MAY CONTAIN NUTS
HOME
Home

Search Shorpy

SEARCH TIP: Click the tags above a photo to find more of same:
Mandatory field.

Search results -- 30 results per page

Mr. Magazine: 1908
... shown below. Note that most sources state he was born in Kansas in 1875 (not Illinois in 1878). He died in 1920 while coming home from his job as an inspector for the City of Detroit. "EDWARD SIEVER. Pitcher of the Detroit American League ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 3:46pm -

1908. "Smallest news & post card stand in New Orleans, 103 Royal Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Next doorI see cabbages, bananas, oranges, apples, peaches, walnuts, and ... waffles? Re: BlueBookAnother bid for one of each! From Antiques Roadshow archive: APPRAISER: "This is one of the later ones-- there's no date here, I think this was done about 1915, 1916 or 1917.the last copy I was able to track down at auction, sold for more than $2,000, some years ago. GUEST: Wow. APPRAISER: My guess on this is it's worth somewhere between $3,500 and $4,500. GUEST: My goodness. APPRAISER: Not bad for something you picked from the garbage, right? Magazines and NewspapersI'll say what we're all probably thinking: I'll take one of everything on your stand, sir. Hey, there's a magazine for everybody. The Information HighwayBefore the internet was invented. Sagebrush Philosopher"Sagebrush Philosophy" was published by the Wyoming writer Bill Barlow: Shortly after locating at Douglas he began the publication of a little monthly magazine called Sagebrush Philosophy, which soon had a circulation that extended to all parts of the Union. His writings scintillated with wit, philosophy and optimism, and his vocabulary was both extensive and unique. Sagebrush Philosophy was built up on his personality and when his death occurred on October 9, 1910, it was realized that no one could continue the publication of the magazine, so its last number was issued in November following his death. The JewelThis photo has a great example of an Etched - Glue Chipped Glass doorway on the right. I would lay money down and say that the gilded wood letters (on the upper left & above clerk) are most likely manufactured by the Spanjer Bros. This photo would look great in color with all those magazine covers too. Dietz Sign Co.Saw that at the top of the picture. Googled it. Got as far as this page. Dietz Lantern Company. Read through it, you'll see mentions of places and things seen on Shorpy. I will start a-looking. The Big QuestionHow did he get IN there? ThurberesqueShe came naturally by her confused and groundless fears, for her own mother lived the latter years of her life in the horrible suspicion that electricity was dripping invisibly all over the house. It leaked, she contended, out of empty sockets if the wall switch had been left on. She would go around screwing in bulbs, and if they lighted up she would hastily and fearfully turn off the wall switch and go back to her Pearson's or Everybody's, happy in the satisfaction that she had stopped not only a costly but a dangerous leakage. Nothing could ever clear this up for her. -- James Thurber ("The Car We Had to Push") No Business Like ItPublications suspended under the ledge, below the proprietor, are The Dramatic Mirror, Billboard, Variety and Show World. Someone once said that everybody's second business was show business. Looking at these magazines for sale in 1908 New Orleans sort of reinforces that theory. Gimme the lot!I'd buy the whole lot. Can you imagine what all those are worth today? It looks like this may have been a cafe entrance once. June 1908The Saturday Evening Post in the lower right corner was dated 13 June 1908. I did a quick search online and voila, now I have that warm, fuzzy feeling one can get from a successful treasure hunt. Thank you, Shorpy, for the thrill of the hunt. My Order"Hey buddy, I'll take a bunch of bananas, two pineapples, some mixed nuts, five melons and a dozen postcards. By the way, do you have July's edition of The Railroad Man's Magazine?" Ex-PresidentGrover Cleveland--definitely him--has been out of office for nearly ten years. Why is he gracing the cover of the Chicago Tribune? [His uncanny impersonation of William Howard Taft. - Dave] Naughty BitsInteresting to note that on the bottom row is the notorious "Blue Book," the guide to houses of ill repute in Storyville, the area of New Orleans where prostitution was legal until WWI. Just CuriousHow did they close up shop for the night? It looks like this is right on the sidewalk. I can see that some of the display looks like it might swing into the opening where the proprietor is standing but it still looks like there's a lot of effort to open and close for the day. Tag SuggestionCould you also tag this and future images like it with "Postcards"? Images like this that depict the retailing of postcards are incredibly rare and of great importance to we deltiologists. Thank you. Taft of Ohio, Not ClevelandThe Chicago Tribune cover is graced by the future president, William Howard Taft. He was the Republican candidate in 1908. [I think you're right. At first I thought it was Cleveland, who had died on June 24, but this does look more like Taft. Especially the ear. - Dave] Oh yes, we have bananas!Didn't say they were fresh, just said we had them. For everybody, indeedCowboy Bill is surely referring to this. 1908.It took me a while, but here is the evidence. First, "The Railroad Man's Magazine" on the bottom cannot be from 1906, because it wasn't published until October of that year. I then found the cover for Collier's Magazine from June of 1908. Finally, there is an advertisement on the bottom left for the 1908 World Almanac! [I misread the date on the cover of the 10 Cent Story Book last night when I posted this, thinking the 8 was a 6. Thanks to all who set me straight! - Dave] Hardly Naughty The Blue Book Magazine displayed on the bottom row is not the notorious Blue Book guide to "sporting houses." It's a copy of a legit magazine that was published until 1975 featuring fiction by writers like Agatha Christie, Booth Tarkington, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. [This particular magazine, Stageland Blue Book, was a theatrical publication. - Dave] Re: Naughty BitsThe Blue Book would not have been sold openly at a newsstand. It was also very plain in appearance. Sugared SnacksThe stacked, flat items in the case on the far left could be beignets, the Official State Doughnut of Louisana, but more likely are New Orleans-style Pralines. Clean 'em outAccording to my rough count, there are about 100 different postcards on display. Figuring 10 of each at 15 cents per dozen, one could have the entire stock for just over $12. Great magazines, buttucked in among the postcards is a very interesting, small publication: Sagebrush Philosophy. It wasn't the magazine for everybody, but that's what made it so special. MoneyTime travel to this place in order to buy these itmes would be very interesting, just don't forget to first get into your family's coin collection and grab some Barber dimes and quarters, Liberty nickels, and Indian Head pennies. You show this guy dead president coins and bills and he'll have you hauled away by the police. Another ClueChecked one more thing on why that is probably Taft on the Chicago Tribune cover. The Republican convention that nominated him was held in Chicago from June 16 to June 19, 1908 which would coincide with the time frame here. It is interesting, however, that Grover Cleveland died June 24, 1908. Please note that the Tribune was a very Republican leaning newspaper in those days, so it's more likely they would feature the new Republican nominee that the recently departed former Democratic president. Dangerous leakagesWe can laugh at it now, of course, bit it was common during the early years of electricity for people to believe that electrical sockets "leaked electricity" if they didn't have something plugged or screwed in. Many families have stories of people insisting on removing the plugs or bulbs and putting in stoppers at night. People even complained of smelling the electrical "vapours" coming from the sockets. Closing up shopRegarding how they closed up shop at night. The middle section above the hatch flips down. The two shutters on either side close inwards. The magazines below are simply unclipped and taken indoors. Sidewalk CafeLOVE the tile sidewalk sign for the Jewel Cafe. It's the same type that some streets still have that say Rue Royale or Rue Bourbon. Very cool. Then and NowThis photo is featured in the 1996 book "New Orleans - Then and Now." In 1996, there's also a newsstand, just to the right of this one. In addition, I found a vintage postcard (postmarked June 1908) that shows this same newsstand. So it's a postcard of a postcard stand. (I know there's a name for things like this, but my coffee hasn't kicked in yet.) Speaking of post cards within postcardsWonder if any of the pictures featured on those postcards ever appeared on Shorpy? Now there's a heck of a scavenger hunt for you. Politically Incorrect Period HumorLook inside the kiosk to the left of the proprietor and you'll notice section of postcards devoted to those comical darkies and their antics. Very popular at the time, and very collectible now despite (or perhaps because of?) the transgressive stigma of racism. Now I understandI always wondered why they called it the Kelley Blue Book. Now I get it. It lets you know how the car dealer is going to #@$% you on the value of your car. Learn something every day on Shorpy. Cornucopia--The younger man on the right has the look of one not to be trifled with; --The cafe doors are almost identical to the doors on the front of Antoine's Restaurant; --I wonder who the ball player is on the front page of the Sporting News. Walter Johnson? Ty Cobb? Honus Wagner? --Among the many old framed articles and pictures on the walls of the main dining room at Antoine's there is a lengthy one about W.H. Taft and his eating exploits at the restaurant during a trip to New Orleans. Marvelling at his stature as a "trencherman," the writer tells that Taft had a great love of boiled shrimp but didn't like to have to peel them. Taft claimed there was no serving of boiled shrimp so large he couldn't finish it. In an attempt to test this claim, Jules Alciatore (the proprietor at the time) had 50 pounds of shrimp delivered the morning before Taft was to dine there. They boiled them and he and his staff peeled them all, yielding a seving bowl with 7 1/2 lbs. of shrimp meat. According to the article, Taft finished them all but was so surfeited that he could barely speak afterwards! --The items in the case look too big, flat, and uniform to be either beignets or pralines, but I'm not sure what else they would have been. They certainly do look like waffles, which would have kept all day in the case I suppose. About that ArgosyIt's the July 1908 edition. What fun hunting this stuff up! Cover BoyWhile the individual covers of Sporting News are not readily available, issues of Sporting Life can be easily found. The photo shows the June 13, 1908 issue of Sporting Life with Edward Siever of the Detroit Tigers on the cover. Five days after this was published Siever played his last major league baseball game although he played another two years in the minors. Less than a year earlier he had been in the 1907 World Series. A copy of the front of this issue of Sporting Life, along with the caption that goes with Siever's photo, is shown below. Note that most sources state he was born in Kansas in 1875 (not Illinois in 1878). He died in 1920 while coming home from his job as an inspector for the City of Detroit. "EDWARD SIEVER. Pitcher of the Detroit American League Club. Edward Siever, the noted south-paw pitcher for the Detroit American Club, was born April 2, 1878, at Lewistown, Ill. Siever was originally a locomotive fireman of the Grand Trunk. He made his professional debut with the London Club, of the Canadian League, in 1899, which, largely owing to Siever's fine pitching, won the championship. He was sold to the Detroit Club the following year, and sported the Tigers' stripes continually until the Fall of 1903, when he was transferred to the St. Louis Club. After a season with the Browns he was transferred for 1905 to the Minneapolis Club, with which he did such fine work that St. Louis re-drafted him for 1906. During that season he was sold to the Detroit Club for which he has played since. In the 1907 season he very materially helped Hughey Jennings' Tigers to bring to Detroit a championship pennant for the first time in twenty years." Jewel CafeThe Jewel Cafe, at 131 Royal Street, was listed in the program for the 5th Annual Sugar Bowl Classic in January of 1929 as a sponsor:         Jewel Cafe ... 131 Royal Street; Oysters 45 cents per half dozen; First time in the history of New Orleans, Oysters a la Rockefeller are prepared before your eyes. This deep mystery of the culinary arts is now almost within the price range of raw oysters. Louisiana's choicest cultivated oysters, served in all styles at our counters and tables; open all night. (The Gallery, DPC, New Orleans, Stores & Markets)
City Gas: 1905
Circa 1905. "Gas holder, Detroit City Gas Company." A familiar sight from the era of "city gas," when municipalities had their own gas plants in the days before ... a framework that looked like this to the west of I-435 in Kansas City on the river bluffs - I wondered for years what it was. Thanks for ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/01/2019 - 11:14am -

Circa 1905. "Gas holder, Detroit City Gas Company." A familiar sight from the era of "city gas," when municipalities had their own gas plants in the days before long-distance transmission of natural gas. The telescoping sections rose or fell as "illuminating gas," which was made by heating coal, was put into or removed from the holder. 8x10 glass negative. View full size. Gas Holder Fun FactsAs my 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica states, "A gasworks should be sited with some care as it does not improve the neighborhood." Water was kept between the telescoping sections as a seal -- the internal pressure was not that great. Cincinnati, a town which has creatively repurposed its older infrastructure, has a gasworks park with creative "sculptures" made from the old apparatus. Oval GasGasometers are still a feature of some British city skylines, one of the most high-profile being in the background of the Oval cricket ground in South London. WiredI am mesmerized by those wires coming in from the upper right. I suppose they run behind the container and that it's only their shadow that continues perfectly across the front until diverted by the curve - but, as I study them, they play tricks on my brain jumping from foreground to background amongst the geometric shadows. [The wires run across the photo in front of the tank. - Dave] So THAT's what that thing was!There was a framework that looked like this to the west of I-435 in Kansas City on the river bluffs - I wondered for years what it was. Thanks for clearing up that mystery! Ka-BOOMGot a light. West coast gasWhen I was growing up out here in California these things were a familiar sight in just about any city of a goodly size, even suburban San Rafael just to the north of us in Marin County. There was an enormous one in San Francisco up through the mid-1960s, at the east end of the Marina District. Here it is at the right in a section of a slide I took from across the bay near Sausalito in early 1965. Gas Tank ParkNew York had dozens of these structures. Some of the most famous were the Elmhurst tanks. They were knocked down in the 1980s and now the site of Gas Tank Park. Near most of these structures were the gashouses which produced the illuminating gas -- sites often requiring remediation to remove the contaminant plumes of benzene and other aromatic hydrocarbons which dripped into the ground. Got gas?Hi tterrace. That tank is now the site of the upscale Marina Safeway. However, its memory lives on in the name of the sailboat marina right across the street: Gas House Cove. Worried ?Wonder if the people living next door ever worried about an explosion. That being said, I have never heard of one blowing up. Gas lines, yes. The neighbors most likely never had low pressure in their lines, at least. A while back I was looking at some of these in Europe and UK online; some gas holders overseas have been converted to condominiums or apartment buildings! "Gasometers"I live in London, and you will still see these structures all over England and particularly in the large cities. We call them "Gasometers," and they are still part of the national grid for gas distribution. Love em in London!These things seem to inspire the same fond feelings as water towers. So big and matter of fact and useful! The number 8 gasometer down the road from me in King's Cross, London, is being zhuzhed up as part of the regeneration of the area. Hopefully they'll keep it a little bit weird and rusty. http://www.bp-k.com/projects/Gasholder.html An Illuminating Subject.When I was young, not far from our home was a coking plant which had two huge gas holders of the type shown. They would slowly rise as gas was produced and fall as gas consumption exceeded supply. The adjacent gas works would emit an atomic cloud of steam as a coke oven was "pushed" and the glowing coke quenched by water before it was loaded into steel hopper cars. On occasion a wood-sided hopper was used, the coke not completely quenched, and the resulting fire caused by the wind of the train's motion would burn thru the car side and a glowing lava of coke pour out as the train moved down the track. Steel coke cars would sometimes glow in patches at night. I do not know if there are any gas holders of this design left. I would like to ride on top of one and watch it inch up by looking at the framework, and see it pause as the pressure inside had to increase to lift the next section. I tell younger people about them and they do not grasp the idea of the telescoping sections at all, how the pressure inside, although low, was enough to lift the tons of metal the tanks sections were made of. Other gas holders were circular and made with bricks, not rising nor falling. The whole coke plant and the gas holders are long gone, ugly to be sure, being replaced with even UGLIER slumplexes of high-density housing. LandmarksThose Elmurst, NY, Gas Tanks were a staple for many Long Island Expressway Commuters. Traffic reporters would announce, with almost every daily (weekday) morning drive heading to The Queens-Midtown Tunnel, that the major tie-ups would be in the vicinity of the gas tanks. Incidentally, the tanks themselves rose and fell according the volume of gas in them. They could have preserved itby turning it into a park, like we did here in Seattle. Same in St. LouisThere was at least one of these on highway 64/40 in St. Louis that I used to pass daily on my commute. It would rise and fall and I always wondered what it was. I'd heard it was for natural gas but I never really understood, but now I do. Great photo- thanks for posting! http://www.builtstlouis.net/industrial/gasometers.html Roll up the windows! We passed two of these tanks en route to Grand-ma's Brownstone in Brooklyn, NY. But the associated cracking plants and their gas flare towers sent the pervasive stench of rotten eggs drifting over the county for miles around. We all held our noses and made rude noises until shushed by the adults. Wow, popular topic! I just wanted to add that modern tanks act as flow buffers, just like water towers. Instead of just storing locally made gas, they store a 'back-up' quantity of product to handle periods of high demand, but are fed by massive pipelines from distant plants. (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC)
Come Fly With Me: 1912
... Auto Polo's Young Daredevils From the the Kansas City Star Magazine - November 14, 1971 Few sports were ever devised, I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/12/2011 - 2:40pm -

December 1912. "Auto polo," somewhere in New York. It looks a little risky to me. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size. And a movie!The game in action! Perfect candidatesfor the Darwin Awards? Yeesh~! Best reason to chant "Get a horse" yetForerunner of the demolition derby? Auto Polo's Young DaredevilsFrom the the Kansas City Star Magazine - November 14, 1971 Few sports were ever devised, I think, with the thrills and spills, the collisions and rollovers, the spectator excitement of a game played in Kansas in Model T Fords nearly 60 years ago. The name of the game was auto polo. Continue reading Risky?I'll see your "risky" and raise you "stoopid!" But it does look exciting, and boys will be boys. Was I born too late or too bright? That's EntertainmentIt's like bumper cars, only without the bumpers. Look at 'em go!This may well be the best action photo on the site. Ten, Nine, Eight...Countdown to Farkitization. A new sportN.Y. Times article from 1912 on an auto polo exhibition at Madison Square Garden. It notes the high injury rate of the sport! Zap. Pow!Now these people know what an EXTREME sport really is. Looney Tunes PhysicsIf the forward motion of the headfirst tumbler coincides perfecty with the downward arc of the upraised mallet, then the next thing we'll hear is "boi-oi-oi-oi-ing" followed immediately by birds chirping. Safety LastI can't imagine why this never caught on. Ebbetts Field???From the angle of the bleachers, I'm wondering if this is Ebbetts Field, which was built in 1912. I guess more likely the Polo Grounds. Is there anyone out there who can make an educated guess? Stadium pictures like this make me nuts. (In a good way.) Maybe Hilltop ParkEbbets Field opened in 1913 and was under construction until very close to Opening Day. This photo might have been taken at Hilltop Park, where the Yankees (then the Highlanders) played until moving into the Polo Grounds in 1913. Mack Sennet, where are you?This looks like something out of Keystone Kops! Yes, before somebody yells at me, the word "Kops" was really, REALLY spelled with a "k". Posed?I have a feeling this may not be quite so much of an action shot. Something - perhaps a prop - has been painted out behind the left-hand car's rear wheel. And there's definitely a support of some kind holding up the other car. Looks like a lump of timber about six inches across. Looks like the two blurred figures took a dive for the camera. Still quite mad, though. [One of the cars in the other "action" shot from 1912 is propped up at an angle, too. - Dave] Hilltop ParkIt's Hilltop Park. You can line up the wall, buildings, and even the advertisements with this photo: (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, G.G. Bain, NYC, Sports)
Pressing the Flesh: 1940
... don't we go to the beach and get out of this hot, crowded city?" Sunblindness Someone could have made a fortune selling sunglasses ... at the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas which included this photo.) THE RIDE HOME?!!!!! I will NEVER ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/22/2016 - 9:11pm -

