Fact and Whimsey

To The Library in a Wreath

2011-03-21T19:01:00.001-07:00

Parking On The Correct Side

2011-03-15T00:31:00.000-07:00

It’s always best to park a railroad carriage on the correct side of a building wall. Otherwise, your driving will attract far too many witnesses. Germany – June 1940

Technorati Tags: History,Railroad,World War II

WWI–American Troops In London

2011-03-12T00:27:00.000-08:00

American troops assembled in London prior to deployment across the English Channel during World War I.

Technorati Tags: WWI,History,Americana

Switching the Rails–Chicago–Apr 1943

2011-03-10T00:18:00.000-08:00

Switching the rails in the Chicago NW Proviso Yard in April 1943.

Technorati Tags: WWII,Americana,Railroad

Stiff Wind of a Northeaster

2011-03-03T20:07:00.000-08:00

Technorati Tags: Victorian,History

Train Wreck–1935 Hurricane

2011-02-24T11:21:00.000-08:00

Wind speed in the 1935 Hurricane was so high that trains were toppled off their tracks.

Technorati Tags: Hurricane,Train Wreck

Great Uncle Frederick had a Burberry

2011-02-17T00:21:00.000-08:00

After being gassed in World War I, great uncle Frederick was sent home to recover in San Francisco. One good thing happened as part of his visit to France and Germany. He came home with a Burberry from some unknown source.

Technorati Tags: World War I,Genealogy,Clothing

Lt. Col. Reginald R. Myers USMC

2011-02-13T00:15:00.000-08:00

U. S. Marine Medal of Honor recipient, Lt. Colonel Reginald R. Myers.

Technorati Tags: Military,Medal of Honor

Vintage SciFi

2011-02-06T19:25:00.000-08:00

In the 60’s, scary SciFi shows had no class, were often crass and cheap, but teens stayed up every Friday night to watch “SciFi Theater” without fail. Special effects were the in human mind, not the in mind of silicon.

Technorati Tags: history,scifi,TV

Attacking Trains–Korean War

2011-02-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

A not too unfamiliar scene in 20th Century wars. The destruction of trains via air attack.

Technorati Tags: Korean War,Train Wreck

Engine House Wreckage–Atlanta–Sep 1864

2011-01-23T00:14:00.001-08:00

The wreckage at the train engine house in Atlanta during the Civil War.

Technorati Tags: Civil War

Portrait of an Old Man

2011-01-17T18:33:00.000-08:00

Portrait of an old man by Divinci

Technorati Tags: Art,History

WWI Victory Bonds–Canada

2011-01-12T00:36:00.001-08:00

Support the troops in France – Buy Victory Bonds

Technorati Tags: WWI,Vitory Bonds

WWI Poster in Yiddish

2011-01-05T22:51:00.001-08:00

Technorati Tags: WWII,Yiddish

Lunch With The Roundhouse Ladies

2010-12-22T15:41:00.000-08:00

There was always plenty to talk about at lunch with the roundhouse wiper gang of 1943 of the Chicago NW Railroad in Clinton, Iowa. Fashion statements were made using the handkerchief on your head.

Technorati Tags: History,Railroad

A Fine Day To Build A Plane

2010-12-19T02:00:00.000-08:00

When the sun is shining and you have the parts, nothing suites like building a plane, especially if the ladies are watching. 1942.

Technorati Tags: Hobbies,History

Dinner with Cowboys

2010-12-12T13:09:00.000-08:00

Food always tastes better out of doors, especially on the trail in Yellowstone, Montana.

Click for full image.

Technorati Tags: Cowboy,History

Bookend Beer Halls

2010-11-20T16:01:00.000-08:00

Main St. in Cascade, Idaho – July 1941.

From Beer Hall to Beer Hall with a Drug Store and Restaurant between.

Technorati Tags: History,Old Photos,Genealogy

Wreck of the old 97

2010-11-15T23:00:00.000-08:00

The wreck of the old 97. Made famous in song and tale, the actual wreck was a mail train made up of four cars and locomotive No.1102. Train No. 97 crashed on September 27, 1903 in Pennsylvania County, Kentucky.

