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[REV 25-NOV-2014]
Vintage photos of:
"The Whole Tillery Family," date unknown. "Daddy" written in pencil. 4x6 print of some of my distant relatives. The family name of Tillery is unknown to me. I was born and still located in Knoxville, as is the studio where the image was taken. View full size.
March 1965. My father engaged in the activity that occupied his evening hours every single day: reading the papers. In our case, these were two: the local Marin County daily, the Independent-Journal, and whatever San Francisco afternoon one that happened to be in business, here the Examiner. He was 63, a year before his retirement, when I shot this Kodachrome by available light. View full size.
My grandmother up front left in this picture along with her siblings, taking a break on their journey to Yellowstone from Burley Idaho, around 1920. Imagine making the journey on the roads back then in those old cars back then. View full size.
One of my favorite photos of my paternal grandma, probably taken in the late 20's or early 30's. She was either engaged or already married to her first husband (per the ring). What I find most intriguing about this photo is that the back of it is a postcard - unfortunately, we'll never know who she was going to send it to.
1954 Jalopy Racing in its glory days. Many beautiful coupes and sedans were destroyed for the sake of racing. I was 10 years old at the time and spent every Wednesday with my dad, friends or if you were lucky taken into the pits with a driver. This is Barry K, one of the top dogs at the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition grounds here in Fort William, Ontario, now Thunder Bay. The stands would be jammed with hundreds of fans cheering for their favourite drivers. Most race tracks in those days were right in the center of town to the chagrin of many local residents. A steel '32 Ford coupe body today in good condition could bring at least $10,000. How I miss those wonderful times. View full size.
1954. Merv D. and Jim W. tangle in corner #2 with typical cheapskates looking through windows, standing on rooftops or on pickup truck boxes not willing to pay the 25 cents it cost to come in the main gate. Hundreds of fans did, however, to the most entertaining Wednesday nights I had ever enjoyed as a kid in Fort William, Ontario (now Thunder Bay). View full size.
Local jalopy driver and fan favorite Louis T(white helmet) is always in some kind of trouble with the judges or with another driver. Photo taken circa 1954 at the CLE fairgrounds track in the middle of town, in Fort William Ontario Canada, now Thunder Bay, Ontario. The best days of my childhood life. View full size.