New York, 1940. "Crowd at Coney Island." Gelatin silver print by Arthur Fellig, the press photographer known as Weegee. View full size. Fourth of July WeekendI was 8 my that year & mom had taken me to Coney Island beach since I was an infant. If this was the Fourth of July it marks the last time she put up with the crowds that were there (weather permitting) most every week end in July and August. After that it was Sunset Park Pool across the street from our third floor front apartment at 4109 7th Avenue in Bayridge, Brooklyn. No need for trolleys, subways and body odors. Kids who today think Woodstock and rock concerts in Central Park were huge should see this photo. I demonstrated in four "marches" on Washington and they couldn't hold a candle to this loony mass of humanity. In Living ColorA colorized version of this photo would be nice. Anyone up to the task? Where is WaldoBlack-and-white version. WoodstockThat was my first impression upon seeing the preview. Okay, Harry, where do we set up the tent?My one day spent at Coney Island Beach in 1958 or so was enough for a lifetime, and our subsequent outings to the beach at nearby (Jacob) Riis Park were far more pleasant, although I never became a big fan of beaches anywhere. The ride home on the bus and subway while still encrusted in sand and salt was truly the low point of every trip. Reminds me of:Where's Waldo. Yogi Berra's Quote“Nobody goes to Coney Island anymore, it's too crowded.” Small wonder, and he actually may have said it. However, he also is said to have said, “I never said most of the things I said.” Auntie Mary and cousin Joe in the tenth row back?How many megapixels to get that level of detail on this here newfangled digital film, then? Washrooms?Oh, the ocean. (I'm assuming it's there somewhere.) Special event?That can't have just been the regular Tuesday crowd, right? There had to have been something special happening that day, to have so many packed in like sardines .... It was so very hot on that day.None of the rides were open and Mister Handwerker ran out of red hots. Me?!?!jobaron I am somewhere in this picture. I grew up in Coney Island and, since this was taken on the Fourth of July, 1940, I most certainly am somewhere here. No way I wasn't on the beach that day... Anybody find me? :-) How many humans?Wow. Do that many people ever get together in one place any more? I know I have never been in a crowd that big in my life! Does Coney Island still get this overcrowded? Is the entire meyro NYC there all at the same time? to heck with Where's Waldo.Where's the water? It will take all day to find it. Show Us Your PitsI'll just show myself out now. No ExitSometimes it's nice just to get away from it all and go to the seashore Watch the birdieThe trick here seems to be: How do I get them to look at me? The Wonderwheel still stands and operates, as does the Cyclone, as far as I'm concerned the finest wooden rollercoaster in use. I once got paid to ride it for an audio experiment, and made 23 trips around it with a 24 pound tape recorder in my lap. I was a huge bruise the next day. They said my headphones flew off at one point and I calmly reached into space and grabbed them. What a great day. So Ralphie said"Why don't we go to the beach and get out of this hot, crowded city?" SunblindnessSomeone could have made a fortune selling sunglasses to this crowd... I only count about a dozen or so folks wearing eye protection. Today you'd only be able to count a dozen or so NOT wearing sunglasses! What a crowd! I'm getting claustrophobic just looking at the photo! A sea of humanityWonder what the occasion was? It's hard to believe there's enough room for anyone there to enjoy a peaceful day at the beach. Must have been a change for Weegee -- shooting live subjects, that is. Most of his photos I've seen are still life (or, more accurately, still "death") "Let's Go Down On The Sand,""It has to be less crowded than this boardwalk is...." My Dog Filmed a Short Film on that BeachMy dog filmed a video on the boardwalk and on the beach in this photo. We rode the Wonder Wheel together and also had our photo taken in a photo booth. He died on Oct. 18, 2015 at age 15. RIP Clancy :( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_CaQqDSRu4 Listen Without PrejudiceI always wondered where this picture was from! George Michael used it for the cover of his "Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1." and I always thought the woman in the center in the black bikini looked like my English teacher. Clearly, she was not; I'm not quite that old. East Coast For Sure!You can count the blondes on one hand! Good dayto head out to Flushing Meadows to the World's Fair! J. Edgar HooverMr Cool in the lower right corner cracks me up; he even wears fedora and sunglasses in the shower. Any open space will doWhere can I lay out my towel? Has anyone seen my flip-flops? What kind of drive would one have to go to such a place where you could hardly breathe? Like someone said..."where's the water?" Where Are They?So how did those folks find their blanket after the photo? That is one huge group of people. Was Coney Island Segregated Then?I see only shades of white and sunburned. Re: WoodstockYep, pretty close! This might make a good source for colorizers, too... Oh, the Humanity!My guess is 600 to 700 thousand people framed in the pic. About enough to fill 9 football stadiums. Ideal PlaceIf you ever wanted to lose a kid this would be where to do it! Anyone who's gotta use the washroomraise your hand. July 28, 4 p.m.Which was a Sunday. (Found with reference to a 2009 exhibition at the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas which included this photo.) THE RIDE HOME?!!!!!I will NEVER complain about a crowd and traffic again. I have never seen anything like this before. The comment volume..........is proportional to the amount of exposed skin. Of course, there is also a female coefficient to factor in when applicable. Where are Mom's shoes?I was born in Coney but went to neighboring Brighton Beach. On one of those hot days, with blanket touching blanket staking our space, a crowd started to gather as someone was drowning. After things calmed down my mom discovered that someone took her shoes. I was about 12 but remember it as if it were yesterday as she walked to the train without shoes. Oh the memory that this photo stirred up. Thanks Looking back.Imagine the heebie-jeebies this gathering would now conjure, with the pandemic we're facing. Social distancing 1940 style. (The Gallery, Coney Island, NYC, Swimming)
Skating Masquerade: 1906
Kansas City, Missouri, circa 1906. "Convention Hall." For four days only, a "Grand ... Chicago, has recently sold to Manager Louis Shouse, of the Kansas City Convention Hall, a large consignment of Richardson Ball-Bearing ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 3:12pm -

Kansas City, Missouri, circa 1906. "Convention Hall." For four days only, a "Grand Skating Masquerade." 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. It was rebuilt in 90 days!The original Convention Hall that was built on 13th at Central Street in 1899 was destroyed by fire on April 4,1900. The Democratic National Convention was scheduled there over July 4. So this replacement "fireproof" structure was designed and built in 90 days using some parts of the old shell that were still sound. The convention was held as scheduled (with 16-year-old Harry Truman serving as a page boy) and nominated William Jennings Bryan. The Republican National Convention was held there in 1928 and nominated Herbert Hoover. The Convention Hall was demolished in 1936. Richardson Ball-Bearing Skates The Billboard, Oct 31, 1908. Skating Rink Notes and News By Earle Reynolds. … The Richardson Ball-Bearing Skate Company, of Chicago, has recently sold to Manager Louis Shouse, of the Kansas City Convention Hall, a large consignment of Richardson Ball-Bearing Rink Skates. Manager Shouse expects to open his big rink a few days after election. The Convention Hall will be artistically decorated and made into one of the finest rinks in the country. Manager Shouse is a past master in the amusement business and has been a successful rink manager for a number of years. He has played all the leading skating attractions in the country including Chas. L. Franks, Nellie Donegan, the Famous Rexos, and a number of others. He will play many P.E.R.S.A. [Professional Roller Skaters' Association] acts the coming season, in addition to running a series of national championship races. … Hardware Dealers' Magazine, 1904. Barney Allis PlazaI work across the street from this site. The building was demolished in 1936 and is now an underground parking garage with a park above. Barney Allis Plaza (as it is now known) has tennis courts, outside seating, fountains and hosts events throughout the year. Delightfully informativeThis simple posting of a convention center in KC is a classic example of how delightfully informative this website can be. Look at what we can learn: 1) site was rebuilt for the Demo convention of 1900 2) roller skating in this era was both personal recreation and professional shows ("Skating on Wood"?) 3) we get the chance to compare "before" and "after" views of our world - I like to use Google Maps to find a street view. This location was only about a mile east of the stockyards, which explains the industrial, and somewhat unclean surroundings. A present-day view shows substantial urban renewal - with a modern convention center. (The Gallery, DPC, Kansas City MO)
Dymaxion House: 1941
... house, metal, adapted corn bin, built by Butler Brothers, Kansas City. Designed and promoted by R. Buckminster Fuller." Medium format negative ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/28/2014 - 3:06pm -

May 1941. "Diamaxion [Dymaxion] house, metal, adapted corn bin, built by Butler Brothers, Kansas City. Designed and promoted by R. Buckminster Fuller." Medium format negative by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size. Deafening in a hailstormAnd I thought Fuller's geodesic dome designs were peculiar! HybridFuller was the first to demonstrate what happens when you cross a corn bin with a traffic signal. Museum pieceOn display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn is "the only surviving prototype of Fuller's dream home." Easy to imagine one is walking through a spaceship when touring the Dymaxion house! DymaxiaThere are two in New Jersey, visible from the public road in the winter, can't be seen in Google Street View (summertime, overgrown), but the 1979 aerial on HistoricAerials.com is good. Coords are 40.269486, -74.083348. This particular aerial view is of Naval Ammunition Depot Earle, in Monmouth County, built starting in 1941. I am certain that these buildings were erected there in 41/42. I wonder, could these possibly have been the actual first two that the Navy purchased? They were used as shelters for radio communication and testing purposes during WWII. They are now abandoned, and have not been in use for at least 20 years. I will try to get a photo from outside the fence, and hope I don't get shot or arrested as a terrorist! Homegrown Fuller in PittsburghAvailable if anybody is interested! http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10016/1028372-30.stm Good Old BuckyHe sure had a great sense of humor, didn't he? Its Fuller, but not DymaxionAs an amateur student of Fuller, this is his design for an easily produced house for the masses, but it isn't the Dymaxion. This is a term often applied to many of Fuller designs, but would be inappropriate for this particular house. The Dymaxion concept was one that was "stressed" for rigidity, and did not rely on gravity to hold it together. The Dymaxion house was characterized by a central pillar with cables radiating from the top to the ground that were pulled tight and stressed so that floors and walls could be attached to them. The load bearing elements of the structure were not the walls, floors and ceilings but the stressed cabling. [You would seem to be rather mistaken (see above). Also, you've started off with a bad case of dangling modifier. - Dave] While I might not be a scholar on the subject, I think my description is correct. Dymaxion is a combination of the terms "DYnamic - MAXimum - tensION" per the Fuller Institute, which would indicate a stressed structure. ["Dymaxion" is the coinage of PR men. Whatever definition the Fuller Institute came up with would seem to be a back-formation: "Its name means nothing you can put your finger on, Mr. Fuller says. He says the same men who invented the word 'radio' invented 'Dymaxion' to express his philosophy after talking with him for three days and deciding that he spoke mostly in four-syllable words." It was Fuller himself who applied the word Dymaxion to the structure in our photo. - Dave] "Dymaxion Deployment Unit" at MOMAClick floor plan for details, or click here. FacilitiesI don't see a bathroom in the cutaway plans. Anyone know where those were located? [Left side of the drawing. Note toilet seat. - Dave] Butler bins.I worked at the old Butler grain bin plant in Kansas City for a few months when I was just out of high school. Butler's grain bin division was bought out by Brock Grain Systems in 1997 and the plant is still operating under the new name. The manufacturing operations that go into these things (grain bins or grain bin homes) are pretty simple. Shear, roll, punch, stack and next piece. The corrugations are added as the side pieces are rolled into arcs. Always two people working together because of the size of the pieces. I can imagine rain on the bin/home's tin roof would quickly drive you to use earplugs. A hail storm would quickly drive you mad. They're everywhereWe've got these things all over Monmouth County, NJ. The one below is in Wall Township on the former site of Camp Evans. There's also one on a sports field I drive past everyday. I suspect that they store groundkeeping materials in it. A third one is on top of the Army's Communications & Electronics Lab on Fort Monmouth. It can be seen from the Garden State Parkway. I'm sure I've seen plenty of others around here but I usually don't pay them any attention. Lustron HousesFrom roughly the same era, Lustron Homes were also designed as affordable, metal construction, prefabricated, low maintenance housing. While plentiful compared to the Dymaxion with about 2,500 examples built, they're still quirky though much more conventional in design. A handful still exist, many in the Midwest, and there are two examples within a couple miles of me. They're a treat for the eye and built sturdily, often not requiring any painting or roofing replacement even after 50 or 60 years. http://www.lustronpreservation.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lustron_house Fuller DDUs in NJThere are DDUs at Camp Evans in Wall Township NJ. See http://www.infoage.org/html/ddu.html They have been primed and repainted since we posted the photos. They were transferred by the Army in March 2009 to our care and stewardship. And here in San DiegoEven this would sell for half a million. Unfurnished. Without corn cobs. Check out the Henry Ford MuseumA more elaborate version of the home has been restored and is on view inside the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Chez FarkFarked again! (Technology, The Gallery, Farked, M.P. Wolcott)
Peeps: 1939
... Three Little Angels... Harry Woodring was born in Elk City, Kansas in 1887 and because of his father's financial straits he was ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/29/2012 - 2:10pm -

April 5, 1939. Washington, D.C. "Children of the Secretary of War and Mrs. Harry H. Woodring were given a preview of what to expect from the Easter Bunny on Sunday. The children, Cooper, Melissa and Marcus Coolidge, are expected to roll their eggs at the White House on Easter Monday." View full size. Basket CaseI believe the chicks in the basket are real, living baby chicks as my grandfather used to have them sent to him in the mail when he decided to raise various chickens for a few years. Also the kids in the photo look subdued and overheated (or have rosacea) and do not seem anxious to handle these chicks. The dachshund on the couch seems to have done a little too much celebrating, I know that feeling. Happy Easter Shorpy fans and a million thanks to Shorpy creators for enhancing every day with something fascinating to me. Jeep?Is that Jeep there on the left (from the old Popeye cartoons) or just a simple teddy bear with a beak? [As a fellow Jeep fan from way back, I wish it was, but I think it's supposed to be a duck or chicken. Possibly in a stretch, a platypus? - tterrace] This is what you getif you don't boil those eggs long enough before you color them! A real life saverIt looks like "Dennis the Menace" on the right is hiding a roll of Lifesavers in his left hand from the other kids. SadI have always hated the idea of giving baby chicks and bunnies for Easter because you how long they will hold the interest of the kids!! But never mind, I loved the capture of Easters gone by. AshtrayThat looks like one of the very ashtrays I grew up with in the ancestral terrace family abode. I still have them, and have photographed one in authentic black and white. 3 Little Angels...The Father of these Three Little Angels... Harry Woodring was born in Elk City, Kansas in 1887 and because of his father's financial straits he was contributing to the family income by the time he was in the fourth grade. Woodring once said: "The fact that a Kansas country boy could be elected governor of this great commonwealth of ours, and subsequently serve in the Cabinet of the President (FDR), is further evidence that our great democracy does work. ... A Kansas boy has dined with kings and queens, with princes and princesses, ambassadors and foreign diplomats, and has sat at the right hand of the President. Truly, a Kansas boy has seen Utopia from the mountaintops. But today a Kansas boy returns to heaven." Harmonica in photoJust happened to be there. I can't think why that would be in an Easter basket. Life and deathI vividly remember at age five learning the concept of life and death as the chicks we received at Easter quickly died after a few days. This was long ago. Giving Easter chicks was banned in Philadelphia sometime in the 1950s. Go HarryBased on info provided by sugarpea, old Harry was about 53 when this picture was taken. He was rather long in the tooth to be a Pop to these cuties, but I guess it happens all the time. Snow on the roof and all that. EarlierPhoto taken at Woodring Home Washington DC, on December 24, 1937. PolioThe oldest boy in this photo died of Infantile Paralysis (a.k.a. Polio) on July 19th 1946. I can't find much about the other two, still living possibly? StuffedBasket Case, the "dachshund" on the couch appears to be stuffed in more ways than one, considering that it has a seam down its spine. (The Gallery, Easter, Harris + Ewing, Kids)
Night Freight: 1943
March 1943. "Santa Fe R.R. yard at night, Kansas City, Kansas." Note the light trails made by the yard workers' torches in this ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/11/2017 - 2:04pm -

