Military Road and Mount Vernon Drive aren't even vaguely near each other. It is of course possible that road renaming has eliminated the intersection, but I haven't had any success in locating this one. [Sections of Glebe Road were at one time also called the Military Road. Back before route markers and street signs became common, what a road was called often depended on who you asked or whose map you were using. - Dave] Triangle ServiceMount Vernon Avenue and Glebe Road intersect here in Alexandria. There's a car wash on the corner now, but houses like the one in the photo are very common farther down Mount Vernon into the DelRay neighborhood. Roof tilesI live about half a mile south of where this service station used to be, in the Del Ray neighborhood e*c mentions in his comment. If the indicated location is correct, none of the adjacent homes survived I'm afraid. Very interesting architectural details though - take for instance the clay tile roofs on the station and the homes in the background - you won't find those anywhere anymore today. I'm also surprised to see that again both the service station as well as the homes already have K-style gutters mounted all around. I always thought that those were added decades later. The home in background on the right has somewhat odd decorative keystones built-in around the windows. Can't say I've seen those before either. And did you notice all the open windows? No AC in 1925 and judging by the grass and foliage it's late spring or early summer... Gas StationRare Spanish Colonial Survives http://www.curatorofshit.com/2010/05/03/gas-station-architecture-dies-he... (The Gallery, Gas Stations, Natl Photo)
Varsity Stickman: 1924
... Phoenix Veterans Administration Hospital. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. (The Gallery, Farked, Handsome Rakes, Sports) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 9:31pm -

1924. "Lewis, Maryland Agricultural College." Gomer Lewis, University of Maryland lacrosse star. National Photo Co. glass negative. View full size. All-AmericanGomer Lewis was named All-American out home (attacker) player in 1924 and 1925. http://www.umterps.com/sports/m-lacros/history/all_americans.html The TerpsMaryland Agricultural College, now known as the University of Maryland, is in College Park just over the line from Washington. A longtime lacrosse powerhouse along with its Baltimore brethren at Johns Hopkins University. Whoo HooNice bod! A shame his name is Gomer. I wonder what became of him. More beefcake, please, Shorpy! BoxlaLacrosse is Canada's national sport, contrary to the beer-swilling, toothless, wrestling-on-ice corporate spectacle they refer to as NHL hockey. The leather helmet is a nice touch -- this guy must be one tough cookie, eh? Most lacrosse in Canadaland is box lacrosse, as opposed to field lacrosse, which is mostly played in hockey arenas. HogwartsIt's Ron Weasley with the Quidditch team! Looks Like Lewisohn StadiumThe setting looks like Lewisohn Stadium on Convent Avenue in New York City. Did they come to NYC to play someone in the area? [This is Byrd Field at the University of Maryland. Note MARYLAND spelled out across the stadium building. - Dave] The Byrd CageIt appears this was taken outside the old Byrd Stadium, which would have been less than a year old at the time of this photo. The old stadium, which seated 5,000, was used for only about 25 years before the Terrapins moved to another (much larger) stadium of the same name on the opposite end of campus, which is still in use today. The stadium shown in the background of this photo sat on the east side of US Route 1, across from the main section of campus. Ritchie Coliseum, the University's main gymnasium at the time, was built directly adjacent to the stadium in 1931. Today, the University's Fraternity Row sits on the site of the old Byrd Stadium. Knock on woodI just can't imagine playing the game back in the day. Wood sticks were the first, obviously, and remained traditional for years even with the introduction of plastic-headed sticks with metal shafts. I remember when I first took up the sport and my coach tried to force me to play with wood "because that's what everyone else used" but I refused to go along with it and I had the only plastic stick on the entire team. Turns out I was ahead of my time. I ended up getting better while everyone else experienced setbacks in their training when they were forced to switch from wood to plastic a few years later. Lots of funWhen I was a undergrad at U of Maryland during the early 1980s, I used to stop and watch the lacrosse games in the stadium when I was returning to the dorm after a trip to the library. Lots of fun, very very fast. Fark FodderEven as we speak, good ol' Gomer is being subjected to the tender mercies of the Farkers. Tune in Thursday night for the results! Handsome RakeC'mon! If a fellow with such a nicely developed set of quadriceps (and shoulders!) can't qualify for Rake status, who does? Please add him to the list, even if he does have a somewhat whimsical helmet and is named Gomer! Actually, I rather like the helmet. Gomer Gets FarkedFarked again. Colonel LewisGomer Lewis Jr., born May 24, 1903, in Washington to Gomer Lewis and Ida [Bauman] Lewis, attended Central High School. