Lloyd Fisher

This one's from the grab bag of photos, a sealed envelope of 100 + photos that I picked up a few months ago.  It's also the first of a series of nautically themed posts.  Other than a name, "Lloyd Fisher," there's nothing written on the back of the photo.  Below decks, is Lloyd in the navy or the merchant marine?

Bluejackets From Nebraska

The only photo in this group that has any writing on the back is the first one in the column. "Adm. Olson, Bob Harris-Yokosuka, Me" Is "Me" Denzel Smith? I went to the obituary photo of Denzel, (See the previous post for a link.) and compared the gentleman on the right, same cleft chin, same shape to the face. I'd say it's about a 95% match. Too, we know that Denzel Smith was in the navy from 1942 to 1946. Yokosuka was a large Japanese naval base at the mouth of Tokyo Bay that was turned over to the United States in 1945. So, while I don't know if Denzel was ever posted to Japan, it's possible that he was there, playing baseball for a navy team in 45 or 46. And we also know from an earlier post (navigate back two) that Denzel was a high school baseball player. Yes, I'm thinking another chapter in the extraordinary life of Denzel Smith, scholar, athlete, veteran of both the army and the navy, consultant to presidents.

There is also some stamped information on the first three photos. On the first one, "Neg. No VNC-6693 (c) -9-56 RELEASED OFFICIAL NAVY PHOTOGRAPH IF PUBLISHED CREDIT LINE MUST READ: OFFICIAL U.S. NAVY PHOTOGRAPH" And on the next two images, "OFFICIAL U.S. NAVY PHOTOGRAPH Released for publication The navy department has no objection to use of this photograph to commercial advertisements, provided copy and layout are submitted for review, prior to publication to a District Public Information Office. Naval Training Center Public Information Officer. PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE, U.S. Naval Training Center, San Diego 33, Calif."

U.S.S. Inchon

I understand that most viewers will not find this postcard all that interesting. I understand that only military enthusiasts and those who actually served on the Inchon will want to look at this post. But it works as a companion piece to the liberty ship post that I just put up, and I would be very interested to read any comments that any Inchon crew members might leave, so here it is. Written on the back, "Tempory Duty aboard U.S.S. Inchon Sept 18-Oct 2, 1975" Caption and credits, "U.S.S. INCHON (LPH-12) An Amphibious Assault Ship of the United States Navy's Amphibious Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet." "Atlantic Fleet Sales, Box 6202, Norfolk, Va. 23508."

July 4

Why do we equate patriotism with war?

On Leave

Every time I see a picture of a man in uniform, especially if it's from the World War 2 era, I wonder if it was the last time he was photographed. The odds are this sailor returned from the war, got a job, got married, and fathered a couple of kids. But with over 400,000 American war dead, this photograph might have been the final keepsake of a gold star mother.

Mt. San Jacinto, 1943

Hand franked, "Hubert G. Cain, U.S. Navy, Columbia, Mo." Addressed to "Mrs. J.H. Cain, 201 So. Wright St., Champaign, Ill." The message, "Hi Folks, Well I arrived here Sat. at 12 o'clock. I am doing Los Angeles now. I have to take the 3:15 train and it's after one now. I'll write a letter as soon as I get an address. Jigs" Franking is a signature or mark placed on a piece of mail that allows the sender free service. Jigs could be a nickname or it could mean Lieutenant, Junior Grade. Mt. San Jacinto now has an aerial tram that goes to a state park at the peak. Navigate back one to see another Cain family postcard

Old California 3

This is the third and last part of the old California estate collection. Again, this one seems to be a travel collection. There is a lot of emphasis on the ocean. The navel officer is the only picture in this group that is labeled, "P.S. himself." Post script or the initials of the person, and is he a friend of the photographer or the man himself? I've noted before that I love the mystery of old photos, and trying to make some sense of them, but other than service aboard a ship that was armed, there isn't much to learn here. All the harbor shots are more focused on commerce with an emphasis on tugs and harbor transport. Note that behind the steam launch photo, the masts of a sailing ship can be seen; the four masts of a clipper. The paddle wheeler is almost certainly on the Sacramento River, one of the few rivers in California that had commercial boat traffic. The shot from the beach has a flotilla of war ships. The Great White Fleet? The railroad picture is of a crane of the S.P.L.A.& S.L Railroad. That's the San Pedro, Los Angeles, & Salt Lake Railroad, whose main line connected the harbor at San Pedro, now part of Los Angeles to Salt Lake City in Utah. The company no longer exists, but the rail line built by the company is still used. The main visitor's center for the Mojave National Preserve in Kelso, California was a station for the line. While it operated under different names, the S.P.L.A.& S L. name was only used from 1901 to 1916. The antelope picture only made it because of my no editing policy. If a location had been written on the back I might have been able to find out when the last animal died there or if a few still survive, but no location, no research. The twenty mule team shot is interesting. The famous borax wagon teams carrying the mineral from Death Valley to the rail head at Mojave, California only operated from 1883 to 1889 and had two box wagons and a water tank. Same idea for the wagon depicted, but a different set-up. And the flood picture, my guess is the Sacramento delta.

