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Pontiac Depot: 1905
... and St. Louis. The line was later controlled by the Baltimore & Ohio after World War I and were bought by the Gulf, Mobile, and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/10/2012 - 12:23am -

Circa 1905. "Railway station at Pontiac, Illinois." Next stop: Hooterville. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Claim to fame"Pontiac is home to the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame. It was previously located at Dixie Truckers Home in McLean, Illinois, but was moved to a new, larger location in Pontiac when Dixie changed ownership." -Wikipedia What got me hooked on shorpyThat's quite a collection of insulators above the door on those crossarms. I just love these old RR pics! Thanks again for all your efforts! Hooterville? Not likely!If this is the same railway I am thinking of, it is the mainline of the Illinois Central RR, connecting Chicago to St. Louis and eventually, New Orleans. 29 years later the famous Route 66 will follow alongside this railroad track from Chicago to St. Louis. My great-grandfatherwas a station agent for a small depot in Oklahoma around this time. He and his wife lived in the depot and my grandmother was born there. Gulp. Too close to home.That looks like the depot in the town I went to school in. That was in the 1960s. Perhaps the similarity indicates the age of the building I knew, and the diligence of its maintenance. Perhaps it indicates a truly long-term trend in depot design. What would a modern small depot look like nowadays? When, and why, did that architectural style disappear? The depot is still thereMy husband grew up in Pontiac and recognized the building from the picture. Signals and stuffThe semaphore in front of the depot is a train order signal. If a train needed to have its running orders changed, the division superintendent would telegraph the new orders to a station with an "operator." Not all stations had an operator, and not all stations with an operator had one on duty 24/7. When the new orders were "copied" by the operator, two sets were made, one for the head end crew, one for the conductor in the caboose. The operator at the depot would set the train order signal to either caution or stop. If caution, the train would slow down and the new orders were "hooped up" to the crew. Certain orders required the crew to sign for them. In this case the train was stopped. Pontiac depot must have been a telegraph agency office. The large number of telegraph lines going into the depot would indicate that it handled the telegraph service of a few independent companies -- Western Union, etc. Telegraph companies had their own wires, the railway provided space on its poles. The twin tanks indicate a busy line with many locomotives needing water. Yet the rail is light and spiked directly into the tie without the steel tie plate that you would expect to find between the tie and rail. Route 66I worked on the Pontiac newspaper in 1952. The town was as quiet as Lake Woebegon. A major source of news was Route 66. Whenever there was an accident, traffic would back up and police often would find a stolen car in the line. Thief would escape into a cornfield. Next morning somebody's car would be missing as the thief found new transportation. Pontiac had a prison for young offenders, often car thieves. Prison's main morale problem was disparity in sentencing. Stealing a car in Chicago was no big deal. Downstate it was a big deal. Downstaters viewed Chicago as a cesspool of corruption and no doubt still do. Semaphore SignalThere were two types of semaphore signals. This one is a "two-position," i.e., it could only display "proceed" (down) or "stop" (horizontal). To display a signal for "19" orders (to be handed up without stopping), the operator would climb the ladder seen leaning against the signal post, and place a yellow flag in a bracket, one of which is visible. The Chicago & Alton RailroadI'm fairly certain this is the Chicago & Alton Railroad depot, the C&A from Chicago to Alton to St. Louis and they had a division that crossed Northern Missouri to Kansas City with a branch line to Jefferson City. The C&A was quite a progressive road, they introduced Pullman cars and had the fastest schedule between Chicago and St. Louis. The line was later controlled by the Baltimore & Ohio after World War I and were bought by the Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio in 1947 (the GM&O was a new line itself, it was created in 1940 with the merger of the Gulf, Mobile, & Northern and the Mobile & Ohio, the M&O being a pre-Civil War line that had been allowed to languish by the Southern, the GM&N had very progressive and aggressive management who managed to turn the entire system into a profitable, modern railroad to compete with the Illinois Central despite the GM&O's longer route and less than stellar grade profiles in the Deep South.). The Illinois Central merged with the GM&O in 1972, becoming the Illinois Central Gulf. In 1987 the bankrupt ICG spun off almost all of the GM&O to a handful of short lines. The Chicago & Alton became the Chicago, Missouri & Western, which was then split between the Southern Pacific from Chicago to St. Louis and a Santa Fe holding company between St. Louis and Kansas City. The Kansas City branch is now owned by the Kansas City Southern. Today, the C&A's main line is owned by the Union Pacific and VERY busy, there's even talk of it being upgraded for high speed passenger rail, including electrification. Who in 1905 would have imagined ~40 mile-long freight trains barreling through town at 60 mph? And I must say that I could be completely wrong and this could actually be the Toledo, Peoria, and Western depot in Pontiac. Either way, now you all know a bit more about Pontiac's "main line." More on the signals, etc.It appears there are no roundels (lenses) in the "clear" aspect of the train signals. This was probably near the end of the time when instead of a green light, there was a white light indicating there was no reason to stop for orders. It was also the case on the mainline signals to use white to indicate a clear track. This practice was changed to using green roundels after a number of false clear indications occurred, causing a number of accidents because the red roundel had fallen out, leaving a clear or white indication to the train crew that the track was clear when in deed it was not! I believe green was made the standard by WW I. The little building at the extreme left of the picture was almost certainly either the "outhouse" or a small storage building for the section crew. I vote for the the former use as it has a nice sidewalk to it and it is close enough to the building so that the agent who had to deal with several telegraph companies in addition to his regular duties, would have time to get in, out and back to company business! Please keep these great pictures coming! Not Illinois CentralI worked as Agent and Operator for Illinois Central and worked at Pontiac once or twice in the 1960s. Pontiac was on IC's Otto-Minonk branchline, The Pontiac District only had one telegraph wire when I was there. Also, the train order semaphore is not an IC-style. It is Alton (later Gulf Mobile & Ohio) style and this looks very "mainline." The IC depots on the branch used flags rather than semaphores for train orders. As a side note, I also was sent to fill in at the Flanagan and Greymont stations just up the line from Pontiac. It was a "traveling" agency (mornings one depot, afternoons at the other one) and the town had the last ringer (not dial) phone system in the state. Had to hold down the hanger and rapidly turn the crank to get the operator. It was like stepping back 75 years. Almost none of our country depots had electricity, either. The Bloomington-Pontiac Districts had no railroad telephones. It was Morse code only. Great photo ... thanks! Skip Luke Retired Railroader Different PerspectiveI was a resident of Pontiac for 15 years (1992-2007) and loved living there. I recognized this building right away, but there is a brick addition to it now on either side. It has had several businesses in it as well as the train stop, which is still in use today. I've used it before when taking Amtrak up to Chicago. It's so much fun to see the backgrounds and compare it to what is there now. Thanks for posting this photo! Looks like a new street is in orderI see some large piles of what looks like street pavers in the background. Of course, now we use concrete or asphalt, neither of which holds up a well as brick. (The Gallery, DPC, Railroads)
Miriam: 1924
... three sons, Alexander III of Sykesville, Md., John, of Baltimore, and Christopher, of Bethesda; and one grandchild. My mother as ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 4:32pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1924. "Miriam Auerbach." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. R.P. Andrews Paper Co.The company was at 727 Thirteenth Street NW. The only thing of note I could find is that Louis F. Valentine, the company's Secretary-Treasurer, and his wife were killed in the collapse of the Knickerbocker Theater on January 30, 1922. Her life storyPattyanne, I agree. I too wonder what their lives were like. I finally joined Shorpy today because of this story. I have been enjoying this web site for a long time. ThanksI always wonder what lives people in these pics led. Always curious!! To put a name to a facebrings a new dimension to these wonderful photos. I always feel rather sad when Googling doesn't find just a bit of information to make the subject more "real." CoincidenceMy maternal grandmother's maiden name was Wolf. My mother had a cousin named Miriam Wolf. However, she was a radio performer -- an actor on the radio show "Let's Pretend," usually playing a witch. My mother also had a cousin who married a man named Legum. They lived in Norfolk. Miriam Auerbach Wolf, 1912-1978Washington Post, April 18, 1978. Miriam A. Wolf, 65;                'Million Dollar' Realtor Miriam Auerbach Wolf, 65, a retired real estate executive and the first woman to become a life member of the "Million-Dollar Sales Club" of the Washington Board of Realtors, died of cancer Sunday at her home in Bethesda. Mrs. Wolf began her real estate career in 1957. At the time of her retirement in 1976 for reasons of health, she was associate manager for Legum & Berber. She was the recipient of several awards from the Board of Realtors for her residential transactions. In addition to her business activities, Mrs. Wolf was founding president of the Montgomery County chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women. She was also the first president of the Montgomery County Thrift Shop, the proceeds of which benefit various charities. During the Eisenhower Administration she served on the advisory committee of the President's Council on the Handicapped. Mrs. Wolf was born in Washington and graduated from the old Central High School. She was a French teacher at Georgetown Day School in the 1950s before beginning her real estate work. Survivors include her husband, Alexander Wolf Jr.; three sons, Alexander III of Sykesville, Md., John, of Baltimore, and Christopher, of Bethesda; and one grandchild. My mother as a young girlMy first-cousin-once-removed Henry Brylawski (age 96) let me know that this picture was posted on the site, and I am so grateful to have this image of my mother as a 12 year old. What a beauty! Her granddaughter, also named Miriam (age 17), inherited her beauty. [Thank you for writing! It's always interesting to hear from descendants or acquaintances of the people depicted in these photos. Can you tell us anything about the circumstances of this particular picture? Also what about the Auerbach family -- was it connected with the Joseph Auerbach clothing store on Pennsylvania Avenue? - Dave] Reconstructing the narrativeLooks like Miriam won some sort of award having to do with a charity drive sponsored by Andrews Paper. Maybe she collected the most donations. Johnny, Chris and JuniorIt's interesting that she was involved in Jewish charities, but obviously went in the polar opposite direction of any Hebraic traditions when naming her three sons. The children of the original wave of Jewish immigrants were evidently anxious to assimilate and blend into American society. Working HandsI would like to know what this child did to have such hard working hands at the age of 12. This is wonderful to read a bit of history of the photo subject AND have comments from family members. Kirby KrackleI love the speckling of the negative, it adds a sort of visual energy to the picture. It looks like the chalice is erupting with mystical energy --how Jack Kirby would depict energy in comic books. The "Kirby Krackle," they call it. A beautiful pictureof a beautiful girl who became a lovely woman. I'm so glad that her son found this picture here today. I love seeing the pictures of Washington on Shorpy because I feel like I'm seeing a snapshot of the city my parents grew up in. It makes me feel closer to them in a strange way. I can only imagine how he felt when he saw this photo of his mother. I was wondering if she was related to basketball icon Red Auerbach, who my dad's basketball coach at Roosevelt High School in DC in the early 1940s. (The Gallery, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo, Portraits)
Plastic n Plywood: 1942
... while touring the Glenn L. Martin Aviation Museum here in Baltimore, I noticed in a display case a 1944 "New Employee" info card, for ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/20/2012 - 4:10pm -

January 1942. Bantam, Connecticut. "Defense homes. Fred Heath works on the night shift at the Warren McArthur plant in Bantam, and spends his days with Mrs. Heath and their three-year-old daughter, Ann. Here they are in the living room of the Heaths' new four-room apartment, part of the new eighty-unit defense housing project just five minutes walk from the plant. The Heaths, who pay thirty dollars rent, like overstuffed chairs, and Ann also likes her overstuffed Teddy Bear." 4x5 nitrate negative by Howard Hollem. View full size. RentUsing the inflation calculator the equivalent rent today would be $435/mo. I wonder what the dad's salary equivalent today is. Cushy job?Of course they liked the overstuffed chairs. The Warren McArthur plant in Bantam made upholstered seating for bombers and other planes. Its name changed many times following the war, from Warren McArthur to Aerotherm Corp., to Aerotec Industries, UOP Aerospace Division, PTC Aerospace, and finally, in 1992, B/E Aerospace. It closed its Bantam operations in 2002, and shifted its CT operations to facilities in Ireland and North Carolina. BoomThis instantly reminded me of one of those "typical" rooms the military had set up in the blast range during the atomic bomb tests in the 50's. Re: RentI have no idea what this dad's salary was, but last week while touring the Glenn L. Martin Aviation Museum here in Baltimore, I noticed in a display case a 1944 "New Employee" info card, for unskilled labor. His starting hourly wage was 60 cents an hour = about $5.50 today. Cute little Anndoesn't care that the walls are plywood! Idle chatterIn the context of the photo I know why the overstuffed chair thing is relevant, but when I read the caption it seemed like such an odd thing to say about a family. You can almost imagine one of the neighbors: "Oh, the Heaths? Nice folks. They sure like their overstuffed chairs, those kids do." Nice to knowI am wondering if little Ann would remember this? She would be 72 now, so maybe she is still alive. Would one of our many genealogy researchers like to find out? DiplomaI am guessing that it is the mother's high school diploma from Torrington HS in Connecticut that is on the wall. Her first name appears to be Mary but I cannot make out the last name or year. The last name does not appear to be Heath. If we could enlarge that section we might have her maiden name and a good guess on her age for the genealogy folks to use. Some time back I was able to download the large tiff files from the LOC and view them, but I don't remember how I did it. Can someone help me out. [The link to the tiff is on this page. - tterrace] Mary Giarneseb. 12/27/1922 d. 08/23/2000 Radiators and ply wood wallsHow strange that there are still homes who use those radiators today. I have heard that they are in homes all over NYC. I don't remember ever seeing a home with ply wood walls. Like a childHer Daddy is her biggest Hero.you can see it in her smile. Where The Heaths Live Here's a shot of a wintertime, ice and snow covered street in the business district of the town where the Heaths have taken up residence while Mr. Heath works for Warren McArthur. (The Gallery, Howard Hollem, WW2)
Cherry Blossom Queen: 1939
... Also seen at Signs of Spring: 1939 . The Baltimore Sun, December 11, 1938. Deb Bound for Night Club Tells How ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/30/2013 - 1:44pm -