Technorati Tags: Railroad,History

Mini-van of the 19th Century

2010-11-12T13:15:00.000-08:00

Mini-vans weren’t a 20th century invention. MAV’s (mother’s assault vehicles) were popular in the 19th century too.

Technorati Tags: history,transportation

Watching the Girls Go By

2010-11-07T02:55:00.000-08:00

A delightful way to spend a summer afternoon.

Technorati Tags: Americana,Old Photos

Assembling B-25’s WWII

2010-11-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

Assembling B-25’s during World War II – North American Aviation – Kansas City – October 1942.

Technorati Tags: World War II,B-25

Acrobats by the Sea - 1930

2010-10-26T12:57:00.000-07:00

Technorati Tags: Old Photos

National Fund for Welsh Troops - WWI

2010-10-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

Fund raising for WWI Welsh Troops

Technorati Tags: World War I,Poster

G.I.’s at the Arch de Triomphe WWII

2010-10-19T17:40:00.000-07:00

The liberation of France – WWII

Technorati Tags: WWII,France

For Your Sake – For Your Country’s Sake

2010-09-26T00:08:00.000-07:00

Female recruiting poster – WWII

Technorati Tags: WWII,Recruiting,Poster

Memories of Yesterday

2010-09-14T10:43:00.001-07:00

Memories from grandma and grandpa’s world.

The Grand Grocery Company, Lincoln, Nebraska in 1942.

Technorati Tags: History,Grocery,Americana

Caruso

2010-09-08T00:47:00.000-07:00

Caruso at his phonograph. It wasn’t Memorex.

Technorati Tags: Music,Phonograph,Singer

Passage To America

2010-09-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

Travel to America in comfort if you can afford it.

Technorati Tags: Emigration,Ship,America

WWII – Homeless Children In London

2010-08-30T16:40:00.001-07:00

July 1940 – German bombs destroyed large sections of London including the housing of tens of thousands of its residents.

Technorati Tags: World War II,London England

Harvesting Bumpers for Scrap Metal

2010-08-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

Actress Rita Hayworth participates in the ‘Harvesting Bumpers for Scrap Metal’ drive during World War II.

Technorati Tags: World War II,Campaign

The Belmont – Six Rooms and a Bath

2010-08-19T00:00:00.001-07:00

Technorati Tags: Advertisements,Home Plans

Dr. Scott’s Electric Hair Brush

2010-08-15T17:38:00.001-07:00

1899 ad for Dr. Scott’s Electric Hair Brush, claimed to protect you from dandruff, baldness, falling hair, headache and neuralgia all for the bargain basement price of $1.00.

Technorati Tags: Advertisements,Skunk Medicine

Signing the Declaration of Independence

2010-08-13T00:08:00.000-07:00

Technorati Tags: America,Revolutionary War,Document

For Home and Country

2010-08-04T22:10:00.001-07:00

Financing a war involves the acquisition of revenue and resources from any possible source. Families' ‘loaned’ their men and also donated to the cause in goods, rationing and the purchase of victory bonds.

Technorati Tags: War,Vitory Bonds

Nurse the Baby - Protect Against Trouble

2010-08-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

WPA Public Health Poster from the 1930’s

Technorati Tags: WPA,Advertisement,Health

Henry Commiskey – Medal of Honor Winner

2010-07-28T22:43:00.000-07:00

Technorati Tags: Korean War,Medal of Honor,Army

Aida – at the Hippodrome

2010-07-26T10:36:00.000-07:00

All of the elite took time to go see Aida presented by the Hippodrome Opera Co.

Technorati Tags: Advertisements,Theatre

Another Version of Keeping Baby on Bottle

2010-07-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

Keep mom inebriated and the baby will enjoy the benefits too. Who came up with this inane advertisement?

Technorati Tags: Avertisement,Inane

What Was That? An Early Auto Accident

2010-07-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

Auto accidents always have a memorable impact on those involved. Unfortunately, they all too often result in serious injury and death.

In 1918, residents in the city witnessed something new in their experience. A vehicle accident on the street in front of their apartments.