March 1943. "Santa Fe R.R. yard at night, Kansas City, Kansas." Note the light trails made by the yard workers' torches in this time exposure, as well as a phantom number (3167, at right) on a train that paused in front of the camera. 4x5 inch Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. View full size. Phantom NumberThe number 3167 was most likely from an engine. The boxcar numbers would not have been that large, and the font is the same as the other engines. wowholy shitakies thats creepy Fascinating!!!Fascinating!!! AmazingBest photo ever. KC and the Moonshine BandThis looks to be a waxing crescent moon (upper left), which would mean this image was exposed on March 10, 1943, give or take a day, according to this moon phase chart: https://www.calendar-12.com/moon_calendar/1943/march Disclaimer: I am not an astronomer, nor do I play one on TV. Oh yes!I'm surprised that all the shunters are diesel/electric. I would've expected that they would've been the last changed, not the first. Diesel SwitchersFor a long time, it was thought best to keep the new and high maintenance diesels in the yard, where they could do less damage if they broke down. Also, it was thought that diesel-electrics were not well siuted to hauling main line fast freight. The EMD (originally EMC) FT demonstrator tour had a lot to do with changing that attitude, by proving that a stock diesel locomotive design could replace steam locomotives in everyday road service all over the country. There's the moonThe streak in the upper left is a crescent moon, being occasionally obscured by clouds in a very long exposure. Nifty! See something, Say something.I wonder if anyone ever called the Cops on Mr Delano, taking photos of strategic locations in the dead of night? American LocomotiveThe only diesel switcher I see is on the left, either an ALCo S-1 or an S-2 the others are tenders for steam locomotives. I operated an ALCo S-1 that was built in 1943, for 14 years, and it still hits the tracks daily. Ten years onand no one's spotted the Phantom 843 mid-picture? ProceedJudging from the lantern trail next to the tank car, the yard worker was giving the engineer in the ghost engine the signal to proceed. 3167, Found and LostThis mysterious steam locomotive was a Baldwin 2-8-2 "Mikado" type that was lost in the Kaw River flood in Topeka in 1951. Meanwhile, four years agoThe elusive 3167 was spotted attempting to flee the yard. Chasing the motive powerAccording to Steamlocomotive.com, #3167 was a Mikado built by Baldwin in 1917, lost in a flood in 1951 or '52, and now living at the bottom of the Kaw River in Topeka. #737 appears to be an 0-8-0 yard engine built in the Santa Fe's own shops around 1929; #831 is also an 0-8-0 built sometime in the early 1930s. Both would make eminent sense to be working in a big switchyard. (Source) Found that too@Olentzero: Ghost #843 was yet _another_ early-1930s 0-8-0 yard engine, no surprise at all to see in this environment. The other Alco.Slekjr is correct, the only diesel in this photo is the leftmost loco, which I think is an S-1. The other two are 0-8-0 steam switchers, converted by the Santa Fe shops from 2-8-0 road engines originally built by Baldwin and Alco's Rhode Island works respectively. The other important reason that diesels were first used in yard service was their greater availability compared to steam locos. A diesel could probably work all three shifts in a yard without needing any attention at the engine terminal, whereas the steamers would need to be watered, fuelled, sanded, lubricated, and have their fires cleaned and ashpan emptied at least once or twice during the course of a 24 hour period. So their productivity was much greater than the steam engines they replaced. East is east and west is west... and never the trains shall meet. Or something. I went back through the other Delano photos in Argentine Yard and I think, maybe, I have an improved location for this photo. It's on the Goddard Avenue viaduct, looking west. Probably. In the big daytime picture of Argentine seen previously on Shorpy, I am pretty sure that 1) Jack was looking east and 2) the elevated roadway that is easiest to see is 42nd Street. In the daytime photo, you can see some other bridges over the tracks, further east of 42nd Street. You can also see the layout of the yard on the right (south) - rows of parallel tracks, punctuated in at least two places by a few tracks running at a very acute angle. In the daytime photo, the nearer set of acute tracks doesn't quite make it to the furthest right (south) parallel tracks until east of the 42nd Street bridge. The further set of acute tracks does seem to make it to the furthest right parallel tracks, right before one of the other bridges in the background; if you were on that bridge and looking west, it would probably look like this photo. The 1957 USGS topo map (Shawnee quadrangle) shows bridges over the yard at Goddard Avenue (between 28th and 29th Streets), 42nd Street, and 55th Street. I'm pretty sure this photo was taken from the same vantage point as Heart of Darkness. I previously identified that photo as being on the 42nd Street bridge, looking west. However, if we are looking at the *engine* of the westbound train in that photo... then we should be looking east in that photo. (Or maybe the direction in the caption was reversed on purpose for wartime security!) However, this photo shows another bridge over the yard in the background. I think, now, that this photo is from Goddard, looking west, and the bridge visible in the distance is 42nd Street. The moon would be setting, if that is true. I tried to match the layout at the left (track with signal, pole line, two doubletrack dirt roads, and nothing) with the daytime photo, with no luck - but then again, even in 1943, the yard extended for some distance behind that photo as well. On the other hand, the USGS topo shows a small triangle of apparently-unused land just west of Goddard, with the western section of it marked "Park", that might correspond to the open space at the left of this photo. Argentine Yard is still there today and is the biggest yard in the BNSF system. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Refrigerated Freight: 1943
... March 1943. "Santa Fe R.R. yards and shops, Argentine, Kansas." 4x5 Kodachrome by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. ... now part of BNSF Argentine Yard is still in Kansas City, Kansas. Today it is part of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and is the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/27/2013 - 7:09pm -

March 1943. "Santa Fe R.R. yards and shops, Argentine, Kansas." 4x5 Kodachrome by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. Nice framing!Delano lowered the lens center considerably, to get lots more of the interesting foreground and place the horizon high on the print, while keeping the camera level. Try that with a standard lens on your digital cam! DaveB Still there; now part of BNSFArgentine Yard is still in Kansas City, Kansas. Today it is part of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and is the biggest yard in their system. View Larger Map I am pretty sure this view is looking mostly east; the elevated roadway crossing the tracks at the upper right is probably 42nd Street. The oil tanks visible at the upper left are still there as part of the Sinclair pipeline terminal; its modern address is 3401 Fairbanks Avenue. The hills at the upper right are on the south bank of the Kaw River. It's kind of hard to see, but the river crosses from left to right near the top of the photo; there is a truss bridge just about visible among the smokestacks, which I think is 18th Street. Today, the elevated portion of 42nd Street extends further north (to the left in this picture) and only "comes down" to connect with K-32/Kansas Avenue. The house on the west side of 42nd Street here, and all the plowed fields between the tracks, are no more; all of this belongs to BNSF and has various tracks and buildings on it. None of the smokestacks visible between the oil tanks and the railroad yard seem to have survived. The large warehouse on the east side of 42nd Street at the right of the picture is gone; there is a lot full of shipping containers where it was. The modern BNSF offices (4515 Kansas Avenue) would be just out of shot to the left of the picture. I-635 runs parallel to 42nd street on the west side; it crosses over the yard about where the railroad light tower is on the upper right of this picture. Eight years after this photo, a lot of this would be underwater; this link has photos from the 1951 flood. The Argentine neighborhood was named for a silver smelter that operated there in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It closed before World War I. Probably taken from the elevatorI looked up the other Delano photos of Argentine yard and I started to wonder how he got the angle for this shot. After a bit of Google Earthing, I think he was probably standing on top of the grain elevator seen here. (The elevator won't show up on Google Maps, but if you look at the early-90s image on Google Earth, it was still there.) (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Wabasha Street: 1905
... in the morning, 56th and Wabasha Honey, we could be in Kansas By time the snow begins to thaw. Bob Dylan, 1974 Sakes Be ... There doesn't appear to be a bicycle in sight! Could the city fathers have banned them? The sole of honor! now who wouldn't be ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/13/2022 - 6:51pm -

St. Paul, Minnesota, circa 1905. "Wabasha Street." One dog and one boy, ready for adventures! 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Starchy? Strict?What on earth does "Stern Tailoring" involve? All life is here, the respectable family outside the bakery, the shady looking boys outside a shop selling drugs, two people playing chicken with a tram. And the dog, is he about to give the photographer a nip or a wet leg? ["Stern Tailors -- Clothing with a severe cut." - Dave] Meet me for lungh at the WabashaWell,it looks like a "G" to me. Nothing LeftJudging by the street address on the left - 377 - the photograph appears to be the view from 5th Street. If so, nothing is left from this view. Meet Me in the MorningMeet me in the morning, 56th and Wabasha Meet me in the morning, 56th and Wabasha Honey, we could be in Kansas By time the snow begins to thaw. Bob Dylan, 1974 Sakes BeThere doesn't appear to be a bicycle in sight! Could the city fathers have banned them? The sole of honor!now who wouldn't be proud to put that on their feet. One left.If you continue north in the current view to 7th street, you will see the Fitzpatrick Building. Built in 1890 and listed on the National Register. In the 1905 photo, this would be to the left of the turning streetcar. St. Paul bike lawSt. Paul's leaders had not banned bicycles from city street, so long as they did not go too fast: Independent Order of Odd FellowsI searched the 'net quite a while to understand the meaning of both the handshake and the animal heads over the doorway between Allen's Bakery and Parker Drugs. I also searched quite a bit to discern the obscured letters in the acronym above them. I was also inquisitive about the tall box near the curb with its electric or phone wires that lead to the same doorway. After overlooking them, I finally noticed the three rings painted on the tall box and that gave me the clue that the acronym undoubtedly refers to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Being a fraternal organization, the handshake symbolism is self-evident. I still don't know what the animal heads represent. An old newspaper notice informs that Allen's Bakery was located at 368 Wabasha. The current resident at 370 Wabasha is a company called Ecolab. I could not find a citation for the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at this location. Here's the shotLook it's a drug store! Quick let's take a picture. Seems so many of these street shots contain a drug store on the corner. Is that because they were always on the main street? The DoggieI hope that poor dog made it home okay. I also see that they hadn't gotten around to cleaning up the horse flop in front of Stern's Tailoring yet. And what was it with hats in those days? Everybody's wearing one, even though the weather looks fine. I'm 70 and I've never even owned a hat like that. Ball caps, sure. But an actual, you know, hat? The struggle is realI'm having trouble reconciling the woman walking past Allen's Bakery on the right-hand side of the photo, past the dapper slender man using a toothpick and his female companion with flowers on her hat, a big bow at her neck, and the get-off-my-lawn look on her face, with the lady whose back is reflected in the bakery window behind aforesaid toothpicking man. The angle seems all wrong and yet there is her receding figure and outfit -- tiny white-belted waist, white blouse, chignon, straw hat with the brim slightly dented in back, right arm bent at the elbow. Somebody help me. [Angle of Incidence = Angle of Reflection. - Dave] Stern Tailoring IndeedI am struck by how well-dressed everybody is: all of the men are wearing suits with ties and hats, including the boy in the street & all of the women are well-dressed and wearing hats. I know that it was the style of the day to wear hats but I am struck by the fact that there is not a single person in the frame that is not well-dressed. There do not appear to be any signs of poverty in this photo, nobody in threadbare clothing or shoes with holes in them. It is is impressive. That kid's pantsWhy does that kid have on long pants. I thought kids that age back then wore short pants. Or has he just reached long-pants age? Length(y) CommentThat boy looks too young to be wearing long pants. I've always seen boys that age (10? 11?) wearing knickers, up until around the age of 13 or 14. Perhaps he's in his Sunday best, in the suit he got from Mr. Stern. Superman vision wantedThat large building on the left is - was - Schuneman's Department Store, and I believe that from the beginning (1890ish) it occupied the whole building; so I'm curious why there's signage at the fourth floor that ends in "PAPER" ... wonder what the first words were. [FURNITURE, CARPETS, DRAPERIES and WALL. - Dave] Thanks, Clark! I was thinking something along the lines of "Paint and wallpaper" - i.e. a listing of their goods -- a rather old-fashioned approach to retailing: I believe the buidling was later "cleaned up" ... as befitted its role as StP's leading store. (The Gallery, Dogs, DPC, Kids, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Streetcars)
Meet the Fokker: 1929
... an earlier Fokker model, an F-10 Trimotor, crashed near Kansas City, Kansas, killing all eight people on board including Notre Dame football ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/06/2013 - 1:57pm -

Sept. 29, 1929. Washington, D.C. "Fokker F-32 transport plane at Bolling Field." Note unusual back-to-back engine arrangement (and mechanic stationed aft to keep people from being pureed). National Photo glass negative. View full size. Bolling Field Everything you wanted to know about Bolling Field: http://www.airfields-freeman.com/DC/Airfields_DC.htm Also note the building across the river is very near what is now Nationals Park and part of the Navy Yard . StreamlinedHow about that aerodynamic windshield?! Good thing speed and fuel consumption weren't an issue then. 124MThis aircraft was the first of the type built, constructor number 1201. It was also the first to crash, on 27 Nov 1929, just two months after this photo was taken. It crashed at Roosevelt Field while demonstrating a 3-engine takeoff. The second engine on the same side failed making it uncontrollable. There were only two injuries, no fatalities, but the craft was destroyed in the ensuing fire. This photo was taken only 16 days after the plane's first flight. Not the only design bugApart from the poor cooling on the rear engines, their props would also loose efficiency as they would turn in the wake of the forward prop and of all those struts. They would be quite noisy, too, for the same reason. And propellers turning undernath a wing (rather than in front of one) also tend to decrease overall lift, especially at low speed. Not to mention that they skew the spanwise lift distribution, which would increase drag again. But every design is a compromise. The designers had good reasons for what they did. - They needed four engines for their power and for redundancy. - Installing the 2 by 2 reduced adverse yaw if one engine failed. - The nacelles could be suspended close to the struts. - The engines were better accessible for maintenance. - A high wing gets the fuselage closer to the ground overall - a boon when airport facilities consist only of a stool or pedestal. - And so on. Look how close they get to the turning(!) prop. Eeeek!!! That's asking for trouble (of the spattering sort), even with the watchdog in the white overall. The Boeing 747 of its dayAlthough only ten were built and just two made it into scheduled service, the Fokker F-32 was the era’s largest successful passenger plane, with seats for 32 (including two under the cockpit). For 1930 it was quite advanced with two-way radio and two toilets. The push-me pull-me engine design (as such configurations were called later) was chosen to reduce drag from four engine nacelles to two. The rear engines however, as was mentioned, did not cool adequately and their propellers’ efficiency was affected seriously by the two up front. I said "successful" because in 1929 the Germans rolled out the massive, 12-engined Dornier DO-X, with the same push-me pull-me arrangement. Too many problems, however, kept it from the market. Universal Air LinesStill lives on, in a manner of speaking, as a predecessor of American Airlines. A four engine aircraftbuilt in Teterboro N.J. by Fokker America, not very successful from the engine placement, the rear engine could not be cooled properly, 10 were built, they cost $110,000 in 1929. Standard Fokker ConstructionNeat tandem rudder. You can see the cables for the rear control surfaces piercing the fuselage just behind the 'Universal Air Lines System' logo. The Baltimore Sun, September 22, 1929. Largest U.S. Land Plane Is Tested Thirty-Passenger Fokker One of the Five Ordered For Transcontinental Air Service. The largest commercial airplane ever built in American and the largest land plane in the world was tested publicly last week, with results highly gratifying to its designer, Anthony H.G. Fokker. This huge plane is the first of a group of five ordered by the Universal Aviation Corporation for use in its transcontinental services. It has accommodations for thirty passengers in day flights and for night flying can be converted into an aerial Pullman with berths for sixteen. Adequate facilities for the comfort of passengers in the way of lavatories, serving pantries and the like have been provided. From tip to tip of the wind the span is 99 feet, giving a wing area of 1,350 square feet. Its length is 69 feet 10 inches and its height is 16½ feet. The weight empty is 13,800 pounds; fully loaded, 22,500 pounds. The power plant consists of four air-cooled engines, each developing 525 horse power. The engines are arranged in tandem, fore and aft on each side of the cabin. For day flying the plane carries 400 gallons of fuel and 40 gallons of oil, giving it a range of 480 miles. As a night plane, the fuel capacity is 700 gallons, with the increased range to 850 miles. The crew consists of two pilots, a radio operator, one day steward and two night stewards. … In its general form of construction this plane, called the F-32, follows the standard Fokker methods. It has an all-wood veneer covered wing of the cantilever type, and all other structural parts of steel tubing. Windshields plus French FarmansThe forward-slanted windshield was fashionable for passenger aircraft in this era. The slanted winshield helped solve the problem of lighted control panel instruments reflecting off the normally backward-sloping windshield at night, but it turned out that the forward-sloping windshield would reflect ground lights instead, especially during landings. Eventually the drag factor and the introduction of tinted plexigas in the 1930s put paid to this idea of forward sloping windshields. As for the odd four-engine arrangement, the French were still using it with their massive Farman 220 series of airliners and bombers in the 1930s. One of them, the converted airliner "Jules Verne", was the first Allied bomber to bomb Berlin in 1940! When planes had mudflapsThose were the days! Seriously, though, some people thought it worth walking across a muddy field and through a prop wash (must have been fun in cold weather or rain), then putting up with what must have been an incredible vibration and din and a roller coaster ride for several hours. Big Boy!Here’s a look at how massive the F-32 was. In 1931, an earlier Fokker model, an F-10 Trimotor, crashed near Kansas City, Kansas, killing all eight people on board including Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne. One lucky Fokker...was the centerpiece of a Los Angeles filling station through the '30s. The F-32 was purchased from Western Air Express and painted in Mobilgas colors. Fuel islands were put under the broad wings. The ship lit up at night, and the gas monkeys could fire up the forward engines, to the delight of customers. Bob's Air Mail Service Station Tony Fokker's personal F-32, which he'd had kitted out as a plush flying home and office, wasn't so lucky. His business and the country's went to hell at about the same time, and he had to sell the plane. The fuselage ended up in West Virginia as a house trailer, and in the great Ohio Valley floods of 1937, even that was swept away. It's anybody's guess how long Bob's Air Mail plane could have lasted in the elements. The F-32s were all wood except for their chrome-moly fuselage framing. (edit: The plane was scrapped in 1939.) (The Gallery, Aviation, D.C., Natl Photo)
Room for One More: 1918
... it, there were still over 40,000 ill and 3000 dead in the city during the later half of 1918. Considering it killed a ... 17, 1919. The building was officially recorded by the city on July 7, 1919. One interesting change is that Garin designed a mill ... nits, the Spanish flu should rightfully be called the Kansas flu. That's where it reportedly first popped up. Then neutral Spain was ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/24/2022 - 7:36am -