March 31, 1939. Washington, D.C. "Senate Majority Leader crowns Cherry Blossom Queen. Climaxing the annual Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival in Potomac Park today, Senate Majority Leader Alben W. Barkley placed the crown on the head of Peggy Townsend, Cherry Blossom Queen. Thousands of visitors view the beautiful blossoms every year." Harris & Ewing photo. View full size. Best exit linesSenator Barkley gave a speech at Washington and Lee in 1956. On concluding, he was offered a seat in the front row of speakers and declined saying, "I am glad to sit in the back row for I'd rather be a servant in the House of the Lord than sit in the seats of the mighty." With the applause of the crowd in his ears, he collapsed and died of a heart attack. Sen. Alben W. Barkley of Kentuckyhad a select group of senators and others with a standing invitation in his office at the close of each Senate business day for a drink or two of good Kentucky Bourbon. Vice President Harry Truman, a regular, happened to be there on the afternoon of April 12, 1945, when he received an urgent call to come to the White House immediately. He learned when he got there that President Franklin Roosevelt had died in Warm Springs, Georgia, and that he was to be sworn in as the 34th President of the United States. Early in 1944, Barkley and Roosevelt had a bit of a falling out over Roosevelt's veto of a tax bill Barkley had worked hard for, and Roosevelt had turned thumbs down when Barkley was suggested as his Vice Presidential candidate in the 1944 election. Truman didn't forget his old friend, though. Barkley served as Vice President during Truman's second — and only full — term. Alben BarkleyIt was Alben Barkley who was quoted that being the Vice President "wasn't worth a pitcher of warm spit." I read that he complained that what he had really said was that it "wasn't worth a pitcher of warm piss, but those pantywaist writers didn't have the nerve to write it like I said it." Peggy was a lovely woman-Does anyone know what became of this 1939 Cherry Blossom Queen? She was as beautiful as many of the movie stars people were going to see in pictures that year. (Thanks to stanton_square for subsequently the posting the obituary and biographical information.) Margaret TownsendAlso seen at Signs of Spring: 1939. The Baltimore Sun, December 11, 1938. Deb Bound for Night Club Tells How to Go “New Yorky” Peggy Townsend, who will join the ranks of social register night-club singers shortly, thinks it's all right for Washington debutantes like herself to “go New Yorky”—if they don't go too far. There's a movement among Capital debs, she said, to “try to have a little more cafe society,” like New York's. And it's fine, pretty Peggy added, if Capital debutantes “don't get the idea that toughness makes for glamour.” “We want to keep the things that make Washington individual—the old families, the old houses, the conservative people,” she insisted. Peggy, tall and slim and “18 and a half,” will sing twice a night in a cocktail lounge, beginning Monday, partly because of the “New Yorky” trend, and partly because she “always like the idea of women getting out and doing things.” Earlier the same day, she will mingle with the capital's society at the first of the famous morning musicales, sponsored each season by her aunt, Mrs. Lawrence Townsend. When Peggy was 6 years old, she sat on the lap of Mrs. Calvin Coolidge at one of the musicales. She's been brought up on classical music, and two months ago began to study singing—the conventional kind. But laryngitis chased her voice down to low registers, and scouts for a new cocktail lounge liked her throat singing. “Now I think they'd like for me to stand out by the Potomac river every night to catch cold,” Peggy laughed. Peggy is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Effingham Townsend. Her mother, the former Margaret Graham, of Danville, Va., made her debut in the South. The Townsends have been socially prominent in Philadelphia for generations. Washington Post, June 17, 1939. A Beauty Nap Pretty Peggy Townsend, 18, debutante cherry blossom queen who now sings at a night club, failed to appear in Traffic Court yesterday to answer a speeding charge because she overslept. The case was continued until Monday. Motorcycle Policeman Clark Coleman stopped Miss Townsend on Connecticut avenue northwest last Monday. He charged her with driving 40 miles in a 25-mile zone. When she identified herself at the Eighth Precinct, and confessed that she did did not have the necessary collateral, she was released to meet the policeman in court. When she failed to answer, Judge Hobart Newman ordered that a warrant be issued. A few minutes later, Miss Townsend telephoned the court and stated that she was on her way down. By that time the court had adjourned and her case was reset for Monday. Washington Post, March 17, 1951. Peggy Townsend Shaw Dies; Cherry Blossom Queen in 1939. Mrs. Margaret Townsend Shaw, 29, member of a fifth-generation socially prominent Washington family died Thursday at her home in Coconut Grove, Fla. She had been ill of a virus throat infection for only a few days. Socialite Peggy Townsend was the daughter of Mrs. Margaret Graham Townsend, of the Cordova Apartments, Florida ave. and 20th st. nw., and the late Effingham Lawrence Townsend, stock broker here who died in 1942. Educated at Holton Arms School, she was graduated from Junior College. She made her Washington debut in 1938, when she was presented by her god-mother and great aunt, Mrs. Lawrence Townsend, patroness of music in Washington for many years. Her uncle, Lawrence Townsend, was formerly Ambassador to Belgium, Spain and Austria. In 1939, Peggy was chosen Cherry Blossom Queen and was the object of the song written by Irving Berlin, “The Cherry Blossoms in Potomac Park.” After being brought up on classical music from an early age, the young debutante appeared as a professional singer in Washington night clubs. In 1948, she married Gould Shaw, son of a prominent Boston family. His father was first married to Virginia-born Lady Astor, former British Parliament member. The Shaws have lived in Florida almost three years. Besides her husband and mother, Mrs. Shaw is survived by two sons, Alexander, 2 and Townsend Vogel, 9, the latter by previous marriage in the 1940 to Martin Vogel, of Warrenton, Va. The boy lives on his father's Warrenton estate. The bucket list.....The "bucket" quote actually came from an earlier VP, John Nance Garner, who served in FDR's first administrations. Gould Shaw?The obituary for Peggy Townshend Shaw is a bit of a puzzle. It states that her father-in-law was "first married to Virginia-born Lady Astor, former British Parliament member." This would be Robert Gould Shaw II, (named after his grandfather and also his cousin, the Robert Gould Shaw who commanded the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment - the one featured in the movie "Glory"). He had two sons Robert Gould Shaw III - known as Bobby (born 1898) - and Louis Agassiz Shaw II (born 1906). My guess is while Peggy might have married into the Shaw family it was not one of Robert II's children, for which she should probably thank her lucky stars. Robert III was homosexual (at a time in England, where he lived with his mother, when homosexuality was punishable with prison time) and an alcoholic who suffered from bouts of depression and committed suicide in 1970. Louis Shaw also suffered from alcoholism and depression. In 1964 he strangled his maid and was committed to the McLean Psychiatric Hospital in Belmont Massachusetts until slightly before his death in 1987. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Pretty Girls)
The Egg Man: 1926
... supply. It took place in a trailer park just outside Baltimore which isn't that far removed from Washington, D.C., but the movie is ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 12:46pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1926. "Ford Motor Co., Hatcher Boaze truck." A nice view of the old market district. National Photo Co. glass negative. View full size. No such intersection nowThere doesn't appear to be an intersection of 10th and Louisiana, N.W. in Washington any more. Was Louisiana Avenue renamed? Where was this? [This stretch of Louisiana Avenue was obliterated during construction of the Federal Triangle complex of government buildings in the 1930s. This block would be under the current Department of Justice. More here. - Dave] John Waters "Pink Flamingos"At the risk of sounding like a pervert, this immediately brought to mind John Water's depraved film named above from 1972, since the friendly "Mr. Eggman" was the character who delivered eggs daily to Divine's mother, Eddie, who idolized eggs and needed a constant supply. It took place in a trailer park just outside Baltimore which isn't that far removed from Washington, D.C., but the movie is definitely not for everyone. Its just that Eddie always worried constantly that one day there would be "no more eggs". It is NOT a family film. When I was a kid, we had an egg lady, a farmer's wife, who brought us the most wonderful brown eggs weekly. Thank you Mrs. Lennon, wherever you are. Them were the best ever. Wm. H. Boaze Washington Post, Nov 19, 1952 William H. Boaze Funeral Rites Today William H. Boaze, 72, a resident of the District since 1907, died Sunday at Sibley Hospital after a three-months' illness. He lived at 1335 Jefferson st. nw. A native of Danville, Va., he operated the W.H. Boaze Company, now the B.P. Boaze Real Estate, 3408 18th st ne., for more than 10 years. ... For 20 years he owned and operated the Loudoun Produce Company on 10th st. nw. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Nettie Keifer Boaze of the Jefferson st. address; three sisters and two brothers. A little yolkHmmm ... Hatcher ... eggs ... I get it. Speaking of eggs and Maryland and all that, wasn't that great movie with Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert, "The Egg and I," set in Maryland? It was produced in 1948, but the actual story took place during the '20s and '30s. Very dear movie. Draw-overOk, not exactly a colorized photo; rather a cartoonized version of that truck. Hope you like it. Of course, no original photo was damaged in the making of this drawing. P.F."...and they were the BEST EGGS IN TAYWN!!!" Reminded me of something elseI thought of the Louis Armstrong song, "Butter and Egg Man" Now she wants...a butter an egg man A great big butter and egg man From way down south I am the egg-man......they are the egg-men. I am the walrus. Goo-goo-ga-joob. Goo goo g' joobIf only the driver had a big ol' walrus mustache, it would be perfect. Happy Birthday JohnOct. 9 is also John Lennon's birthday and as you know he is the eggman. WORLD EGG DAY TODAYI don't mean to hog the comment board, but I just heard on the noon news that today, Oct. 9th, is "world egg day" and I immediately thought of your eggman picture. Being that you stay so current and savvy, I bet you knew this when you posted it a bit early, huh? Great Detail!Such a great shot, two things I noticed. The owner of the truck has installed a choke wire for the carb to aid in starting the beast in the morning. Pull the choke closed and give her a spin of the crank which would send a rich charge of fuel into the intake. Run around to the cab and turn the ignition on, then back to give her another spin. If the gods were in your favor she'd fire right up! The other thing was the size of the crate-sitter's feet. Half of him is on the ground! (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Coal Country: 1910
... lorries I recognize lorries of: B&O (Baltimore and Ohio Railroad) Bessemer (Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad, ... (Cleveland, Lorain and Wheeling Railway). Of these The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (reporting marks B&O, BO) is the oldest ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/04/2017 - 10:37pm -

Circa 1910. "Coal loading at Ford Collieries, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Railroad lorriesI recognize lorries of: B&O (Baltimore and Ohio Railroad) Bessemer (Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad, B&LE) PD&E (Peoria, Decatur & Evansville Railway) CL&W (Cleveland, Lorain and Wheeling Railway). Of these The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (reporting marks B&O, BO) is the oldest railroad in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. The B&O lorry has an intriguing graffiti on it: "Oma Kopa R..."? Left from the B&O lorry there might be an undefined one. (The Gallery, DPC, Mining, Railroads)
Night Rider: 1921
... Location, Location, Location Washington: 12 miles Baltimore: 31 miles For some reason, that struck me as particularly ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/04/2012 - 4:54pm -