Technorati Tags: Auto Accident,1918

It’s Never Too Early To Start Shaving

2010-07-03T20:06:00.000-07:00

Who knows what goes through the minds of advertisers. Approval of this campaign boldly proclaimed the detachment from reality enjoyed by all involved.

Technorati Tags: Advertisement,Strange

Tap Lightly and Don’t Smoke

2010-06-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

Civil War: Union soldiers removing the powder from Confederate torpedoes at James River, Virginia in 1864.

Life expectancy of the sappers was short. The powder shack sat in a deep gully to protect others in the area from any unexpected explosion.

Technorati Tags: Civil War,Arms

The Quiet Man

2010-06-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

After a long week of hassles at work, home or on the road, taking a break to watch a well acted movie without the crudity and flashing of flesh seen so often today is a welcome escape.

Put the 1952 classic movie, “The Quiet Man” in the player, sit back and enjoy John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara in the 1933 story by Maurice Walsh… Life is good..

Technorati Tags: Great Movies,Era

Putting the Pepsin in Gum

2010-06-09T22:34:00.000-07:00

Dr. Edward E. Beeman invented and marketed a chewing gum made of pepsin powder and chicle as an aid to digestion.

Sales of Beman’s “Original Pepsin” Chewing Gum ceased in 1978 but was later produced again in a nostalgia campaign.

Technorati Tags: Nostalgia,Gum

Remembering D-Day

2010-06-06T02:18:00.000-07:00

Sixty-six years ago, at 6:30 AM, 6 June 1944 the Alllied invasion of France commenced in Normandy to free Nazi occupied Europe.

160,000 troops landed on the five assault sectors now well-known by the world as Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.

They were supported by 195,700 naval and merchant personnel.

Technorati Tags: World War II,War,Navy,Army,Military

I’m A Patriot

2010-05-29T17:20:00.000-07:00

Normal supplies of many foods and consumer goods were in short supply during World War II. The U.S. Government ran many programs to encourage its citizenry to get by with less and make do with what they had.

Technorati Tags: Advertisements,Americana,World War II

Northern – Vehicle Dust Eliminator

2010-05-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

The Northern Touring Auto Dust Eliminator. A blast of air pointed under the car to eliminate dust created by the vacuum under a fast moving vehicle.

Technorati Tags: Automobile,Accessories,1905,Advertisement

Harbor of Port Arthur is Open

2010-05-15T20:13:00.000-07:00

The Japanese and Russians engaged in military hostilities in early June 1904. The result was the opening of the harbor of Port Arthur for commercial shipping.

Technorati Tags: War,Japan,Russia,Port Arthur,1904

Buying a Set of New Wheels

2010-05-12T12:01:00.000-07:00

Our ancestors may have set aside a Saturday to add a set of ‘Wheels’ to their stable of conveyances.. Did they shop by catalog or try to find a dealer somewhere?

Technorati Tags: vehicle advertisements,bicycles

Unique Beauty Contest

2010-05-03T23:37:00.000-07:00

Not all beauty contests have the same rules.

Technorati Tags: old photos,contest

The Short and Tall of It

2010-04-25T22:04:00.001-07:00

Not all boxing matches are between equally matched fighters.

Technorati Tags: Boxing,Strange

The Gibson Girls

2010-04-19T22:17:00.000-07:00

Gibson Girls were the creation of illustrator Charles Dana Gibson in the late 1800’s. Their stories and images flowed from his pen for over twenty years.

The images of the girls quickly became the standard visage of a beautiful woman.

Technorati Tags: Americana

Barnum & Bailey Circus

2010-04-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

Created from a merger of the Cooper and Bailey Circus in 1881, the Barnum and Bailey Circus quickly established itself as the premiere circus in America.

Technorati Tags: Circus,Poster

Klondike Gold Rush

2010-04-06T19:26:00.000-07:00

Fifty years after the California gold rush, another gold rush started. On 16 August 1896, Keish Skookum Jim Mason, found placer deposits in Bonanza Creek in the Yukon. Shortly thereafter, the rush was on. A deep recession and related bank failures had plagued residents ‘down below’ and news of the find couldn’t have come at a better time.