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1925 with a B.S. in engineering. Awarded an "M" letter in both football and lacrosse, he was named All-American in lacrosse in both 1924 and 1925, was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity, and was vice-president of the Inter-Fraternity Council. By 1928 Lewis began working for the Mountain States Telephone Company in both Tuscon and Phoenix. He joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 1932 as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Engineering Corps and later in the Field Artillery. In 1941 he was transferred to active duty in the Signal Corps, serving as an electronics engineer. His military career continued after the war, and he would eventually join the Air Force. His obituary states that he later served in the Korean War. He retired as a colonel in 1956. Lewis officiated at many football games in both the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast Conferences. He retired to Sedona, Arizona, in 1960, and died June 15, 1965, at the Phoenix Veterans Administration Hospital. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. (The Gallery, Farked, Handsome Rakes, Sports)
Over and Under: 1900
Circa 1900. "Grade separation near Arlington, New Jersey." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2013 - 3:44pm -

Circa 1900. "Grade separation near Arlington, New Jersey." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Transit SuperiorityTruly the two most romantic forms of travel man has ever created. Classic 4-4-0That's about the most beautiful locomotive I've ever seen! They must have been burning special coal to have no visible smoke coming from the stack (bet it helped keep it clean too). By 1900, though, that classic layout was already considered obsolete. You could probably see your reflection in the polished connecting rods and valve linkage. Does anyone know what railroad this is? I can see lettering on the passenger car but can't quite read it even in HR. It isn't "PRR" (Pennsylvania, the one I remember from my NJ childhood). [This is the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western locomotive seen earlier here. - Dave] Two great looking wheelsand the cleanest steam locomotive on earth. Howard Boulevard and Route 80I remember this from when I was a kid in the sixties. That's right by the back entrance to the Hercules powder plant. Today there is a park-and-ride. Dressed to the ninesBoth the dapper looking youngsters and that gorgeous engine! The engine, quaint even by the standards of 1900, would look like it's going 100 MPH sitting still! The GeneralA picture of the boys and their bikes would be interesting enough but this is an amazing picture. There's obviously something more interesting to look at than the camera or the train. The locomotive itself reminds me of Buster Keaton's "The General." Road of AnthraciteThis is indeed the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western RR. The Lackawanna promoted its clean passenger service using "Hard coal, no cinders" with a creation of the ad guys known as Phoebe Snow. A pretty lady was hired to be Miss Snow, and the campaign ran for many years before the Great War. A modern diesel powered streamliner placed in service after WWII was named "The Phoebe Snow" in honor of the original. All of the fuss was about the DL&W burning lump anthracite, which didn't create cinders as soft coal did. The little American-type locomotive above has a long, narrow firebox [under the back end of the boiler and forward of the cab] which identifies the 128 as a lump burner. These engines ran commuter trains from all over northern New Jersey to the Hoboken ferries at the turn of the last century. They had brief careers, however. They were replaced by larger engines that were demoted from mainline service by about 1910. Hi-def look at the coach reveals a small "M&E" on the left end of the letterboard. This refers to the Morris and Essex Division. The coach also is lettered below the windows possibly indicating some sort of photographer's car. [The car was the "Detroit Photographic Co. Special," which we'll be seeing more of, and whose progenitors carried DPC partner William Henry Jackson through Mexico and the American West