Circa 1921. "Oakland window." A showroom display at District Oakland Co., 1709 L Street N.W. in Washington, for the General Motors brand that in 1926 would beget Pontiac. National Photo Co. Collection glass negative. View full size. Location, Location, LocationWashington: 12 miles Baltimore: 31 miles For some reason, that struck me as particularly fascinating. I realizeshe's a dummy, but still she creeps me out. Looks like Chucky's mom. The GobblerNot only does she look like Chucky's mom, but she's freaking out the turkeys with those feathers in her hat! Well displayed Oakland!I will be sorry to see the Pontiac go after all these years. Times sure are changing. These displays are so wonderful, and very similar to what we used to do for car shows in the '60s. Cars would be displayed in a natural surrounding for interest and for sales. Fantastic, Dave! I would give anything to have one today. Oakland Six Do you remember......the kind of September when new cars filled the showrooms with windows covered by paper--in anticipation of the big fall roll-out of the new GM, Ford, Chrysler, American Motors, Jeep, and Studebaker-Packard cars? That's how it was in the 1950s, and, man, we kids would get excited. And, oh that new car smell. Nothing like it today. If auto dealers could recapture that excitement and longing, things might be different in Detroit! The first thing that crossed my mindChucky in drag, his sister or John Gruden. What a great show-window display! I Do SO RememberLook Magazine would have a new car issue in late August each year. That was the first look we had of the new models. The cars being hauled to the dealerships were often covered so no one would get an early peek. Stuff it?That is the first forest to have an electric light in its sky, if not the first dummy to drive through a forest without any hint of a road. But are the turkeys stuffed too, or did they let real birds roam the showroom? The mammal (bobcat?) in the far right corner does appear to be stuffed. Thirty-six years later every Edsel dealer got a live pony in their showroom, to bring people in to see the cars. Ponies make a far worse mess and smell than a couple turkeys. Yes, I rememberThese days, it's kinda tough to remember what year we're in -- it's May, and the car companies have been selling 2010 models for months, it seems... guess they're doing their best to fan new car fever into a pandemic. Wish I knew what happened to the scrapbook I made in first grade, carefully cutting out all the cars from every magazine ad I could find. As went Oakland, so goes PontiacOakland was shut down by GM at the end of 1931; companion make Pontiac had sold seven times as many cars that year, which sold fewer than 9,000. Now, Pontiac follows in its footsteps, set to be closed at the end of 2010. Before televisionThis window display is particularly fascinating because there is so much going on! The birds, the lush "greenery", and the glassy-eyed, grimacing dummy. I wonder how long it took to put this all together? The car seems almost incidental. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
Club Firetrap: 1941
... free cigarettes, either. I don't recall seeing them in Baltimore, but the officers' club at Fort Meade had them too. Oddly, my ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/20/2017 - 10:27am -

March 1941. "House being converted into a 'nightclub' near Laurel, Maryland." Medium format negative by Martha McMillan Roberts. View full size. I see youEven the car looks sad. I wonder who the fellow is who is almost hiding behind the tree. RegardlessThe corner porch detail is really a fun element. I'm scared... of the scare quotes around "nightclub," though I agree with switzarch that the corner porch is is interesting. It looks like a big place that could accommodate many "night activities." Shorpy Vehicle Identification ImperativeThis one's easy: Willys Americar coupe. The harder part: is it a '37 or a '38? Perhaps a Willys expert could chime in with a ruling. A swinging countyHaving spent about six months in Ann Arundel county in 1950, I vividly recall that cafes often had slot machines installed -- not the kind that dispensed coupons for free cigarettes, either. I don't recall seeing them in Baltimore, but the officers' club at Fort Meade had them too. Oddly, my mother would often give me a nickel to play the juke box, but not to play the slots! More of a NightMareStraight outta Stephen King. Bet there's a Pet Sematary 'round back. Willys!I would say that car is a 1938 Willys Model 38 Coupe. Wish I had it in my backyard! Dead CenterI like the three bullet holes in the ash can. Ready for Saturday night. Gives Me the WillysI'll bet that the owner of that poor Willys wished, around 1944, that he'd taken better care of it. Amazingly battered up for a fairly late-model car. The name "Willys", contrary to popular belief, is pronounced "Willis" Willys IndicatorsThe lack of a pronounced rain gutter above the door indicates that it is a 1937. The two vertical front bumper guards (ignoring the large aftermarket one in the middle) indicates that it was of mid-to-late 1937 manufacture, as the early production versions (starting in the fall of 1936) did not have them. The lack of three chrome trim spears on the sides of the headlight pods indicates that it is a Standard, rather than a DeLuxe coupe. It sold for $499 new. 1939 WillysIn 1945 my parents returned from their World War II military duties in Europe, and my father was accepted into the Harvard Business School. Here they are ready to leave his mother's home on Cornish Road in Toronto for Wollaston, near Boston. The 1939 model Willys is not in bad shape compared to the one in the photo, and there has been a slight redesign of the body. Since it is a coupe, the trunk was jammed to overflowing, which caused a scene at the U.S. border. My father had no recollection of the hood "ornament". Upon returning to Toronto in 1947, when I was born, it was replaced with a 1929 Nash, but that is another story. Beat up WillysThe Willys coupe is a 1937 or '38. If the picture was taken in 1941 that coupe has had a rough life. The coupe in Angus J's photo is a 1940, identified by the rectangular grille and chrome strips on the nose of the hood. The 1939 had a grille similar to the '37-'38 but more pointed and the head lamps had a matching pointed glass. Angus J's hood ornament. That's Ferdinand the bull. Normally depicted laying in or holding flowers in his mouth. high wireWhat is the nature and purpose of the line stretched between the peak of the dormer and the cupola? Lightning protection? Some kind of radio antenna? (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Martha Roberts)
Man of Letter: 1904
... the photo is ... Harry Dorsey Watts (b. 28 Apr 1885 in Baltimore; d. 27 Jul 1952, East Hampton, N.Y.) This is his Class of 1904 photo ... His age was 67.         Born in Baltimore, the son of John H. C. and Mary Dorsey Mitchell Watts, he was a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/23/2020 - 9:31am -

1904. Washington, D.C. "H.D. Watts, 6th Street." Proud alumnus of Maryland Agricultural College. 5x7 inch glass negative from the C.M. Bell portrait studio. View full size. He gave his alma mater the Byrd tooIn addition to Ritchie Coliseum, H.D. Watts Construction Co. also built the University of Maryland's first football stadium. It opened in 1923 and was named for Harry "Curley" Byrd, the segregationist football coach who commissioned it. That stadium became known as Old Byrd Stadium after the current stadium (now known as Maryland Stadium) was completed in 1950. And the man in the photo is ...Harry Dorsey Watts (b. 28 Apr 1885 in Baltimore; d. 27 Jul 1952, East Hampton, N.Y.) This is his Class of 1904 photo in uniform. ~ Stephen P. Hall An Old LinerThis was what became the University of Maryland. They were known as the Old Liners (Maryland being the Old Line State). However appropriate that name might seem in football, they became Terrapins in the 1930s because people wanted an actual mascot. And future architect?Ritchie Coliseum, home arena for the U-MD basketball and boxing teams, was built in 1931 by the H.D. Watts Construction Company, which was owned by Harry Watts, an alumnus who played as a fullback on the football team from 1901 to 1903. https://www.revolvy.com/page/Ritchie-Coliseum Mansard or GambrelOh, the paths Shorpy takes one down. Looking up Maryland Agricultural College took me to the wiki for University of Maryland. There I learned that the oldest building on campus (the only unscathed survivor of The Great Fire of 1912) is Morrill Hall, built in 1898 in Second Empire architectural style. Clicking further, I learned that Second Empire was popularized in France during the reign of Napoleon III and characterized by a mansard roof similar to the gambrel roof style commonly seen in barns. "What's the difference between mansard and gambrel?" I wondered. A gambrel roof has vertical gable ends and overhangs the facade, whereas a mansard roof is hipped and usually does not overhang the facade. Thank you H.D. Watts and Shorpy! One more thingInspired by Zcarstvnz's research, I thought that Yawkey isn't a very common name, and wondered if Elsie might be related to Tom Yawkey, for many years the owner of the Boston Red Sox. And I found the following: From the Reno Evening Gazette, Nov 14, 1944, p. 6 Red Sox Owner Divorced Here Elsie Sparrow Yawkey Monday divorced Thomas A. Yawkey, millionaire owner of the Boston Red Sox. All this inspired by one Shorpy photo. Thanks, Shorpy. Decorated ConstructionistThe New York Times July 28, 1952 Harry Watts Dies; A Building Leader Ex-President and Chairman of James Stewart & Co. Won the Navy's Service Emblem.         Southampton, L. I., July 27 -- Harry Dorsey Watts of 1 East End Avenue, New York, and East Hampton, former president and chairman of the board of James Stewart & Co., contractors of New York, died today in Southampton Hospital after a brief illness. His age was 67.         Born in Baltimore, the son of John H. C. and Mary Dorsey Mitchell Watts, he was a descendant of Col. Harry Dorsey, first Secretary of the State of Maryland.         After being graduated in 1904 from the University of Maryland, he began his career as a time-keeper and engineer with Wells Brothers Company, later becoming vice president. From 1915 to 1923 he headed the H. D. Watts Company.         Mr. Watts joined the Stewart construction concern in 1924, beginning as manager of the southern territory and assistant to the president. He became vice president in 1926, executive vice president in 1937 and president in 1940. He served as president and chairman of the board from 1942 until his retirement in 1946.         The Stewart concern participated in the construction of many notable buildings, including the United States Chamber of Commerce, Department of Labor and Home Owners Loan buildings in Washington, D. C.; the United States Court House, New York Postoffice, Federal Building, New York Central Building and 60 Wall Tower, all in New York; Union Station in Cincinnati, the Trinidad Naval Air base and the Republic Steel plant in Chicago. It also worked on the West Side Express Highway in New York.         Mr. Watts received the Navy's Meritorious Civilian Service Emblem. He had been president and director of One East End Avenue Corporation.         He had been a member of the United States Chamber of Commerce, the West Side Chamber of Commerce in New York and Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity. His clubs had included the Deepdale, Metropolitan, Bankers, Cloud, Atlantic Beach, Devon Yacht, Seawane Country and Pilgrims, the Maryland of Baltimore, the Elkridge of Maryland, the Piedmont Driving of Atlanta and the Metropolitan of Washington.         Surviving are his widow, the former Mrs. Elsie Sparrow Yawkey; a son, Harry D., Jr.; three daughters, Mrs. Thomas Crabbe, Mrs. Harold McTigue and Mrs. Haley Fiske 2d; a brother and three sisters. Harry's first wife, Idoline Lochrane Austell Watts, whom he had married in 1907, died in 1943. They are both buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York. Time for an upgrade?Surely, Mr. Watts deserves elevation to the Handsome Rakes category here on Shorpy. He's 116 years overdue, by my estimation. (The Gallery, Bell Studio, D.C., Handsome Rakes, Portraits, Sports)
Ghost Town: 1913
... man's Steinway Stieff pianos were manufactured in Baltimore from 1842 until 1951. They were commonly sold by Steinway dealers as ... and made the Preakness cup until the company closed its Baltimore facility in 1999. Moving Pianos Stieff Piano moved to the next ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/04/2012 - 9:38pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1913. "The Mode -- Hatters and Haberdashers, 11th and F." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Coca-On the left, barely in the picture, is a partially visible wall with a list of products painted on it. Obviously a drug store of some size. The Coca Cola company, in their advertising wisdom, commands the top and bottom of the signage. They probably paid for the entire sign and both the druggist and the Coca-Cola bottler got his money's worth. Stieff competitionRight around the corner is Kimballs' pianos. Easy comparison shopping for the best deal GhostsHow long was the exposure that so many of the people only appear as ghosts? [Three paces. - Dave] The Player Piano building is still there!You can see the building from which Culley & Sons sold Kimball pianos and organs is still there among the taller DC office buildings. [The innards are gone but they left the facade. A nice touch in my opinion. - Dave] View Larger Map Many ghosts but no Spooky GuyWhere is the obligatory spooky person in a window? I thought that was a law or something. Poor man's SteinwayStieff pianos were manufactured in Baltimore from 1842 until 1951. They were commonly sold by Steinway dealers as a durable, high-quality affordable alternative. I owned a Stieff upright for many years. The Stieff family also produced Stieff silver, and made the Preakness cup until the company closed its Baltimore facility in 1999. Moving PianosStieff Piano moved to the next block in 1917, making room for the United Cafeteria, seen in this Shorpy photo. +96Below is the identical view from September of 2009. A minor correction...The Stieff family that made STIEFF PIANOS were cousins of the "Silver Stieff's" The Preakness cup is called the WOODLAWN VASE. While Kirk Stieff closed in 1999, the Woodlawn Vase is still provided to the Preakness today.. thru James Stieff. Photos of The Stieff Company, the Woodlawn Vase and silver being made are available at THESTIEFFCOMPANY.COM, a free site. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Pennsylvania 5401
... that time to integrate cab signals with ATC. Harrisburg to Baltimore was equipped for ATC and cab signalling by 1927, and it was extended ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/04/2013 - 3:30am -

