Children and Pets

Two thoughts about these two focus challenged photos.

 I'm always amazed at what pets are willing to put up with from children.  I grew up in a small, rural town, and we had a number of dogs while I was growing up, but  only one cat.  My sister had seen a movie with a Siamese cat, and she had to have one, so my father went out and brought her a purebred, papers, a fancy name, the whole lot.  That cat was the meanest thing I've ever seen in my life, and I've survived two attempts on my life.   From time to time that cat would crawl up on your lap and purr away, but if you valued your fingers, you waited for her to leave.  The dogs, on the other hand, would put up with anything, and come back for more, even when they were mistreated.  And no, that's not a confession of animal cruelty, but small kids aren't all that good at constant kindness and care.  Anyway, our cat seemed to have been an anomaly, while the dogs were pretty much like dogs everywhere.  I've seen small children pick up pet cats, squeeze them to the point of near death, and they just take it.  Not unlike this little girl and her pet tabby.

And my second thought; look at the distance between mother and child.  No wonder that little girl was clutching her pet cat.  I may be wrong, but I don't see a lot of affection between these two.

Written on the backs of both prints, "Sept. 1952."

Bobby Socks and Saddle Shoes ?

Alright, how strict is the definition of a bobby sock or a saddle shoe?  I've got to admit, they're both terms I've known most of my life, but I never gave much thought to either style.  So, I looked it up.  According to the often inaccurate Wikipedia,  a bobby sock has to be white, and a saddle shoe is white with a black or brown leather band across the instep.  Neither description matches the the girl on the right.  Still, these two look like they're from the era when that sort of footwear was popular with high school and college girls, and the socks and shoes look close, so variations on a style, or something totally different?

Mildred Takes A Trip 5

Well, I did warn people that the album itself was more interesting than the handful of photos.

The top photo is of Coolidge Dam on the Gila River.  Its reservoir, used for down stream irrigation, is on the San Carlos Indian Reservation, so it's no surprise that the dam was built, and is owned by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.  Near as I can tell, the Apaches don't get a lot of benefit from Lake Coolidge.  There are boating and fishing concessions, but farm use seems to be off reservation.   When the dam was dedicated, in 1930, by President Coolidge, the water had yet to back up and fill the reservoir.  As Coolidge made his speech, with nothing but grass were the lake now sits, Will Rogers remarked, "If it were my dam, I'd mow it."

The second photo looks like a return to the Imperial Dunes in California.

I wonder if Mildred, with little more than a single roll of film from her trip, had a reason for the order of photos in her little album, or did she just paste them in as they came out of the envelope from the film lab?

I guess it's not necessary since I posted the album without interruption, but hey, click on Mildred's album to bring up the whole lot.

Mildred Takes A Trip 4

Well, ramblin' Mildred is on the road again.  The top photo is pretty obvious.  It's the Hollywood Bowl.  Over the years, there have been more than a few renovations to the shell, I've been doing some research and I'm thinking that this particular photo is from either 1928 or 29.  Then, it's back to Arizona, note the saguaro cactus.  And, I'm not sure where, but those steps with maybe Mildred to the right, look familiar to me.  I'm not 100% sure, but  I think I've stood at that exact spot.

You guessed it, click on Mildred's album.

Mildred Takes A Trip 3

It doesn't look like Mildred keeps her album in a nice, easy to follow format.  In our first two posts, she bounced around from California, to Arizona, and back to California again.   Her rambling ways continue with this post.  The top photo makes some sense if she was, in fact, going between Arizona and the Pacific fleet at San Diego.  To me, it looks a lot like the Imperial sand dunes, in California, right up against the Mexican border.  The Algodones Dunes, to use the proper name, is a large sandy area that's pretty much on a straight line between Phoenix and San Diego.  When these pictures were taken, I-80 wasn't even a dream in some road planers eye.  There were a couple of recently paved roads (They replaced old fashioned plank roads.) and a Southern Pacific rail line that carried both freight and passengers.  So why am I linking the Pacific coast and Phoenix?  Well, there's no coast in Arizona, and the Pacific is the closest ocean, and that bottom photo, well that location I recognize.  It's Roosevelt Dam (Theodore, not Franklin.) in the mountains north and east of Phoenix on the Salt River.  It was started in 1902 and finished in 1915.  On completion, it was the world's largest masonry dam, and Lake Roosevelt was the largest reservoir.

Click on Mildred's Album for more views.