1918. "Federal truck -- San Francisco Casket Co." Makers of the box you'll go in. A sobering scene from the depths of the Spanish Flu epidemic. 5x7 inch glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. Covid19 is a pandemic ... not a "pandemic"First of all, mwelch, May 2020 was way early in the pandemic to be taking a poll that you still consider to be valid in March 2022. Just in the United States, nearly a million people have died from Covid19. I probably didn't know anyone who had it in March 2020 either. But today a [unvaccinated] neighbor across the street is dead from it and the brothers of three friends are dead. One friend said her brother's wife and children refused to wear masks at the funeral because "Covid is a hoax". As Dave, I know at least a dozen people, including family and immediate neighbors, who have had Covid. It includes a couple in their 80s who, for some reason decided flying to Chicago was more important than avoiding exposure. The husband spent two months in the hospital after they got back and came home with an oxygen tank. I know two people who suffer from serious long-term effects of Covid; one wakes up with a hangover every morning and cannot concentrate for more than a few minutes at a time. I'll also point out that asking random people in a line about a potentially deadly disease for which there was no treatment is a really bad approach to collecting information about the disease. I imagine some people told you, "No" because they didn't want to answer the follow-up question to a "Yes" answer. It was also a really rude question to be asking strangers. Comfort?Look at that truck's suspension and talk about a hard ride. Not that one would care in the first place. On one's final ride. Mass TransitNot the most luxurious of hearses, but isn't it commodious, though? A simple pine box?The wood used in these caskets appear to be redwood or cedar likely shipped down the coast from Northern California or Seattle. In 1900 a typical casket was made of wood often covered in cloth. Costs were around $16, about $400 in today's dollars. Mass-produced steel caskets didn't show up until 1918 when Batesville Casket introduced them. These appear to be a bit fancy with all the molding, 3 or 4 different styles. Curious what the numbers stamped on the ends indicate. Dept. of Public HealthNOTICE -- something about GARBAGE, MANURE, REFUSE and "premises." They Opened the Door and In Flew EnzaPerhaps the 1918 date is not a coincidence. The worldwide outbreak of Spanish Influenza in 1918 killed more people than WWI, and while San Francisco was spared the worst of it, there were still over 40,000 ill and 3000 dead in the city during the later half of 1918. Considering it killed a disproportionate number of the poor and recent immigrants, a truckload of obviously low end (judging from the unfinished wood and lack of decoration or hardware) would have been a common sight for a few months. OverloadedConsidering there are no brakes on the front and probably mechanical ones on the rear, I sure wouldn't want to try to stop that overloaded truck on a San Francisco Hill! It looks like a scene from a comedy short, where the front of the truck suddenly flies up when they try to start. CoffinThe two top rows are caskets. The bottom three are coffins I believe. More Than Just NumbersIf you increase the resolution size of the photo you will see scenic views either hand painted scenes, lithographs or photos on the ends of the caskets, not numbers. [Amazing. I see "The Last Supper" and "Dogs Playing Poker." What do you see? - Dave] In the high-res blowupIn the lower board of the upper casket, I see a group of well-dressed office workers, circa 1925, at some sort of holiday gathering. One woman has an oil can in front of her. I never would have noticed that without seeing this high-res enlargement. The lower casket just has a typical beach scene in what appears, to me, to be Galveston, Texas. Two people are walking, two are riding horses. Coffins vs CasketsCoffins are where Vampires sleep, Caskets are what they bury dead people in. Pareidolia        A psychological phenomenon involving a stimulus (an image or a sound) wherein the mind perceives a familiar pattern of something where none actually exists.         Common examples are perceived images of animals, faces, or objects in cloud formations.         Pareidolia is the visual or auditory form of apophenia, which is the perception of patterns within random data. Combined with apophenia and hierophany (manifestation of the sacred), pareidolia may have helped ancient Chinese society organize chaos and make the world intelligible. -- Wikipedia [That would explain it. - Dave] How to explain Shorpy.com?!?!??!A couple of weeks ago I was talking to some Kaiser Permanente associates from the California region. Killing time until all the folks were on the line, I asked where they were calling from, and they said,"Oakland." I laughed and said, "I hope you drive better than some of the long-ago Oakland drivers I've seen on Shorpy.com." "What's that?" they asked. "Well, it's mainly a large-format photography site, but the whimsical subject matter and amazing comments of the moderators and readers are what make it a Web addiction. Like the Oakland drivers; for the past couple of months they've had a series of 1950s photos of Oakland traffic accidents. And they have kittens dressed as people and beach scenes from 100 years ago, and . . . and decrepit old buildings . . . and . . . and there are photos of . . ." "Jim, this is another one of your wild stories, right? There's no such thing as Shorpy.com, right?" ------------------------------------------------------- Imagine if I tried explaining it today, with people seeing imagery in the woodgrain of caskets from 100 years ago! The San Francisco Casket CompanyThe sign in the front window indicates this photo was taken in front of the headquarters for the San Francisco Casket Company, Inc. (SFCCI) which was at 621 - 627 Guerrero in 1918. The firm was started about 1900 by George Dillman, and it was originally located at 542 Brannan. Dillman had been working at Samuel Nelson & Co., who were casket manufacturers, immediately before this. About 1903, SFCCI moved to 3120 17th Street for approximately two years, and then to 17th and Shotwell until around 1908. John H. Nuttman (1856 - 1946), who had been the vice-president, became president around 1907. It was circa 1908 that the business address changed to the 627 Guerrero location. The October 9, 1918 issue of Building and Engineering News tell us this building on Guerrero was partially destroyed by fire causing $75,000 worth of damage. With the ongoing influenza epidemic in the fall of 1918 the fire could probably not have come at a worse time for the firm. The company had suffered another fire in February 1917 causing $15,000 in destruction to the four story structure. The SFCCI then built a four story and basement brick factory, along with offices and showrooms, at 14th and Valencia for $75,000. The brick work apparently cost $20,800, and the steam boiler system was $3,479. The new factory address is shown as 325 Valencia in the 1919 Crocker-Langley San Francisco Directory, but later it became 321 Valencia. The building plans, by Etienne A. Garin, were completed in December 1918, White & Gloor's plans for the building brick work were accepted on February 24, 1919, and all construction was completed by April 17, 1919. The building was officially recorded by the city on July 7, 1919. One interesting change is that Garin designed a mill work building, but architect Charles O. Clausen redesigned the plans to be reinforced concrete before the structure was built. The new "L" shaped building still exists, but it has been heavily modified into residences and businesses. Most of the original brick work has been hidden, but some is still visible down an alley way. The company remained at this new location until 1962, but then it seems to have gone out of existence. Eventually the president of the company became one of Nuttman's son, John B. Nuttman (1880 - 1960), and finally a daughter Hannah F. Spammer (1895 - 1980). The snippet from Building & Engineering News below is from October 16, 1918 which tells of the fire. The second piece, from "The Standard," a weekly insurance newspaper from May 17, 1919, relates how the rules of the San Francisco Fire Commission prevented a quick extinguishing of the 1918 blaze. The last article, from the October 20, 1910 San Francisco Call, describes how one of the SFCCI drivers got out of a speeding ticket. The driver is likely William I. Nuttman (1889 - 1973) another one of John H. Nuttman's sons. A tisket, a tasketAll I know is, a coffin is a box with a separate lid that has to be nailed on; hence the expression, nail in your coffin. A casket is a piece of furniture with hinges and handles and padding and a pillow and whatnot. What can I say? I am a bona fide taphophile with thousands of funeral and cemetery photos (taken by me) to prove it, and I have an intense interest in end-of-life issues. Moving along, I cannot explain it but this wonderful photo of fifty wooden coffins/caskets stacked sky-high instantly reminded me of one of the funniest black-humor scenes I have ever seen on television. It was from the Bruce Willis slash Cybill Shepherd farce, Moonlighting, which aired back in the '80s. As I remember it, they (BW and CS) were driving a hearse in a high-speed chase and somehow they ended up smack dab in the middle of a baseball diamond, stopping the hearse so abruptly that the casket flew out of the back and came to rest on home base where naturally the body slid out, whereupon the umpire loudly pronounced him safe, eliciting markedly unladylike and protracted guffaws from me. Truss but verifyI don't think I've ever seen truss rods on a truck before. They were still fairly common on rail cars - tho rapidly becoming obsolete - but those, of course, are typically a lot longer than a truck. (A quick search will turn up a like-bodied family member https://www.shorpy.com/node/18816 ...perhaps this something peculiar to the 'Federal' make) Stacks and Stacksof coffins. An older friend of mine, who was a child at the time, attested to the severity of the flu epidemic. He well remembered coffins stacked 5 high and in several rows in the parking lot alongside an undertaking establishment here. No room inside, of course. In 1918 people knewAbsence of a visual like this made me question the current "pandemic". I had initiated an inquiry in long Covid-lines, ending with cashier or a bank teller. Not a single case, in their family, circle of friends and friends of a friends "had it". I am talking as early as of May of 2020. [Covid-19 is not even half as deadly as the 1918 Spanish flu. On the other hand, there are thousands of "visuals like this." Personally I know around a dozen people who've "had it," including family members. - Dave] Pandemic MemoriesI remember Mom saying "they couldn't make coffins fast enough." She was born in 1908. Why it's The USA@mwelch, really enraging comment but I guess it's OK because my father fought in WWII and was wounded to the day he passed at 90yrs old so you can speak. I guess you had no loved ones you couldn't be with as they died alone from covid. Grow up. Eat, drink and be merryCovid has driven that home, at least a little. Remember, the last shirt does not have any pockets. But it is also available in 5XL. Picking nits, the Spanish flu should rightfully be called the Kansas flu. That's where it reportedly first popped up. Then neutral Spain was just the first country where it was being officially reported from. With the US and much of the rest of Europe being under wartime censorship and the censors not wanting to hamper their respective war efforts by reports about a pandemic. I second Doug Floor Plan about COVID supposedly just being a glorified cold - not. 1918-1920 they did not have the medical knowledge we have. Or the medical means. Or our general health and wealth. We do not have the starved-out war-worn population they had after WWI. Send COVID back to 1918, and presto, it would do the Spanish flu thing in no time flat. Just think - no masks, no shutdowns, no remote schooling, no home office, no vaccines, no tests, no quarantine, no oxygen supplements, no anitbiotics against opportunistic pneumonia, no ICUs, no ECMO, no antithrombics, no nothing. Under 1918-1920 conditions Covid would do the Spanish flu thing in 2020-2022 all right. A "rude" question for doug floor plan. You seriously believe a "pandemic" with a survival rate of %98.6 is comparable to the spanish flu of '18? The BS you spewed about family and friends dropping like flies tells me ALL your dead friends and family were morbidly obese and or elderly. Also, that 1 MILLION covid deaths is also BS. People who believe MSM propaganda are useful idiots, nothing more. Appreciate ya outting yourself. [I was going to say something here but golly, it looks like I'm due back on Planet Earth for this week's MSM Conspiracy Workshop! - Dave] Hey, folksIt’s depressing to see this covid scrap break out under the coffin photo, but I suppose it had to happen sooner or later. There is plenty of room for discussion about the measures and responses (It’s a social, political, and ethical discussion), but there’s really no room to question whether it actually happened. My family of six is double-vaxxed but we all got omicron over the holidays, ranging from nasty aches and pains to a runny nose for davidk, the oldest of the bunch. No one went to the hospital, no one died, but we all tested positive on the home test kit. After the passage of a few months, we then all got the booster shot. Please let’s not pretend this isn’t a thing. And please let’s be civil and rational – this is a huge test for us as a community and as a society. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)
Hatchlings: 1942
... and tests at the North American Aviation plant in Kansas City, Kansas." 4x5 Kodachrome trans­parency by Alfred Palmer for the Office ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/17/2014 - 10:36am -

October 1942. "New B-25 bombers lined up for final inspection and tests at the North American Aviation plant in Kansas City, Kansas." 4x5 Kodachrome trans­parency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. View full size. Re: Love!Your grandfather probably flew one of the hundreds of variants of the B-25. Over 10,000 of them were produced during the war and there were tons of variants. Most were bombers, some were recon planes, others were modified for specific bombing missions (such as the Doolittle Raid). I'm at work or otherwise I'd try to dug up a few photos of variants with enclosed noses. Hope that helps a little! B-25'sSome B-25 models did indeed have solid noses; this was to accommodate multiple machine guns (and on some models a 75 mm cannon). These were used in a ground attack role and to attack shipping. Obviously by eliminating the bombardier's position bombing accuracy was lessened as the pilot had to aim and drop the bombs "by guess and by golly". Many actionsUsed in all theaters of WW II most notable the Dolittle raid on Tokyo made six months before this photo. Re: Remarkable SpeedAt the height of production, the Ford Bomber plant at Willow Run, Michigan turned out one completed bomber every hour. Pretty impressive! My uncle owned 3 of these planes during his lifeI had an uncle who owned 3 of these planes,two at one time back in the 70s(before he married my aunt).There was a feature article done back in the 70s in one of the local papers about him and the two planes that he owned back then.He later sold one of those two planes and traded the other one to the Yankee Air Force in Ypsilanti,Michigan for the third plane that he had until he sold it(and two semi trailers full of parts) a couple of years before his death.That one,named "Guardian of Freedom" now resides in Califonia in the collection of General William Lyons. I never got a chance to ride in the plane,darn it. Electric Ice Boxes and Razor Blades"Don't worry, the Americans can't build planes, only electric ice boxes and razor blades" -- Hermann Goering. Love!My grandfather flew these in the Pacific in WWII, one named Vera that I have a full-frame photo of on my wall, but the bow wasn't glass, but fully enclosed. But the photo was from later in the war, so I wonder if the eventually enclosed them? Hmmm... Mundane but impressiveThis is such a simple scene, but it speaks to the remarkable speed with which factories turnout all sorts of machinery during the war. Kodachrome!It's just like being there! From nothing to nest in 9 monthsThis photo is probably looking north; most of the buildings at the Fairfax airport were on the west side of the property. There is a lot of history on the North American plant (and the Fairfax airport) here. Some highlights... The airport opened in the early 1920s as Sweeney Airport. It was renamed Fairfax Airport in 1928. (Note the Fairfax Aviation Schools sign on the building at the left.) The ground-breaking ceremony for the North American Aviation plant was held on 8 March 1941, and the first B-25 came off the line on 23 December 1941, a couple of weeks after Pearl Harbor. They didn't stop making B-25s there until the day after V-J Day. GM bought the bomber plant and built their first car there in June 1946. The airport flooded in 1951, like a lot of the rest of Kansas City; that was part of the reason for building Mid-Continent International way up north of town. GM kept building cars there until 1987, and tore down the plant in 1989. The airport was in service until 1985. GM bought the whole airport and built a new plant pretty much right on top of the center of the runways a few years later. You can still see some of the runways on aerial photos. The North American (and later GM) plant was located at what is now the north end of Fairfax Trafficway, at Kindleberger Road. I remember it being there when I visited the area as a kid. When I worked in the area in the early 1990s, there were still a few of the airport buildings there, even though the new GM plant was already up and running. By the late 1990s all the airport buildings were gone. Note that this is *not* Downtown Airport in Kansas City, Missouri (MKC), which is still there and operating. Easy to AppreciateThe skill that was required to take off from the deck of 'Shangri-La' in one of these beautiful planes. (The Gallery, Kodachromes)
Merry Christmas From 1954
... that the photographer got photographed! Also, being from Kansas City, Mo, I get a chuckle out of your pictures of a California Christmas. All ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 12/26/2021 - 1:49pm -

We're all dolled up for Christmas Day and a visit by my godmother and her family. She's in front between my father and brother; her two sons in back. My squint and smirk is characteristic of my eight-year-old self. My brother is smirking because he's clandestinely clicking the shutter of my sister's Kodak Duaflex at the very instant that my godmother's husband is taking this shot. What's the deal with my sister's right hand? It's actually my mother's right hand. Restored as best I could from a horribly scratched, scuffed and faded Kodacolor print; the original is virtually all shades of purple. From all of us to all of you: Merry Christmas! Wonderful newsMal! Merry Christmas Shorpy FriendsMade it home for Christmas Eve, surgery went well. 3 1/2 hours under local anesthesia. Sgt. TerraceAwesome, JohnHoward! Mal Fuller sez...... in an email that he's planning on being home for Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas to allMerry Christmas to all in Shorpyland. And thanks for another great picture, tterrace. I recently got to peruse the pages on your Larkspur history site. I really enjoyed all the pictures there. In this picture I can see all the family resemblances. It looks like you and your brother got your mother's chin, while your sister got your dad's. Dave, thanks for this great site, and thanks to all the contributors. Shorpy is the first site I visit every day. Brother's picGreat clean up job on the picture. If it still exists we'd like to see the picture your brother snapped here!! Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and happy regular day for you non-celebrants!! Smart Fashion!Tterrace, this group portrait was always required any time a family group came together wasn't it? I like most of all how you could watch everybody age and grow up through these gathering shots. On the side, I think your Sister is dressed and groomed in the all time height of fashion and it's a pleasure that this style has come back just enough that you see gals sporting the same look downtown right now. Merry Christmas everyone! That shotThe shot my brother is taking: Question timeI'm no kind of expert, but you must have done a good job restoring the image. Apart from perhaps being a bit dark everyone and everything in it looks distinct. Are you a photographer by trade? Also I've noticed in a lot of the pictures you post, you seem to have an incredible memory for the moment that the image was snapped; what was going on and how the image was set up. Are the photos you work from annotated? I can look at any photo I've taken in the last two years and have no recall for the details at all. Many thanks.TTerrace, thank you enormously for the pleasure that you have brought to us all through 2010. May you and yours also have a wonderful Christmas, a safe and happy holiday, and a 2011 that is all you wish for. Bruce Obvious QuestionThanks, Tterrace, for posting this shot. That was the first thing I thought of. Oh, and a Merry Christmas to Tterrace, Dave, and to all the members of the Shorpy Brotherhood. Merry Christmas to you too, tterrace.I'm pretty addicted to this site and your photos and commentary are a big reason why. I will never forget the photo of your father that you posted last Christmas. Merry Christmas Shorpy FriendsMerry Christmas too, to Dave and ttterrace from the beautiful state of New Hampshire. For me? Emergency surgery on my left carotid artery tomorrow, but home by Christmas Eve. [Goodness. Best wishes for a speedy recovery! - Dave] 1954 originalHere's what the original looks like. As for my memory about the details of some of the photos: I've been looking at and obsessing over them on and off since the day they came back from the drug store. In this case, I can't remember ever not remembering my brother's clever simultaneous photo-snapping. So yes, it's a form of insanity. By the way, five of the people in this shot are still with us. Xmas FarkIt was just calling out to me. Just sorry the limit it 490px wide here. To my Shorpy friendsMerry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone, especially our leader Dave and a big thank you to tterrace for allowing us many views of his world. Happy Christmas to Shorpyville ResidentsThis whole story, the pics, the collage, the commentary ... everything ... the best Christmas gift I can think of. Very best to all at Shorpy -- my days would not be nearly as interesting without you guys. Maxine Mel FullerWhat Dave said! Take care! Merry Christmas and a quick Get Well As ever, tterrace's photos are always a pleasure and now an important part of our holiday fun too. And all best wishes for a safe and speedy recovery to Mal Fuller. I had emergency right carotid surgery the end of September last year, and I'm pleased to report that no matter how I dreaded its possibilities, it all turned out just fine. We may all love looking at photos of the past, and parking was a lot easier, but give me the latest in medical improvements every time. Merry Christmas folks!tterrace-Thats hilarious that the photographer got photographed! Also, being from Kansas City, Mo, I get a chuckle out of your pictures of a California Christmas. All my Christmas pictures from childhood invole parkas and snowball fights in the yard. Keep'em coming, and have a safe holliday everyone! Pat in KC Merry Christmas to all!Another brilliant family photo - thanks tterrace! Wishing everyone in Shorpyland a very Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy and prosperous 2011! Keep It Uptterrace you do great work. The restoration you did on this picture is awesome. Seasons Greetings to you, your family, as well as our hosts, Dave and Ken, all of Shorpy's visitors and Commenters (or is it commentators?). I hope we're all here for another year (at least) of good health and interesting photographs. Merry Christmas & Happy New YearDave, tterrace and everyone. Much thanks to Dave for this wonderful site and its escape into the past. Thanks to all and Merry ChristmasMerry Christmas to all and thanks to Shorpy, tterrace and all contributors for another wonderful year of viewing the past. I forget how many this makes for me, four, five, maybe six years, but Shorpy.com is always one of the first sites put into Favorites. A special thanks to Dave for letting a few of my comments post and letting me enjoy some interesting desktop backgrounds. Merry ChristmasTterrace, Dave and everyone. Life wouldn't be as full without this site to visit every day. P.S. tterrace has a hot sister. Tterrace's unclesI wonder if this visit was before or after the traditional visits you and your family paid to "the uncles"? Must have been busy days during Cristmas-time in those years! (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Christmas, tterrapix)
K.C.: 1908
Kansas City, Missouri, circa 1908. "Main Street north from Twelfth." Much interesting ... his dad murdering his mother.] (The Gallery, DPC, Kansas City MO, Streetcars) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/08/2017 - 10:15am -

