12/2/44

From Pearl Harbor to V-J Day more than 16 million Americans, mostly men, served in the military. Many of them, about to be shipped overseas, rushed into marriage and left behind pregnant wives. (And a few pregnant girlfriends as well.) In for the duration, not given passes home, a photograph was all they would see of their young children until the end of the war. Those who didn't come back would never see anything other than photos. This picture is dated "12/2/44" The Battle of the Bulge was only two weeks away. The invasion of Okinawa was only four months in the future.

Hazel Hamilton Rogers/Hazel Elizabeth Rogers

Written on the back of the second photograph, "Mother-1911 On Graduation From Wesleyan." On the third picture, "Mother's Wedding Picture Hazel Hamilton Rogers." The Confederate battle flag in the background of the graduation picture led me to Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, founded in 1836 as a Women's college by the Methodist Church. With Georgia as a location I went in search of any information I could find on Hazel Hamilton Rogers. What I found was a small foundation set up in memory of a school teacher named Hazel Elizabeth Rogers, daughter of Dr. Thomas Edward Rogers and distinguished musician, Hazel Hamilton Rogers. No sibling were mentioned in the brief paragraph. It looks like Hazel Elizabeth never married or had any children. The clear hand writing on the back of these pictures must be hers and very likely there were no family members to claim these pictures.

Alfalfa, Sr. Cabinet Card

I dare anyone to tell me that this guy doesn't look like Alfalfa from The Little Rascals. All that's missing is the cow lick and a few freckles. This card was probably made in the nineteenth century, so it is possible that this man could be an ancestor of little Al. Nice tie, too.

The Cut Cadet

Are these military cadets? I think so, but my guess is that it's from a school other than West Point. The big question is why did someone feel the need to cut the photograph in half. One explanation, and the most likely, is that it fit the frame better that way. Then again, maybe the guy in the middle ran off with one of the other guys girlfriend, so cut him right down the middle. A symbolic substitution for doing it in real life. Ouch.

Gloves and Fur

These three little 4x4 prints are some of the most interesting in the collection. As a collector I understand a reverence for objects. It's fashionable to criticize materialism, but let's be honest, what we own, what we treasure, helps to define us as a person. Perhaps the woman who owned the fur coat and leather gloves had been poor at one time, and the luxury of a mink coat, alligator purse, and leather gloves was a symbol of a hard past and comforted her when she remembered being without. Then again, perhaps she had been rich her entire life and taking these pictures was a way of saying, "Look at me. I've got more than you do, so there!" No date.

The Monongahela Incline

This is a bit of a companion piece to yesterdays post of the Homestead Steel Works, also along the Monongahela River. I was born and raised in a small coal mining town about fifty or so miles from downtown Pittsburgh. In the late fifties and sixties, that was close enough to be accessible but far enough away to be a special treat. Sadly, my father did not share my enthusiasm for Pittsburgh's trolleys, soon to be torn up and replaced by bus lines, and the incline railways to Mt. Washington on Pittsburgh's south side. After I made my inglorious exit from Penn State, (Who knew they were that sensitive about bounced tuition checks.), I moved to Pittsburgh and started taking the inclines up to Mt. Washington for no other reason than that I enjoyed the ride. The Mon Incline and the Duquesne Incline, less than a mile down river, where the two survivors of what once had been 17 funiculars along the Monongahela River Valley. The large building at the foot of the incline on the second card was the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Terminal. It was pretty much a deserted hulk back then. I used to enjoy sitting in the quiet thinking about what it must have been like before passenger service ended on the south side. Eventually the preservation wing of the urban redevelopment movement got hold of the building. The passenger lobby became an upscale restaurant, and with my downscale income I found myself no longer welcome there. The old freight house became a shopping mall. Don't get me wrong, if that hadn't happened it would have been torn down, but really, how many Gaps can you visit? The Mon Incline was built in 1870. Today it's operated by Port Authority Transit, the public transit agency for Allegheny County. The Duquesne Incline is operated by a private foundation, and if I'm not getting them confused in my memory, the nicer of the two. Neither of these cards was used. On the back of both, "PUBLISHED BY I. ROBBINS & SON, PITTSBURGH, PA MADE IN U.S.A." I Robbins was in business from 1911 to 1943. Also, "PITTSBURGH PROMOTES PROGRESS" As well as the usual spot for stamps, and a not very interesting company logo. Go to Google, type in Monongahela Incline and then hit images. A lot of shots will come up, but be forewarned, a lot of them are of the Duquesne route.

Homestead In Music

The Homestead works has a central part in the history of western Pennsylvania. It was the sight of one of the countries largest steel mills and symbolic of the industrial might of the area. It was also the sight of a major strike that turned violent when Andrew Carnegie called in Pinkerton strikebreakers. Printed on the back, "MINSKY BROS. & CO., PUBLISHING DIVISION, PITTSBURGH, PA. "C.T. ART-COLORTONE" REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. MADE ONLY BY CURT TEICH & CO., INC., CHICAGO" Written on the back, "Dear Ernie & Jennie, Some swell fellows and girls here. Am having a good time. Made first chair (E Bass) Wish You Were Here. John K. Tilley" Addressed to "Ernie & Jennie Marks, Purse Ave. Walnut Grove, Johnstown, PA" Postmarked, "MUNICIPAL DEC. 11 8 A.M. 1937" Actually there is a flat sign between E and Bass, but my keyboard doesn't have that, so I had to leave it out. I found a John K, Tilley from Johnstown on line. May not be the same person, of course, but he was born on Dec., 24, 1918, he was a veteran of World War 2 and retired from the axle works of Bethlehem Steel, which might explain a musician sending a postcard featuring a steel mill.