in the 1880s and 1890s when he was exposing his "mammoth plates" -- 18x22 inch glass negatives taken by giant view cameras that were the Imax equivalent of the era, so massive they required a locomotive to haul around and develop. - Dave] DPC SpecialThis special train was used by the Detroit Photographic Company to haul its photographers, equipment, and darkroom all over the country. The locomotives varied but the passenger car was specially fitted just for the company and as Dave noted, was owned by the Lackawanna. From what I understand, the DPC made at least two railroad excursion trips - one in 1899 and a second in 1902. Clearly they made other trips to gather photos that spanned several decades but the photo trains may have been more limited. In quite a few other DPC photos you can see a locomotive pulling a single DPC passenger car somewhere in the distance. Before good roads and automobiles, the train was pretty much the only way to get anywhere that was more than a few miles away. The photo below from the collection shows William Henry jackson sitting inside the DPC car. Slick and sleekIt looks like this loco has been 'hot rodded'. Very slick indeed. In three years that cycle on the left looks like it might have a Harley-Davidson motor slung into its frame. Wonderful image, once again. Dickson 4-4-0 Standard? Railway and locomotive engineering, Vol. 8, 1895. Equipment Notes The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western have ordered two eight-wheel passenger engines from the Dickson Locomotive Works. They have received bids for 500 coal cars, and expect to award the contract this month. The road is very short of coal cars. The pictured locomotive could be one of DL&W's Dickson Locomotive Works 4-4-0 Standard engines. Related photos on the web: here and here. The Lackawanna also owned several Dickson 4-4-0 Camelbacks but this photo is clearly not a camelback. Straight skinny on the DL&W 128I had to go through my books and look this up. The 19th century DL&W had the peculiar practice of having separate number series for each division. Thus, our 128 was built by Dickson in 1876 with shop number 183, as DL&W Morris and Essex Div. no. 100 [During this period, she was named, logically enough, "Centennial"]. She weighed 87000 lbs in working order, and was renumbered in the general renumbering [1899, I think] to DL&W no.128. She was scrapped in 1909. Detroit Photographic CarThe car may have changed depending on the railroad. The Denver Public Library has quite a collection of Detroit Photographic images as well, including these showing the car and a locomotive on the Chicago and North Western railroad. http://digital.denverlibrary.org/u?/p15330coll21,8799 http://digital.denverlibrary.org/u?/p15330coll21,8796 The car is clearly a C&NW car. Upgrading a bikeI noticed that the older boy has upscaled his bike to cool by flipping the handlebars over. Very racer looking. (The Gallery, Bicycles, DPC, Kids, Railroads)
Langley Field: 1942
... using DNA and other means; they will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery on April 18th. Denny Gill Chugiak, Alaska ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/22/2012 - 12:44pm -

July 1942. Servicing an A-20 bomber at Langley Field, Virginia. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer. I love this. That's such aI love this. That's such a beautiful plane too. Wonderful picture. God Bless! I like thisThis picture is a mirror of WW2 The war was in colorIt's always wonderfully startling for me to see World War II and the 40s in realistic color. Between the black-and-white photos, the antiqued look of cheaper movies, and the aggressively desaturated color of the Spielberg/Hanks epics, I sometimes have trouble picturing the everyday reality of it. Black and white and the other forms aestheticizes and brings out pure forms and content, but there's something to be said for the way a color photo makes what seems remote familiar and contemporaneous. TechnicolorThat's when Technicolor's original three-strip process was being used for movies, anyway. Vividly-saturated color images are just as true-to-life to the 1940s as crisp black-and-white. For an antidote to Spielbergian 1940s color, see Martin Scorsese's The Aviator (excluding the two-color section at the beginning). Digitally color-adjusted to simulate the Technicolor "look." The War In ColorI heartily and enthusiastically recommend a mini-series called "The Second World War in Colour" (it's British) which has spawned a variety of successor series for various countries - I think that the most recent one is "Japan's War in Colour." There is a lot of gorgeous colour footage out there, and a lot of it was shot by amateurs of everyday life. Well worth finding. A-20This