July 14, 1929. "New Boston train, 'The Senator,' at Washington's Union Station, departing at 12:30 p.m. The train is to arrive in Boston at 10 p.m., cutting 3½ hours off the time made by the other two Pennsylvania line trains there, the Federal and Colonial expresses." Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size. 1927 K-4?What a great pic! Is this one of those 1927 K-4's? Help us out PRR friends! Thanks for posting! Train Christening Washington Post, July 14, 1929. New Boston Train to Be Christened Ten-year-old Ellen Page Eaton will break a bottle of Potomac River water on the locomotive of a new Pennsylvania Railroad train this morning at 11 o'clock in the Union Station and christen it “The Senator.” The train will give the fastest service between Washington and Boston. After christening, the train will be open to inspection until its time of departure, 12:30 p.m. The train is scheduled to arrive in Boston at 10 p.m., cutting 3½ hours off the time previously made by the other two Pennsylvania line trains to Boston, The Federal and the Colonial expresses. “The Senator” will be an all-Pullman train with dining, observation and club cars. It will make stops at New York City, New Haven and Providence. Little Miss Eaton, who will christen the train, is the daughter of John Eaton, crack engineer of the railroad, who is veteran of 28 years. … Even Faster NowOn Amtrak's Acela Express the trip can be made in 6 hours and 40 minutes. What's ItOK, what the thingie hanging from the train: an anchor line? [My guess: part of the bottle-breaking ritual mentioned in Washington Post story. - tterrace] [It's the bottle holder. - Dave] Little Miss Eaton...must be the one in the white frilly dress. PRR 5401A really great photo, notice the PRR emblem on the steam valve cover above the piston. Lock box?What is the locked box on the front of the engine for? It's a K-4built in 1927, 92 were built, Baldwin built all locomotives from 5400 to 5474, all other K-4s were built by PRR in the Juanita Juniata shops. K-4 or K-4s?The "s" suffix in the PRR steam locomotive classification scheme denotes the presence of a superheater. PRR supposedly stopped using the "s" suffix in 1923, as by this time, the superheater was a standard design element. Nonetheless, you commonly see these locomotives referred to as K-4s. The 5401 was indeed built in 1927. Here she is a few years later looking a bit grimier: Fresh Out of the BoxHere are an engineer and fireman whose garments will never again appear so pristine. In the glorious days of steam, anything forward of the baggage car was filthy work indeed, and even the most assiduous washing resulted merely in progressively more faded coveralls, with coal, smoke, and cinder stains intact. Re: Lock Box and the K-4Guessing the lock box on the pilot beam contains tools and parts for quick maintenance on the road, stuff like extra lenses for the marker lamps, air and steam heat hose connections, etc, as well as the green and white flags mounted high on the locomotive which would indicate the train is running as a second section or an extra movement. At first I thought it might hold red (emergency stop) flags, fusees, and explosive "torpedoes", which are clipped to a rail and go bang when something runs over them, signaling the engineer for an emergency stop. These items, being needed by the crew quickly in an emergency, would be kept in the cab, as they still are today. K-4 Pacifics would run on the Pennsy until 1957, but by 1935 the rails between DC and New York were electrified with overhead wires, and steam became a rarity on the line now known as the Northeast Corridor. Automatic Train ControlThe locked box on the pilot beam is an instrument case for the Union Switch & Signal automatic train control equipment. Train control?PRR Washington to New York had cab signals in the 1930s. The line has some form of train control now, but probably not in 1929. Looks like PRR began installing train control (that is, automatic brake application if the engineer ignores a restrictive signal) in 1951. (Railway Age, 12 March 1951 p93 -- it's online at hathitrust.org.) Cab Signals and Automatic Train ContolThe ICC mandated the introduction of ATC in 1922. PRR's first installation was in 1923 and they made the decision at that time to integrate cab signals with ATC. Harrisburg to Baltimore was equipped for ATC and cab signalling by 1927, and it was extended to Washington not long afterwards. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Railroads)
Poe House: 1930
... a lot, so it's not surprising that there are Poe houses in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. (The last is only a facade on a NYU Law ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 11:06am -

Richmond, Virginia, circa 1930. "Edgar Allan Poe's mother's house." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. In the immortal words of Bette Davis"What a dump!" This explains a lotNo wonder Edgar was so dark and haunting in his writings. Ghost of Poe?Look at the base of the water pump right of center. Interesting! It's No WonderComes as no surprise to me that Poe had Ravens at his chamber door. No mortals were tall enough. Let us not forget ...this photo was his grandmother's home, NOT his, [Erm, this is NOT his grandma's house. - Dave] and he was born in 1809, so by 1930 this grandmother's home may have been neglected for 121 years before [???] his birth. Look around you, even just at your own grandmother's home today and see if the place hasn't fallen into disrepair and decay and see if creeping slums have enveloped the area as in the case of my grandmother's dwelling. Many once-elegant and genteel neighborhoods, even from the 1940's have turned into wastelands, especially those next to run-down urban areas as in Detroit, Philly, Hartford and New Haven, Ct. Not all real estate escalates in value. Also, this is a back alley, not a front entrance, which is usually more attractive. Poe himself may have never imagined such a dump for his grandma. Here a Poe house, there a Poe housePoe moved around a lot, so it's not surprising that there are Poe houses in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. (The last is only a facade on a NYU Law School building). Boston had an Edgar Allan Poe Square and a house, but both vanished sometime after 1930. Richmond has a Poe Museum which advertises being "only blocks away from Poe's first Richmond home." Perhaps that's what Johnston photographed. It's gone too, as is the house of his foster family the Allans. Quoth CartmanMr. Garrison, why do Poe people smell like sour milk? More important questionAs most of us Shorpy viewers question, previous commentrs non withstanding, Does this structure still stand? I think more important than not, most Shorpy viewers look at this site to see the past, and almsot immediately we look to see if the structure still stands, and if any photography of current state exists. Poe Neglected StuccoI got to wondering what the back of this house might have looked like before the old whitewashed stucco crumbled away, and before the second floor chamber window got replaced by a door and landing, later removed. Here's a quick Photoshopped stab at it, but the door and windows could still use some new paint and putty, and that kitchen yard is a disgrace. (The Gallery, F.B. Johnston, Richmond)
Wagons Ho: 1901
... 1901. "View of S.W. Block 386, probably D Street side of Baltimore & Potomac Railroad freight station at Maryland & D, 9th & ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/26/2022 - 3:46pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1901. "View of S.W. Block 386, probably D Street side of Baltimore & Potomac Railroad freight station at Maryland & D, 9th & 10th Streets, showing man loading freight into delivery wagon." 5x7 glass negative, D.C. Street Survey Collection. View full size. What's in the wrappers?Are those Gatling Guns wrapped up? Sure looks like it! (See the unwrapped version here: https://www.spanamwar.com/Gatling) That’s some freight stationYour one-stop-shop for machine guns and whiskey! A plug for ShorpyI was curious about Wilson Whiskey and found this --- https://emmettwilsonbook.com/2015/08/27/his-brand/ Back to the FutureThe bike on the porch looks out of place in a 1901 setting. It would fit into any current-day setting, white sidewalls and all. [The entire tire is white, not just the sidewall. Before manufacturers began adding carbon black around 1910, tires were the white color of natural rubber. - Dave] (The Gallery, Bicycles, D.C., D.C. Street Survey, Horses, Kids, Railroads)
Cool Quartet: 1961
... fad, a Flat Top with Wings. Flat Top with Wings In Baltimore we called that style haircut a Detroit. Never heard it called a Flat ... 
 
Posted by Deborah - 02/01/2013 - 3:53pm -

My sister-in-law, left, previously seen here with her Chevrolet Bel Air, in 1961 with her brother and friends in the foothills of the San Fernando Valley in Southern California. 35mm Kodachrome slide. View full size. This was taken at the William Hart Ranch, now the William S. Hart Park and Museum, in Newhall, CA –- Deborah The 60 Chevyand early 50s Rambler wagons are an easy ID. What’s that between them? The left tail light assembly seems to resemble a 52/53 Merc. Camera girl's friendThe dude sitting on the rail is sporting the late 50s tonsorial fad, a Flat Top with Wings. Flat Top with WingsIn Baltimore we called that style haircut a Detroit. Never heard it called a Flat Top with Wings. But I must admit that description is much more appropriate. FashionsThe ladies fashions are definitely in line with the times, but the interesting thing is that, to me, if you looked at the guys, they could be clean cut young men of today. In eight years from 1961, they will look anacronistic, but the tide has swung back. "Progress"This is just a guess - but I imagine that bucolic scene stretching from the parking lot all the way to the foothills in the distance is today an endless expanse of asphalt. Griffith ParkIs what it looks like to me. Camera girlShe's holding what looks like an Ansco Shur Shot. William S. HartI drive past the Hart mansion several times a week. Though there has been development in the area since the photo was taken, the scene, as shot, hasn't really changed a great deal. Downtown Newhall looks much as it did 50 years ago. Drive a few miles to Valencia and the story is much different. Houses packed together on small lots, multiple Starbucks and all of the amenities of the SoCal lifestyle Four TopsThrow a few musical instruments into the mix an it would look like an album cover. Flat Top with WingsIn western New York, it was derisively known as a D.A. (for a duck's posterior)... Cool Quartet location nailedAs Deborah notes in her caption update, the shot was taken at the William S. Hart Ranch, the retirement home of the legendary silent-film cowboy star. [That explains the backward "WH" on the arch below. - Dave] In 1960 San Diego-Those haircuts were called Flattops With Fenders and they defied gravity. In retrospect, they look so innocent, neat and tidy after recalling the long stringy hairstyles that followed during the 1970s. William S. HartThis must be my week for William S. Hart, had a couple references to him on Facebook the last couple of days. Anyhow, William S. Hart was THE GREATEST of all western stars EVER. He started out as a very successful Broadway actor, and was known for his Shakespearean roles. But at the age of 49 (1914), he got into movies. He tried very hard to make his western films represent to true west that he had known in his youth in the 1870s and 80s. Great, great silent film actor. He was pretty passe by the late 20s, but his stature is assured in the movie pantheon. He did very well financially, and left his ranch as a museum and tourist destination. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
House of Fleas: 1940
... town along U.S. Highway No. 1, between Washington and Baltimore." Jessup, Maryland, was the corporate headquarters of flea-powder ... at Fort Meade and lived, successively, in Laurel, Baltimore, and on the post itself. Driving with my parents from Laurel or Meade to Baltimore for an occasional dinner or the theater, passing this sign was a high ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/22/2019 - 3:08pm -

June 1940. "One-spot town along U.S. Highway No. 1, between Washington and Baltimore." Jessup, Maryland, was the corporate headquarters of flea-powder manufacturer One-Spot. Medium format negative by Jack Delano. View full size. Uninviting NameRight down the road from the Roach Motel, no doubt. Never thought I'd see this againIn 1950, prior to my father's posting to Korea, we were stationed at Fort Meade and lived, successively, in Laurel, Baltimore, and on the post itself. Driving with my parents from Laurel or Meade to Baltimore for an occasional dinner or the theater, passing this sign was a high point for me. Another was nearby in the form of the Lord Calvert whiskey distillery, where the aroma of cooking mash provided a pervasive olfactory treat, at least to a seven-year-old's nostrils. I'll never forget ordering a Calvert and soda in New York some 11 years later and discovering that it didn't taste at all like it had smelled during that six-month sojourn in Maryland. I have never tasted the flea powder. The Cut, tooJessup was also the home of the maximum-security Maryland House of Correction (nicknamed "The Cut") at the time of this photo. My dog has fleas.More on this roadside masterpiece: https://chowtales.com/one-spot-flea-killer-worlds-largest-chow-doghouse/ The sign is goneAnd the site has been developed into (I believe) a condominium. Parenthetically, a liquor store across the road (now Route 1 Liquors) was for many years called One Spot Liquors. A different kind of flea house, today.A Super 8 hotel stands there now. There is an old house from the era that still stands, identifiable from an old image of "On Spot Town". (The Gallery, Bizarre, Dogs, Jack Delano)
Prairie Schooner: 1915
... Highlandtown, Maryland seems to be a neighborhood inside Baltimore. I can't find anything on Frank A. Blum. "Ask the driver for ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/27/2012 - 2:41pm -