Kansas City, Missouri, circa 1908. "Main Street north from Twelfth." Much interesting signage here, addressing everything from rotten teeth to clogged bowels. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. TodayGoogle Street View. [Edited: Oops. Got my direction wrong the first time.] New picture faces the right direction. Gone and back againThat streetcar line operated for about another 48 years, then disappeared for 59 years... and then came back! The main difference is that that the streetcar now runs in the outside lanes of Main, rather than in the middle of the street. (There might be one or two other small details that have changed.) 11th Street has been discontinuous at Main for a long time. On the left, the two oncoming horses have just passed West 11th Street; on the right, further away, the gap between Browning, King, and Co. and American Dental Rooms is East 11th Street. At the time of this photo, East 11th was already known as "Petticoat Lane", because there were lots of clothing stores there. A bit later on, 11th between Main and Walnut was formally renamed Petticoat Lane. Then, all the clothing stores moved out to malls in the suburbs; sic transit gloria mundi. I don't recognize any of the local brands in this picture. I've heard of Owl Cigars and Goodyear Rubber, though. wtwilson3's original picture was at right angles to this one, but has since been fixed to show today's version of the photo above. My life-long homeThe sign company I worked for in the mid eighties was started in 1887 by a Frenchman named Voquett, and a yankee named Newby. By 1890, Newby had bought out Voquett, and the business became 'Newby Signs'. Makes me wonder how much of the sign work came by the hands of Newby. There was another family in town that had a sign shop back in that era, 'Arbuckle Sign'. [They are actually still in business today, a mere 9 blocks from where this picture was taken.] Between Newby and Arbuckle, they were likely responsible for 2/3 of the sign biz in KC back then. [Sad bit about Newby-about 1915 or so he shot and killed his wife in front of his children. Newby was a raging drunk, and not long after that, his oldest son, Bill Newby jr. took over the sign shop, and was around for several years. I actually got to meet him in 1986. He was in his eighties, and a rather astute fellow, sporting a bolo tie. Hard to imagine him as a young lad, witnessing his dad murdering his mother.] (The Gallery, DPC, Kansas City MO, Streetcars)
Killer B: 1942
... to the firewall of a B-25 bomber. Fairfax bomber plant, Kansas City." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/27/2012 - 12:18pm -

July 1942. "Production. B-25 bombers. Mounting a 1700-horsepower Wright Whirlwind engine to the firewall of a B-25 bomber. Fairfax bomber plant, Kansas City." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer. View full size. You give us those nice bright colors Kodachrome remains the photo standard. What a loss! That Stopped the Corrosion....That zinc chromate paint was a necessary factor in keeping the corrosion of aluminum to a minimum.(whew!) Considering the fact that many B-25's ended up in the Pacific theatre, it was a wise choice. Admittedly, it's a great color for the Kodachrome format. Caption CXI'm suremit's in the original caption, but you might note that no B-25 version was powered by the Wright Whirlwind. Virtually all were powered by Wright Twin Cyclones. Fairfax Airportin Kansas City Kansas, built 6,608 B-25's and sent 862 to Russia, the 1700hp engines were Wright R-2600-92 and were 14 cylinders in double row. Good view of the de-icing bootA useful safety innovation from B.F. Goodrich. Developed in the 1920s, these rubber boots on the wing leading edges could be inflated with compressed air to crack off accumulations of ice. Ice on the wings reduces the airfoil efficiency, sometimes to the point that there's insufficient lift to maintain altitude. Man on the chainNote the classic aviation style overalls, and on his belt, a ring to hold "tool chits," brass tags that were turned in at tool room for specialty tools. Thems was the daze... (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Aviation, WW2)
Pontiac Depot: 1905
... 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 ... 
 
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)
K.C. Club: 1906
1906. "Kansas City Club, Wyandotte and West 12th Sts., Kansas City, Mo." Popcorn, anyone? 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/25/2022 - 2:10pm -

1906. "Kansas City Club, Wyandotte and West 12th Sts., Kansas City, Mo." Popcorn, anyone? 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Building goneI checked, all the buildings there are newer ones. Right out of a sci-fi flickThe shadow formed from the hat worn by the woman on the corner makes her head look like it's some sort of alien insect creature. Maybe it just climbed out of the sewer? Maybe it wants to warn the popcorn vendor that he's set up illegally in a "Cars Stop Here" zone? What a strange-looking buildingStrange but cool in a unique way. So much stuff going on there. Bay windows, enclosed arched balcony and those two open terraces. Faces in the WindowMany Shorpy photographs, like this one, are more alive thanks to a face or two peering out a window, sometimes looking at the photographer, sometimes not. Consider this closeup from a famous photograph of Lincoln's funeral procession. Six-year-old Theodore Roosevelt and brother Elliot look down as the dead president moves past their grandfather's house in New York City. Club StatsThe $112,000 building, on the northeast corner of Wyandotte and 12th, opened in September 1888 and served the Club for 34 years, being supplanted by newer, larger quarters elsewhere in 1922. It was demolished shortly thereafter and replaced by the "Hotel Stats" -- and no, that's not a typo. (The Gallery, DPC, Streetcars)
Texas Tomatoes: 1939
... today, but it certainly was when I grew up in southern Kansas in the 1960s. And the stories of my parents and grandparents lead me to ... Pants?! You little tramp!" Dressing up to go to the city I agree with Jayhawker that going to town meant wearing your best ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/14/2010 - 4:44pm -

March 1939. San Antonio, Texas. "Wives of vegetable peddlers sometimes accompany their husbands to the early morning market." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Sharp outfitsThese two women are wearing tasteful, carefully pressed and spotlessly clean outfits while sitting in the back of a pickup truck. Today's counterparts would be wearing sweatpants or possibly pyjamas, accompanied by a T-shirt with a corporate logo emblazoned upon it. TT and AAThe girls are sitting an a 1928 Ford AA one-ton truck. The rig to the left appears to be a one-ton Model T, known as a TT. Slack TalkFrom what my mother and grandmothers said about that part of Texas in the '30s (three of my grandparents were teachers in that neck of the woods at the time), a woman wearing pants would have caused quite a stir. Even in the '50s my mother couldn't wear pants to school except under a skirt, and then only on snow days (and you know how common those were). When my grandmother attended college in 1929 she had to wear gloves, a hat, and a long dress any time she left campus to go to town. College rules. So the lady on the right may have really stood out at the Farmers Market, I'd think. Pants Indeed!Never mind rural Texas in the '30s, girls weren't allowed to wear pants in decidedly urban Miami as late as 1969 when I was in school there. I really wonder about this photo and the sharp contrast of their clothing with what might be expected of farmers' wives at a vegetable market in 1939. It just seems so incongruous. Can anyone offer an explanation? [Perhaps your expectations need adjusting. - Dave] Not what I expect!I would certainly not expect produce peddlers sweethearts to look so fine, and dressed so purty! Going to townJudging by their stylish dress, I'm guessing that these women are planning to spend the day in town rather than hang around the farmers' market with their husbands. Vegetable Talk"So when ya gonna grow yourself a pair, Mildred?" ABSI like the state of the art braking device under the right rear balding tire. The Depression was a father of invention. The wives however appear well dressed and happy to be in each other's company. Trend-setterSocks with pumps! That's actually supposed to be quite trendy this season (no, really!). I wonder if she chose the patent leather because the market dust would wipe off more easily. Worldly WomenNeither one of these women looks like they just fell off the turnip truck. In fact, they're still sitting on the back of it. ChockedIn the hilly Ozark town where I live, it is not unusual to see a rock or piece of wood under the downhill side of a tire. It may not be state of the art, but it does provide some assurance that your car will stay where you parked it. Goin' to town clothesWhen you live out in the country, "going to town" is an event and you dress accordingly. This might not be so much the case today, but it certainly was when I grew up in southern Kansas in the 1960s. And the stories of my parents and grandparents lead me to believe that it was even more true in their early years. The Lady is a Trollop"Lula Mae! Pants?! You little tramp!" Dressing up to go to the cityI agree with Jayhawker that going to town meant wearing your best clothes. I grew up in the 60s in a small town in central Illinois and shopping in Chicago was a big deal. We took the train (which had a dining car with linen covered tables) and always dressed up. My mother wore comfortable shoes for shopping but carried a shoe bag with heels to change into to go to the restaurant for lunch. I thought about that this past summer when I sat (in jeans and a top and walking shoes) in the elegant old Walnut Room restaurant in Macy's (formerly Marshall Field). My mother would never have approved! '77Wonderful picture. As to the comments about the attire. I remember in Missouri 1969 raising a fit at school and getting the kids to protest the fact that we "ladies" couldn't wear pants. We walked to school in the snow and then had to change out of our pants when we got there. Then when we had to walk two blocks to the other school for lunch or gym we would have to change all over again. I lived in San Antonio in 1975-78 and remember going to the Mexican Market Square on Saturdays. You could buy anything there -- candles, hats, clothes. After the day's business of selling was done they swept the floor and had a dance. The food was wonderful, the dancing was fun, you got great buys and met some nice people even if you didn't speak the language, and the best thing was you didn't have to pay a cover charge. I wonder do they still do that? Wish I could go back to 1977. In VogueBy 1939, women's tailored pants were quite fashionable. Women's pants had gained such importance by 1939 that in the November issue of Vogue the magazine advised, "Your wardrobe is not complete without a pair or two of the superbly tailored slacks of 1939. Rather than a farmer's wife, this young woman was dressed in the height of fashion. Think Kate Hepburn. (The Gallery, Russell Lee, Stores & Markets)
Chop Suey Canyon: 1916
... gal on the porch is thinking, "I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." Neatness Counts Dr. Bertha should get on ... The Doctor and the Hotel According to the Detroit City Dirctory of 1915 Dr. Gaylord's address was 61 Park Blvd. which was also ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 9:56pm -

Detroit, 1916. "Park Boulevard canyon." A tip of the Shorpy hat (Department of Belated Publicity) to Dr. Bertha J. Gaylord, chiropractor. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Dorothy transplantI wonder if the gal on the porch is thinking, "I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." Neatness Counts Dr. Bertha should get on someone's case about cleaning up the front lawn. Nothing but a parking lot these daysThe doctor's office is nothing but an ugly parking lot these days. As for the Charlevoix Hotel, it's still there, but it's been empty since the mid '80s. The Charlevoix was intended to be an office building. Instead, it was a hotel at first but only for about 10 years. It also spent a short time as an apartment building before being turned into a commercial building for various companies and unions in 1922. The hotel was never one of Detroit's glamorous spots, offering a cheaper alternative to the top hotels of Grand Circus Park: The Hotel Tuller and the Hotel Statler. View Larger Map Tuller HotelMy grandfather was a window washer in the late 1930s at the Tuller Hotel. The stories he told of acts he saw through the windows would knock you off your chair. These days, I spend a lot my free time at the Park Bar directly across from the old Charlevoix Hotel. Oh, my aching --Cool picture. I like the sign in the lower right. After picking up all that litter, one might need to visit Bertha for some relief. No place like home!I like the old frame house tucked away in the midst of the "canyon." Wonder how much longer they were able to hold out? BoomPlease tell me that's not the grandfather of the Pinto in the foreground. Failed DIY Auto Repair?Looks like a bent C-clamp and the remains of some part or repair material in the road, just to the left rear of the car parked near Dr. Bertha's sign. Potential havoc seems to be awaiting some unsuspecting Goodyear, and its driver might even bring some business to the good doctor. Re: Tuller TalesNow ... We're sitting tight on our chairs and listening ! What did your grandfather see ? Nowhere to go but Up!Later that year, lifted by 20,622 helium balloons, the small frame house was moved from its spot on Park Boulevard to a more scenic lot at the top of a South American cataract. Night Lunch WagonJust beyond the old house is a horse-drawn lunch wagon, the precursor to the American diner. A similar wagon is on display at the Henry Ford Museum. Elsewhere on Shorpy: The Ol' Lunch Wagon. Chop Suey DaysIt seems that for my parents' generation, and earlier, Chinese food meant chop suey. And during the past half century or so that dish has gone entirely out of style (deservedly, in my opinion) --people order everything else on the Chinese menu. Is my impression correct? Chop Suey Exposed!"Chop Suey" isn't really a Chinese dish at all, it's something that was created in America. And its makeup varies: here in New England, it's usually some kind of macaroni, tomato and cheese dish. Dr. Bertha J. GaylordThanks to Shorpy, now the chiropractor of choice for discerning time travelers everywhen and everywhere. K-Mart's early daysInteresting rear view of the Kales Building, the first headquarters for Kresge Company. Litterbugs!I am always amazed at the amount of garbage in the streets. You hear about the lack of respect in today's world but the trash in the streets says a lot about yesterday too! On the Street The line of cars on the left starts out with a 1914 - 1916 Buick followed by a 1914 - 1916 Studebaker. Note also the lack of parking meters and stop lights or stop signs. The street light over the road is very interesting in that it has a device to lower it down to either light it or change the bulb. The Doctor and the HotelAccording to the Detroit City Dirctory of 1915 Dr. Gaylord's address was 61 Park Blvd. which was also her home. By 1918 she had moved to 65 Traugott (Schmidt Bldg), Room 73. The Hotel Charlevoix is located in the Park Avenue Historic District and cannot be demolished without proper approval. As of June 2012 permission for demolishing the structure has been denied. More information and photos of this building are here. http://historicdetroit.org/building/hotel-charlevoix/ Update on January 6, 2018: Sadly the Hotel Charlevoix was demolished on June 23, 2013. Info at the link above. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Detroit Photos, DPC)
Midnight Special: 1943
March 1943. Argentine, Kansas. "Freight train about to leave the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe ... KS. What a Flood! The ATSF Argentine yard is in Kansas City. The Santa Fe placed several old engines on its bridge over the Kansas ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/28/2013 - 12:23am -

March 1943. Argentine, Kansas. "Freight train about to leave the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad yard for the West Coast." Medium-format nitrate negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. AT&SF # 31672-8-2 "Mikado" type. Lost in a flood in 1952 and now sunk in the Kaw River in Topeka, KS. What a Flood!The ATSF Argentine yard is in Kansas City. The Santa Fe placed several old engines on its bridge over the Kansas River (sometimes called the "Kaw") in Topeka to try to keep the bridge from being washed away during the 1951 -- it was 1951, not 1952 -- flood. It didn't work. The engines weren't salvaged after the flood and reportedly parts of them could be seen in the sandbars at low water levels for years. The ATSF bridge wasn't on the main line, but the Rock Island also lost its Topeka bridge during the flood, which was on its main line to the southwest. The city also lost two of four street bridges over the river. The water reached the street in front of my house, and we had to pump water out of the basement, but the house was up the hill a bit and wasn't otherwise affected. It was the biggest flood ever in Topeka. Steam at nightThere's an interesting technicality in this shot. The time exposure to ambient light means that there are light trails from the loco lights and a lot of motion blur in the steam, the train alongside and so on. However, the long burn time of the flash bulbs meant that there's motion blur in the flash part of the exposure, too. [This isn't a flash shot. The illumination is from lights mounted atop tall standards in the yard. - tterrace] 1 month oldMarch 1943: I would have been 1 month old. These Jack Delano railroad shots are fantastic moments in time. I can hear the hissing of steam, the smell of the exhaust and hot grease; the plaintive call of the steam whistle as I lay in my bed on a cold winter night. As a boy who spent his childhood summer days sitting by the tracks, these photos stir up a whole bunch of poignantly fond memories. I waved at the engineer who always waved back. As the caboose brought up the end of the train, they are now extinct, passed, the conductor would acknowledge my wave as he sat up in the cupola. If I were lucky, there was another engine coupled at the rear behind the caboose and another engineer to salute. I cherish the fact that I was born early enough to have witnessed steam locomotives as part of the passing scene. However, I regret the fact that I was born way too late to have been a steam locomotive engineer. Yes, I am truly an old geezer! (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Lincoln, Nebraska: 1942
... Next week Next week the family and I are flying to Kansas City, renting a car, and driving to Great Falls to visit my in-laws. Our first ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 1:17pm -

