The Vogels of Artesia, New Mexico 2

   

Another hand franked postcard from "Pvt. Roy R. Vogel, 346th Air Base Sgdn., Municipal Air Port , Memphis, Tenn, Barrack 411 S."  Well, now we know Roy's middle initial and his barracks assignment.  Once again it's mailed to "Miss Dorothy Vogel, Artesia, New Mex, Box #632."  Spelled out a bit differently, but the same recipient. And the message, "Dear Dot, I received a letter from you and one from Jane a week or so ago so will send this on to both of you as I have so much waiting to do.  The pictures are just like the animals in the zoo.  It is the second largest in the world.  I am feeling all all right.  I will be closing for today.  Your cousin Roy."  Well, not too detailed, and I have my doubts that the Memphis Zoo was the second largest in the world, but how much can you get on a postcard, and how much honesty can you expect from a young private who was probably away from home for the first time in his life.

  The postmark is "MEMPHIS TENN, DEC 3, 8 PM DE SOTO STA. 1" The caption, "Scenes from the Memphis Zoo, one of the finest in the world."  Click on The Vogel Collection in labels to bring up the rest. 

Our Chickens

 

A very faded real photo postcard.  A nice farm family posing next to their chicken coop.  

Uncle H.M.

Written on the back, "Uncle H.M. Boardman Cousins Arthur Lee & Nancy Boardman."  Is that Arthur Lee or Arthur Lee Boardman? 

The Vogels of Artesia, New Mexico 1

 

Time for another three-part collection, though I don't think I'm going to put them up in a row, so click on The Vogel Collection in labels to bring all three up.

So, all three of these postcards were mailed during World War 2 and all three were hand-franked.  Basically, during the war, U.S. military members could use the mail for free.  All they had to do was write free where the stamp should be and off it went.  This card was mailed by "Pvt. Roy Vogel, 346th Air Base Sgdn., Municipal Air Port, Memphis, Tenn."  It was mailed to "Miss Dorothy Vogel, Artesia, New Mexico, Box 632."   And the message, "Dear Dorothy, I received your letter this morn.  Was glad to hear from you. I had some pictures made the other day.  I will send one in a few days. I feel well at present.  Hope I can continue feeling that way.  Your cousin, Roy." 

So, presumably, Roy Vogel was in the Army Air Corp. (There was no separate Air Force during World War 2)  As a private, he wasn't training as a pilot, co-pilot, or navigator.  Perhaps he was training as a mechanic or as a gunner.  

There is a readable postmark, "MEMPHIS, TENN. NOV 3 4 PM 1942, DE SOTO STA."  The card's caption, "The Memphis Municipal Airport is one of the finest in America.  Made by Curteich, Chicago. 

Cinematic Central America

   

It's definitely a very cinematic pose, and it sure looks like south of the border to me.   

Comfort

  

 It looks like this poor guy is all set for a lazy day on the back porch, but his wife, purse in hand, is ready to go.  Dated, "OCT 1958" 

Those Spring Chicks

  

It's time to return to my longest ongoing, incomplete collection that dates back to 2013.  Anyway, I bought an envelope of postcards that the seller told me were flirtation cards.  At the time I thought that was just his name for them but as it turned out that's how postcards like these were actually marketed, so click on Flirtation in labels to see what's already up.  Too, I have another blog, Fair Use where I post non-photographic bits of ephemera I've picked up over the years as well as interesting images I've gleaned from the net.  There are a few cards that were clearly based on drawings that were posted there.  If I think something is based on a photograph, but if I'm not 100% sure, I lean towards photos, so they end up on The New Found Photography. 

So, as a rule, I don't publish the backs of postcards.  If there is anything written or relevant captions, I just type them up.  However, I'm beginning to think there might be some time travel involved here.  Since I entered the computer age and started typing everything my handwriting has gone from fairly good to barely legible, and A.A.'s penmanship is worse than mine and that's saying a lot.  So, after scanning the back, blowing it up, and after some scrutiny, I came up with this very unlikely interpretation, "Friend Harry.  I got the card & it was slick just the one I was looking for."  Okay, so far so good.  But after that, "I havent got time off an lobster with yes had some. Jane was pretty classy to How did the classes come out.  Yours truely, A.A."  I just don't get the whole stuff about the lobster.  

Anyway, a lot of these cards use the word friend and I've always had the suspicion that they were circulated among Maine Quakers.  Enough of the postmark is gone that I can't be sure where it was mailed from, but it was mailed in December 1912.  

Sit on My Back

  

I wish I knew where this was taken.  The bluffs in the background could be Santa Monica, but I'm sure there are other beaches in the world with bluffs.  

What Is She Wearing?

