"First Women's Fire Department." At the 1929 Firemen's Labor Day Parade in Washington, D.C. View full size. National Photo Company Collection.

1923. Assistant Postmaster General John Bartlett's car in Washington after an accident. Bartlett, a former governor of New Hampshire, survived. Details of the wreck, unfortunately, did not. View full size. National Photo Co. Collection.

"Auto Wreck, 1923." Another Washington, D.C., vehicular mishap, this time at the Library of Congress. View full size. National Photo Company Collection.

July 30, 1923. Washington, D.C. A closeup from this morning's post of a wrecked car in the water. View full size. National Photo Co. glass negative.

My father worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and when we moved from Ontario backwoods to the City of Trail, we rented a railway house between the tracks and the Cominco smelter. Our front yard was the parking lot and our back was the railway tracks. The trains shuttling ore passed so close that I could hand the engineer a magazine from our upstairs window. It was difficult to sleep the first few days in the city, but after a week the engines passing by our window didn't disturb us one wink. This was a time of tension with the USSR and I believe we were one of the targets of the Soviets. At the time, Cominco was the largest non-ferrous smelter in the world, providing zinc and aluminum to the free market. The smelter still stands but our old residence is gone. Good riddance. View full size.

February 12, 1908. Montague Roberts in Times Square driving the Thomas Flyer at the start of the New York to Paris automobile race 100 years ago today. Five months later the car rolled into Paree and won, with considerable drama along the way. There's an entertaining account of the competition in the New York Times, which sponsored the event a century ago. View full size. 5x7 glass negative by George Grantham Bain, whose photos illustrate the NYT article.

June 17, 1925. "Klingle Ford Bridge wreck" in Washington, D.C., just off (and under) Connecticut Avenue. 4x5 glass negative, National Photo Company Collection. View full size. Who can identify the car?

November 1938. The Ak-sar-ben toll bridge over the Missouri River between Iowa and Nebraska at Omaha. View full size. Photograph by John Vachon.

August 1941. Cars in the business district of Brattleboro, Vermont. 35mm nitrate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.

September 25, 1923. Brigadier General William Mitchell in Washington, D.C. An important figure in the development of military aviation, "Billy" Mitchell is regarded as the father of the U.S. Air Force. His criticism of Army and Navy leaders after the crash of the airship Shenandoah in 1925 led to a court-martial and subsequent resignation. When it came to clothes, cars and horses, he was a connoisseur of the good life. View full size. National Photo Co. Collection.

January 2, 1926. Tommy Leiter and Harriet Mitchell, daughter of Gen. Billy Mitchell. View full size. 5x7 glass negative, National Photo Co. Collection.

March 1937. Stalled in the Southern California desert. "No money, ten children. From Chickasaw, Oklahoma." View full size. Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration.

Summer 1942. "Good citizenship and plain common sense. This man is performing a duty every car owner owes to himself and to our fighting men. In having his car adjusted to prevent excessive tire wear -- and in observing the simple rules that make tires last longer -- he is making a valuable contribution to our war effort. The man who wastes rubber is a poor citizen and blind even to his own personal interests." View full size. From photos by Martha McMillan Roberts, Howard Hollem, Albert Freeman and Howard Liberman for the Office of War Information.

October 1935. Our third shot of Red House, West Virginia, youngsters on the way to school by truck. 35mm negative by Ben Shahn for the FSA. View full size.

October 1935. Red House, West Virginia. Youngsters on the way to school. 35mm negative by Ben Shahn for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.