recent "Stars and Stripes" article tells the story of three U.S. airmen's remains that had originally been found in the wreckage of their A-20 Havoc (misidentified in the article as an "A-JO"), which had crashed in Nazi Germany in December, 1944. The airmen were identified using DNA and other means; they will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery on April 18th. Denny Gill Chugiak, Alaska B-18 back there tooNote the rare Douglas B-18 Bolo just visible far in the distance in the lower right corner of the photo. The B-18 was a bomber derived from the DC-3 airliner, using the latter's wing and engines with a new fuselage. Small numbers were bought in the 1930s as a cheaper alternative to the more complex and costly Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Surviving examples soldiered on through WW2 mostly in stateside coastal patrol or training roles. Based on the camouflage scheme of the aircraft, I would venture a guess that this a "Boston," the RAF version of the A-20. US versions would've been Olive Drab over Neutral Gray; this one is painted in the RAF equivalent colors of Dark Green and Dark Earth over Sky. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Aviation, WW2)
Klanorama: 1925
... The "services" at the Capital Horse Show grounds in Arlington, complete with flaming 80-foot cross, wrapped up the Klan's weekend ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/18/2009 - 6:15pm -

Sunday, August 9, 1925. "KKK services." The "services" at the Capital Horse Show grounds in Arlington, complete with flaming 80-foot cross, wrapped up the Klan's weekend in Washington. Some 100,000 people from all over the country were thought to have attended. National Photo Co. glass negative. View full size. Great Granddad is that you?When researching grave sites for family genealogy, my aunt talked to the cemetery caretaker and he sheepishly told of an ancestor who rode in parades in full white sheet and hood KKK getup on a big white horse. But seeing as he had the only white horse in the county, he kind of blew the anonymous part! The caretaker was cautious since telling someone their ancestor was a proud KKK member might not be welcome, but my Aunt loved the story even though she does not share the ancestors racial viewpoint. The LotteryThe smiling father to the right of the center foreground group is simultaneously creepy and depressing, like those old photos of the whole town turning out for a lynching. In the BasementDecades ago when I was a small-town editor in Oklahoma, one of the old-timers told me about trouble that the local Kluckers tried to stir up in their heyday in the 1920s. They whispered, he said, that the basement of the home of the local Catholic priest contained an arsenal, concrete evidence, you see, of a planned Papist takeover. Years later, the house was torn down -- revealing the fact that there was no basement. Average white band.Amazing how many average-looking folks participated in the klan back then. Of course, you can't judge people by how they look...this is a prime example of that old adage. God bless the First AmendmentNo matter how stupid the speech is. Yesterday's NooseThe first thing I thought of when I saw the structure at the middle of all this hubbub was that it looks an awful lot like a gallows. FlagsThe so called KKK of modern times waltz around waving Confederate flags instead of Old Glory. I don't think either of my great-grandfathers would approve of their battle flag being used by radicals like the present Klan. [Don't forget your other two great-granddads. Everyone has four. - Dave] Four?How do you get four Grandfathers? My fathers father & my mothers father, that's two. Where are the other two? Or is this a joke? [I said everyone has four great-grandfathers, not four grandfathers. - Dave] Re: Average-looking folksOf course they were average-looking folks. What's most striking to me about the comments on the KKK pictures is the widespread assumption that the people attending these meetings and participating in the Klan were evil, fringe members of society. They weren't, as you can see. The Klan, particularly in the 1920s, was sold as a patriotic, Christian organization. As repulsive as it is to modern sensibilities, to the average middle-class white guy in Indiana in 1923, joining the Klan wouldn't have sounded any weirder than joining the Rotary Club (or any other civic organization) might sound to someone today. As someone mentioned on one of the other photos, the Klan salesmen received a portion of the membership fees for each person that joined, so it was obviously in their interest to make it sound as mainstream as possible. The tendency to jump all over these people and paint them as the spawn of Satan is, I think, a fearful reaction to the fact that they DO look so normal. Deep down, many of us know that had we grown up in the same circumstances of the time, we would have likely made the same choices as Mr. Joe Schmoe Klansman. To deal with that guilt and fear, the only choice is to demonize these people as "way different than us." Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly glad that racial attitudes and attitudes toward Catholics and other religious groups are fairer and more inclusive now than they were then, and I certainly don't condone the actions of the Klan. But I think there is some danger in imagining ourselves to have reached such a state of enlightenment that we would never be tempted to act or think in a similar way. Ironically, that sense of superiority is exactly what breeds groups like the Klan. "Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan" by Todd Tucker is an interesting look at the Klan at this point in American history. It's quite character and narrative driven, so it's a pretty easy read. I think it explains well some of the appeal of the Klan in the 20s, and uses the prominence of the Notre Dame football team as a sort of counterpoint, culminating in a Klan march through South Bend, Indiana. It also describes the horrific career and downfall of one of the Klan's leading figures, D.C. Stephenson. Kennebunk MaineAn 80 year old man I know remembered how his neighbor would hold Klan rallies (in Kennebunk, no less). Afterward the neighbor would give this person's family the leftover food. Forgetting the family in question was Catholic. Xenophobic PageantryAs I understand, the Klan was also fairly anti-immigration. There was plenty of fear and uncertainty around that time. Everyone in this picture seems just out for a good time. Jump in the roadster. Fresh night air and the crowd. Bring the kids. This was before "American Idol." This shot does sort of remind me of those iconic photographs of American lynchings--kids, women and men in straw hats, all smiling at the camera save one. Those photos are REALLY disturbing. The Klan Was For 100% Pure AmericanismIn the early 1920's, how often did we hear about rape, robbery, murder, drug dealing, child molestation and other such crimes -- we didn't. People today simply do not want to admit it, but the Klan, at one time, was a great patriotic organization. Say what you want to, but your words will not change history. [You should look at an actual 1920s newspaper. I've gone through hundreds researching posts for this site. They are full of assaults, murder and robbery. When I was a kid I knew a lady whose grandfather was lynched by the Klan for driving in the wrong place after sunset. - Dave] (The Gallery, Curiosities, Natl Photo)
Lollipops: 1910
... used to have a similar type of wallpaper in their house in Arlington. I used to love it when I was a kid, though I'm sure my parents ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 7:08pm -

"Lollipops." Mina Turner and her cousin Elizabeth in Waban, Massachusetts. 1910. View full size. 8x10 dry plate glass negative by Gertrude Kasebier. The WallsWhat amazing wallpaper! Beautiful! WoodworkAs a carpenter I find this shot is a feast of fabulous woodwork. From the exquisite filigree of the bannister to the graceful curves of the stair treads, plus the door casings and the oversized moulding as it flows up the stairs elicits admiration and awe since I'd guess most of this was accomplished without the myriad of power tools, pneumatic nailers, and high tech equipment we have on the jobsite today. Those guys would drool over what we can do so quickly and easily. Whereas we are knocked out by their ability to do such high quality work with much more basic tools. Craftsmen are craftsmen, just the times we live in make for the differences. StairsCraftsmen being craftsmen, I went back to admire the woodwork after my first comment. And I did find a little glitch that someone might have caught some flack over. But since I can see it, maybe not. Look at the corner post at the landing. You'll see the post cap trim is severely out of level. Get that guy back to fix it is what our boss would say. It was likely either the rookie or the old guy whose eyesight is not what it used to be. Happens. [That's the lens, not the trim. - Dave] Great Wallpaper!!!My grandparents used to have a similar type of wallpaper in their house in Arlington. I used to love it when I was a kid, though I'm sure my parents thought it looked tacky. SweetThis one has a very innocent, sweet appeal, not just for the candy, but the overall mood. ThermostatAt least that's what the thing on the door frame behind the lady's head looks like. Very primitive, big, and installed with no thought of aesthetics. Technology run amok. [Similar to this