 

At first, I thought she was wearing a skirt or dress, but after I scanned the photo and blew it up, it looked like she was wearing some sort of pant.  It looks like she's on a farm, so I was wondering if it's some sort of horse-riding clothes. 

L.A. Family Photos 3

   

I've been calling this the L.A. Family Photo collection because I've got photos from Topanga Canyon and Los Angles itself.  White Oak Lodge, very likely from Tehachapi, a not very long drive from L.A., and now, the top photo in the column labeled "Camp 7 Yosemite."  Again, California, though a lot farther north.  But we also have the bottom photo in the column labeled "Toledo, Ohio."  Interesting two dates, May 1929, and June 1930.  Somewhat between those two dates is September 4, 1929, and the beginning of the great depression.  Were Ralph and Joy visitors to California who lived full time in Toledo, or were they making a visit to see family back home in Ohio?  I bought these photos in an L.A. area antique store, so I'd say that somehow or another, Ralph and Joy ended up as Californians.  

Click on LA Family Collection in labels to see the full and completed collection. 

L.A. Family Photos 2

 

Each one of these three photos is labeled "White Oak Lodge."  The top photo is also labeled "Paul, Clara, Joy, Ralph."  Needless to say, there are a lot of White Oak Lodges, Oak Lodges, and variations thereof in the United States.  I'm going with the one in Tehachapi, Kern County, just north Of Los Angeles.  For those who were wondering, the white "1929" on the front of the prints was made by writing it on the negative with a dark ink.  Click on LA Family Collection in labels to bring everything up. 

L.A. Family Photos 1

 

Not a very interesting start to this very brief, three-part series.  Written on the back of the top photo, "Topanga Canyon snap from speeding 35 miles per hr. Nov. 4, 1923."  I don't often drive in Topanga Canyon, but 35 miles an hour is no longer speeding.  Actually, it's a good way to have other drivers riding your tail, beeping their horns, and flashing their lights. 

The second photo, "Z.R. 3 going over L.A. St."  The ZR-3, named the Los Angles was a dirigible built by The Zepplin Company in Germany for the U.S. Navy.  Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was supposed to turn over its Zepplin fleet to the U.S. as war reparations, but their crews sabotaged them to the point where they weren't reparable, so new ones had to be made.  The Los Angeles was manufactured from 1923-24 and decommissioned in 1932, so the photo was taken sometime between 1924 and 32.  I'm sure if I had the time I could actually find out when the ZR-3 was over its namesake city, but I think I'm going to pass on that.  As far as L.A. Street, there is a Los Angles Street, though it could be an L.A. Street, generic.  The building front advertises Heider Tractors, a company headquartered in Iowa that was in business from 1903 to 1983 when they were sold to Wellbuilt, another Iowa business.  

Click LA Family Collection in labels to bring everything up.  That is after I get around to posting parts one, two, and three.  

R. E. Stadelman, The Snake Guy

 

Written on the back, "R.E. Stadelman & Todos Santos Indians at 116 Palace Hotel, Guat. City, Nov. 29, 1940.  R.E.S. & T.S."  There's also a processor's stamp, "Foto-Reinet, B766, Guatemala."  Every once in a while, I find a photo where I can actually do a bit of research.  I don't know what the R.E. stands for, but it looks like he was some sort of scientist.  The Smithsonian has at least one collection of gastropod shells in their collection that was found by Stadelman, dated February 1931.  There's also a stereo photo of Stadelman himself in the California state archive, captioned, "Mr. R. E. Stadelman of the laboratory who extracts venom from the snakes. H.K. Mulford Laboratories.  Glenolden, Pa."  Okay, a bit weird grammatically, but that's what it says, and the picture is of the same guy in this photo. The H.K. Mulford Corporation was founded by pharmacist Henry Kendall Mulford in Philadelphia, PA, in the late 1880s, and was sold to Sharp & Dohme in 1929, though the Mulford name was retained.  They had a laboratory complex located in Glenolden, PA, that made diphtheria, smallpox, and rabies vaccines, digitalis, and antivenin, hence the need for a snake guy.  

Family Outing, Sunday Best

 

 I don't think I've published this one before, but it came out of the messy miscellaneous box, so I'm only somewhat sure.  So, parents and child?  I'd say more likely grandparents and grandchild.  Why is it that people used to dress up for everything?  I feel sorry for the kid in the suit and tie.  He probably would have preferred wearing something where he could roll around in the dirt.  I know I did when I was his age. 

School Play

 I hope the little girl on the left grew up to be a great actress so she could go back home and remind people, that once upon a time, she was almost cut out of the picture.  There's a very faded processors stamp on the back, which is mostly unreadable, but "Decatur, Illinois" can be made out.