Technorati Tags: Gold Rush,Yukon

Growing Up In The Depression

2010-04-01T20:37:00.001-07:00

Almost all wage workers suffered during the Great Depression Their angst and desperation was also reflected in the faces of their families.

Technorati Tags: Great Depression,History

Good Wine

2010-03-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

Advertising often enhances our perception of the absurd to attract attention to the Ad.

Nothing sells products faster than a photo of a lady chugging a bottle of wine in a field with a big bow on her dress.

Technorati Tags: Advertisement,Absurd

Civil War River Transport

2010-03-22T01:59:00.000-07:00

Technological advances that allowed moving troops over rivers and bays did not originate in the 20th Century.

Witness the pontoonmobiles used in the Civil War.

Technorati Tags: Civil War,Technology

The Gordon Castle

2010-03-14T23:10:00.000-07:00

The Gordon Castle is located north of Fochabers in Morayshire, Scotland.

Technorati Tags: Gordon Castle,Morayshire Scotland

Dust Bowl – 1936 – South Dakota

2010-03-07T21:31:00.001-08:00

Technorati Tags: Dust Bowl,South Dakota

Not Just Another Barn

2010-02-28T22:40:00.000-08:00

There are barns and then there are barns made with a full share of Whimsy. How many conversation has the sight of this barn generated over the years?

Technorati Tags: Whimsy,Barn

Depression in the Depression

2010-02-21T16:54:00.000-08:00

Photos often tell lengthy world stories.

A great depression weighing this lady almost to the ground during the Great Depression in America.

Technorati Tags: Great Depression

Civil War – Building Telegraph Lines

2010-02-16T14:29:00.001-08:00

The linemen today would balk at the conditions encountered by telegraph line builders during the Civil War in April 1864.

The line men, shinnied up a pole that had the nubs of the recently removed limbs sharply pointing out to dig and abrade the legs of the climbers.

Safety belts? No Way. Hard hats? The lucky had felt hats.

That isn’t birds on top of the poles – that’s the linemen.

Technorati Tags: Civil War,Construction

McKinley – Roosevelt Presidential Candidacy

2010-02-09T17:08:00.000-08:00

The 1900 U.S. Presidential candidates were President William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.

President McKinley was assassinated in September 1901. Teddy Roosevelt was subsequently sworn in as the new president.

Technorati Tags: Fact and Whimsey,U.S. Presidents

Bison Skulls – Murder on the Plains

2010-02-03T16:49:00.000-08:00

A huge pile of bison skulls resulting from the wanton slaughter of bison for their hides.

Technorati Tags: History,American West,Bison

Navy – In Port For Christmas

2010-01-30T11:28:00.000-08:00

USS Russell – Guided Missile Destroyer in port for Christmas.

Technorati Tags: Navy,Christmas

Spanish Flu Victims – 1919

2010-01-26T19:45:00.000-08:00

The Spanish Flu of 1918 – 1920 killed millions of people around the world. There were so many ill and dying that they were frequently gathered together in makeshift hospitals for medical assistance and quarantine.

Technorati Tags: Spanish Flu

101st Regiment – Apr 1945

2010-01-16T00:20:00.000-08:00

Two members of the 101st Infantry Regiment running past a blazing German fuel trailer – 14 April 1945.

Technorati Tags: WWII,Infantry

Short Respite from Civil War

2010-01-11T11:56:00.000-08:00

Union Soldiers taking a break from the U.S. Civil War at the Diner.

Technorati Tags: Civil War

USS West Virginia – Pearl Harbor

2010-01-02T22:35:00.000-08:00

The USS West Virginia on fire – 7 Dec 1941 – Pearl Harbor

Technorati Tags: Pearl Harbor,WWII

Wagon Train – Telluride – 1880

2009-12-29T22:33:00.000-08:00

A wagon train going through downtown Telluride, Colorado in abt 1880.

Technorati Tags: Telluride Colorado,Wagon

Joan of Arc Saved France – WWI – Stamps

2009-12-16T23:53:00.000-08:00

Women of America
Save Your Country
Buy War Savings Stamps

Technorati Tags: WWI,Savings Stamps,Poster

Electricity Comes to Price Utah

2009-12-14T01:21:00.000-08:00

Residents were alerted to the fact that electricity was coming to town on 13 Mar 1909 in Price, Utah.