Bal Tabarin, San Francisco

Yet another in my collection of night club souvenir photos, though this one is a bit more interesting, historically. The Bal Tabarin was opened in 1931 at 1025 Columbus Avenue in San Francisco, CA by three men; experienced restaurateur, Bob Grison, big band leader, Tom Gerun, and manager, Frank Martinelli. With the end of prohibition nearing, the partners built a club with a performance space, and a sophisticated cocktail lounge atmosphere that was meant to appeal to women as well as men. In addition to Gruen's band, a number of famous acts were booked at the Bal Tabarin, including Sophie Tucker, Tony Martin, the Duncan Sisters, and Spanish puppeteer and ventriloquist, Senor Wences, who, during my childhood, was a frequent guest on the Ed Sullivan Show. Tap dancer Ann Miller, at thirteen, lied about her age and began her career at the club, spotted by Hollywood talent scouts, and Bal Tabarin patron Lucille Ball, she was signed to a studio contract. (Anyone wishing to see Miller dance, should watch On The Town.) Bal Tabarin was very successful through the war years As the club lost business, after the war, it was sold, in 1950, and was renamed Bimbo's 365, becoming a major jazz venue. Where I need some help on this post is info about the photograph. Labeled, "Our ASA dinner, at Bal Tabarin, July 6, 1944." I've done a number of Internet searches trying to identify ASA, and while I've come up with a number of possibilities, (The military does love it's acronyms.) I believe the most likely candidate is ASA radar, a long range search radar, used by the navy in it's patrol planes and ships. The women all have anchors on the lapels of their uniforms, identifying them as WAVES. But, what would these women have to do with ASA radar? Women were not allowed in combat during the war. It's possible that they could have operated land based radar stations. It's also possible that they could be repair technicians or analysts of some kind. In any case, I can't be sure, and if anyone out there can set me straight, please do so. Please notice that the rest of the club seems to be empty, so this might have been a private dinner party. And finally, the gentleman is a puppeteer, just like Senor Wences. All the photos I've been able to find of him are from the Ed Sullivan Show era, but it''s the same facial structure. Printed on the inside front cover of the photo folder, "We sincerely hope you have enjoyed your evening at the Bal Tabarin...Your Hosts TOM GERUN, FRANK MARTINELLI." On the back cover, "For additional prints write to Hollywood Nite Club Photos. PICTURES ARE $1.25 EACH. PRICE INCLUDES TAX AND MAILING CHARGES. Be certain to mention BAL TABARIN, this number, 23, and date, JUL 6, 1944. 6304 Riley Way, Carthay Circle Theatre Bldg., Los Angeles, Calif. WAlnut 9880."

Norman In the Navy

I've been looking at pictures on line, and my best estimate is that Norman is wearing the wool navel blue uniform used from the 1920's to the early 1940's. If anyone out there knows better, leave a comment. Written in the upper left corner, Love, Norman" I lost a bit of the inscription when I cropped out the white boarders.

U.S.S. Wyoming, World War 1

As I noted in my post of 9/26/09, I have a number of these images from World War 1 that I think are rotogravures. Normally I wouldn't buy pictures cut out from a magazine or newspaper, but these intrigued me. Whatever printing process was used, the images are not screened. Take a close look at photos in newspapers and magazines, and you'll see tiny dots. Because of that, I knew that I could get some nice copy negs, and eventually make conventional black & white prints. I'm also interested, because in World War 1, Woodrow Wilson practically took over the media and turned America's newspaper and magazine into propaganda organs. Something that wasn't done in World War 2, or Vietnam. The first image shows both images as they appeared on the paper. The other two are separated, and a little bigger. The caption for the image on the left is, "Full steam ahead. View of the U. S. S. Wyoming." The right image is, "Coaling ship."