"Seed and feed store in Lincoln, Nebraska." Our third view of the Grand Grocery from 1942. View full size. Kodachrome transparency by John Vachon, OWI. Living, breathingHere it is folks, real life 66 years ago. I could gaze at an image like this for hours, wishing I could fall into it. In fact, if you don't hear from me after several days, it's because I'm over at the market squeezing the oranges. Now an Embassy SuitesA little googling and someone said that a Lincoln phone book from 1938 gives the address as 1000 P Street. Well, here it is: View Larger Map How sad, how sterile. We've really lost a feeling in our country. Sigh...I am fairly certain that no generation will look back to their childhood and wish they could go back more than the Baby Boomers!!! It was a time of innocence, more prosperity than the generations before and close family ties! It was a time of feeling safe and loved. It was a time of growth! I love my "electronic toys" that I have today, but I would actually love to go back to a time when I had to actually get my butt out of the chair and change the channels on the TV. When I would have to keep calling someone until their "busy signal" went off. Sigh...I love the present, but I cherish the past!!! I was lucky...I was born AFTER the terrible times in the 1930's and WWII. I was born in the time after war and poverty - a time when America was growing! Thanks for letting me wallow in my sentimentality! Absolutely love this site - it lets me remember where I came from. Thank you sooo much! Ah, yes the swell world of 1942No internet (No Shorpy!). No iPod. No computers. No Lasik. No Viagra. And for those of us who are not persons of pallor, well before Brown v. Board of Education, Rosa Parks and MLK. Rationing, a world war to be fought... I wouldn't go back there on a bet. Going backWith family in the Seattle area we have found it nice to cross Nebraska on old U.S. 30. It is relaxing and not much traffic and we get to see a lot of nice towns. Next weekNext week the family and I are flying to Kansas City, renting a car, and driving to Great Falls to visit my in-laws. Our first stop is Lincoln, to visit some work-friends and to see that amazing work of art, the capital. A lot of the old buildings are gone, but the people are just as nice. No remotes???That would indeed be a barbaric time in which to live!...There weren't even any TVs back in 1942. So, PattyAnne, you'd be getting up to change the dial on your radio. Maybe from "The Shadow" to "The Jack Benny Show". And PattyAnne (I don't mean to pick on you...really!) You were born AFTER war and poverty? When was that? I think the latter was certainly still there, even during the Eisenhower years. And as to war (assuming you are American) there was that little business in Korea, and then, that nastiness in Southeast Asia...etc. Fortunately, I was born in Canada. Had I been American, I would have been just old enough to be eligible for the draft before the end of the Vietnam War. I love the past too, but I think I'd like to just visit, not actually live there. As the poster who "Wouldn't go back there on a bet" observed, the past was not perfect. When people wish they lived in another time, they never seem to imagine themselves as out-ouf work and starving, as beaten down minorities, as fighting in a war, or as having an illness that was yet incurable. All this being said, I am a "person of pallor", so I too would love to stroll down that long-ago street and exchange some pleasantries with the locals. But I'd want to be back before the draft board found me. In '42, the War was not yet going too well for the Allies. I thank the ones who did go over there, many of whom never returned. They were fighting for the preservation of just such idyllic scenes. [Just on a technical note: There were a few thousand telvision sets in use, mostly in the Northeast, in 1942. - Dave] LincolnI think those folks in the pic are standing on the corner where the Embassy Suites is ... looking toward the point where the Google photo was taken. Same result, though, if you really want to embrace that whole "How sad, how sterile" stance. The building with the yellow awnings is now a multiplex theater. Re: Ah, yes the swell world of 1942I agree with the notion that it is of great nostalgia to look back at such times in history. But perhaps it is best to do just that, look back. I can't imagine the social norms of 1942 as I am merely 23 years of age, but I am willing to bet that there has been much progress made in the way of personal and individual freedoms - even if not stated in law. I'm also willing to bet that "minorities" of race, sexuality, gender, or whatever it may be would agree. I once asked my grandmother, born in 1921, if she could live in any time period of history which she would choose... she had many reasons for different places in time but she said as a woman, she would want to live in no time other than the present (or the future I'd say). I'm fine right here in 2008. Old Lincoln, 10th and P I've walked that street. A friend in college lived in an apartment upstairs of the corner building at the end of the block north of the Grand Grocery, the little building with the gap just south of it. A funny apartment in a funny little building. The apartment was one room wide but 4 or 5 rooms deep, because the building extended to the alley, half a block. And and unbelievably cozy apartment it was. Downstairs, a courtly gentleman from the British West Indies, I believe had a tailor shop. The thing I find so appealing about this picture is the people have the time to stop and chat with each other. No one is hurried and they seem to be enjoying themselves and each other in a way we've lost. Lincoln was much smaller then, about 90,000, and much closer to the farms around it than now, as can be seen. The modern hotel is--well, it's there. I watched them build it riding my bike home from work in the afternoons. It has an opulent but gaudy lobby. But, to be fair, the hotel was not the reason all those buildings except one are now gone. An ill-conceived downtown redevelopment plan in the late 80s led to the entire block being razed, the only one of many targeted to suffer that fate. An even uglier parking lot was there for several years before the city convinced the hotel magnate to put up the new hotel. And also, to be fair, I remember that more than half the buildings on that block were in really run down condition by 1989, several vacant. Fortunately, the redevelopment plan failed to ruin the rest of the downtown. The block was pretty much intact until 1989, though the Grand Grocery was long gone by then. I believe the Green Frog Lounge was in that building or just east of it. The gap you can see between the buildings on the right side between the building where my friend had his apartment was wider in my time there, with a 50's bar built back from the street that extended south to the alley where the power poles are. Otherwise the buildings are pretty much as I remember them. Around the block to the east was the best Mexican restaurant in town. Next to it was a business supply store whose elderly founder was so distressed at the loss of his building that he passed away. Next to that was Lincoln's best "hippie" store, Dirt Cheap. South of that was the Sam Lawrence Hotel, which my mother informed me that back in the 20s when she came to Lincoln on the train with her mother to go shopping, "Nice ladies didn't stay there." The only buildings left today as they were then are the one you can't see casting the shadow on the lower left side, which is the former post office, now condos. The other you can just see the top in the upper left side of the picture and used to be the Law School at the University of Nebraska. Everything else is gone or changed. Unlike the picture with the girl, the cars, and the office buildings, 12th Street looking north from N, which is nearly the same today, in this picture nearly everything has changed. But this one, with the people enjoying each other and the nice day, is in my opinion the most attractive of the 5 color shots Mr. Vachon took that day, all within this 5 block area. A tip of the hat to the kind poster who mentioned our exquisite state capitol building. Most states' capitols are worth a visit but ours is a real treasure with its grand rotunda, lofty tower, and beautiful interior finishing. I never tire of touring that wonderful building. If you don't see anything else in Lincoln, you should see that. Or for an excellent virtual tour, www.capitol.org Thanks Shorpy, for the wonderful trip down memory lane. It was different when I came here to the university in 1963, but much more like this picture than what it is now. I've only been in the new hotel once. These old pictures are treasures indeed. Lincoln, then and nowI'm always excited to see pictures taken in Nebraska, because, as a Nebraskan, the fact that our state is frequently ignored by the other 49 gives us a bit of an inferiority complex. Anyway, I've greatly enjoyed the grocery pictures from Lincoln, and find the comments prompted by this one to be very interesting. To start with the obvious, yes, the Embassay Suites is not very exciting, but I can think of much worse fates for an old part of town than having a higher-end hotel locate there. Here's a picture I snapped of it this afternoon. (I'm no tterrace, so bear with me). The people in the foreground of the 1942 picture are where the trees are in my picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27323798@N05/2718259429/ As Lee pointed out, there is a building casting a shadow in the 1942 picture that still exists today as high-end apartments. It would be directly to the left of the people in the foreground of the photo. This building is still looking pretty spiffy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27323798@N05/2718260985/ I also love the community feel of the 1942 picture, though I disagree with the statement that our country has "lost it" (I was born in the mid-1980s though, so maybe I just have no idea). After growing up in a town of 2,000 people, I feel that smaller towns and rural areas still have a lot of the things that so charm people from this picture present in real life (including old guys in bib overalls). It probably is true that urban areas are increasingly disconnected, but their huge size and the relative mobility of their residents makes this unsurprising. And in defense of the lack of non-carbound Nebraskans in this picture, I will mention that it was about 98 degrees when I took this picture at 5:15 tonight--not great weather for socializing outdoors! :) @CGW: I am visiting the state capitol on Monday before I move out of state. First time since 4th grade--I hope you enjoy it! Maybe we'll be on the same tour. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, John Vachon, Small Towns, Stores & Markets)
Is the Caller There?
... OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL...THEN AGAIN IN 1959-62 IN DOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY ..AGAIN FOR S'WESTERN BELL. MOST OF THE OPERATORS WERE A LOT OLDER THAN ME ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/07/2011 - 4:21pm -

Early 20th-century telephone switchboard in British-Mandate Palestine. View full size. American Colony Photo Department. Location not specified although sign in background lists police and ambulance numbers "in Jerusalem." OperatorsOh my god that must have been miserable ... I answer phones now and I would die if we had to sit that close! My Mother had to work at one of those but I never got to see it. I have even more respect for her which I didn't think was possible. David Kifer Tulsa Aeron 1.0The chairs don't look too comfy, do they? Of course they all seem to be sitting about six inches in front of the backs anyway. amazing~~amazing~~ OperatorsI was surprised to see men doing this.( No.s 20&21) I thought that they were all female operators back then. Rick Taylor Lecanto, Fl Men as OperatorsFrom 1878, men were employed as operators and within a year callers complained that they were rough toned and too brusque for most people's taste, so women quite quickly supplanted them and by about 1910 there were very very few men still used as operators. An added bonus for the employers was that women could be paid less and profits were thus higher for the Bell Systems of the time. Today we see this as unfair, yet it was an easy decision for employers at the time! Men as Operators and Telephone StrikesThis and the previous comment was by Patrick Frye III of Charlotte, North Carolina For more about the first decades of telephone work and the strikes of those years, go to: www.massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=119 A FASCINATING history! Telephone OperatorsWas this a call center? For what company? Probably for Ma Bell (AT&T).Probably for Ma Bell (AT&T). Call Center?If you read the caption you will see this is in British-Mandate Palestine (what later became Israel). Call Center?I don't think "call centers" like we know them existed in that day! I Did That JobYou won't believe it but this is exactly how it looked as late as 1978, I was 18 years old at the time, and I was a telephone operator in Baton Rouge, Louisiana then. The room we worked in was just like this, with just as many people and the chairs were only SLIGHTLY different than these. It was a facinating job!! Telephone ExchangeI worked on one similar to this in England in the 1950's and then for the BBC who had about 20 positions in their telephone exchange. Norma Taylor Tucson That supervisor is ready toThat supervisor is ready to crack the whip, isn't she. Cord BoardI worked on a cord board that looked just like this in Joplin, Missouri until 1980. Not only was it was this long, but there were 2 identical lines in the same room, one up each side. That job taught me more about multi-tasking than I could ever have learned anywhere else. What a fun job it turned out to be. It looks intimidating, but it really wasn't. Telephone OperatorsMy Mother retired from Cincinnati Bell Telephone after nearly 40 years. I find this site's photos excellent as well as the information contained in it. Does anyone out there know of other sites with photos of switchboard operators and related items? Unlike the earlier post from David Kifer I was able to go visit once in a while and remember the boards. The chairs were not comfortable (at least in the 50's and early 60's. The one thing I remember most is the women making making comments about the "Cute little boy" in their midst. Thank you all. Robert Federle New Iberia Louisiana TORTURE!Sitting there, facing a wall ... for what 8 hours a day? Any bathroom breaks allowed? When? And no seat pillows? We've got it made in 2007, don't we. IS THE CALLER THERE?I WORKED AT THE JOPLIN SWEST MA BELL IN 1952..JUST OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL...THEN AGAIN IN 1959-62 IN DOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY ..AGAIN FOR S'WESTERN BELL. MOST OF THE OPERATORS WERE A LOT OLDER THAN ME AND SCARED ME TO PIECES ..THE WAY THEY TALKED! NEW OPERATORS GOT THE WORST HOURS...SPLITS LIKE 8 TO 12 ..4 TO 8 OR 9 TO 12 ..6 TO 9. ALSO 1 TO 9 AND 2 TIL 10..SINCE I LIVED IN INDEPENDENCE, I HAD TO WALK DOWNTOWN TO THE BUS STATION LATE AT NIGHT.. BUT THE BUS DRIVERS WERE WONDERFUL..THEY LET NO ONE MESS AROUND WITH ME..WERE VERY NICE...THESE WERE THE DAYS OF 4 INCH HEELS, A-LINE DRESSES, WHIPPED CREAM MATERIAL, PANTSUITS AND BOUFFANT HAIR..IT WAS WONDERFUL...HAD TO QUIT TO GET MARRIED AND HAVE KIDS...I'M IN MY EARLY 70'S AND I'M STILL A NIGHT OWL AND I'D WORK 11 TO 7 NOW. I LOVED IT..ESPECIALLY TRACKING DOWN CREDITORS FOR THOSE CREDIT COMPANIES!!HAH STELLA [S] D. WISCONSIN .. U.S.A. SwitchboardTHANK YOU FOR THAT WONDERFUL RECOLLECTION! Operators and the old manual cord boards.Many nice memories of a great job from high school until my first child was born. I worked the split trick and as a night operator. Made many lifelong friends and I remember when the Western Electric men came to the office to add new lines and switchboards. They were all such gentlemen and all good looking. Several of the girls married a Western guy including myself. That was 50 years ago and I still cherish my 10 years with New York Tel. Upstate NY Is the Caller There?Thank you Stella, Cincinnati Bell also had those weird hours. I can remember Mom working 3 to 11, 2 to 10, 6 to 12, 11 to 7 and many other combinations. Some were 8 hours and others 6 hours. I think what I remember most was the smell of Ozone when you walked in the front door (once you buzzed in the outer door you went in to a locked foyer. There you picked up a phone and gave your employee I.D. and they would buzz you in that door. Then the Ozone smell would hit you. I can smell it now just talking about it. Mom was an Operator, My Aunt was in Repair Service and her Husband was a Switchman (downstairs where the switch gear was located. Relays would would be clicking and clattering). Thank you Stella for bringing more memories to light. Mom is now 82. When they closed the local office in Hamilton Ohio (automation and no need for the Operators) she was allowed to have the switchboard number plate and it also matched their house number. It is still mounted on the back porch wall. Thanks again and the best to you Stella. Robert Federle New Iberia, Louisiana Operator's StoolsBecause of the height, the stools (many with with wicker seats and backs) were uncomfortable to get on and off. Operators had to enter from the left, exit from the right. Some offices raised the floor to allow low chairs. The location of the switchboard in each building was known as "The Operating Room." Their lounge was "The Quiet Room." (Technology, The Gallery, Matson)
A Most Amazing Room: 1910s
... This room from well over a hundred years ago in Pawnee City, Nebraska, looks to have been the personal space of a boy or teenager. ... Missouri River traffic and the 'big cities' of Omaha and Kansas City. These photos are so fascinating and wonderful. Thank you! ... 
 