“Get Ready to Throw Away Your Old Coal Oil Lamps” residents were told. “There Will Be Little Delay in Furnishing the Public the Greatest Entertainment in the History of Price.”

Little did they dream that electrical service would be the key to incalculable economic and cultural change.

Technorati Tags: Electricity,Cultural Revolution

USS Casablanca – Relief Party

2009-12-08T18:35:00.000-08:00

WWII – Sailors returning to their ship after liberty pass during World War II.

Technorati Tags: Ship,World War II

Final Outfitting – WWII – Victory Ships

2009-12-06T11:43:00.000-08:00

A row of Victory Ships lined up during their final outfitting in a west coast port in 1944 during World War II.

Technorati Tags: WWII,Ship

Plymouth Colony Boundaries

2009-11-15T20:46:00.000-08:00

Over seventy-one years, Plymouth Colony growth required political subdivisions. Boundary disputes have always existed and were found in the 1600’s between the Colony and Rhode Island.

Technorati Tags: Plymouth Colony,Boundary,Map

Millions of Acres For Sale

2009-11-14T01:37:00.000-08:00

Millions of acres of land in Iowa and Nebraska for sale. Ten year contracts at six percent interest.

Technorati Tags: Land Rush,Iowa,Nebraska

1863 Navy Recruiting Poster

2009-11-13T01:09:00.000-08:00

Men Wanted For The Navy. If you aren’t in the Army then the Navy is going to enlist you.

Technorati Tags: Civil War,Navy,Poster

Kids – Stay In School

2009-11-09T18:57:00.000-08:00

If you don’t stay in school, you’ll end up holding pylons for upside down speed racers. Danger factor high. Pay Low.

Technorati Tags: Why am I here?,Dangerous,Fact and Whimsey

William Bradford’s Birthplace

2009-11-01T01:08:00.000-07:00

William Bradford was born 19 Mar 1589 in Austerfield, Yorkshire, England. We know him for his many years of being the governor of the Plymouth Colony and as a passenger on the ship Mayflower.

He was born in this home in Austerfield and later left it to eventually find religious freedom on the American Continent.

Technorati Tags: William Bradford,Bradford home

Execution Order ~ Susanna Martin

2009-10-29T01:33:00.000-07:00

The execution order for Susanna Martin who was convicted of being a witch in wicked Salem.

Technorati Tags: Execution,Susanna Martin,Salem

Glass Workers Playing Baseball

2009-10-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

Glass making is dangerous hard work, so manufactures hired young men with stamina and feelings of invincibility. Since they had to be careful around all of the glass, a good way to work off frustration and free time energy was to play baseball.

Technorati Tags: Child Labor,Old Photos,Lineagekeeper

Bingham Canyon Mine

2009-10-21T16:33:00.000-07:00

The famous Kennecott Copper mine in Bingham Canyon, Utah. The small Bingham Canyon company town was just part of the operation.

Technorati Tags: Copper Mine,Company Town,Fact and Whimsey,Lineagekeeper

Join The Sheep Club

2009-10-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

Young folks were encouraged to raise sheep to provide wool for soldiers during the war. Twenty sheep supported a soldier.

Technorati Tags: Fact and Whimsey,War,World War II,Lineagekeeper

San Francisco Is A Doomed City

2009-10-08T12:52:00.001-07:00

First reports out of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

400 Bodies gathered together. $40,000,000 damage.

Technorati Tags: Disaster,Fact and Whimsey,Lineagekeeper

Cotton Farmers – Don’t Expect Much Out of Life

2009-09-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

The life of a cotton farmer was extremely difficult in good times. Even when a crop isn’t destroyed by bugs, it was frequently destroyed by drought.

Cotton famers learned not to expect much out of life.

Technorati Tags: Farming,Fact and Whimsey,Lineagekeeper

Avoiding Catarrh

2009-09-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

Nasty colds in the spring were always a problem in days gone by. Fortunately, a tonic creation could protect you.

