Young Hoyt Raymond

I haven't posted any cabinet cards for awhile, so what the hell, why not.  Much to my surprise, I was able to dig up a bit of info on young Hoyt Raymond.  He was born Hoyt Jackson Raymond on December 14, 1886 at Child's Farm in Wayne County, Pennsylvania.  Wayne County is in northeast Pennsylvania, but he grew up in Corry, the second largest community in Erie County, on the other side of the state.  On September 17, 1910, he married Lottie Berry Munger, who was born in nearby Columbus, PA on July 18, 1886.  Hoyt died on September 24, 1951.  Lottie died March 14, 1970.  They had at least one child, a son, Harold Hoyt Raymond, born in 1919, died in 2007.  And that's it.  I have no idea what any of them did for a living, if any of them went to college, fought in a war, or if Hoyt and Lottie had more kids.

Get Your Kicks on Route 99

Remember the good old days when driving across the country could take a month; when driving across the country meant local and state routes, not all of them paved; sleeping in tourist hotels, auto camps and eating at lunch counters? Neither do I. I was born in the 1950s and don't remember a world without multi lane, limited access highways. If you're willing to put in 16 hour days, it's possible to go from Atlantic to Pacific in three or four days. On the other hand, my first cross country trip took four months, and no interstate highways. Written on the back of the first photo, "Nov. 1942 Erie, Pa." There are some other words, but they've been inked out and are unreadable. On the second, "Dorothy Fischer Dot Fisher across 26th St. Erie, Pa." And my apologies to Bobby Troup.

Lady Hobos

Yes, I know. They're not actually hobos. The Erie Railroad was chartered in 1832 as the New York & Erie Railroad to build a line from New York City to Dunkirk, NY, on Lake Erie. Construction began in 1836 and finally reached Lake Erie in 1851. The line would change it's name to the New York, Erie and Western Railroad as it built lines that would eventually reach as far west as Chicago. In 1895 it, once again, was renamed as the Lake Erie Railroad. In 1960 it merged with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad and became the Erie & Lackawanna Railroad. So we can know that this picture was taken after 1895. Hey, it's something. More info can be found on the often unreliable Wikipedia.