Posted by Fredric Falcon - 02/28/2019 - 3:49pm -

This room from well over a hundred years ago in Pawnee City, Nebraska, looks to have been the personal space of a boy or teenager. It's filled with weird little items a teenage boy might have found worth collecting. A handwritten sign on the wall says "WHO ENTERS HERE - LEAVE HOPE BEHIND". A large Punch and Judy puppet is mounted on a chair with a warning not to handle it. Playing cards decorate the walls. The scrawled message on the heating stove says "Sacred to the Memory of a Fireman - He has gone to his last fire". An American flag covers the ceiling. Browse around the room and see what you can find. It's his own private museum, the Voynich Manuscript of Victorian living space! Scanned from a 4x5 glass negative. View full size. Animal House 1.0Has that frat-house parlor vibe. BeachcomberThere are at least two horseshoe crabs on the wall. Nothing unusual for the Jersey shore but not really abundant in Nebraska. Eclectic and eccentricHe certainly had the eye and sensibilities of a collector, as well as a gift for design -- especially collage. I love how he ran out of room on "leavehopebehind" but didn't bother to do it over. All he left out was the hashtag. Could be BertThe sign on the right wall could say Robert's room or Herbert's room. How did he get up to reach the laundry hanging over the sign? I see nothing other than a few rickety chairs and something like a pulley clothesline similar to those seen stretching from tenement to tenement. Parasols, Chinese lanterns ...... not to mention what appear to be old helmets from the Franco-Prussian War, and a halberd. There's also a miniature human skull in a tiny shadow box. Some of these things might even have been stage props. I wonder if this room is in the same house where we met the baby on the floor the other day. If so, a darned interesting family must have lived there, and I'd love to have met them. His rocker is off its rockersI see the notches in his chair legs and the rockers are across the arms. I love his Prussian military helmet collection. It is a great room -- looks like mine when I was about 12. The door must have a STAY OUT sign. Mad Magazine, ca. 1910OK, I know William Gaines's father was only about 16 in 1910, but these guys were operating on the same wavelength. This is an extraordinary picture in that it shows a view of life wholly unlike anything we customarily encounter from this era, e.g., the cityscapes peopled by a formally attired citizenry as they navigate the Main Streets of an ascendant American economy. A picture-book world with everything properly in place. But looking at Junior's lair, it’s comforting to see a sensibility on display that I believe will be readily familiar to almost any reader of this blog, although perhaps a bit rough-hewn. I can’t speak for today’s (what are we calling them now?), but to this child of the Fifties, it looks really cool. My mother, however, would never have countenanced such rococo anarchy, which is probably why I think it looks cool. A truly amazing find. Map of FranceAt far left. Old Eighty-EightsI spied with my little eye a couple of things with "88" on them.I wonder what significance that number holds. Perhaps it was the year he was born, or graduated. Who knows? At any rate, I could waste all day looking at this photo! I love it! My guessI have to guess that the owner of this room was the child of one of the more eminent citizens of the town--worth noting is that Pawnee City produced Nebraska's first governor, David Butler. My guess, though, is that the banker's son is most likely--someone who had traveled as a young pup. PrivacyI bitterly resent the posting of this picture of my college dorm room. I Spy. . A rifle stock (probably a .22) sticking out from behind the cloth above the fire place he's hanging all his tchotchkes on. There isn't a stovepipe from the wood stove. The fireplace behind it is too low. The fireplace is also covered with a piece of cloth. Kind of a fire hazard. The Pith HelmetThere's a pith helmet with a plume in the picture and it looks like and I'm wondering where that might be from or what campaign. I can't seem to readily find a British one like that or any other. According to wikipedia, "The US Army wore blue cloth helmets of the same pattern as the British model from 1881 to 1901 as part of their full dress uniform. The version worn by cavalry and mounted artillery included plumes and cords in the colors (yellow or red) of their respective branches of service." It doesn't look quite like one of those though. Theater of the absurdThis looks like it could be the set of some kind of very weird stage play. Wonder RoomTrue, the preponderance of the materials (and the sign) point to a young man, but the more feminine touches make me wonder: The Chinese parasols, the girl cutout, the many hand fans, the Chinese lanterns, the necklaces, and the bonnets. Perhaps a would-be museum curator? Possibly he spent some time in Asia. As for identity, besides the "_bert"s Room” sign, the letter on the mantle mantel looks to me to start with a large flourish "Dear Robert." The banner partly obscuring one horseshoe crab and the one on the wall next to Punch both show "88," presumably 1888? That together with the "College" sign at far right could make him (and the photo) a bit older than we think. The map of France appears to be the 4 provinces of ancient Roman Gaul (except for the added bit of Basque territory I can’t find an equal to). A fire down belowIt looks obvious that stove vents through the back with a hot pipe passing through that piece of cloth over the fireplace if BillyB is wrong. If so ... Adding all that fabric pinned to the walls and mantle mantel, with all the paper and cloth flag hanging from the ceiling, it's amazing that the whole place didn't go up in flames on the first cold morning of the year. So that fireman may not have "gone to his last fire" after all. Typical Schoolboy's roomThis looks like thousands of old photographs of dorm rooms from colleges and prep schools, although an excellent example of the genre. The boys (and also girls, who however were often neater) would gather all the family castoffs, military campaign souvenirs, photos of actresses, weird signs, and college banners from brothers, fathers and uncles. As you imply, kids could recreate this look in their family homes if necessary. An Old Man Sits Collecting StampsIn a room all filled with Chinese lamps. He saves what others throw away, says that he'll be rich someday. -Cake, "Frank Sinatra" Well ... maybe,but I was a "frogs and snails and puppy dogs' tails" boy, grew up with three brothers, and raised three sons -- and I don't quite buy the interpretation here. It's just too arranged, too goofy, and just a tad feminine. There's a weird artistic sensibility in evidence here, and maybe a little derangement. What's up with the playing cards on the back of the door? I hesitate to go further, but it just doesn't look quite like an untampered-with boy's room. Some observationsFirst, the Chair That Is Not To Be Handled is a rocker, perhaps intended to be convertible, perhaps just partially dismantled. Second, the helmets (save that with the plume or feather) may be firefighters' gear, ceremonial if not quotidian; metal helmets of a military appearance were common for firefighters in France, Britain, and many other countries. Coupled with the legend on the stove, this suggests that the paterfamilias may have been a fireman, though how such exotic items came to be in the Cornhusker State is not obvious … maybe something to do with the map of France? Human beings seek to discern patterns, as much mentally as visually, so my reach may well have exceeded my grasp here. Re: I SpyHere in Maine, I have seen many stoves plugged into a fireplace cover. The stovepipe exits in the rear near the top (about opposite from where the word "Sacred" is) and goes straight into a hole in the top of the fireplace cover. It's hidden in this photo. Likely it is a coal stove, not a wood stove, although that is not certain. I do see a piece of wood leaning against the mantle mantel front next to it but coal stoves need kindling wood to get them going, so who knows? Also I don't think the fireplace cover is fabric. What looks like a wave in the face of it continues on up over the mantle mantelpiece, leading me to believe it is a stain on the original photograph. [That's the shadow of the fringe hanging off the M-A-N-T-E-L. This is scanned directly from the negative; a stain on it would show light, not dark. - Dave] I have seen a number of these fireplace covers with painted designs on them. They are made of metal. Still, with that fringed curtain hanging low off the mantle mantel top, it is indeed a fire hazard. Like the country folk here, hopefully the photo was made in summer and when the cold winds blow, the combustibles were moved a distance away from the heater. Penrod would have killed for this room.To KimS, This is exactly what a boy's room of the period looked like, perhaps neatened a little for the photo. The playing cards were in fact de rigueur -- a broken pack would have created tons of material to put up, and especially for a schoolboy, but also for college students, implied the "naughtiness" of forbidden adult gambling. Attached is part of a photo from my own collection showing a room in Springfield College from 1903 decorated with playing cards. [Subtle! - Dave] --Sorry if I was a bit didactic, but old dorm room photos are one of my collecting specialties. Also, I do not know why the attached photo did not appear. I checked, and it was not too wide (437x291 pixels). [Click "Edit" at the bottom of this comment. Browse to your photo, click "Attach" and then "Post comment." - Dave] Pawnee City remote, but not isolatedAt the time, Pawnee City was at the junction of two rail lines that likely brought a lot of visitors from across the country and with them, bringing curiosities from both coasts that would be attractive to a curious young person. The town is also in extreme southeastern Nebraska, not far from Missouri River traffic and the 'big cities' of Omaha and Kansas City. These photos are so fascinating and wonderful. Thank you! Andrew W. Roberts Norfolk, VA [We don't know for certain that this photo was taken in Pawnee. - Dave] (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Class of 1939
... may have been common in the North. Even Topeka, Kansas, which was involved in Brown v. Board of Education after the war, had ... in an official setting. Does Riverton remain a progressive city? (I thank anyone for the enlightenment he or she might give.) Mom and ... 
 
Posted by footless - 10/24/2008 - 1:43pm -

The Riverton School 8th grade class of 1939. The Riverton, New Jersey, school looks the same, but doesn't allow dogs due to potential lawsuits. View full size. IntegrationI think pre-WWII integration may have been common in the North. Even Topeka, Kansas, which was involved in Brown v. Board of Education after the war, had integrated high schools. Only Topeka's elementary schools were segregated. No kid left behindThe two guys in the back row must be repeating the 8th grade for, about, the 3rd time. Teachers? Class AnalysisThird from left, front row - that girl is the class tattletale. Top row, far left - that boy was bullied. Middle row, far right - that youngster needs a manssiere. K12 SchoolThe front of the building is the same, but the trees and shrubs have gotten huge: http://www.riverton.k12.nj.us/ Thirty Carefree YoungstersIf this was September of '39, which it may be, the Germans are invading Poland and the rumblings of W.W.II will begin soon. If they were thirteen or fourteen in eighth grade, they had just four or five years left to be "kids" before being drafted. A smart looking group and a great picture. Thank you. Class of '39Looking at that picture, I saw all the "types" I went to school with, by their postures, their smiles. The girl on the lower left is the only one holding something--an award? Top of the class? And the guy in the dark coat/jacket in back is the only one dressed like that but there's some definite body language between him and young Wallace Beery there. Striped socksThree visibly striped socks, in the front row. Two more with a single stripe. I had no idea that was a fashion in '39. Bad TeethThe kid on the bottom row third from the right looks like he has some dental problems. Dah Dog ?Whats with the dog? How many times has he repeated the class? Batman really beginsThe second tallest kid in the back bears a striking resemblance to Christian Bale. Flower Pot tie clasp!?!Young man on left - second row appears to have a "flower in a pot" tie clasp. Could you please zoom in and validate? He also has quite a smile. Also note that the onset of puberty appears to be much earlier these days. IntegrationEven though the location is New Jersey, I am surprised to see black and white 8th-grade students learning and growing up in the same school. I did not know pre-war America was "ready" to see its children integrated in an official setting. Does Riverton remain a progressive city? (I thank anyone for the enlightenment he or she might give.) Mom and MeThis is my mother's class and if I remember correctly the dog was the valedictorian. I graduated from Riverton School in 1965 and my class picture is definitely not as cool as this. As far as integration, the school has always been integrated. What Spectacular ClothingLooking at the 3rd and 4th students from the left in the middle row, I'll bet those dresses are quite an eyeful in color. Even in black & white they look presciently psychedelic. I don't believe I've ever seen that broken diagonal plaid pattern before. Integration in New jerseyIn Camden, south of Riverton, the neighborhood schools were segregated, but we all came together in Junior High in 1936. We got to know some fine young people who stayed our friends through High school and afterward. Three of my six best friends in Woodrow Wilson High were dark skinned and that matter. I will always remember what fine young men they were. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Education, Schools, Kids)
Bud and Dick: 1915
... of Technical, and "Bud" Baker, of Central -- reached this city yesterday after a trip to the expositions in California on a motorcycle. ... them. We were stopped for five days by reason of storms in Kansas, and at other points our patience was severely tested by poor roads. The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/06/2013 - 11:56am -

1915. "Baker and O'Brien, transcontinental motorcyclists, at north of Ellipse below White House." Dick O'Brien and Bud Baker were two "Washington high school boys" who made a five-month, 10,000-mile round trip to the West Coast to see the California expositions. Said Dick: "Our experiences will prove mighty interesting when we start to tell them." Harris & Ewing Collection. View full size. The BikeLooks like the 1915 V-Twin Indian. And after 10000 miles she'd have been nicely broken in. Doubtless Bud and Dick went on to the next big adventure in a couple of years. I hope they survived that one, though so many didn't. ow ow OWWWTen thousand miles?! On that bike? My butt goes numb after a couple hundred miles on a comfortable, modern Ducati or Triumph. I can't imagine a cross-country trip on that prehistoric Indian. It's a cute bike, but still...no thanks. The Eternal Teenager, ReduxThe photos you present here often have a timeless and (almost) immediate quality to them that are capable of taking my breath away, Dave. I can't think of any other place that I've been -- not books, not movies - and certainly not old family photo albums - that have the ability to convey that sense. I live in a part of the U.S that is blessed with thousands of old houses and I've oftentimes looked at one, imagining how it might have looked the day the builders finished it. But because I am relying only on my imagination, I'm left with an incomplete, unsatisfied mental picture. Here, though, I can look into the faces of people long dead and see their youth and vitality clearly -- and I can appreciate the relative newness (and vitality) of a motorcycle that, more likely, I would otherwise only see in the back, dusty recesses of a junk/antique barn -- rusted, banged up and worn out. I hope that Bud and Dick went on to live relatively happy lives and died knowing that their lives weren't a waste of time. Great DOF!I love the Depth of Field on this one. Look at the blurred car on the background. Looks great! Interesting indeed...Cross country with no helmets? No leathers? Not even a saddlebag? My, what stories they must have been able to tell!! Candid CameraI agree with Stinky on your incredible website giving us a whole new perspective on the way it was in days of yore. In all seriousness, I must say that the young man in the front looks very unhappy, almost like he is in pain. Its been said one can tell a happy biker by the number of flies in his teeth, but these kids really do not seem to be enjoying their adventure. And is that a "Clarabelle" horn on the handlebars? Dick and Bud's Excellent AdventureWashington Post, Oct. 4, 1915. 10,000 MILES ON MOTORCYCLE Two Washington Boys Back Home After Trip to Pacific Coast. Two former Washington high school boys -- "Dick" O'Brien, of Technical, and "Bud" Baker, of Central -- reached this city yesterday after a trip to the expositions in California on a motorcycle. They were gone five months to the day, and 10,000 miles were covered. The boys left this city May 3. At Denver they gave an exhibition of their proficiency by riding up and down the steps of the statehouse. "We were, I believe, the first to cross the continent on a motor-driven tandem," said young O'Brien, "and our experiences will prove mighty interesting when we start to tell them. We were stopped for five days by reason of storms in Kansas, and at other points our patience was severely tested by poor roads. The roads of the East are far superior to those of the West, and the installation of the Lincoln memorial highway from coast to coast will go a long ways toward opening up a new country. "In Reno the thermometer was 110 as we passed through, and an hour later we were throwing snowballs at each other on top of the Sierras. We stopped at the fair for some time. We are glad to get back home. But it was a great trip." "Dick" O'Brien is the son of Richard E. O'Brien, inspector of plumbing in the District building. Would it happen today?I find it difficult to believe anyone's parents would let a couple of HS teenagers disappear across the country today ... even in a car, let alone on a motorcycle. Did anyone do this kind of thing while still in high school in more recent times? [So if you were 18 and and had just graduated from high school, you'd be asking Mom and Dad for permission to take a trip? - Dave] Permission? What permission? At that time most boys over twelve were considered grown, and any parental effort to require permission to take a job or make a trip would have been seriously resented. To the point of the boy "riding the rods" to less nosy climes. Quite a few young men made similar pilgrimages, to the West Coast, to Mexico, and anywhere else their fancy turned. In fact, a twelve year old boy drove a CAR from Oklahoma to New York City to meet his father's returning troopship at the end of WWI. The greatest problem was the necessity for frequent tire repairs. This feat attracted a small amount of notice in the newspapers, and father and son took turns driving home. Old Radio Man Vroom"Dick" can ride on my backseat anytime, with or without a helmet. 1915 IndianFrom this video you can get a bit more of an idea of what the two intrepid teens had for a ride back in 1915. Also, an excellent picture of another restored version here. To see the bike in color makes me think Baker and O'Brien must have attracted a lot of attention from wide-eyed lasses across America. Either time is frozen......or they are supported by a hidden pole. The emulsion (most likely on a glass plate) from 1915 was rather slow, so there would have been some blurring if the bike was in motion. But look at the spokes on the rear wheel, which are in sharp focus. The top spokes aren't blurred at all. Methinks some photographic license is being taken here. [Emulsions in 1915 were not slow. Fast enough to freeze a baseball. Shutter speeds were demarcated in thousandths of a second. - Dave] Teens Always Dream of AdventuresAt my high school graduation, June 1969, here in upstate NY, a fellow classmate walked on stage to receive his diploma while wearing biker boots. Immediately after, his parents saw him and three others ride off on their motorcycles with backpacks to visit Baja Mexico. Teens will always dream of travel and adventure. I remember wishing I could go with them, still wish I went... Pricey rideThe 1915 1000 cc Indian would have been a very expensive motorcycle in its day (and even more so now!). Baker and O'Brian must have saved a lot of money from summer jobs or had some very indulgent parents. They also must have been excellent mechanics because motorcycles in those days took a great deal of on-going repair and maintenance to keep them functional. Other cross-country motorcycle diaries from those days indicate an amazing level of resourcefulness was necessary to to complete the trip. In one case, two fellows traveling by sidecar rig broke down and managed to repair the engine's ignition system mechanicals with a bit of material from the passenger's false teeth! Bike SpecsIt appears to be 1913 or earlier since it does not have a headlight. Those were introduced in 1914. I've been Googling around trying to find the engine size/horsepower. Anyone know? I can't imagine it has more than 10-15hp. It looks like an oversized moped. The wind in your hair...and the bugs in your teeth! Can you imagine riding all that way with no face protection from bugs, gravel, dirt, etc.? Only the young have that kind of fortitude! [My guess would be that they at least wore goggles. - Dave] 1915 roadsIn 1919 the Army decided to send a truck convoy across the country from California to Washington, D.C. A young Captain Dwight Eisenhower made sure to get himself included in the adventure. They discovered the roads of America to be appallingly bad in many areas, and were almost forced to give up the journey on several occasions. After many months they made it to their destination. Later in the 1950's, when Ike was president, this experience was a major factor in his determination to give the United States a first-class interstate highway system. The roads these guys must have traveled would have been horrendous in many areas. A motorcycle would probably have had a better chance than a four-wheeled vehicle, but there were probably spots where they were just driving through total wilderness. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Motorcycles, Travel & Vacation)
3 Days Cure for Men: 1920
... for Bad Blood" is sold by the Restoria Chemical Company of Kansas City, Mb. The label declares the presence of "alcohol, 34 per cent."— an ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 9:58pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "U.S. Public Health Service." Dubious nostrums for, um, down there. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Interesting ingredientI notice that alcohol and opium are part of the "cure." I guess at least you "feel" better! RegretsI knew I shouldn't have googled gleet, but it's like watching a trainwreck. I did it and I am glad I wasn't eating anything as I might have lost it! Nasty!! Gentlemen's ClubWhat, nothing for the ladies? Weather ForecastViolent thunderstorms with possible hail or gleet. Manhattan InjectionThat label might be the worst thing I've read in my life. Yikes! Did they work?I had to Google "gleet." (Note: Don't Google "gleet"!) I sure hoped these cures worked for the men. What was available for the gals? Antibiotics all around! A ruling, pleaseIs "gleet" an acceptable word in Scrabble? Gadzooks!Yikes! Injecting or self medicating sounds worse than an embarrassing visit to your Dr. Huh?Inject it where?!?! I don't think so. Shoulda read comments firstI Googled "gleet" and really wish I hadn't. I love the progressive pictures of the cure. His gleet is so bad he can't even bring himself to brush his hair. Yes to the Scrabble queryReaders of James Boswell's London Journal (1762-63) will be well familiar with gleet, as dear Jamie couldn't seem to go more than a couple of months or so without another bout. BOSWELL. But by G-D, Madam, I have been with none but you, and here am I very bad. LOUISA. Well, Sir, by the same solemn oath I protest that I was ignorant of it. BOSWELL. Madam, I wish much to believe you. But I own I cannot upon this occasion believe a miracle. This may be a silly question but --Why is the "1st day man" holding a pencil between his teeth? The Third Day ManIt disturbs me that the fellow in "Day 3" is a dead ringer for Captain Kangaroo. Consult your physician."Manhattan Injection," the name and instructions notwithstanding, is "for external use." It should not be confused with, but may well be used with, "Manhattan Internal Remedy." In the futureour descendants will watch archival videos of Cialis, Hoodia, and Cognex commercials and think the same thoughts that this photograph invokes in us. Biting nailsI'm assuming the nail in Day 1's teeth is to help prevent him from crying out in pain, as in biting the bullet. The Google warnings prompted me to check Wikipedia for gleet instead, where I was subjected only to a verbal description. Thank heavens. An Ounce of PreventionSomehow, I suspect that the people who made the Ounce Prophylactic would also be willing to sell you the Pound of Cure Injection if necessary. Clears up your service recordIt sounds as if some of these nostrums would be useful if one had a Dishonorable Discharge, particularly one from the Foreign Lesion. Microzone Quackery Nostrums and Quackery, Vol 2, 1921 Microzone Medicine Company Writes a physician: "The enclosed envelope with contents was sent to my son, who is drafted for the Army. Evidently all of these boys are getting it. Something ought to be done to protect the boys." The envelope contained a card on one side of which was printed a picture of the "Heart of Hot Springs, Ark.," headed "World's Garden of Health Controlled by U. S. Government." On the other side the Microzone Medicine Company of Hot Springs, Ark., advertises "the only treatment which will positively cure inherited or contracted specific blood poison permanently." Further, the recipient is told that "out of 7,000 patients who have taken our treatment … not one has failed to be cured permanently. Many were cured privately at home by mail." In addition to the card, the envelope contained two crude facsimiles of ten dollar Confederate bills, on the back of which "Microzone," the "King of all treatments for blood poison," was advertised, "$25 for full treatment." The Microzone Medicine Company, according to material in our files, is operated by a quack, one J. M. Byrd, whose license the Arkansas authorities revoked in 1913. In a letter written in 1914 Byrd said: "I am now confining myself to the sale of a syphilitic cure … and I can make more money in that way and make it much easier than to do a general practice." At the same time Byrd was advertising a pamphlet with a salaciously suggestive title. Now, it would seem, Mr. Byrd would make more easy money by selling a fake syphilis cure to the young men who make up the National Army. Some men make a living out of war by robbing the dead on the battlefields; they at least do not impair the efficiency of the army. Other men rob the boys in khaki while they live, taking both money and health. They do this at a safe distance from the firing line and use as an instrument the United States mails. (Journal of the A. M. A., Sept. 8, 1917.) Of French Origin Nostrums and Quackery, Vol 2, 1921 Restoria "Restoria for Bad Blood" is sold by the Restoria Chemical Company of Kansas City, Mb. The label declares the presence of "alcohol, 34 per cent."— an admission that is required by the Food and Drugs Act. Restoria is sold as a sure cure for syphilis. It is "the Miracle Medicine," "the Medicine of Last Resort," it is "Safer—Surer—Cheaper than the Serum Treatments," it contains "no mercury—no arsenic, ask the druggist." No information, of course, is given as to what Restoria contains, except the information that the law demands. It is said to be "of French origin, and has been known and prescribed throughout Continental Europe for more than fifty years." While Restoria is recommended for rheumatism, kidney trouble, lumbago, eczema, and the omnipresent "catarrh," it is especially and particularly featured for syphilis or "blood poison." Here are some of the things the booklet has to say regarding syphilis and its treatment with Restoria and by other means: "Restoria goes to the seat of the disease. It cleanses the Blood, as it were, eradicating from it every trace of the Syphilitic virus." "One month of Restoria treatment may be equal to the services of the most eminent specialist, for whose skill you would be required to pay hundreds of dollars." "… to the average doctor this dreadful malady [syphilis] is only a name, and the patient is looked upon as a horrible example on whom he (the doctor) may practice and profit while he prescribes." "The average physician is utterly incapable of handling this dreadful malady. He lacks the experience, but he will not tell you so. He will assume a knowledge he does not possess. He will do the best he can for you. He will fill you with mercury or arsenic, perhaps, and make a helpless wreck of you in time; and all the while charge you all the fee he can get." "The unfortunate Syphilitic is considered common prey, and any physician is justified in trying anything on him, and charging three prices for the service." Restoria was first brought to the attention of The Journal in November, 1917, by a letter from the Council of National Defense, written by the chairman of the Subcommittee for Civil Cooperation in Combating Venereal Diseases. The letter stated that the Restoria concern had had the effrontery to write to the Venereal Disease Committee of the Council of National Defense, asking for a recommendation of Restoria! More than a year later — in April, 1919 — a physician informed The Journal that there was an effort to finance Restoria, and samples had been sent to him at the request of a friend who had been invited to take some of the stock. An unopened, original bottle of Restoria was submitted to the Association's laboratory, and tests were made to determine the presence or absence of mercury, arsenic or iodids. The report may he summarized thus: Restoria contains no mercury or arsenic, but does contain iodid, probably potassium iodid, and calculated to potassium iodid corresponding to 1.693 grams in 100 c.c. It also contains much vegetable extractive, some alkaloidal drug, and a bitter oil or oleo resin. (From The Journal A. M. A., Aug. 9, 1919.) (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Medicine)
Looking Back: 1948
... Railroad train fares of 1882 . The fare from Kansas city to San Francisco was $104 in first class, $78 in second class and $47.50 ... 
 
