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."

Goofing Off In Nebraska

There's that unfortunate salute again. If I weren't so lazy, I'd go back and do some revisions on the first two posts of this Nebraska series. In the first, I speculated that these photos could be related. In the second, I thought that the linkage might be the photographer. Anyway, I was in such a hurry to get things up, I didn't take a close enough look at things. Now I realize that they all must have come from the same source.

All of these photos have the same stamp on the back. "KODAK PRINT MADE BY THAT MAN GALE APR 18. 1929 YORK, NEBR-AUROROA, NEBR" Robert G. Gale was born in Beatrice, NB on Nov. 17, 1871. He had a photo studio and processing shop in York as early as 1916. I've found references to his business from 1927, as well. At another blog, http://www.forgottenoldphotos.blogspot.com/ I found a studio photo dated to 1951 or 52, but I suspect that someone had either bought the studio or a family member had inherited by then. It's possible that Robert Gale was still active in his early eighties, but I have my doubts.

Written on the backs of the photos in descending order, "Denzel Smith" (Note that Denzell is holding a pistol to his head. It might be necessary to click on the image and bring it up in a bigger window to make it out.) "Mark Meteer" of the unfortunate salute, "Raymond Ronne, Margaret Smith" side by side, and "Denzel Smith, Helen Burgess" in the dominating pose. Well, I thought I had hit the jackpot finding out about that man Gale, but when I took a flyer and fed Denzel Smith into Google, well now, that was something else again. Denzel "Denny" Smith was born in rural Nebraska in 1912. So he would have been about 17 when these pictures were printed, probably a high school junior or senior. He would get a B.A. from York College and go on to teach high school in Wymore, NB from 1931-1935. Not bad, but it gets better. An M.A. would follow in 1937, and a PhD. in educational psychology and measurements in 1941. Both from the University of Nebraska. From 1942-1946 he was in the navy, developing selection processes for pilots, as well as working on cockpit designs. He would retire as a Lt. Commander. But it doesn't stop there. He would go on to teach at the University of Maryland and work for the National Science Foundation. During the Korean War, he would be sent to Korea to visit prisoner of war camps as an expert in psychological warfare with a temporary rank of Lt. General in the army. As an NSF staffer, he would consult and contribute to Lyndon Johnson's 1965 State of the Union Address. And, there is a whole lot more. If I knew enough about computers to cut and paste his obituary into this post, I'd do it, but instead I'll just put a link to it. www.legacy.com/obituaries/tcpalm/obituary.aspx?n=denzel-dale-smith-denny&pid=93283579

The Lettermen of Lushton, Nebraska

Lushton is a very small village in York County, Nebraska. According to the 2010 census, the population comes to a whopping 33, spread out over sixteen households and 12 families. So was Lushton big enough, in the 1920s, to support a high school and field a baseball team, or did Lushton High cater to all the farm kids? The latter would be my guess. There is nothing written on the back of the first photo in the group, (Gotta love the kid hanging off to the side.) but on the others in descending order, "Cecil Franc, Denzel Smith" "Cecil 7, Raymond, Mark, Denzel" "Raymond, Mark, Bill, Steve, Wayne" "Mark, Cecil" "Raymond 3, Mark 1" "Cecil 7, Denzel" "Bill, Steve, Wayne" Anyway, I think I might have figured out the connection to yesterday's post. It's the photographer, rather than the subjects. The names on the back are the people who want prints. The names that were crossed out from yesterday were either filled or cancelled orders. Hey, hasn't Blogger heard of Denzel Washington? The spell check says it isn't a real name.

Costumed Girls From Nebraska

I've picked up a few photos from a dealer in Nebraska. Some are clearly related, others...perhaps, but I can't be sure. This one looks like girls from a play or maybe a festival of some kind. Written on the back, "1. Ruth, 1. Jean, 1. Mary, 1. Doris, 1. Nola, 1. Edythe, 1. Nellie, 1. Esther, 1. Lillie" Ruth, Mary, Doris, Esther and Lillie have had their names crossed out. I wonder what they did to offend. And which one is giving the Hitler salute? The photo looks like it's from the twenties, so I'm sure she wasn't making a political statement, but it is an unfortunate coincidence.