Poor Children

I wonder what life was like for this child, growing up in what looks to be a big city tenement house?  Look at old photographs, and one would assume that the world was made up of nice, middle class people living in nice, middle class neighborhoods.  That's because most poor people couldn't afford cameras.   Poverty isn't a pleasant way to live.  I know that from experience, but it is a great photographic subject.

The Howsers of Missouri

I've still got plenty of postcards left, but after this post, I'm going to move on to other things for awhile.  Top to bottom, "Ula Howser"  "From Myrtle Howser to Zilia Howard, Mrs Zelia Howard, Bagnell, Mo"  and "Elston Howser"   Bagnell, Missouri is a very small town that had a population of 93 as of the 2010 census.

Little Pauline

Another real photo postcard.  Labeled "Pauline Fay Buckner."  My mother would go crazy when I sat on a chair like this.

Four Chums

I'm going to do postcards for awhile.  Sooner or latter I'll get tired of it and move on to snapshots, or photo albums, or something else.  But for the time being, it's all postcards all the time.  Just a bit on dating early postcards.  Up until 1898, the U.S. Post Office, in the United States, had a monopoly on the printing of postcards.  After 1898, private publishers and individuals were allowed to make cards, but the post office retained control over the term postcard so privately produced cards were referred to as private mailing cards.  After 1901, the post office ceded it's exclusive use of the word postcard.  Up until 1907, it was against postal regulations to write anything on the back of a card, except the address.  Cards had undivided backs, lacking the line that divided the address from the area allowed for messages.  So, this is a privately produced card, labeled postcard, with an undivided back, so it should have been made between 1901 and 1907.  That is if the person who printed this card hadn't saved a box of card stock for a decade or two.

Written on the back, "Ruby"

Sitting At Christmas

Demented Grandpa prevents little Emily from playing with new doll.  Bad Grandpa, bad!  Dated "DEC 70"  No other information.

Scalp Treatment

What's a scalp treatment?  What's an oil treatment?  Are these the owners, or customers? Do children need scalp treatments?  Did these people decide they needed a picture of the kids and decide, "Hey, I've got the perfect place for a picture.  Down by the scalp treatment store."  (Or is it salon?)  Written in the print border, "2mo"  Written on the back, "June 9, 1946"

Cycling In 1955

The focus on this photo, dated "1955" is a bit shaky, but I love the old style bike,  the price was right, so I had to have it.

I got my first bicycle ten years after this picture was taken.  I desperately wanted a Schwinn.  My father, who always had an eye for a bargain,  got me a very heavy, chromed behemoth of a Huffy instead.  The house we lived in had a basement garage that was kept open all summer to help with the heat.  One day, someone walked through the open garage door, into the basement and took the Huffy.  My parents were very, very angry.  But they weren't angry with the thief.  They were angry with me.  A couple of months after the Huffy was stolen, my father showed up on one of his occasional visits, climbed into the back of his pickup truck and tossed out an old, used bike as a replacement.  It was an English made Raleigh, far lighter than the Huffy,  with a three speed Sturmy-Archer hub.

I grew up in a river valley in western Pennsylvania, and the Huffy was far too heavy to get up the hill and out of town.  The Raleigh, lighter and with gears,  didn't have that problem.  I've been an avid cyclist ever since.  The best bike isn't the newest or shiniest, it's that one that's ridden.  The Huffy, because of it's weight, had a tendency to stay in the basement, the Raleigh,  well worn, was always on the go.  I even rode it in winter, in the snow.

Miniature Golf

I like to think that this little girl is a kindred spirit.  I like to think that her parents told her that if she'd put on her nice clothes, go to church and behave, they'd take her out for ice cream and a game of miniature golf.  My mother didn't try and bribe me into religion.  It was accept god's love or the back of the hand.  It was a lousy choice.  I asked for the slap and still was forced into the pew.  Eventually, my mother gave up and accepted that I was going to Hell.  Oh well.

On another note, I'm 57 years old and I've never played miniature golf, shuffle board or been bowling.  Is that weird?

Dated, "SEP 69"

The North Texas State Normal College Album 2

I'd love to know what kind of time span this album covers.  A normal college's primary purpose was the training of teachers.  Is the first picture a photo of students standing in front of their college or is it newly graduated teachers getting ready to face a school room full of ten year olds?  I'm thinking the former, and the children in the second photo are siblings left behind at home.

Click on NTSNC in the labels section to bring up the whole collection.

The North Texas State Normal College Album 1

It's time to put up another album and it's a mess.  There are 25 pages with images, a number where the photos have been removed, and damaged pages as well.  In addition there are a lot of  loose photos, some of the period, others newer, that have been stored between the pages.  Because there is so much to see, I'll be putting additional posts up in a when ever I get to it fashion.  I'll be putting NTSNC in the labels section so that those who are interested can click and bring  everything up together.

NTSNC stands for North Texas State Normal College.  It was founded as a private teachers college in 1890 in Denton, Texas.  It held classes above a hardware store and was called The Texas Normal College and Teachers Training Institute.  It changed hands in 1893 and became The North Texas Normal College.  In 1899 it was taken over by the state of Texas and finally became The North Texas State Normal College.  There were more name changes in the future.  In 1923, North Texas Normal College. In 1949, North Texas State College. In 1961, North Texas University.  And in 1988, it's present name, The University of North Texas.

I suspect part 2 is at least a week away, so be patient.

Children 3

I wanna play in the mud!  Me too!

Children in Dresses

I may be wrong, but I think the taller of the two children is a boy. His mother must have had a unique sense of humor. His little sister seems shocked and confused.

Little Red Wagon

The truth is, I'm more interested in the wagon than I am in the kid. Nevertheless, he (or she) holds some fascination. His (or her) bow tie, and that awful haircut isn't the look of a modern day child.

Head In the Clouds

Feet in the snow. Do kids still admire pilots? I doubt it. There was something very romantic about earlier ages of aviation. Goggles, open cockpits, barnstorming, and of course, Lindbergh soloing the Atlantic when that was a good way to get killed. I was born in 1955, and we still looked up to the World War 2 fighter pilot when I was a kid.

The German American Collection, The Album 7

I think they must be bird watchers. Click on German-American in the labels section at the bottom of the post to bring up the whole collection. Too, click on album to bring up a number of other photo albums.

Anderlecht

Not only am I staying in Europe with this one, I'm staying in Belgium. Written on the back, "M. Boucher Impasse de la planete Anderlecht" Impasse of the planet? Sounds rather astronomical, though a local pond looks to be a better explanation. Anyway, Anderlecht is a city in Belgium near Brussels. This kid has very thin legs. I wonder if he was sick when this photo was taken. Perhaps some childhood disease. It's also possible that this photo might have been taken during World War 2, and he could have been malnourished.

The German American Collection, The Album 2

Is the smallest child in the group shot a little boy, the only son, or the fourth daughter? Click on German-American in the labels section to bring up the lot.

3 Sisters

An early suburb, with three sisters posing on a tree stump? It does look as if all the houses are similar enough that they were probably built by the same developer. The little girl on the right, I think, wants to have a bit of individuality.

How To Take a Photograph...

Lesson number one. It's always best to focus on the main subject rather than the background. Points for being consistent. Dated "Oct 1956"

When There Are No Pigs To Ride...

Tricycles will do.