March 1915. "San Francisco by wagon from Staten Island, New York." Three guys and a dog and their two-horsepower hybrid in Washington, taking the Overland Trail west. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Wandering and Wonderingif they made it to San Fran and how many spare wheels they carried. Not to mention support for the horses. Looks cosy enough though for three. Maybe it's their midlife crisis. FriendsI wonder how good friends they all were when they finally got there? Any more details?Any more information on this trek? Trying to discern some details on the canvas (with the peculiar map drawn on the side with east to the left): Highlandtown, Maryland seems to be a neighborhood inside Baltimore. I can't find anything on Frank A. Blum. "Ask the driver for a booklet"? Anyway, it's nice to see the Capitol again with private cars driving right up to it and no surrounding guardhouses, fences, and bollards. Coastal ConfusionStrange that they have the Pacific Ocean (and west coast) east of Staten Island. I hope they didn't just drive off a pier into the Atlantic. Boosting the Eden of NYCI noted the curious geographical sense of these boys as well. I think the map might be drawn this way (flipping East and West) so that as they travel westward, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans are oriented with the wagon. In Wagon to San Francisco Staten Island Boosters Reach Washington On Coast-to-Coast Trip. Three hardy young men, tanned with exposure incidental to life in a prairie schooner passed through here last week en route to the exposition at San Francisco over the old overland trail. They were all residents of Staten Island and are boosting that particular spot as the Eden of Greater New York. They are John Drebinger, William Stephens, and Edward Smith. They left Staten Island February 27, and expect to reach California about September 1. The trio paid a visit to Secretary Bryan yesterday. They Secretary greeted them cordially, they said. An expressed desire to see President Wilson was not gratified. The party will continue on their way today. Washington Post, Mar 14, 1915 UPDATE: It appears the boys made it as far as Denver. I'm not positive, but it seems likely this is the same John Drebinger who was a baseball reporter at the New York Times for over 40 years. Drebby's Hobo LifeNew York Times, Oct. 24, 1979 John Drebinger, 88, Baseball Reporter, Is Dead John Drebinger, who was dean of the nation's baseball writers when he retired in 1964 after 40 years with the New York Times, died Monday at a nursing home in Greensboro, N.C. He was 88 years old. His colleagues called him Drebby and one of them related his departure to "the retirement of Winston Churchill, the storming of the Bastille, the discovery of gunpowder or the instituting of income taxes: life goes on, but an era has ended." Indeed, when 11-year-old John Drebinger saw his first baseball game, it was played in the afternoon on real grass. The Boer War had ended in that June of 1902, ZuZu ginger snaps first appeared on grocery shelves, Wanamaker's was selling patent leather shoes for $1.90 a pair and a pound of coffee was 10 cents. The youngster was on his way to becoming a concert pianist -- his father was a violinist with the New York Metropolitan Orchestra -- but a thumb wound suffered while sharpening ice skates ended that aspiration. After an eight-year stay with the Staten Island Advance -- which included an ill-fated cross-country journey in a covered wagon that he termed the most exciting experience of his life -- Mr. Drebinger joined The Times for the "hobo life" of a baseball writer. For the next four decades he traveled 30,000 miles a year with the Yankees, the Giants and the Dodgers, saw 6,000 baseball games and ate "tons of hot dogs." From 1929 through 1963, he covered all 203 World Series Games. Not heard during the course of the trip...."Are we there yet?" Westward Ho! By Wagon"Staten Island Prairie Schooner is Going to S.F." Driving up to the City Hall yesterday in an old-fashioned prairie schooner drawn by two horses, John Urflinger and William Stevens obtained a letter from Mayor Mitchel to deliver to Mayor Rolph of San Francisco. The odd trip across the continent is being made in the interest of Staten Island business men, who want it advertised that Staten Island is the gateway of the Eastern Coast, just as San Francisco is supposed to be the gateway of the Western. The schooner was driven about Manhattan yesterday, and today a trip will be made through Brooklyn. Tomorrow at noon Charles J. McCormack of Richmond Borough will start the wagon on its long overland trip to the Western city where it is due to arrive before the Panama-Pacific International Exposition ends. NY Times, 24 Feb 1915 That title Panama-PacificThat title Panama-Pacific International Exposition kind of threw me for a second since I live in San Diego and thought that was held in San Diego's newly completed Balboa Park, not San Francisco. But then it dawned on me that ours was called the Panama Exposition in the same year, 1915. Never thought why it had the Panama in the name, but now I know from Wikipedia that both these events were celebrating the Panama Canal opening, along with some opportune marketing. Okay by me, Balboa Park was a great result, and is still a jewel as far as I'm concerned. (The Gallery, D.C., Dogs, Harris + Ewing, Horses)
Plymouth Breaker: 1901
... Transport, and CRRNJ 4-4-2W at B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore. "American" camelback Shilo would seem to be ... preserved locomotives are lacking in nature, with Baltimore & Ohio Railroad 4-6-0 No. 173 suffering from a cracked boiler ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 2:30pm -

Plymouth, Pennsylvania, circa 1901: "Plymouth coal breaker." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Mechanical DevicesThey may be taking over in the operation of the breaker, but somebody is going to have to do some serious shoveling to unload those boxcars! And it looks as if this is an accepted method as there are several flat cars full of ready cut boards waiting at close hand. I can't imagine what the purpose of the gondola/flat car combo can be for. There seems to be another set in the loading shed and one farther down the other side. Very perplexing! Perhaps they are processing so fast that they need to use every available car until they can acquire or manufacture new gondolas? The Parrish BreakerThis photo appears on Wikipedia under "Plymouth, Pennsylvania" and is identified as the second Parrish Breaker. Here, as everywhere else Popular Mechanics, 1908 Largest Coal Breaker in the World The huge coal breaker at Plymouth, Pa., known as "Nottingham No. 15," is the largest in the world. Its capacity is 1,000 cars of a size large enough to carry an equivalent of 7 tons of finished coal each. Not more than 200 ft. from the breaker is a shaft 350 ft. deep from which one of these cars arrives with coal from the mines every 20 seconds. Here, as everywhere else, mechanical devices are superseding manual labor. In the old-style breaker at least 150 men and boy pickers were employed, but in this breaker a spiral coal-picking machine has made it possible to dispense with at least half of that number. The breaker cost $200,000. [Note: the breaker pictured above may not be the one described in the Popular Mechanics article. Nor does it appear to match any of the other PA anthracite breakers cataloged at this site.] Plymouth commentsThe boxcars are likely outbound. Some anthracite customers ordered coal in boxcars, as there was less pilferage. (Note there is another boxcar under the breaker). Looking at the hi-def image, a locomotive is seen in the distance that appears to be an inspection engine. It has a high cab with the bell mounted on the front end sill. There probably are several business cars behind it; difficult to see at this distance. An inspection engine indicates a visit from the "brass." The grounds were spruced up ahead of time for sure. Camelback LocomotiveThe type of locomotive in the back isn't an "inspection" locomotive as another poster called it, but is instead a camelback. This type of locomotive was somewhat common in the early 20th century, but fell out of favor due to people fearing they weren't safe. They still hung around in places like yards and industrial applications; but generally speaking they died out. Only one has been preserved in working condition. Inspection LocomotiveThe high cab roof, along with the bell mounted on the front deck, says inspection locomotive, an entirely different animal compared to a camelback. The oversize cab was necessary to accommodate the officials who were doing the inspecting of railroad facilities. The inspection engine could run alone while on business, but often hauled private or business cars, as appears the case here. BTW, at least two camelbacks have been preserved: DL&W No. 952 4-4-0W at St. Louis Museum of Transport, and CRRNJ 4-4-2W at B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore. "American" camelbackShilo would seem to be correct. The construction of the engine more resembles an early "American" type camelback. Not American 4-4-0, but instead this type of locomotive. The PRR owned six of this class of locomotive, with the B&O having 50. Only one has been preserved of this class, though it is not in running condition. Due to its construction, it is not unexpected for them to be mistaken for inspection trains, which were a very different beast entirely. This type of locomotive was rendered obsolete by 1910, due to improvements in boiler design. By then, most had been withdrawn from service or rebuilt into "conventional" cabbed locomotives. Also, only one "modern" Camelback, Reading Company 0-4-0 No. 1187, survives in operable condition. The remaining preserved locomotives are lacking in nature, with Baltimore & Ohio Railroad 4-6-0 No. 173 suffering from a cracked boiler crown sheet and failed boiler certificate, and Central Railroad of New Jersey 4-4-2 No. 592, having been severely damaged when the roof of the museum gave way under heavy load in 2001-2002. Lastly, Delaware, Lackawanna & Western 4-4-0 No. 952, is in no condition to operate, missing may integral parts, and B&O Camelback 2-8-0 #173 (Of this class in the photo) Being too old to consider repair and operation. BoxcarsCoal shipped in boxcars, rather than hopper cars, was shipped in fifty pound burlap bags. Usually sold in the larger cities to customers who preferred to buy it that way as it could be picked up at any coal yard or even a hardware store. (The Gallery, DPC, Mining, Railroads)
Park Transfer: 1925
... marked rail cars, from left to right, hail from the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O), Nickel Plate (N.K.P.) and Louisville & ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2013 - 5:06pm -

Washington, D.C., 1925. Something for the railfans, something for the truckfans. "O.D. Boyle" is all it says here. National Photo glass negative. View full size. ToadsCarmen, inspectors who walked incoming trains before they were switched out (called "Toads" in railroad slang) carried a 1" diameter stick of chalk on their walks. If they found anything that needed minor attention (such as a loose bolt or cotter pin, brake shoes needing replacement, or worn air hose) they would chalk a symbol on the corner of the car to tell other repairmen. These symbols were not universal, and varied from yard to yard. If they found a major defect (such as a brake defect, safety violation, or worn bearings) they stapled a postcard size card onto the side of the car, reading "Bad Order" and what the defect was. When the switchman broke up the train a Bad Order tag superceded any other instructions for the cars routing and it was placed in the "Rip", or repair yard. Timeless boxcarsSome things change, some don't. Cars and trucks have changed tremendously in 88 years but a 1925 boxcar looks very much like a 2013 boxcar. GMCThat's a GMC truck, probably about 1915. First GMCs were built in 1912. Already pretty old at the time of the picture. As I See ItVisible marked rail cars, from left to right, hail from the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O), Nickel Plate (N.K.P.) and Louisville & Nashville (L&N), respectively. As for the truck, I'm thinking it's post-equine drayage. (Wikipedia helps here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drayage.) Team TrackThis would be a Team Track, where rail customers without spurs to them could receive goods. A series of parallel tracks, separated by a roadway where a team of horses with a wagon, and later motor trucks, could pull up alongside the railcars and transload goods from, or destined to, local customers. As I (also) See ItThe reporting mark on that middle car (N.K.P) is more accurately defined as: NKP - NEW YORK, CHICAGO & ST. LOUIS RR (NICKEL PLATE ROAD) now, of course, the NORFOLK SOUTHERN RWY. CO.[*]. The name's origin is interesting as told here: Origin of the Name Nickel Plate Road. Centrifugal Dirt CollectorThe things you learn at Shorpy. A few Googles and I was at pp. 88-89 of the December 1909 issue of "Air Brake Magazine". The subject collector is placed in the air line upstream of the triple valve. The shape of the chamber swirls the dirt around until gravity takes it to the bottom, where it stays. This is the "B" endTo report mechanical issues, or describe anything concerning a railroad car, you need to be able to differentiate one end from the other. The "B" end of any car is the end where the hand brake is located. The opposite end is the "A" end. This practice is still followed today. Boxcars then & nowThere is a world of difference between boxcars of a century ago and those of today, although these do look more modern than the solid-tired GMC truck. These boxcars have corrugated steel endwalls, but the sides of the one to the right are all wood. So you can imagine the steel-rod-and-turnbuckle structure on the bottom, the kind hobos are seen riding in the cartoons, and which needed constant adjustment. The knuckle couplers on these boxcars do not have the horizontal slot intended to receive a link during the transition from link-and-pin couplers of two decades earlier. It remains for better railfans than myself to say how quickly these were upgraded to solid knuckles. Modern boxcars do not have a roofwalk, and the ladders do not reach the roof. Besides the work-related injuries of having brakemen climb up on the roof, there was the ever-present liability of unauthorized persons getting up there. Since the '60s, boxcars, and all revenue rolling stock, have been getting larger. They have steadily been lengthened, and bridges have been raised to accommodate increased height. Finally, journal boxes have given way to Timken roller bearings. I suspect the word "journal" refers to the fact that these bearings once required daily attention. The top-hinged doors on the boxes would seem to attest to this. A major reason cabooses (or cabeese) had cupolas on top was so the crew could watch out for overheating bearings. My dad says that solid bricks of lubricant were available to dump into a problem journal box, as a stop-gap until the train could be brought into the yard. A large portion of his career at Texaco involved the development of an ideal lubricant for roller bearings, which since the '70s have completely replaced journal boxes. Chalk MarkLower right side of closest car, just above the "pole socket": anyone know what it means? O.D. BoyleO.D. Boyle was a yard brakeman for the B&O, working in Washington DC, in 1918. The connection to this photo is beyond me, though. See Page 22 here. Pole SocketsPole sockets were the receptacles for push poles. Sometimes it was necessary (or at least convenient) for various reasons to move a car on an adjacent track that you could not couple your engine to. To accomplish that you used a push pole held in place by a crew member. The inherent danger of such a maneuver caused the practice to be outlawed relatively early on Class I railroads, but on backwoods short lines where operations were not so constricted by rules, it continued much later. And, railroads being railroads, no one really wanted to go to the trouble of changing any blueprints, and pole sockets continued to appear on equipment long after no current employee could remember seeing them used. Here's a photo of a push pole mounted under the tender of a Mississippi Central steam engine, probably from the 1930s. Polin' the carsmichaeljy says the practice of poling cars was abandoned relatively early by Class I roads, but maybe not so ... in Winston Link's masterful history "The Last Steam Railroad in America," he includes two pictures (pages 100 and 101) of a brakeman poling a gondola on the Abingdon division of the Norfolk & Western some time between 1955 and 1957, when the division was dieselized completely. Locomotives continued to be made with pole sockets right up until the end of steam. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo, Railroads)
The Accident: 1936
... on the Ohio River, in 1818. It was extended east to Baltimore, a major seaport, by 1824. The road was a marvel in the early - ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2012 - 6:46am -