Minneapolis setback regulator on eBay. - Dave] One of my favesA rather straight shot from one of my fave photogs of the Pictorialist era. Min and LizThe lighting on the two kids is fantastic... very glowy. ThermostatsWhat we recognize as a thermostat was called a damper regulator in the 1910s. Unlike a modern thermostat, damper regulators, which came into use around 1885, didn't turn the heating system off and on (since there is no "off" for the fire in an old-fashioned coal furnace) but rather regulated temperature by controlling a damper that sent heated air either through the ventilating system (making the house warmer) or up the chimney or flue (making the house cooler), or in intermediate positions, partly through the ventilating system and partly up the flue. The regulator was usually mounted near the furnace, i.e. in the room above its location in the basement. Early regulators used a vacuum line or steam pressure to control the damper; later ones were electric. There were also regulators for steam lines in houses with boilers and radiator heating. One early design was the Minneapolis Regulator from Minneapolis-Honeywell. MeowThere's a curious little kitten in Elizabeth's lap. Go Figure!Funny, I always imagined that woodwork -- save that in kitchens and bathrooms -- went unpainted until much later in the 20th century. I'm still glad I spent all winter stripping and staining mine in an effort to restore my house, but had I wanted an excuse to get out of the job, this photo surely would have sufficed. Beautiful image -- wallpaper, sunlight, clothing, woodwork -- love it all! (The Gallery, Gertrude Kasebier, Kids, Portraits)
Boys and Girls: 1923
June 16, 1923. Washington, D.C. "Arlington bathing beach." View full size. National Photo Company Collection ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 3:37am -

June 16, 1923. Washington, D.C. "Arlington bathing beach." View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. Young BeachgoersNot a tattoo to be seen. TopsInteresting that the boys had to wear tops too back then! Never could quite understand that. Bathing Cap ParityOnly the first girl on the right is sans cap, only two boys wear them. Gotta chuckle at the fourth boy from the left (the shorter one), he looks proud. Not One OverweightYou'd be hard pressed to find a class of students anywhere in this country today as fit as this typical bunch. Incredible. Swim SocksAnd a couple of the girls are wearing socks! What's up with that? Sixth boy from the left in frontHe looks a bit on the husky side. I wouldn't say they were all perfectly fit. Stockings for swimming I find the stockings at the beach odd too. Was it seen as inappropriate to go without or was it just those particular girls' preference? Nice "people watching" pic. Beach StockingsTheir parents' generation would almost certainly have worn stockings, and then some, at the beach. I suspect the girls wearing stockings are those who were slightly more conservative and the others perhaps more daringly fashionable. Boys and GirlsThe first girl in the line look strangely contemporary. Perhaps it's the absence of a bathing cap, but she sure looks pretty, too. Dapper Fellow!I love the boy making "suspenders" out of his bathing suit on the left. He's adorable. "Not a tattoo to be seen"? Even in this day, these kids would still be considered untouchable by any professional tattoo artist. They all appear to be under 18. (The Gallery, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo, Sports, Swimming)
Freddy and Harley: 1922
... afternoon attracted about three thousand people to the Arlington race track. Those who journeyed to Virginia side of the Potomac ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/06/2013 - 11:57am -

"Fretwell, 1922." Fred "Freddy" Fretwell of Washington on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. National Photo Collection glass negative. View full size. Re: He is a hottie!I agree ... it seems that Dave is rather parsimonious with (or oblivious to) the proper use of the Handsome Rakes tag. [Alright. Freddy has now ascended to the ranks of Rakedom. - Dave] Harley Smokes Indians Fretwell Double Winner in Motor Cycle Events The bicycle, motorcycle and automobile racing program staged by the Costello post yesterday afternoon attracted about three thousand people to the Arlington race track. Those who journeyed to Virginia side of the Potomac witnessed some fine racing as well as an excellent exhibition cavalary drill put on by Troop B of the Third U.S. calvary from Fort Myer. The Fort Myer band was also on hand to enliven things during the progress of the program. The day's card opened with a half-mile bicycle race for the D.C. championship. V. Messineo covered the dirt course in 1 minute and 19 