The Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo

The Hoo-Hoos were founded in 1892 by a small group of men associated with the wood products industry.  They wanted to form a fraternal organization that was both unconventional and unregimented.  Unlike other lodges they were a lot more interested in having fun and tended to avoid the good works of other groups, though they did plant trees.  Their original membership requirements, apart from some association with wood products, was white males over 21.  Now, the racial standard is gone and the age requirement has been lowered to 18.  I'm always surprised that fraternal organizations are still hanging on, though I suspect most will be gone within the next 50 years or so.

There's a photographers stamp on the back.  "PHOTO BY Robertson and Fresh, TAMPA'S COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHERS, 504 E. Lafayette st., Tampa, Fla."  William Vernon "Red" Robertson was the photographer while Harry Fresh was the lab man who processed the film and made the prints.  They were in business from 1932 to 1960.  The University of South Florida has a large collection of their negatives.  Sadly, many of those negs have disintegrated because of high levels of acetic acid coupled with high humidity.  The yellow tinge of these two photographs shows that Mr. Fresh showed little interest in an archival wash for either their negatives or their prints.  To see the images in the USF collection, go to digital.lib.usf.edu/robertsonandfresh/all. Quite frankly, it's a lot easier just to go to Google and type in Robertson and Fresh photographers Tampa.

Sunday in the Park (With George?)

I looked for picnic baskets, but didn't see any.  So, why else would all these people be sitting on blankets in a park?  I do hope one of those guys is named George.  From the 50's I would think.

Air Vietnam

When I first saw this postcard I immediately thought CIA, but quickly realized, no that was Air America.  Anyway, I'm kind of a transportation buff, and I like old airplanes, so what the hell, I bought it.  Air Viet Nam, as it's spelled on the back of the card, was founded in 1951 with a fleet of Cessna 170's.  Not an ambitious start, but then the original purpose of the airline was to connect small, rural villages with cities.  With the beginning of the Vietnam war, the airline had a major expansion.  Lot's of soldiers needed to be moved.  For flights in country, they mostly used prop planes, like the Douglas DC-3, 4, 5, and 6.  For overseas flights, jets. 

So, the captions, "AIR VIET NAM,  Douglass  DC-6, XV-NUD,  MSN 42876, Saigon 1970."  "Photo Courtesy: David C. Goss" 

Sunshin

I've noticed my spelling has gotten a lot worse in our digital age, so who am I to criticize others?  Written on the back, "Gian, June, Nick Sept. 1941.  Just a sunshin day in September. Every body feeling good."  There's also a lab stamp, "McCLELLAN BROS. STUDIO PHOTO FINISHING DEPT PHONE 546, 405 Magnolia St.  Laurel, Miss."  I wonder how long it's been since phone numbers were three digits long? 

The Key Note

I have no idea what The Key Note is, but whatever it is, it's written on the print, so it's not a sign on the building.  It could be a nightclub, a restaurant, or some sort of social club.  I even thought it might be the name of a play or musical group, but, while I tried, it's too generic to get a match.  There is a date written on the bottom border, "10/29/33" 

Party In the Rain

Well, they are holding umbrellas, so it must be raining.  Looks like the sixties to me. 

Bertha Bradish at the Piano

Well, I thought I might be able to find out something about Bertha Bradish, and about all I could find was that there was a Bertha Bradish who was a resident of Huron, Ohio recorded in the 1900 census.  The Norwalk, Ohio exposition (?) and piano contest is a mere 11 miles from Huron, so I'm going out on a limb and saying that the Bertha from Huron, who played in the piano contest are one in the same.  Too, Norwalk is the county seat of Huron County, so yet another link.  This postcard was mailed.  It has an undivided back from the era when people weren't supposed to write messages on the back.  It was mailed to "Jno. Bellamy, Norwalk, O"  It has both a postmark for where it was mailed from and where it was sent.  ""WAKEMAN, OHIO JAN 7, 10-AM"  The other postmark, "NORWALK, OHIO JAN 7, 5-PM  1907"  Wakeman is also in Huron County.  Any guesses on what the full name for Jno. is?