November 1936. "Automobile accident on U.S. 40 between Hagerstown and Cumberland, Maryland." Photo by Arthur Rothstein. View full size. National RoadAs already noted, US 40 here is the old National Road, which was completed from Cumberland, Maryland, on the Potomac River, to Wheeling, Virginia (Now West Virginia), on the Ohio River, in 1818. It was extended east to Baltimore, a major seaport, by 1824. The road was a marvel in the early - mid 1800s, and in this picture more closely resembles the old 19th century road than it does the Route 40 of today. Judging by the terrain, this is a lot closer to Hagerstown than Cumberland - likely not far from where Interstate 81 crosses US 40 today. High ImpactTake a look how the windshield wipers were flipped up by the force of the collision. The skid marks in the foreground plus the damage to the front right tire suggest the vehicle might have spun around and that there may be worse damage on the passenger’s side. Route 40My husband and I traveled this road many times 30yrs. after this photo was taken when we were stationed in the Military District of Washington. Nice drive with some darn good restaurants along the way! Cumberland Road Heard a very good presentation on the history of the Cumberland Road (aka The National Highway, aka U.S. Highway 40) last summer. According to the speaker and subsequent study, there was a real fuss kicked up in the hallowed precincts of Washington over the Constitutionality of the federal government funding such a project. The proponents of the initiative finally won, justifying the expense on the basis that the Constitution did provide for a postal service, and the road would facilitate that end. Tom Jefferson authorized the road in 1806, but construction didn’t start till 1811. The road started at Cumberland, Maryland, hence the name. Over the years it continued in bits and pieces westward, the subject of controversy, funding and politics. Its history is a great piece of our heritage. The two well dressed guys probably belong to the Packard parked behind the Ford. One, a doctor perhaps? New or nearly newThe car is a 1936 Ford 5-window coupe, a Deluxe if the three horizontal bands along the hood are chrome. The man in the white hat appears to be examining the head of the person behind him for injury. Hopefully (or not) there's another photo to accompany this one showing what this car struck. Considering there were probably no seatbeltsI'm relieved to see the drivers-side windshield without a head-sized crack in it. The Other GuyI'd bet the other car in the accident isn't a car. The front end is pretty torn up, but not really all that pushed in given the amount of damage. If I was a betting man, I'd say he hit a large-ish animal. Unlucky for the drivers, lucky for usto have this shot. As Shorpy fans probably know, large-format vernacular photography ceased to exist during the 1930s except for newspapers and New Deal agencies (such as Rothstein's employer). And most of the newspaper stuff - even the newspapers themselves - is gone. Closer to HagerstownGiven the terrain, this was definitely toward the Hagerstown end of that drive...Cumberland's all hills, all the time. I lived in Cumberland as a kid, and flat land isn't too common out there. Grew up in CumberandThe old tollbooth on Route 40 in Cumberland is still standing and is in great shape. On Facebook there is a page devoted to the architecture of Cumberland and recently they posted pictures from the 50's of a couple standing in front of it. It is a beautiful building. I can't post a link to a picture due to my network restrictions but it is a wonderful building and Cumberland is a marvelous city. Ouch!As a test engineer in the transportations safety industry I have to say that I wouldn't want to look at the accident particulars. I wonder what the statistics were in that accident, without today's fancy safety features. How many killed, how many injured, what level of injury? (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Cars, Trucks, Buses)
Pleasant and Main: 1907
... plays of the time did, in Boonton, NJ. It had stops in Baltimore, Newark, New York, and a few towns in New England. It must have gone ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/28/2013 - 9:15am -

Laconia, New Hampshire, circa 1907. "Pleasant and Main Streets." There's a lot to see in this super-detailed view, including the latest "moving pictures." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Postcard of the Eagle HotelHere's a postcard of the Eagle Hotel the same year, from eBay. A firm foundationThe trolley rails were built below the general road level with ties similar to today's rail construction, then covered with dirt so horses, autos and walkers wouldn't trip when walking across them. The fire hydrant on the corner checks outView Larger Map Local ProductIt's a safe bet that beautiful open streetcar was built by the town's own Laconia Car Co. Adrift in New YorkActually, Adrift in New York was not a moving picture, but a play, written by and starring the incredible (if you believe the press of the time) Sara MacDonald. It opened in the late summer of 1906, as most great plays of the time did, in Boonton, NJ. It had stops in Baltimore, Newark, New York, and a few towns in New England. It must have gone on to great success because by 1917 the "Sara MacDonald Company" was advertising casting calls for the play in various theater publications. You can get a pretty clear view of the sign with MacDonald's name here, which is another view of Main Street, Laconia, only a few doors farther away from the Eagle Hotel: https://www.shorpy.com/node/15112?size=_original#caption Trolleys rails on dirt street?I don't think I've ever seen a trolley running on what appears to be a dirt street. How did they keep the rails aligned? "Circa" is correctThis would appear to be in 1907, as Sept 17 falls of Thursday in 1908, Tuesday in the former. The Pooper ScooperIs headed for the poop! He'll have job security for probably another 15-20 years. So much to see that has so much to say!The placard for the moving picture "Adrift in New York" gives flesh to the urban-rural social dichotomy that still prevailed in the early 20th Century, no doubt heightening Laconians' gratitude at being able to live where the air was clean, the trolley yielded right-of-way to the street sweeper, L.L.'s cousin Frank ran the livery stable, and the café patronized the services of a sign painter of a decidedly calligraphic bent. Ties that bindJust like with railroad tracks in the weeds, there are ties buried under the rails in that dirt. But, cyclists and pedestrians should give wide berth when the trolley car company's sprinkling pot comes by. The electric pump on its water tank gives great reach to the spray from its nozzles, wetting down the dust all over the unpaved street. The Cook Building is still thereThe building just past the Eagle Hotel on Main Street is the (according to the placard on it in Street View) The Cook Building built in 1898. (The Gallery, DPC, Movies, Small Towns, Streetcars)
Hawkeye Troop: 1956
... full size. Balmer Boys Overlea is part of Greater Baltimore. Today's Maryland Troop 433 is now located in Olney which is west of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2012 - 6:29pm -

"Boy Scouts 1956." Our young friend Kermy is holding the flag on the right in this Kodachrome slide found on eBay. View full size. Balmer BoysOverlea is part of Greater Baltimore. Today's Maryland Troop 433 is now located in Olney which is west of the city. http://www.troop433.org/ Jungle GreensFor some reason the poses in this shot, particularly of the lads squatting at the front, remind me of photos of young soldiers in Vietnam or Korea. I guess a few years into the future from here, these lads may well have been those soldiers. Uniformed and proud.A time when the BS wore full uniforms and looked the part. I remember having to wear the official shorts, socks, shirts, berets etc. We were proud to do that as well and were always dong some volunteer task the town asked us for. We had a huge Scout troop in my hometown 40-60 at one time. I recently went back for the 4th of July parade in the hometown and was dismayed at the look the local Scouts took on. 7-10 members now shuffling down the street: shirts un-tucked, baggy cargo shorts, flip flops; barely any trace they were indeed BS. Total slobs. Oh well. Kermy's from Maryland!I would have guessed Iowa, glad to hear it. Mounting evidenceSomething tells me the evidence will start building sufficiently from these photos to track down Kermy and his sister. I wore that uniformMinus the convenient folding brimless hat, whatever you call it. I know the hat is military in origin, but I also associate it with fast food clerks. When we wore hats at all, they were ball caps. I was one of the last Scouts to wear this style uniform. The new uniforms, with the lighter-color shirts and epaulets, were introduced about 1981. I wanted to be up to date, but my parents had just bought my uniform and were determined to wait until I outgrew it, which I did soon enough. The Scout troops that beat everybody else in the knot-tying competitions must have worn their uniforms all the time. That wasn't us. It was only much later that I understood that they were busy perfecting these skills, while we were backpacking 100 miles, and climbing Mount Whitney. I think we had more fun. 1950 censusI wish we had access to the 1950 census, so we could look for a family in Overlea, Maryland, with a little boy named Kermit (at least I can't think of any other name that Kermy would be short for). azhdragon is right. These kids would have been in the age group of most who served in Vietnam. Its a very sobering thought. Scout seniorityWhen I was in Boy Scouts in the early 80s, we had the recently-introduced khaki shirt with dark OD green trousers and a mesh back baseball cap [OD green with the BSA emblem in center]. However, some of the older Scouts and a few of the adult leaders still had the old style, all-OD green uniform as shown in this photo. Sort of an indication that they were "old-timers" and still wore the older uniform to prove it. It definitely looked a lot sharper than the ones we had and was also more comfortable. This could have beena picture of my troop in the early 60's. The garrison cap worn by these Scouts was still the official "topper" for scouts of my era. Not that Troop 433Troop 433 of the Balto. Council still meets at a Methodist church in Perryville. I've been trying to identify the campsite but it's not obviously either of the two local boy scout camps (Broad Creek or Hawk Mountain) or in Patapsco Park on the other side of the city. The poseI noticed their poses as well. I think they were very consciously (without realizing it, if that makes any sense) mimicking the poses they saw their fathers taking in the unit pics from WW II. I was a Cub Scout in 56, but graduated to the green uniforms in 1958. That hat style was what we called a garrison cap in the Marine Corps, but it had a slightly ruder common name, the p*ss cutter. BSAMost of these kids are probably about 2 years older than me. I was a Cub Scout in Kansas from 1956 to 59, and a Boy Scout from 1959 to 1964. We all wore the long-sleeved shirt, which for reasons I never understood required you to fold the collar inside the shirt before putting on the neckerchief. When I was 14 I went on an expedition to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. The troop I went with all wore the short-sleeved shirt (which had no collar), short pants, and a campaign hat (which was an optional item.) After that, I never went back to the long-sleeved shirt, even in winter. (Boy Scouts, Kermy Kodachromes)
The Club: 1916
... on hydrants standardized as a result of a major Baltimore fire? Fire departments from outside Baltimore discovered that they couldn't connect their hoses to city hydrants. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/14/2014 - 12:25pm -