seconds. Daly and Nigoria crossed the line second and third, respectively, while the rest of the field was closely bunched. The first motorcycle race, a three-mile novice event, went to R. Bean riding an Indian. He covered the course at an average of 44.77 miles per hour, his time for the event being 4 minutes and 43 seconds. Charles Crawford and B. Frazier finished second and third, respectively. Both riders rode Indians. The 10-mile motorcycle race featured the day's program. F. Fretwell, riding a Harley-Davidson, had no trouble outclassing the rest of the field. He finished a full lap ahead of R. Dean, mounted on an Indian, who in turn was two laps ahead of the other entrants. Charles Crawford, also riding an Indian, finished a poor third. Fretwell covered the 10 miles in 12 minutes 37 seconds. The 3-mile race for the D.C. Championship was won by F. Fretwell and his Harley Davidson. Fretwell toyed with the other two entrants in this race, making the distance in 4 ½ minutes. Cy Fendall and Charles Crawford, both mounted on Indian machines, finished second and third. In the sidecar event there were but two entrants. Both machines were of the Harley-Davidson make. Speed Connors with Kellar as a passenger did the distance in 6 minutes, 15 seconds, outclassing George Green with Karart as hi passenger all the way. Washington Post, July 30, 1922 He is a hottie!Just changed my name to Harley. Vintage machinesA Harley Davidson, and the ubiquitous Ford T in the background. I love it! The bike has a very interesting arrangement for the chain drive. The center sprocket looks like it has a pedal attached. Do you pedal it like a bicycle to start the motor? Or that was the clutch/shifter? In LoveOh he is dreamy! If I could only go back in time. Ernest Homer Fretwell Jr., 1899-1966The monkey story mentioning Edmonston -- a small community in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington -- and the fact that Freddy worked in a garage (which might be the building with the Ebonite oil sign behind him in the photo) sent me delving back into the archive. Fred seems to have been a nickname for Ernest Homer Fretwell Jr., born in 1899. He raced motorcycles in his twenties, married a girl named Hilda, had a daughter, worked as a mechanic and kept a monkey. In the 1950s he owned a Sinclair service station on Annapolis Road in Bladensburg. He died August 24, 1966, at the age of 67, still a resident of Edmonston. Among his survivors were two grandsons, Ronald and Donald Fleshman. Residents Are AlarmedWashington Post, August 23, 1929. ESCAPED MONKEY SPREADING TERROR Pet "Goes Native;" Antics Give Birth to Tale of "Gorilla." RESIDENTS ARE ALARMED A 30-pound monkey with a fierce mien has started a "gorilla" scare in East Riverdale and its environs. Children seeing the monkey have been frightened by its appearance and antics, and have helped spread tales of a ferocious gorilla. Since its escape from the household of Freddie Fretwell, of Edmonston, several weeks ago, the monkey has made its appearance on several occasions. Once it pulled the feathers from all of the chickens in the yard of an Edmonston resident. The chicken owner attempted to capture the monkey, but refrained when he was bitten. Size of Dog. The simian is about the size of a dog, and has an especially ferocious appearance, aided by the long teeth it shows when attempts are made to capture it. It will accept bananas and other food, but begins to snarl when efforts are made to capture it. The monkey has apparently "gone native," and seems to have decided on a woods near the Fretwell home as a hiding place. Two men succeeded in throwing a net over the animal but he escaped and jumped into a creek, swimming under water to the opposite side. Monkey Is Trained. Fretwell was given the monkey to keep by a truck driver who had bought it from a carnival. The monkey rode on a pony in the show but was injured when it fell off and was stepped on by the pony. The monkey used to ride on his motorcycle and go to work with him, Fretwell said, and seemed to enjoy the ride. One day he became peeved and began throwing storage batteries around the garage where Fretwell works. It was reported to Fretwell that the monkey was captured several days ago but he has been unable to find the captor. The story of the "gorilla" has spread from Hyattsville to Beltsville and through the intervening territory. The further from the source the tale is traced, the more fierce and enormous is the "gorilla." Re: Ernest Homer Fretwell Jr.A rich, full life. Especially the monkey part. [Really. How many pony-stomped-monkey-gifting truck-driver friends do I have? Zero. - Dave] (The Gallery, D.C., Handsome Rakes, Motorcycles, Natl Photo, Sports)
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