Mildred Takes A Trip 2

Back on the battleship, and I think I might know which battleship.  Could it be the U.S.S. California?  Click on the ships name in labels, and you can pull up a postcard of the Cali in all her glory.  And if it's not the California, it's clearly a ship of the same design.  As far as the other two photos, one's obviously somewhere along the California coastline.  The San Diego area might be a good bet.  After all, that's where the fleet was, but then again, it sure looks like the mouth of Ballona Creek near modern day Marina del Rey.  I don't ride my bike out to the coast too often, but there's a bike path along the shore, and the shape of the  ridge line in the background looks like it could be it.  Of course, with the way the California coast has been carpeted with building after building, it might be impossible to match an old photo to a modern landscape.  The bottom photo is Arizona, south of Ajo, in what is now Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.  It's the only place in the world they grow.

Click on Mildred's Album in labels to see the whole thing.

Mildred Takes A Trip 1

I've had very mixed feelings about posting Mildred's photo album.  This one's a bit different for me.  I didn't buy it for the photos, I bought it for the album itself.  It's very small, let's say  little bigger than a postcard, and the pictures are a very odd sort, some interesting, and some not so much.  Too, while most photo album are easy to disassemble, making it easier to scan the images, that isn't the case with this one.  I was afraid to untie the leather ribbon, and I was also afraid to open the album and lay it out flat on the scanner.  In the end, I took the risk, bent it open and scanned.  Finally, there's only one photo per page, so there won't be any full page scans to show position.

I suspect that Mildred was the photographer and isn't seen in any of the photos, but I like to think that that is wrong, and that Mildred is the young lady in the center of the first snapshot.  Another guess, Mildred and her family have taken a trip to see a son and brother who was in the United States Navy.  That tower in the background is clearly from a battleship.  It's the second photo that I really like.  Two people are well hidden behind the flowers while maybe Mildred is off to the side, clearly visible.

More to come, click on Mildred's album in labels to see the rest.  At least, once I get them posted.

They may be orange, but.......

they're not related to Donald Trump.  At least I don't think they are.  I'm sorry, but I don't think the Trumpster's coloring is natural.  Is he wearing some sort of makeup?  If so, it's not a good color for his complexion.  Time to call the Avon lady, Donald.

Labeled, "Split Rock 1957."  There are a lot of Split Rocks in the USA.  My best guess, it's not the one in Joshua Tree National Park.  I've been there, and it looks nothing like this photo.

Madame Butterfly

There are a few notes on the backs of these photos, but they don't really tell us much.  The top, "Harry-1" the next, "Heloise, Don, & opera company," and the bottom, "Denise Webb 1 picture,  Norm -1, Cast Madame Butterfly."  I've seen more than a few plays performed in schools and churches, but never an opera,  and it does look like this is an amateur opera group, performing in a church.

One Damn Fool

There was a time, many years ago, when I had beautiful cursive handwriting.  Then, typing entered my life.  At first it was an old Olivetti, which I still have even though it doesn't work, and then it was computer keyboards.  Now my handwriting is a barely readable scrawl.  As a rule, I don't publish the back of cards.  I just type out the message and that's it, but who ever sent this card had bad handwriting without the excuse of years seated at a keyboard, so have at it.

As usual, click on flirtation in labels, yada, yada, yada.

Be Careful of What You Do

I've posted a few cards from photographer De Witt C. Wheeler before.  Near as I can tell, his career was limited to taking sentimental photos used for glass lantern slides, postcards, and the Nickelodeon market.  Basically, there was dead space between reels, so one of Wheeler's images would get a minute or two of screen time to keep the audience entertained.

In addition to the brief comment penciled above the caption, there's a message on the back, "Jan 11th, 1910.  I was glad to hear from you.  Come down any time and I will give you a great time.  I am on 10-7 this week 2-10 next.  Any time you come down you will find me at Frank Harding's or the mill.  C.E.D."  The card's addressed to "Mr. Orin Delon, Solon. Me."  And the postmark, "MADISON 1910 JAN 11 8 AM ME."

There were a lot of textile mills in Maine, and a lot of the mill workers were women, so was C.E.D. a woman asking her boyfriend to come on down for a visit, or was C.E.D. a man and inviting his pal down to raise some hell?

Once again, from the illustrated song series.  Click on flirtation labels to see more, or De Witt C. Wheeler just for his photos.  And need I say it, the moon was drawn in?