Written on the back, "Sylvester, 1955/56" I don't know if Sylvester is the name of the photographer or the last name of the woman in the photo. Whoever Sylvester was, we can be sure he or she didn't know on which side of midnight this photo was taken. Rather dressy for a home party. Printed on Agfa Brovira paper, so far more likely this was taken in Europe than the U.S.
Navigate back to the beginning of the month, and you'll find a post about the Grand View Ship Hotel, a local tourist attraction from western Pennsylvania, not in Pittsburgh. This is another postcard dedicated to a tourist site that I visited in my childhood, though, since it was on the other side of Pennsylvania, only once. (For the life of me I can't remember why we ventured to the other side of the Appalachians.) So, the caption on the back of the card, "READING'S PAGODA, Reading's pagoda is situated on the southwest extremity of Mount Penn at the terminus of Duryea Drive. This unique structure is Reading's top tourist attraction and at an elevation of 886 feet above sea level and 620 feet above the city of Reading, it affords its many visitors an exceptional birds-eye view of the surrounding hills and suburbs of Reading, Pennsylvania." Now why someone thought building a seven-story Japanese-style pagoda in Reading, Pennsylvania was a good idea, well I'll never know. Built in 1908, as a luxury hotel, eventually, it fell on hard times and was purchased by the city. Unlike the Grand View Ship Hotel, which burned down, it's still there.
Do Scots wear floor-length kilts? Not that I'm aware of. I've written about this before. I spent decades working in photo labs, and while the type of labs I worked in mostly did large business accounts like movie studios and advertising, we also had a certain number of walk-in accounts, and some of those had "private" images. Lots of naked wives and girlfriends, amateur pin-ups, nude men, people having sex, fetish imagery, and lots of cross-dressing. The conclusion that I came to was that if people can think it, they'll do it, and they'll take pictures. So, why is it that I've been collecting old photographs, and I rarely find such photos if so many have been made? My theory is that after mom and dad have died, the kids find the box of old photos, and can't stand seeing naked mom, dad in a pretty dress, and both parents wearing matching lingerie, so those photos get fed to the flames.
It's a shame, actually. I'm a big believer that vernacular photography tells us a lot about people and how they lived., so wiping out that which embarrasses the children destroys the history of the everyday. And one other thing. A lot of the crossdressing photos I printed, well, I only knew they were men because I was told that comely young lass was a man, so it's logical to conclude that the number of men with dresses in their closet is larger than supposed.
The last three photos from this very small collection. Each image is labeled "Erie PA" We already know the woman is Elizabeth Gibson from previous posts. The bottom photo in the column has something else written on the back. "Caught you napping-or is it only blinking? or winking?" Click on Erie Catholics in labels to bring up all three posts.
All three of these photos are labeled, "Elizabeth Gibson, Erie PA." The same Elizabeth Gibson mentioned in the first post of this series as being a friend to Father Lester Quinn. In addition, the first photo in the column also has this written on the back, "A typical jovial Tillie enjoying life abundantly. A heartfelt smile with a hearty chuckle." I grew up near Erie, Pennsylvania. I did a MapQuest to get mileage, and it came out to about 140 miles. Of course, as is typical with the site, that route included a significant dogleg to pick up the interstate. When we drove there, it was a straight shot on back roads, so fewer miles. Too, there's a Gibson Park a dozen or so miles northeast of Erie, so I'm thinking the Gibsons may have been a prominent family. If nothing else these photos give the appearance of financial wellbeing. Click on Erie Catholics in labels to bring everything up.
I haven't put up a multi-part collection in a while, so here goes. There are only nine images, so I'll post three parts, three photos each. I'll put them up without interrupting the series with other posts, and I'll label them all Erie Catholics so one click will bring them all up.
Written on the back of the top photo, "Erie PA Father Raymond Quinn & Father Lester (?) Quinn-(special friend of Elizabeth Gibson) with their mother & 2 sisters." The second photo, "On the O.L.S orphans outing June 1924. Fr. Raymond Quinn, Erie, PA." And the third, "Erie PA Mrs. Loval Gibson."
So, brother priests? The question mark may call the first name, Lester into question, but the writer seems sure of the last name. My guess is all of these pictures were taken around the same time, perhaps not all in 1924, but certainly in the twenties. Are the three women in the top photo mother and sisters of the priests? Sure looks that way. Some of the pictures yet to be posted are labeled Elizabeth Gibson, and the older woman in the bottom photo isn't her. Probably Mrs. Loval Gibson is Elizabeth's mother.
Odd choice for a Christmas card? Anyway, I did a quick search for Kenneth Lee in Battle Creek, Michigan, and found a lot of people named Kenneth, middle name Lee, then a lot of different last names. My guess is that this Kenneth Lee is one of those Kenneth Lees.
I don't know where this was taken, but I walk through the old, abandoned, Los Angeles Zoo, from time to time, and sure looks like it was taken near the cages.
Written on the back, "Daddy, Ruth & Eddie, Joyce & Ruthann with Xmas gifts." Well, we are getting close to Christmas so it's time to put this one up. I've been holding on to it for a while and with any luck, I'll be out of town on the big day.
Just a bit out of focus pretty much covers it. Every time I put up a photo like this, I wonder if the subject is still alive. My guess is that this photo was taken some time from the late 1930s into the 40s, so this woman could be still alive, though nearing or even in her 100s. Almost certainly dead, but who knows.
I used to visit this place when I was growing up. I can remember that it was on the side of a mountain, and yes it was a pretty good view from the top. We never stayed at the hotel, but we did eat in the restaurant and bought souvenirs in the gift shop. The caption, "S.S. GRAND VIEW POINT SHIP HOTEL ON LINCOLN HIGHWAY 17 MILES WEST OF BEDFORD, PA. ELEVATION 2,464 FEET. GRAND VIEW SHIP HOTEL, at the most beautiful spot in U.S. Summit of Alleghany Mts. 17 miles west of Bedford, Pa. on Historic Lincoln Highway, overlooking 3 states and 7 counties. Elevation 2,464 feet."
Okay, I know that that is one messed up caption, but I've double-checked, and I have transcribed it as printed on the back of the card. And by the way, I assume that people know that the hotel wasn't really a ship. It was an old roadhouse that had a ship's facade nailed on, made of wood, it eventually burned down.