Circa 1916. "Detroit Athletic Club from the Plaza Hotel." Evidently something of a motorcar magnet. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. DAC magazineContributors to the DAC monthly magazine in days of yore included Robert Benchley and James Thurber. I miss my days as a DAC member - great work-out facilities and superb cuisine in the dining areas. Also, not only does membership include parking for Lions and Tigers games, but you get a fairly decent view of Comerica Park from the upper floors of the parking garage. It's a storm drain@Zoreo, I disagree. I think that "behind the couple just stepping off the curve" is a storm sewer catchbasin. Note the square cement panel is similar to one directly across the street without a hydrant. Also visible is the sewer inlet drain in the gutter. Still fit as a fiddle!In fine shape after all these years: View Larger Map Never too many Hydrants!If you are a dog or an insurance underwriter! Seriously, many intersections in high-value areas had a hydrant on each corner. The "stubby" hydrant looks to me like a high-pressure hydrant, part of a separate system that supplied high-pressure water capable of supplying a heavy stream as high as 15-20 stories without a pumper. Where's the fire?Four hydrants at one intersection. It is Motown.One benefit of DAC membership is secure free parking, including parking for Lions and Tigers games. ChangeNobody locks their car. No hydrant standardizationWhen were hose connections on hydrants standardized as a result of a major Baltimore fire? Fire departments from outside Baltimore discovered that they couldn't connect their hoses to city hydrants. That could explain why there were multiple hydrants so close together in the Detroit picture. Five fire hydrants?Actually, Jimmy, I think there are five fire hydrants- I think there is one behind the couple just stepping off the curve at the top corner and the corner on the right has two. What were they expecting? Detroit Automobile ClubThe early auto pioneers made their deals in the bar in the Pontchartrain Hotel, where the tables in the "barroom were occupied with men so intent on studying blueprints spread out before them that they paid little heed to the drinks at their elbows." As they prospered, they decided to "organize a club to get them out of the saloons of Woodward Avenue." They took over the sleepy Detroit Athletic Club (founded in 1887), built the building shown in 1915, and invited in anyone important to the auto industry. There were so many that the publisher of it's club magazine made $50K a year in the 1920's, all from advertising revenue. There are many stories of the club's founding in the first chapter of Malcolm Bingay's book Detroit Is My Own Hometown. Not a hydrantFWIW, I think that the concrete slab behind the two people is a manhole cover for access to the street storm drain. Similar manhole covers can be found at two of the three other corners of the intersection. The Detroit Athletic Club is the most prominent building when looking out over the left field wall at Comerica Park where the Detroit Tigers play. Thanks to archfan for the link to "Detroit Is My Home Town". I delivered the Detroit Free Press in the late 1960's but never knew the history behind Iffy the Dopester. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC)
Candy Girls: 1922
... Street — Opposite Palace Theater. Branches: Baltimore, Richmond, Dayton, Fairmont, Morgantown, Wheeling. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 9:49pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1922. "Benj. Franklin candy store, 13th Street N.W., interior." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. QuestionWhy do visions of candy on conveyor belts and Lucille Ball go through my head while looking at this picture? While You Were Away 1922 Advertisement "Benj." Franklin Candies Pays Us a Visit and Sample our Famous BUTTER CREAMS and GLORIA ROLL Why is everybody talking about "Benj." Franklin Candies? Because we believe our candy is the finest and purest in the city of Washington; our candy is all home-made — made the same as Mother would make it in the kitchen at home. A trial will convince you of its superiority. Remember the Address — 517 Thirteenth Street — Opposite Palace Theater. Branches: Baltimore, Richmond, Dayton, Fairmont, Morgantown, Wheeling. Update: Don't wait! It won't be here long! 1923 Advertisement Have a gloria roll and make yourself at homeIt looks like they've set up shop in somebody's living room. There's even a coat hanging over the doorknob. The "clock"Cover plate for a stovepipe hole. Those "Candy Girls"look shell-shocked. Was is something in the candy? The working hours? The fact that they were forced to pose forever while the photographer did his thing? What I want is To be locked up in this place overnight with a half gallon of cold milk. They would find me the next morning on the floor lying on my back, distended belly with an empty milk container, chocolate all over my face and mumbling incoherently. All in the FamilyThe two center women have the same nose and head shape. I think this is a mother, father (in the back) and their two daughters. I also think this is not what those two sisters wanted to be doing on their summer vacation. That accounts for their "are you done yet" teen-aged glares. Did the "Heat" do them in?Is that gent by the window on a telephone? Old time candy stores often served as a front for a bookie operation. Those oscillating fans couldn't protect the goods from the brutal heat of a D.C. summer. Three thousand pounds of leftover coconut? My Mother worked in the Sander's candy factory in Detroit, Michigan for a spell in late 1930's. She was told she could eat all the candy she wanted as she worked. After the first day she had her fill. They're really...Zombies! Ma? Meh.No wonder this store went bankrupt. If they advertised candy as "the same that Mother would make" at home, then I'm taking my sweet tooth to a place where they actually know how to make candy. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Group Shot: 1925
... View full size. Hot On July 9, 1925, the high in Baltimore was 94 degrees with a low of 72. In Washington the high was 92 and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/20/2008 - 9:39pm -

July 9, 1925. "Boy Scouts, Camp Roosevelt." National Photo Co. View full size. HotOn July 9, 1925, the high in Baltimore was 94 degrees with a low of 72. In Washington the high was 92 and the low 73. If scout uniforms had any wool in them, there are some unhappy campers in this shot. Mystery AnimalI'm trying to figure out what the shorter boy, second row, center right, is cradling in his arm. The boy beside him appears to be trying to pet it. Dog or cat presumably, but these are boys in the woods — who know what they'd find? [Woof. - Dave] LopsidedIs that building as lopsided as it looks in this photo? It doesn't even look safe to be in. [Isn't it funny how the trees are also tilted. What a mystery! - Dave] Hey I know those guys...Except for the occasional sailor cap, Those guys look almost exactly like the kids I went to Scout camp with 50 years later. We didn't have such a nifty radio shack though. Then again our scoutmasters and camp counselors didn't wear bow ties either! Level with meI hope the troop leaders haven't passed out the carpentry merit badges yet. They're all alike!Aside from age, they're mostly scowling, tow-headed, sunburned, and bug-bitten. Not a set of rabbit ears or an "ethnic" face in the lot. Camp RooseveltCamp Roosevelt was about 8 miles south of Chesapeake Beach. In the late 1970s the D.C. area Scout Council needed money, and sold Camp Roosevelt to real estate developers. The name was preserved, but it is now a very posh subdivision of large homes, many with views of Chesapeake Bay. Ahhhhh! MemoriesI live not too far from there. And yes, it is now overpriced McMansions on the Bay. Reminds me of my Boy Scout days. No AC, plenty of bugs, and lopsided hutches. Good ol' Camp RooseveltI attended Camp Roosevelt over two summers in the early '50s. I remember that hall. Mixed up and drank lots of "bug juice." Our campsite was at the top of a cliff, and we rode out a hurricane that came up the Bay (Hazel, I think). (The Gallery, Boy Scouts, Kids, Natl Photo)
Publix: 1963
... yard near near W 29th Street in the Remington section of Baltimore. Oddly enough because of the many immigrants who kept goats in that ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/01/2016 - 6:49pm -

1963. "George Jenkins, founder of the Publix supermarket chain, at store in Lakeland, Florida." 35mm negative by Marvin Newman for the Look magazine assignment "George Pleasures Them With Groceries." View full size. Baby food/PublixThey are really stocked up on baby food! I shop at Publix's stores around Nashville, TN.Yes, it is a pleasure to shop at their stores. Been around the world...And you still won't find better grocery stores. Although, Vons in California is pretty close. I served in the military and have been stationed across the US. I grew up in central Texas, Piggly Wiggly and Safeway were the stores I remember as a child. Despite the problems of the North, Meijer was one of the best but none rival Publix. Jammed up and jelly tight!Stunning photo. So many things to see and remember. The comment title was what a "stockman" would be told to do on his aisle; keep those shelves stocked! Look at the number of facings Maxwell House coffee has. Also,"eye level is buy level" on those shelves. The stockman with Mr. George is using an old green "float" to bring his stock to the shelves (we in produce used chrome two-level ones), and is using a Garvey flip-stamp pricer. It used a purple ink that could be wiped off the can tops with ammonia if the price changed on a Thursday morning. Both stockmen have feather dusters in their back pockets and, in those days, would be wearing a white shirt and black tie. Being involved making displays, I remember that corrugated brick-paper, the fluffy pastel paper streamers, the fancy paper hanging eye-catchers that folded out to make different shapes. In produce, we used miles of fake grass made of paper (I think it was) on our displays, and that stuff wouldn't bruise the fruit. Seeing the bottled salad dressings reminds me of an initiation trick every "bagboy" would have played on him in his early days: Being told to stay busy on the salad dressing/pickle aisle by keeping the oil-and-vineger dressings shaken up and unseparated. Mr. George hated to see empty Coke bottles on his shelves, and would sometimes put a silver dollar under ones he'd see when visiting a store. Lucky stockmen who remembered to put those Coke bottles in the basket of his float would be happy to discover those! Drink your OvaltineI would love to have some of that 1963 Ovaltine, the kind that left a layer of crunchy, Chocolaty debris floating on top. Pretty grainyPretty grainy, and not talking about the cereal. Not up to Shorpy's usual standards. [That's because it's a relatively tiny 35mm negative, and high-speed film to boot, not a gigantic 8x10 inch glass plate such as used by the Detroit Publishing Company, for example. -tterrace] Power AisleI worked in the admin side of a large retailer for nearly a dozen years and would always hear the merchants on the operational side of the business talking about the "power aisle", the open area down the middle of the retail floor where displays and promos were placed. Here, it looks as though Publix used that space to sell breakfast cereal, which seems stacked out and perhaps not on shelves - an interesting way to display it. Interesting to see the predecessor to plastic wrap, Scott's Cut-Rite wax paper, in such quantity. My mom used to wrap my lunchbox sandwiches in that stuff. Also, a bunch of choices of malted milk products, with Ovaltine, my favorite Carnation brand, and one other brand I cannot identify. It seems that is no longer very popular as it was back then, but I loved it as a kid. The forgotten daysBack when you could see across the top of shelves into the next aisle. I'm floored!Sorry to go on and on, but please notice the terrazzo floor in this photo. They were always seen in the Publixes of my day--green and white were the colors--and it was a point of pride to have them gleaming clean and polished at all times. For those unfamiliar with terrazzo, it was made of marble chips set in concrete and it took a high shine when sealed correctly before waxing. Other Publix things were auto-opening doors and a big free Toledo scale just inside them. Also, please note the window sign on the far right: S&H Green Stamps were given at Publix for years, and I still have a drill I "bought" with those stamps in about 1970. With his super-clean, air-conditioned, and well-lit stores, Mr. George certainly did his best to make shopping a pleasure. EDIT: The reason we used the term "Mr. George" was that George's brother, Charles, was also a visitor to our stores. So it was Mr. George and Mr. Charlie. Mr. Charlie was, in my experiences with him, a bit more outgoing than his brother. Once, when he was visiting Publix #51 in Tampa, he caught me and two of my produce workers in a bit of horseplay that was absolutely over the top. I won't describe it, but he had every right to fire us all on the spot. Instead, he burst out laughing and said, "Boys, if you can't have fun at work you're in the wrong job." Then, shaking his head at our insane antics, he walked away. Popular PublixDespite any problems the South may have, at least we have Publix Supermarkets, "Where Shopping is a Pleasure". It's everybody's favorite store. Now, if only they'd just starting giving out those S&H Green Stamps again! Boy does this bring back memoriesI remember my mother taking me to Publix every Friday to grocery shop at the Publix in College Park, a section of Orlando. Before we would leave, I would always take a turn on the big Toledo scale just inside the door and I spent many happy hours gluing all of our Green Stamps into a book so we could save up for some sort of item in the Green Stamps catalog. I can still remember the minty taste of that horrib glue. I'm no longer a "Floridiot" now living in Asheville, NC for the past 30 years, but about two years ago, we got our first Publix p here uand the town went absolutely mad for it. You couldn't even get a parking space the first three months it was open. Certainly a testament to what a great store it was and continues to be. Goat Milk VS Cow Milk ... A Childhood Tale Of WoeGoat milk and Pet milk both played a part in my life. Back in the early 1900s my grandmother raised her brood of 6 children on goat's milk taken from the family goat kept in their yard near near W 29th Street in the Remington section of Baltimore. Oddly enough because of the many immigrants who kept goats in that area it was known as Goat Hill. My father's version of walking to and from school uphill both ways was his story of having to milk a goat before he could have breakfast and it tasted terrible compared to the cow's milk I could get out of the ice box. Refrigerator was never in his vocabulary. My hard luck story usually took place on Wednesday (the day before dad's payday) when we would be out of the regular Sealtest milk for my morning Wheaties and I would have to mix the condensed Pet milk (used in coffee mainly) with tap water. It was an acquired taste and by age 10 or so I got to like it but I always told Dad it tasted terrible just like his goat's milk. (Florida, LOOK, Stores & Markets)
Peeking Woman: 1901
New Baltimore, Michigan, circa 1901. "The Firs -- upper hall." Our second look ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 6:57pm -

