Steamed Crabs on Fisherman's Wharf, S.F.

Addressed to "Lois & Gil Yorba, 110-Morton Ave., Sierra Madre, Cal." This is the second postcard I have, sent to the Yorba family during World War 2. (Navigate back one to see the other.) The great depression and the war were great periods of internal migration in American history. The Yorba family had either family or friends who, at least, got to San Francisco and New York City. If they were like most Americans they knew people who spent time at a military training camp in some other part of the country, working at a war plant far from home, or overseas in Europe or the South Pacific. My father was born in 1919, dropped out of high school in the ninth grade because of the depression. He and his father ended up living in a dug out. (They dug out a flat spot on a hill side, pounded in some planking as a roof, shored it all up, and had an old rug for a door.) Then he ended up a homeless teenager, spending time with both the CCC and WPA. Then it was into the peace time army, then a few months after returning to civilian life, drafted into the war time army. As a cryptographer he never saw combat. but he did live in Iceland, England, France and then Germany. He thought that that was a good thing, and if it hadn't been for the depression and the war, he may have never got further than a few hundred miles from his small, home town.

"One of the principal industries of San Francisco is fishing, and centers around this point. From Fisherman's Wharf the fishing boats leave each morning to make their catches in shell fish and other sea foods. Here one may partake of the freshly caught ocean delicacies in one of the many outdoor stands or in the fine restaurants adjacent." Post marked, "SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF MAY 31 9:30 PM 1944" And the message, "Hello, We are simply eating ourselves in to a stupor but surely enjoying it. Going dancing at the Mark tonite. C you this weekend. Mary & Steve." And written in a different hand with a different ink, 'STAN HAS A NEW CADILLAC!" Of course since the auto industry had been turned over to war work, Stan had a used Cadillac new to him.

The Pepsi Service Men's Center

Well, this is really irritating. Usually when I get an image that's a screened print, I can't get a decent scan, and the descreen setting, though it softens the picture, is a much better option. This time, however, I'm not really getting a clearly better result. Oh well, at least anyone who is interested in comparisons can see for themselves. This is the first of two cards I've picked up addressed to the Yorba family of southern California. "Center built and maintained by the Pepsi-Cola Company for the members of the Armed Forces of the United Nations, in co-operation with New York City Defense Recreation Committee." Post marked, "NEW YORK, N.Y. JUL 23 2-P.M. 1943." Addressed to "Mrs. Gilbert Yorba, 500 Orange Grove, Arcadia, California." And the message, "Dear Lois & Gil, Having a wonderful time. It's going to be hard to get down to business again. As ever, Herb." Interesting, during World War 2, members of the military had franking privileges with the U.S. Post Office. Basically, they could sign their names and write down their unit designation and get free postage. This card has been stamped, but it's from a military service center. Was Herb a civilian? And a final mea culpa, because this is a photography blog, I don't put up postcards that don't have a photographic base. I think this is a hand colored photo, though I'm a lot less sure than I usually am. And, I really prefer Dr. Pepper.

Columbus

I run across these strip photographs from time to time and if anyone out there knows, are they made in camera or in the darkroom? Stamped on the back, "SCHREICK'S "CUTE" PHOTO STUDIO 202 1/2 N. High Street, COLUMBUS, -OHIO. DEC. 12, 1911" Hand written. "Oscar Krustf " Schreick's Photo Studio was founded by Frank X. Schreick in 1902 and remained open to 1979.

Gun Culture

Typed on the back, "Teddy, and his new gun" I have mixed feelings about America's gun culture. I grew up in a small town with a tradition of hunting. When I was in high school, during small game season, many of my classmates brought rifles to school. And then I moved to a city and met lots of guys who thought that guns made them tough guys. Maybe Teddy was a hunter, maybe he grew up to be another Charlie Starkweather. Dated "MAR 58"

Fun Times

Knowing the date of a photograph is always informative, but it can also be maddening. This bit of amateur cheesecake is dated 1940, the great depression was basically over, and while war had come to Europe and Asia, the United States was still at peace. Two years latter and these two young ladies could have been war workers at an aircraft plant, WAVES stitching up wounded marines in the south Pacific, or young widows. I'd love to know what happened to them, and not knowing is both the draw and frustration of snapshot collecting.

Two Couples From Youngstown, Ohio

All I know about this photo is that it's from Youngstown, Ohio and it's from the nineteenth century. Youngstown was a mill city on the Mahoning River, and while the wealthy of Youngstown couldn't compare to the rich from Pittsburgh or Cleveland, one could do well there. For a nice color postcard of boaters on the Mahoning River, go back to my post, Newton Falls, Ohio published on 5/3/11.

Kennedy For President

Dated 1963, my guess is that one of the people in this photograph, after the assassination, had it printed as a remembrance of their time as a Kennedy supporter.