The Listers and That Other Kid Take Up Golf

This one is labeled, "Al Lister, Julius Lister, Betty Lister, ?, David Nissenbaum, Robbins Ave."  So, the obvious question; Is Betty Lister the adult in the back or the kid in the front?  If Betty is the adult, was the little girl so forgettable that no one has a clue to who she was?  Maybe the photographer had a touch of OCD, and wanted a more symmetrical composition and he grabbed some poor kid walking down the street to be his fourth?

Hobergs

A brief over view of Hoberg's, mostly from their website, so take it with a grain of salt.

Before Hoberg's became a resort, it was a working ranch,  homesteaded in 1885 by Gustav Hoberg and his wife, Mathilda.  Located along a main road, travelers would stop to rest horses and have a home cooked meal.  By 1888, Gustav and Mathilda had given up ranching and turned their property into a hotel and restaurant.

 With a reputation for hospitality in a beautiful, natural setting, it wasn't long before the rich and famous of San Francisco were making Hoberg's a regular weekend getaway.  As the resort's popularity grew, a bowling alley, social hall, swimming pool, tennis courts, dining hall, and the Pine Bowl,  an outdoor dance floor, were added to the grounds.  Even the great depression couldn't kill Hoberg's, as it began to attract the Hollywood crowd.  In 1940, an airport was built so famous actors could fly in for some rest and relaxation.  Sitting California governors stayed there at a mansion built on the property for their exclusive use.

By 1950, Hoberg's was the largest private resort in northern California, often hosting more than 1,000 guests per night.  Some of the biggest entertainers played the Pine Bowl, including Tommy Dorsey and Xavier Cugat.

In 1968, the Beatles traveled to India to study transcendental meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.  Now world famous, the Maharishi decided to move to the United States and start a meditation center.  In 1971, he purchased Hoberg's, changed it's name to the Center for the Science of Creative Thinking, and closed the property to the general public.

In 2008, the Maharishi died, and the property was shuttered until new owners were found.  Hoberg's reopened in 2014.  With the buildings in disrepair, the new management began the rebuild, including the addition of an amphitheater, which hosted the Summer of Love Music Festival, featuring bands from the 1960s.

In 2015, a wildfire started that would burn for months, and eventually destroy over 76,000 acres in south lake County.  Hoberg's was burnt to the ground.  Today, the Hoberg's Historical Association is trying to rebuild.  Their plans include an Eco Center Museum.

This postcard has been trimmed down, and some of the writing has been cut away.  But what's left, "Dear Carilyn, If you ever go on a vacation this is the place to come.  This is the kind of place you read about.  The dances are marvelous.  Kind of late."  There was more, but it's gone.  The postmark, "HOBERGS JUN 9, 5 AM 1943 CALIF."  Part of the address is gone, but the name, "Miss Carolyn Cline" and she lived in San Francisco.

Loni & Felix

Written on the back. "1935, L-R Loni & Felix."  So, Loni's the guy and Felix the woman?  I have a friend who's father was a scientist.  He told his son that right and left depended on one's position in space.  The poor guy's in his sixties and still has trouble telling  right from  left.

National Parks

I have no idea where this was taken, but I bought it here, in the L.A. area, and it sure looks like some of our western mountain ranges, and since these people look like tourists, well it's not unreasonable to think park.  Before the age of the automobile, visiting a national park often meant a train trip, transfer to a horse drawn coach, and a ride along a not well maintained dirt road.  In other words, people of  wealth were park visitors, working class and poor people were not.

 Visit some of the older parks like Yosemite, Glacier, and Grand Canyon, and you'll see the grand lodges, rustic building that provided a bit of luxury between views.  Over the years, I've stayed at a few of those hotels, and while the rooms are small by the standards of today, I'd bet the gourmet food in the restaurants surpass what was on the menu in 1900.   Adjust the bill for inflation, and the old lodges are still catering to the well off.

And that's the rub.  When I was growing up, families packed up their army surplus cabin tents, coolers, cots, and camp stoves and vacationed in a national park.  Where I grew up, Great Smokey Mountains and Shenandoah.   Every once in awhile, one of my classmates parents were willing to drive twenty hour days so they could spend a week in Yellowstone.  Today, because of the ever increasing cost of transportation, lodging, and equipment, once again, the working classes are priced out of the parks.

And while I'm ranting, the Republican Party Platform calls for the transfer of federal lands to the states to manage or dispose of as they see fit.  I can't imagine that working out well.

He Grew Up and Sold Ice Cream

I'm not very good at judging ages, but I would think that the bottom two photos were taken when this young man was in his late teens to early twenties, and the first about seven or eight years earlier, and since the bottom photo is dated 1918, say around 1910 for the top.

With the eucalyptus trees and the neatly spaced orchard in the background of the top photo, southern California at a time when most of the area was still farm land  seems like an obvious location.  But, how to prove that?  Apart from the Crescent Ice Cream sign, there's also a Bradford Baking Company bread box in the middle picture.  I did a bit of searching on the net, and found a story about the recent purchase of Metropolitan Ice Cream by The Crescent Ice Cream Company of Los Angeles, dated 1916, and another story of a law suit by Weber Bakeries against The Bradford Baking Company in Los Angeles Civil Court, dated 1919.  I couldn't find any details, or who won the suit, but when I arrived in Los Angles, in 1980, Weber Bread was still available.

More Gal Pals

Two gals hanging out in the 1920s.

Woman and Dogs

I like dogs, but the small one bedroom apartment I live in isn't the best place for one.  It seems to me that having a dog is a far better reason to own a house than the whole equity thing.

European Vacation

Is it just me?  Am I the only person out there that thinks PBS doubles down on praise of the British royal family around July 4?  Anyway, I have no idea where this photo was taken, but it has that whole British cathedral city feel.  Then again, it might be from an American city full of Gothic revival architecture.