Polo

Written on the back "At the polo games stadium SF Golden Gate Park Fall of 1936.  Joan & Patricia & Jean."   I know there's still a polo field in Golden Gate Park but I have no idea if they still have matches there.

Harold & Irma

There's a lot written on the backs of these prints, so...On the top one, "This is Harold Mason Remley and Irma Virginia Remley of Los Angeles Calif. U.S.A.  The boy is 17 and in Merchant Marines." The heart shaped print, "Irma & Harold Remley at ages 2 and 4."  And the star shape, "This is Irma & Harold Remley at 2 and 4 yrs. printed by Irma as Harold is 17 and in the marines."

Affectionately

I think my translation is correct, "For Mary Virginia, Affectionately Dora."

Stamped on the back of this wallet sized, hand tinted, portrait, "Las Flores 764, TELIF. 6683, TUCUMAN."

Tucuman is a province and city in Argentina.  

A Fragment

I'm really fascinated by this one.  To start with, it is, as the title of the post states, a fragment.  It 's cut from a larger picture.  It was so faded, that I abandoned my usual attempts to get a scan that looked as much like the original as possible, and went the opposite direction, trying to dig out as much detail as was there.   So what did I get?  It looks like a black woman in the fifties, surrounded by white men, walking along, not just carrying a newspaper, but displaying one.  I know that the headline may be about an air show, but I think this could be a photo of some sort of civil rights demonstration.  The front page of that newspaper may also have a story about a lunch counter sit in, attempts to register black voters, or perhaps even a lynching.  I know it's easy to read things into photos that aren't there.  That's part of the fun of collecting old photos.  But, I'm standing by that guess.

Memorial Day

When I tell people I know that I'm not a pacifist, they don't believe me.  I always tell then the same thing. Give me a good reason to support a war, and I'll support it.  I won't be happy about it, but I will.

 I have mixed feelings about Memorial Day.  It seems to me that a lot of very stupid, and some very bad people, equate supporting troops with supporting  war.  If we don't keep fighting, or if we don't start another war, we've dishonored all those who fought and died for the country.  Right now, there are a lot of people, including some elected officials, who want to pick a fight with Iran, ISIS, Yemen, and Syria.  They tell us if we don't, those who died in Iraq and Afghanistan will have died in vain, and that cheapens their memory.  Yes, I have very mixed feelings about Memorial Day.  It seems right to remember those who fought for us, but not if it means a continuance of never ending war.  Maybe, if we put out fewer flags, we'll dig fewer graves.

Company Picnic

Well it looks like it could be a company picnic.  Then again, it might just be lunch hour.  I paid the exorbitant figure of 50 cents for this photo, and apart from liking the subject, I was also drawn to the building in the background.  I thought the name of the business was Watts Reality.  When I got it home and put a magnifying glass on the print, I changed my mind.  I'm still not sure what it says, but I don't think it's a real estate office from a part of L.A. that has come to be associated with crime and violence.  The fact is, I wander all over Los Angeles County, and I've been to Watts plenty of times, and it's nowhere near as bad as people think.  Get onto some of the residential streets, and it's possible to see Watts' working class roots.  I wish there were still neighborhoods in the area where a blue collar guy could buy a house.

3 Children

It looks like the two older children are posing with the newborn.