Posted by Truck5man - 10/04/2011 - 10:54pm -

My grandmother at my parents' wedding in February 1948. I can't help but look into her eyes and think of what she had seen in her lifetime: Came to California from Ohio on a covered wagon with her family in 1888, survived the San Francisco Earthquake with her newborn son who would be killed less than 1 year later in a stagecoach accident, lost another child who was a twin, and my grandfather had died and left them broke 4 years before this picture was taken. Yet all I have ever heard from every relative was what a strong, warm, loving woman she was. This is one of many slides recently found at my brother's house. The box is chock-full o' late 40s and early 50s goodness. View full size. Hey! Leave 'er alone! Wow. Quite a few master debaters regarding her traveling methods. I called my mom who for the record is 87 years old and could take every one of us, and asked her to "confirm" she came here from Ohio in a covered wagon. She corrected me that my grandmother was 2 (making it 1884) and the family consisted of 6 kids and my g-grandparents. Probably making train fare a wee bit expensive for my g-grandfather who was a carpenter by trade. [Or would train fare be considerably less expensive than the cost of moving (and feeding) eight people and a team of horses 2,000 miles across the continent in a journey that would take weeks? - Dave] You're more than welcome to call my mom and question her (good luck with that). Added bonus: An awesome picture of my uncle Walt and my brother and cousins in the San Francisco Bay with one of my uncle's toys in about 1959. More to follow! Train fares in 1882Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroad train fares of 1882. The fare from Kansas city to San Francisco was $104 in first class, $78 in second class and $47.50 in emigrant class, whatever that was. $47.50 translate into $1,316 nowadays (according to one inflation calculator). For a family of four, it represents a total fare of $5,264. [One thing to consider in your calculations is that (using the Union Pacific as an example) children under 5 traveled free, and children under 12 paid half-fare. So the cost for Grandma's fare would have been zero, not $47.50. Second, "inflation calculators" are less and less meaningful the farther back you go. What you want to know is not so much how many dollars such a trip might cost today, but how much it cost compared to the alternative. Which would include buying or hiring a wagon and team, outfitting it, feeding the animals, food and other provisions, tolls, lodging, repairs, etc. As for "emigrant class" -- emigrants were settlers moving west; emigrant class was the cheap seats, similar to flying coach or sailing in steerage. Emigrant-class coaches were often part of freight trains. - Dave] Covered wagons, sureThere are days I feel old enough to easily feel like I came to Minnesota in a covered wagon. But no, I was born in 1948, the year this pic was taken. Guess I came in a Studebaker. I also say to Truck5man, please keep posting pics!!! Lovely. Thanks! Lovely pictureYour grandmother looks like and amazing, strong woman. Please post more of these! Wagon train costFrom : http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WWwagontrain.htm The overland journey from the Mid-West to Oregon and California meant a six month trip across 2,000 miles of difficult country. It was also an expensive enterprise. It was estimated that the journey cost a man and his family about $1,000. He would also need a specially prepared wagon that cost about $400. The canvas top would have to be waterproofed with linseed oil and stretched over a framework of hoop-shaped slats. Although mainly made of wood, iron was used to reinforce the wagon at crucial points. However, iron was used sparingly in construction since it was heavy and would slow down and exhaust the animals pulling the wagon. The wagons were packed with food supplies, cooking equipment, water kegs, and other things needed for a long journey. These wagons could carry loads of up to 2,500 pounds, but the recommended maximum was 1,600 pounds. Research suggests that a typical family of four carried 800 pounds of flour, 200 pounds of lard, 700 pounds of bacon, 200 pounds of beans, 100 pounds of fruit, 75 pounds of coffee and 25 pounds of salt. 40s garb in colorWhat a treat to see such a sharp, detailed and vibrant color shot of how real people dressed in the period. While her fashions might have been regarded at the time as somewhat dated, I think we can say this woman had quite a sense of style nonetheless. The lighting is quite striking, too - not your typical flash-on-camera angle. I wonder if it's illuminated by photoflood? Please keep delving into that box! Thank you for sharing this with usThis is a strange, moving picture. Your grandmother has a sad, kind, and beautiful face. I agree; please post more of your pictures. Ohio to CaliforniaI can see traveling there by covered wagon in 1858, but 1888? You'd just take a train. Also: Where was this picture taken? Excellent job of scanning! There was this (garbled)There was this (garbled) family tale of my paternal greatgrandmother (1875-1955) having traveled as a child from the midwest to California by wagon train. What was more likely in our case was that it was her mother as an infant who had made the trip that way. Age perspectiveWonderful photo of your grandmother, Truck5man! Would you know how old she is in this photo? Just for perspective sake, let's say she was eight years old when her family moved to Cali in 1888. That would make her 68 in this photo. A woman who is 68 today would be six years old when this photo was taken. The photo tells the storyAlthough the details you provided on your grandmother's life add depth to the story, those eyes tell all of the story you really need to know. It makes my heart ache to think of the burdens she carried. 1888 - Covered Wagon?I agree with Dave. Great pic but almost no way she traveled from Ohio to California by covered wagon in 1888. She could have taken any number of train routes well-established by then, and it would have been a heck of a lot cheaper than feeding a team of horses (not to mention people) for the two month journey (at least). By covered wagon in 1888? Sure!As to your earlier comment, people migrating to California very often loaded their belongings in a wagon or wagons, added hoops and covers to protect the wagon contents, and headed west. This lasted well into the early years of the 20th century. [I think you're very mistaken. There were no long overland migrations by covered wagon "well into the 20th century." - Dave] No "migrations", but plenty of individual trips by folks looking for a better life. Lots & lots of them made the trip by early auto & trailer once those displaced the horse & mule as motive power. [I'd lay good money that the number of families or individuals traveling from anywhere in Ohio to California by wagon in the late 1880s was pretty close to zero. Historically documented, non-anecdotal examples to the contrary are welcome! - Dave] Covered wagon revisitedI knew a woman, now deceased, who traveled with her family by covered wagon in the early part of the twentieth century. It was a shorter trip than the one in question, only going from Illinois to Oklahoma, but I think it would be possible some families still made use of the prairie schooner if it was all that they could afford. Oxen graze. It might have been much cheaper than passage for the family and property on a train. The wagon trains of the mid-nineteenth century may have been a thing of the past, but one family moving their belongings is believable. Generations X & Y.-- Bah!They sure don't make 'em like they used to. I think that's part of what makes me LOVE this site so much. Railroad developmentBelow is a link to a nice series of maps, showing railroad development in the United States. It is really quite fascinating. By 1880, the rail network was very developed, and as it notes, "every state and territory was provided with railway transportation." http://cprr.org/Museum/RR_Development.html. I do appreciate the sentiment about the changes one sees during a lifetime. I once read a research report from the 1950s, where the author was interviewing folks about changes in the area. One of his subjects had lived in the same house since the 1880s! Of course, it is long gone and the past seems so distant, yet not much separates us from it. The chasm is narrow, but deep. Wagon TravelWell, you are correct that there was no widespread overland migration well into the 20th century, but there was smaller movements. My grandmother at the age of 2 or 3 went by wagon from Kentucky to the logging areas of Wisconsin around 1912, and returned the same way about 1918. Why wagon? They had to take the stove, plow share, tools, cookware, clothing etc. There were four families that went up and two that came back. My grandmother who died at the age of 93 remembered the trip back quite well. They stopped frequently, sometimes for several days while her dad did odd jobs or to fish or hunt for extra food. Poor people did what poor people had to do to survive. The covered wagon optionI'd guess that not everyone thought that they could afford to migrate by train in 1888, and it was faster but it wasn't necessarily as cheap as the records would suggest, so a very poor or stubbornly frugal family might have decided to make the trek by wagon. Migration by train obviously became more common than by covered wagon after the completion of the transcontinental railroad, and probably nobody even tried it in the 20th Century except as a publicity stunt. But, out here in San Diego County, my uncle George Irey, who graduated from San Diego High in 1916, made a month-long vacation trip every year with his parents and siblings in a pair of mule-drawn covered wagons, from their farm in El Cajon over the very rugged mountains east to their land in the Imperial Valley. They owned cars, but George said they continued to use the wagons through the 1920s because they actually enjoyed it, despite the fact that they were doing so in the early summer every year, when it was more than 100 degrees in the desert. Never mind what my dad said privately about George's family enjoying that. I've seen that expression beforeMostly on parents of the bridal couple at weddings; difficult to read, and as many have suggested, perhaps more related to events of the past than those of present time. My own mother wore a similar look around my sister in law for some time after my older brother's wedding until she finally realized their marriage would indeed endure. They recently celebrated their 44th anniversary, are parents to 2 and grandparents to another 2. She and my own father divorced after slightly less than 10 (frequently turbulent) years. Google "covered wagon migration"The first link I come up with shows "The Covered Wagon of the Great Western Migration. 1886 in Loup Valley, Nebraska" from the National Archives. I see no reason to doubt the story behind this lovely photo. [I don't doubt for a second that people in the late 19th century used wagons to travel long distances in the Loup Valley, Nebraska, and a thousand other places. But from Ohio to California, a journey over 2,000 miles, probably not. - Dave] Good point. If we want to doubt the story, I wonder if only part of the trip was in a wagon. Perhaps there is another reason this method would be chosen. If you fancied yourself a master of horses and wagons, and then the industrial revolution caught up to you, maybe you would stubbornly keep to the old ways. I can think of plenty of things my grandparents spend money on that is considered impractical by modern society. Forget train vs. wagonThat necklace is fabulous! (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Round House: 1943
... and bath, had previously been exhibited in Washington and Kansas City. It was disassembled three weeks ago in Kansas, shipper here by freight ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/31/2014 - 7:31am -

        Somewhere in North Africa, with Carl Spaatz leading the group on the right. Circa 1943, another look at the Dymaxion Deployment Units last seen here. In this view, corrugated steel with a glint of brass. Note the book (?) on the shelf. Office of War Information, photographer unknown. View full size. 780 Bolts New York Times, October 10, 1941. A cylindrical dwelling structure of prefabricated corrugated steel, almost identical with the portable grain bins placed by the Department of Agriculture's Ever Normal Granary in farms and towns of the wheat-raising West, was set up yesterday amid the weatherbeaten outdoor art objects of the Museum of Modern Art's sculpture garden. It will be on public view for two months beginning today. R. Buckminster Fuller, designer of the structure, which is named “The Dymaxion Deployment Unit,” said that it could be produced at the rate of 1,000 a day for the housing of workers around new defense factories, for evacuation dwellings and for army barracks. Two earlier models, he said, were requisitioned by government departments for experimental study. The present model, consisting of two connected cylindrical structures complete with kitchenette and bath, had previously been exhibited in Washington and Kansas City. It was disassembled three weeks ago in Kansas, shipper here by freight car and put together again with 780 bolts. Mr. Fuller said that the structure, capable of housing a family of six or four times that number of troops, required twelve man-days to put up and four man-days to take down. Why the variety of uniforms?I have no military experience, and wonder why the four officers in the photo are wearing distinctly different uniforms? I see hats in three styles, pants in three colors, jackets in three styles and colors. No doubt there's a good reason, and thanks if someone will clue me in. BinsThey do look almost exactly like Butler grain bins. I hope they weren't as hot inside as the bins were in a Kansas summer when I was young. Carl A. "Tooey" SpaatzHe was promoted to temporary Lieutenant General in March 1943, although it appears he is wearing insignia of a Major General here. When the United States Air Force was formed in 1947 from the Army Air Forces he commanded, General Spaatz became its first Chief of Staff. Carl Spaatz (pronounced spots) was born Spatz (often mispronounced as spats). He added the second "a" himself in 1937, supposedly at the request of his wife and daughters. Lack of uniform uniformsThe officer in the foreground and the one in the middle of the other group are wearing their Class B/flight uniforms. The one in front is holding his flight jacket in his hand. Both have removed the stiffening ring from their caps, (something only pilots were allowed to do). It was so they could wear their radio headsets in flight. One step up from fatigues, usually wool blouse*, canvas pants, leather flight jacket. The General is wearing his Class A uniform, the standard for staff officers. The one in back, probably the General's aide, is wearing his Class A too but with a garrison cap. Garrison caps are handy because you can fold it and put it through the epaulet on your jacket. If this was in color the uniforms would probably look more alike. The variation is most likely due to age. I imagine General Spaatz' had owned and worn that uniform for years while his aide's in much newer. *Officially, collared uniform shirts are called blouses, only underwear are called shirts Uniforms (Again)Back in the day of the Army Air Corps, there were several uniform combinations. They aren't faded, but denote differences in season. There was a dark winter uniform as well as a lighter colored summer uniform for officers. When the war broke out, they were allowed (I don't know the reason) to "mix" the uniforms. You could wear the dark blouse jacket with the lighter colored trousers together (they called them pinks according to my dad). Consequently, you could see dark or light shirts, dark or light pants and light or dark blouses in almost any combination. Keep in mind, this was the Air Corps who were primarily allowed to do this. Regular ground Army Forces usually kept to the traditional combinations, for the most part. Also, the enlisted uniform was consistently of a more drab brown color that didn't have these variations. (The Gallery, WW2)
City Ice: 1935
... October 17, 1935. San Francisco. "Federal trucks -- City Ice Delivery Co." Neighbors of the "Western Asbestos Magnesia Co." 8x10 ... however was listed in Crocker and Langleys as being at 35 Kansas (Head Office?), with the refrigerator dept at 2445 16th. Charles K ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/03/2015 - 7:36pm -

October 17, 1935. San Francisco. "Federal trucks -- City Ice Delivery Co." Neighbors of the "Western Asbestos Magnesia Co." 8x10 Eastman Kodak nitrate negative, originally from the Wyland Stanley collection. View full size. One good looking truckMake that eleven good looking trucks. Asbestos magnesiaAsbestos magnesia was a popular insulation of the times. Ice plant bluesI once worked in an ice plant in the early seventies. We made 300-pound blocks of ice that were processed in various ways. They were cut into smaller blocks. They were crushed for ice chests and ice cream makers. And we pulverized the blocks and blew them onto semi-truck trailers. But we did not deliver. A lot of progress was made in refrigeration in the 35 years that elapsed from the date of this picture and my experience in ice. A lot more has occurred up to today. Cool picture. AddressThe Western Asbestos Company was at 675 Townsend, and Baker, Hamilton and Pacific was at 7th and Townsend. The City Ice Company however was listed in Crocker and Langleys as being at 35 Kansas (Head Office?), with the refrigerator dept at 2445 16th. Charles K Melrose was born in NJ in 1872,the 1940 census has him living at 231 Poplar Ave San Mateo CA, in a house valued at $15,000, He lived there with his wife Dora, daughter Helen and a Finnish maid. He was earning $50,000+ pa (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, San Francisco, W. Stanley)
« first‹ prev1 [2]3next ›last »
Syndicate content  Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2024 Shorpy Inc.