Green Bay Business College- Family and Farm

I'm closing in on the end of the Green Bay Business College collection. To recap, all of these photos came in envelopes addressed to either "Mr. Kenneth Bierke 225 Quinton, Green Bay, Wisconsin," or "Green Bay Business College, 123-S Washington, Green Bay, Wis." There are some really interesting single images in the collection, but as a group, they follow one family from the early twentieth century farm/small town life, through World War 2, and the post war years, through what is probably the Bierke family retirement. I think these images may be from Mrs. Bierke's family. Click on Green Bay in the labels section and pull up the Home front post and you'll see the same lady who is standing on the back of the farm wagon, the first image in this group. Few of these photos are dated or labeled, but there are a few. They three flapper girls, standing on the sidewalk, "Anetta Maichle, Colgate, Wis." The lady with the collie in the paper frame, stamped on the folder, "To Add Beauty and Brilliance insert a piece of cellophane over the picture. GEPPERT STUDIOS, DES MOINES, IOWA." Written in pencil, "Helen A3217, Irene A3509, Marion A3389," then there are two names that have been erased, then "Joe A2617." I'm guessing that those have t0 be early phone numbers. The picture of the little boy standing on the bench is dated, "10-27-44" The family around the Christmas tree, (Note the same lady already noted, though older, sitting in the center of the image.) stamped on the back, "STILLER BLDG., GREEN BAY, WIS." The image of the family, standing beside the tar paper shack, "Mr. & Mrs. Schrader, Mr. and Mrs. Warner, Mr. & Mrs. E. Koepael, Robert Z., Earnest & Mother S., The Wooden Soldier and Ella." The people sitting in front of the log, "Reading from Right to left. My Sis, Feru, Wilfred E., Lee R., Pearl M., Mrs. Ahlgrine, Ora C., Lois C., and Myself. Scene Camp 24."

At The Swimming Hole

In our casual era, it's hard to imagine, but there was a time when ladies dressed to do almost everything. Taking the kids swimming while wearing a dress and heels is not something seen anymore. And of course, it was also common for men to wear ties all of the time, including to factory jobs.

The Dancer

Way back when, this young lady would go to her audition, dance away, hand this picture and a resume to the show's producer, and wait for a call-back. I don't recognize her, so she didn't make it in the movies.

What Dealers Do

Because of the damage, I would never have purchased this photo if it had not been part of a collection. This nice 19th century portrait was pulled out of a photo album. The glue and bits of black paper on the back is a dead give away. I've been known to complain about dealers breaking up collections and destroying the context of the photos. What might be a nice image, becomes an historically interesting photo when left with the other pictures in the collection. And, of course, a lot of photos get damaged when the dealer is clumsy when removing photos from albums. Lille could be a name, or it could refer to the city in France. The initials that follow the name are a mystery.

Doctors

At first, I thought this was a picture of barbers, but then I saw one of those very old fashioned reflectors that doctors used to wear on their heads, in the hand of the man in the center of the front row. The woman isn't wearing a nurses uniform, but a smock, just like everyone else. This is a pretty old picture, from the twenties or thirties would be my guess, so if she is a doctor, she was a very rare example of a woman doctor from that era.

Rainbow Girls

This was purchased with a group of other, better, totally unrelated images. The throw-ins of my collection sometimes remind me of things long past, and while I still don't find this to be a strong photograph, or historically interesting, it does remind me of the two years that my sister was a Rainbow Girl. Every week, she and her friends, got dressed up in their formals and went to the "secret" meeting. I don't know anything about this image, other than it appears to be from the mid fifties to mid-sixties; I don't know if these young ladies are Rainbow Girls, debutantes, or whatever. The one in the glasses has an I'm in charge, and you better get used to it air about her. So did my sister.

Flagler Garden, Miami

Yet another entry in my growing collection of nightclub, souvenir photo folders. (Click on night clubs in the labels section to bring the others up.) Sometimes I can find a lot of information about these old nightclubs, that once catered to an America that liked to go out, listen to big band music, jazz, and to dance the night away. On Flagler Garden, not so much. After entering every combination of words I could think of into the search engine, I came up with just two references. Flagler Garden Apartments, which may or may not have been built at the same location as the club, and a brief reference on a site devoted to defunct ball rooms. They were defining ball rooms as anything from a small club with a 10 x 10 dance floor to the massive halls with space for hundreds of dancers. As far as the photograph goes, it wasn't fixed or washed well. I spent years in photo labs, I notice these things. An interesting contrasts between the two ladies. The blond seems alert and ready for a much longer night. The brunette (Or redhead?) looks like she's ready for bed. The two soldiers and the hairdos put this image in the early to mid forties, probably World War 2. No dates or names were written anywhere on the cover, and there is no address for ordering more photos.