Self Portrait

Of course, I can't be certain, but I'd bet that the camera was set on the wall, and a self timer was used to trip the shutter.  The man has a rucksack, so he's off on a ramble, but did he run into his two lady companions, or were they his hiking partners?  The woman on the right looks to be younger than the other two, so maybe it's a father, mother, and daughter.

Long Barn 2

In a nutshell, I didn't want to put eight photos in the same post, so I'm just finishing up.  I have no idea if this is the Long Barn Lodge that burned down or the one that's still there.

Long Barn 1

Except for 8/56, nothing is written on these prints, though the seller has told me that they are all from Long Barn, California.

Anyway, Long Barn is what's known as a census designated place.  It's not a true town, but then again it's more than a wide spot on the road.  Long Barn started out as a nineteenth century wagon stop near Sonora Pass in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  By the 1920s, a resort, The Long Barn Lodge, opened for customers.  The original lodge burned down in 2002, and was not rebuilt.  Believe it or not, it wasn't insured.   There was a second lodge that's still in operation.  It has motel rooms, private cabins,  a swimming pool, ice skating rink, a hall for events.  It's a popular wedding venue.  And, of course, Long Barn is surrounded by the Stanislaus National Forest and is only a couple of hours from Yosemite National Park, so there's plenty of hiking.

What's In the Bowl?

Let's be honest, this is almost certainly a church scene of some kind.  When I first looked at it I thought the guy on the right was holding up a bible in front of the old lady.  After I scanned it and blew it up, the bible appeared to be either a scroll or a wrapper.  And it only looks like it could be a wrapper because there is some sort of metal bowl in front of the lady, and what could be a puff of smoke rising from the bowl. Had the man just emptied some sort of sacred powder into the bowl? What kind of ceremony is this?

In Costume

Alright, left to right, man dressed as woman, woman dressed as man, man dressed as woman, man dressed as baby, woman dressed as zombie.  Well, I might be wrong on the zombie.

Momie, Ruth, and Helen

Written on the back of the second photo, "Detroit River, summer 1938.  Momie & Ruth." The third picture, "Detroit River, summer 1938.  Ruth & Helen."

The Detroit River connects the not so great Lake Saint Clair,  Detroit, and Lake Erie.  (The Saint Clair River connects Lake Huron and Lake Saint Clair.) It also separates Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, Canada.  In 1938, it was one of the most polluted waterways in North America, so if these three ladies were actually swimming, they risked at least a few weird  infections.  More likely, they were headed to Lake Erie for a week of sailing.

1938 was near the end of the great depression.  In a few years, World War 2 defense spending would make Detroit one of the wealthiest cities in the world.  After the war, with no real competition from foreign car makers, Detroit continued getting richer and richer.  If this family could afford a sailboat during the depression, they probably were in a position to really cash in during the war and the post war boom.

And yes, who ever wrote the message on the back of the photos did spell it Momie.

I'm Keeping My Eyes On You

My mother was English, and she occasionally slipped and referred to laundry detergent as soap chips, and 3.10 has to be  three shillings, ten pence.  So, this one was taken somewhere in the British Isles.  I have a feeling this lad spent his days in front of this store eyeing the passersby.