New Baltimore, Michigan, circa 1901. "The Firs -- upper hall." Our second look inside the Hatheway residence. Note the cloud of flash powder emanating from behind the stairs. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. The FirsSupposedly, the house was haunted and this photo is only adding to that. Rumor has it that Mabel Hatheway, daughter of the home's builder Gilbert Hatheway, died at age 20 in the house of mysterious circumstances. It was said that she "fell" down the stairs and broke her neck. There's also a rumor that she was buried in a glass coffin but who knows if that's true. September 6, 1901There's an American flag draped over the portrait hanging in the hall. I wonder if this photo was taken shortly after the assassination of President McKinley. Poor dogLooks like when Rover died they made a rug out of him. Haunted!But, but, there was no one in that room!! Cue Twilight Zone music. As a little kid.This place would be a constant source of fear for me as a kid. 1. Going up those stairs was certain death, as that is where the creepy mean guy lived. 2. Someone is bound to reach out and grab you into that first door on the left. 3. The next door down the hall, I'm sure someone is peeking out the crack between the door and the frame. 4. There is definitely a mad man hiding in the corner behind the open door ready to pounce. 5. Inside the far room, I can see the shadow of an axe murderer on the floor. Waiting. Waiting. 6. Down the stairs, worse than going up. No way I could run fast enough to get to that door at the far end to escape. Flash Powder?You don't know ectoplasm when you see it? And that's a werewolf-skin rug. The flag is blocking glareI think the flag was put there to block the glare from the flash powder ignited behind the stairs. Remote Flash?It looks like there were two flashes for this shot. One attached to the camera and the other behind the staircase. Looking at the shadows caused by the flashes seem to show this. [You're right, although in this case both the one at the camera and the "remote" would have been guys holding the magnesium flash brackets and setting the powder off manually. - tterrace] Flash SyncI've often wondered how the old timers obtained such well exposed images when the distance from the camera was so great. Seeing the magnesium cloud suggests there were assistants as needed and the photographer opened the lens, gave a signal and they all set off the flash powder then he closed the lens. What's in the bottle?Wonder what's in that mysterious uncorked jar on the sideboard? [Close-up, it doesn't look uncorked. I want to say the label reads "Furni[ture Polish] - tterrace] That bottlemight contain Furniture Polish, or given the shape and style of the bottle and the fact that it was used in the period as an over-the-counter disinfectant, insecticide, and home remedy, it could contain Formaldehyde (or Formalin). Using the LoC original with contrast adjustments, my tired old eyes can't make a definitive case for the label reading either "Furni" or "Forma" (both are plausible), and the line below remains a tantalizing mystery. If only that bottle had been turned a few more degrees toward the camera. [There certainly are similarities to this one. - tterrace] (The Gallery, DPC)
Chicago: 1956
... Kermy & Janet archive, and possibly a train trip from Baltimore to the Windy City. View full size. Grainy but great There ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/19/2013 - 9:20pm -

"Chicago, November 1956." 35mm Kodachrome from the Kermy & Janet archive, and possibly a train trip from Baltimore to the Windy City. View full size. Grainy but greatThere were/are a set of standard viewing locations for photographing Chicago railroading. This isn't one of them, and is thus valuable. It was probably shot from the train. Chicago experts should be able to fill in the details, and the exact location, but 2 small ones pop up. All of the switches in the foreground have self guarded frogs, a once-common cost saving feature for yards. These are the wings sticking up above rail level on the sides of the frogs, allowing omission of the usual guard rails on the outer "stock" rails, to keep wheels from steering down the wrong side of the frog. They are not suitable for high speed main line operations. Also, the hood profile of the semi tractor facing us looks like an International (IH), which was based in the general Chicago area. The one facing away lacks mud flaps, was that common for the era? Indeed the B&OYou can see the tower of Chicago Grand Central on the far left of the picture. This curve is just east of the lift bridge over the Chicago River. Southside ChicagoThe large building with the pyramidal top is the Board of Trade, and the bright metal, blocky building with the tall antenna is the Prudential Life building. These were the tallest things in the city from about 1955-1965. So this puts us on the south side, and I'm pretty sure the low bridge visible in the middle distance is the Roosevelt Road bridge over the river. I'm guessing we are near what's now the 18th street bridge where it crosses the south end of today's Metra (commuter) trainyard. Prudential BuildingOf the two tallest at the time, Prudential was the tallest, hence it being the location of the TV transmission tower. I recall my dad taking my brother and me up to the observation deck on a Sunday morning around this time. I was 6 years old then. Mud FlapsThat tractor without mudflaps is likely a yard tractor and not used on streets and roads. Chicago: 2013The Chicago Board of Trade dominates the 1956 skyline. Today it's barely visible from the same vantage (16th Street). Dearborn Station The clock tower of the Dearborn Station can be seen to the right of the building with the yellow Lee sign painted on the side. If you were traveling by rail to or from Los Angeles, you probably transferred at that station in Chicago. It's where the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe began and ended its passenger trips to and from a number of Western cities. The tower is still standing and what is left of the station has been converted to office and retail space. The train shed and tracks were demolished in 1976. The office, printing and manufacturing businesses around it left and the buildings are now mostly apartments and lofts. (ShorpyBlog, The Gallery, Chicago, Kermy Kodachromes, Railroads)
Patriotic Pole Sitter: 1929
... He must have had good weather. Ten days in August in Baltimore without thunderstorms is a bit unusual. Certainly, if there had been ... A Day According to an August 12, 1929 article in the Baltimore Sun, Jimmy Jones' record only stood for 6 hours before being ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/21/2013 - 7:49pm -

UPDATE: The Library of Congress has given this photo a caption. September 3, 1929. "Maryland youth breaks pole sitting record. William Ruppert, 14-year-old youth of Colgate, Maryland, as he appeared atop the flagpole in the yard of his home yesterday after breaking the pole sitting record of 23 days set by Shipwreck Kelly. Young Ruppert, who started his sitting on August 1, has worn out three pairs of trousers so far. He says he expects to stay up 30 days more. The pole is 18 feet high." Note the light bulb rigged to the seat. View full size. ReminiscedA few years back, there was an article in Reminisce magazine about this guy. It included a recent interview plus additional pictures. Light bulbNot to mention the series string of lamps leading up the pole! I make out five, with possibly a sixth one at the bottom. The rig on the seat is a 'Y' socket for two, with only one present. What kind of circuit IS that? Not enough for them to be 12V lamps in series across 120V; were 24V lamps common in 1929? Steel PierThe "art" of pole sitting continued well into the '50's. I remember, as I'm sure many others do, that during the summer months on the old Steel Pier in the OLD Atlantic City, a pole sitter was a prime attraction, along with the diving horse. There used to be a bank of telephone handsets that allowed people on the ground to talk to the pole sitter, and ask him questions and what not. Food and drink was hoisted up in a basket contraption, and he ( I never remember a female pole sitter) was allowed a bathroom break every so many hours. At night, after the pier was closed to the public for the night, he was supposed to sleep up there for the night, but no one was ever around to verify that. 10 Days in AugustHe must have had good weather. Ten days in August in Baltimore without thunderstorms is a bit unusual. Certainly, if there had been a storm he would have been down in no time, if he were smart. 10 days up thereI guess they could send food up to him, but did he get to come down for bathroom breaks? King For A DayAccording to an August 12, 1929 article in the Baltimore Sun, Jimmy Jones' record only stood for 6 hours before being shattered by Wee Willie Wentworth (12 years). The mayor made a house call to congratulate the latter on his ascension to the throne. Back then we didn't have a Wii, we had to sit on polesEvery time I think we have stupid fads today, I just have to remind myself of pole-sitting. Although, substitute a tree for a pole, and I can name at least one fairly famous latter-day female sitter, Julia Butterfly Hill. I count seven bulbs in series, but there might be one more hidden near the top. They could be 32-volt bulbs, widely used on farms before the REA, and in railroading. What about school?The updated information states that William planned to stay up on the pole for another 30 days. Since this photo is updated to September 3rd, are we to assume young William has dropped out of school, in favor of a career choice that starts out "at the top" and stays there? Series stringIt looks like a common (then) 8-lamp string for Christmas trees, the kind usually fitted with C6 type bulbs. (The Gallery, Harris + Ewing)
Street Arabs: 1888
... mother remembered it as "like the Airedales." A-Rab Baltimore once had itinerant street merchants, most with horse and wagon, whom ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/03/2019 - 7:12pm -

New York circa 1888. "Street Arabs in 'sleeping quarters'." Photo by the Danish-American social reformer Jacob Riis (1849-1914). View full size. How the other half poses. Poorly. The kid on the left is peeking. I'm sure of it. I believe the young man is dreamigProbably of a nice hot meal and a clean bed. Sleeping boysSeems to me, that this picture is posed. Look at the smiling face of the left kid. But maybe I'm not right - maybe he's dreaming about warm, clean, cosy bed and pajamas? The Gilded AgeMr. Vanderbilt, Mr. Morgan, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Carnegie -- anyone? Forty wink-winksSure, those three young fellows really fell asleep like that. And there's some oceanfront property in Nebraska you need to check out before it's all gone. Forty wink-winksSure, those three young fellows really fell asleep like that. And there's some oceanfront property in Nebraska that you need to check out before it's all gone. Two-way streetI wonder which way it went in popular lingo: From street arab to street urchin or vice-versa? Nomads Without the CamelsSo Google tells me "Street Arab" is a now archaic way of saying homeless street kid. I had no idea. I bet there was story behind that term, when it was in use. NewsiesThe way these streets urchins survived was to sell newspapers, go through garbage, and even pick up dog feces. The latter was sold to local tanneries. I had a cousin who did this to survive. He became successful accountant. Look at the eyesYou can fall asleep in some of the weirdest places, and I certainly have, but looking at the eyelids, it looks like there is some tension in the forehead that suggests they're squeezing them shut for the picture. I also notice that their cheeks are filled out nicely, as if they're at least somehow getting enough to eat, their hands show evidence of work and dirt, and their hair looks combed. I'm guessing they're actually tenement residents whose parents send them out to beg/whatever. Maybe the photographer took them out for a bite to eat afterwards. I hope he did. What's Real?The clothes, holes and dirt don't look staged to me. Longfellow The Day Is DoneAnd the night shall be filled with music, And the cares, that infest the day, Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs, And as silently steal away. James Thurber's mother remembered it as "like the Airedales." A-RabBaltimore once had itinerant street merchants, most with horse and wagon, whom the locals called A-Rabs. They did everything from sell produce to collect rags and scrap, but the term was pronounced with a long A. No doubt an adaptation of the term used in this photo, though I can only guess at the etymology … perhaps the crowds of mendicant children one could observe in the cities of North Africa in former days? [They're "Arabs" because they're nomadic, wandering from place to place. - Dave] (The Gallery, Kids, NYC)
Her Own Biggest Fan: 1927
... member of a prominent family . Mrs. John Douglass Wade, Baltimore, Maryland, granddaughter of Louisa Airey Gilmor (Mrs Samuel Owings ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/14/2015 - 4:06pm -

Washington, D.C., or vicinity, 1927. "Woman at campsite with fan display." The card enlarged here. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Definitely not an 1820's fanlindab is quite right... the fashions of the ladies on the fan are from around 1840-1850, not the 1820's. You can see this especially on the woman sitting on the bank to the right. A few clues... The 1820's sleeve was frequently fitted through the arm, sometimes with a small puff at the top, where these sleeves are fitted in the upper arm and bell out at the wrists, a style that developed into the "Pagoda" sleeve of 1860's. The 1820's skirts were high waisted and a-line with more fullness captured at the center back, where these skirts are natural waisted and clearly full, almost dome-shaped, heading towards the large crinoline hoop skirts. Of course, since this is 1927, the note taker could have been off just fifteen years, and this fan might be from 1842. Possible... The FanAppears to be conveying a vaguely religious theme, perhaps a deceased soul being borne to the other side of the river where it's received by its former loved ones? The prone figure has a death's head while the one in the center is the only one looking heavenward and with a halo around her head, the soul of the deceased. Fannotated"100 yrs. old" A daredevil aviatrix?A possible clue to the lady. She might have liked flying or fliers, judging by the airplane pin at her throat. A Lindbergh Fan?Just noticed the airplane pin at her collar. PinI that a "Spirit of St.Louis" pin she's wearing? Sky QueenThe fan is fine, but the airplane on her neck is awesome! This pinThere were many designs for her to choose from, with and without rhinestones, and this looks like the one she chose. Fan not as old as they sayThe ladies illustrated on the beautiful fan are wearing hoop skirts and hairstyles from the 1850s at the very earliest, so in 1927 it would have been at most 70+ years old. The girl, however, is charming, and I love it that she's wearing dress shoes and stockings on a camping trip. [This looks like the 1820s to me. - Dave] Okay, I'm stumpedWhy would you take your antique fan collection on a camping trip? [Old flies! - Dave] More fannotationFan belonging to Mrs. John Douglas (Wade?) 100 yrs old belonging to her grand? mother? The precision of the name vs the rest of the script makes this look to be a marked up calling card. Prominent familyIf Baltfan is correct in deciphering that text, this might be a member of a prominent family. Mrs. John Douglass Wade, Baltimore, Maryland, granddaughter of Louisa Airey Gilmor (Mrs Samuel Owings Hoffman), married May 9, 1826, hence the 100 years old comment. (The Gallery, Camping, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Pretty Girls)
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