Technorati Tags: Fact and Whimsey,Genealogy,Lineagekeeper,Remedy

Building America

2009-09-09T01:09:00.000-07:00

The Magic that is America was created by the hard work and determination of its inhabitants. Let the building begin – again.

Technorati Tags: America,Fact and Whimsey,Technology

Panning For Gold

2009-08-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

My great grandfather left Plymouth, Massachusetts to make is fortune in the California gold fields. Not many of the men who followed this particular dream stuck it rich as witnessed in this image. They made enough to survive until they could find other work.

Technorati Tags: Genealogy,Lineagekeeper,Gold Rush,Photograph

The Old Tin Type

2009-08-21T21:48:00.000-07:00

Found an old tin-type photo of my great grandmother. Too bad the image continues to degrade, hence a hi-res scan to preserve it.

Technorati Tags: Genealogy,Lineagekeeper,Tin Type,Photograph

The Women of Ingalls

2009-08-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

The champion welders of Ingalls shipyards during Word War II.

Technorati Tags: Fact and Whimsey,Lineagekeeper,World War II

Warship Diagram

2009-08-15T00:10:00.000-07:00

The warships of days gone by weren’t made of metal, but we have to pity the folks that had to find and cut all of that wood.

Technorati Tags: Fact and Whimsey,Lineagekeeper,Ship,War

Almost Missing – Incredibly Strong

2009-08-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

A four pound brick sits on top of a small block of aero gel; a compound so lightweight that it is almost appears to be invisible.

Technorati Tags: Fact and Whimsey,Lineagekeeper,Incredible,Technology

The Notorious Albert Tirrell

2009-08-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

Albert J. Tirrell just couldn’t stay out of trouble. Acquitted in the murder trial of Maria Bickford by the loosest interpretation of the law, he was soon in trouble again.

This time he robbed a group of sailors on the U.S. warship, “Constitution”. He was lucky to have survived this encounter as well.

See the stories here.

Technorati Tags: Fact and Whimsey,Genealogy,Lineagekeeper,Murder,Felon

Alfred Farrar Marries Emma Sawtill

2009-08-10T01:36:00.001-07:00

Alfred Farrar who was born in England married Emma Sawtill who was born in Virginia on 7 Jun 1869 in Macon, Missouri.

Their marriage entry in the County Marriage book shows a unique hand drawing associated with it.

Technorati Tags: Fact and Whimsey,Lineagekeeper,Certificate,Marriage,Genealogy

Lusitania Sunk by German Torpedoes

2009-08-08T10:41:00.000-07:00

Known as the “Queen of the Seas”, the ship Lusitania was sunk by German torpedoes on 7 May 1915 off the Irish coast, killing 1500 or more people.

The sinking was front page news in the Boston Journal the following day.

Click to see the full image.

Technorati Tags: Genealogy,Lineagekeeper,Ship,War,Fact and Whimsey

Battle of Antietam on Ancestors Farm

2009-08-08T02:16:00.000-07:00

The fury of the terrible Civil War Battle of Antietam in Maryland raged across my Anderson ancestors farm on the south side of the Potomac in Virginia (now West Virginia).

Technorati Tags: Civil War,Battles,Fact and Whimsey,Lineagekeeper

Lincoln Visiting Civil War Staff

2009-08-07T20:34:00.000-07:00

The tall President Lincoln visiting his senior officers in the field toward the end of the Civil War. Note the Ghost on the far right side of the photo. The legs are clearly visible, while the torso and head fade as you follow the body up.

The effect was probably created by someone moving from their original position during the typical long-exposure required for photos in that era.

Technorati Tags: Genealogy,Lineagekeeper,Civil War,Ghosts,Fact and Whimsey

Brakeman Loses His Leg

2009-08-07T15:05:00.000-07:00

Bernard Featherstone lost his leg in an unfortunate train accident in Wyoming.

Gold Nuggets Still Found in California

2009-08-07T12:00:00.001-07:00

There is no reason to break your back looking for gold. Just use your chickens to do the work.

Farmers Feud

2009-08-07T11:50:00.000-07:00

The Featherstones and Richardsons ended their water rights argument on Sept. 20th in Bonne Terre, Missouri.