The German American Collection, The Album 2

Is the smallest child in the group shot a little boy, the only son, or the fourth daughter? Click on German-American in the labels section to bring up the lot.

The German American Collection, The Album 1

This is it, the most interesting part of the German-American collection. And, like so much in the world of found photographs, it's also a bit of a mystery. Except for the cover, is the album complete, or is this just a tantalizing fragment? Nothing is written on the pages so we don't know names, dates, or exact locations. Was there an index on the inside of the front cover, or was a knowledge of this family assumed, with no need for written information? I'll be putting up the album, without the big gaps that have been the hallmark of the collection, to date. As usual, I'll post a complete page to show placement, followed by separate scans of each image. Click on German-American in the labels section to bring up everything.

Army Mother

Dated "1938/39" not a good time to be the mother of a soldier. But which army? I've been looking at Google picture files, and I'm thinking, maybe, Belgium. Of course, if anyone can give a definite answer, please leave a comment.

Ouch

I feel for this woman. A couple of days ago I was sprinting across the subway platform trying to catch the train when I tore something in my calf. I didn't work enough last year to qualify for health insurance through my union, so I'm sitting around wondering how long it's going to take to heal. If my Internet diagnosis is right, and it probably isn't, I could be hobbling around for the next couple of weeks. Ouch.

Feeding the Cat to the Calf

All kidding aside, I wonder how many people in the United States have never been on a farm. Is it a good thing to know where our food comes from? I've worked on a farm, and I've been in a slaughter house, and I'm not sure such familiarity is a bright idea.

Tales of Kittanning

I was born in Kittanning, way back in 1955. When I was growing up, the Armstrong County Court House was overseen by Judge J. Frank Graff, the hanging judge of his day. I haven't been able to confirm it, but when I was growing up, we were led to believe that Judge Graff had condemned more men and women to death then any other judge in American history. When I was in college, one of my classmates liked to hang out on the Allegheny River just a few miles north of Kittanning. A good place to smoke marijuana and get stoned. Or so he thought. I warned him that Armstrong County was not a place to break even minor laws. He thought that I was being silly. The worst that would happen for a minor, first time, marijuana bust would be probation. He got caught, and Judge J. Frank Graff sentenced him to a year in county jail. On the postcard, it's the squarish tower on the left. He served the full year, never returned to college. I don't know what happened to him after that.

The German American Collection, A Single Roll of Film

I hope Kodak survives bankruptcy and comes back better than ever. I really hope that Kodak continues to make film, paper, and chemistry. Anyway, this post is a bit of Kodak history. There was a time when the company made automatic film printing machines for the local film lab. Press a button, and focus would set for whatever film format was being used. Then, it was time to set exposure. Unfortunately, the earlier automatic printers could only do one exposure setting per roll. A mythical average setting which sometimes didn't work for a single frame. (Without seeing the negatives, there is no way I can tell if good prints can be made from some of the darker images.) And finally, the photos made on a pre-perforated sheet of paper and then loaded in a Kodak supplied folder, printed by Kodak, with the local photo finishers name and address, and a nifty Kodak advertisement on the back cover. As usual, click on German-American in the labels section to bring up the whole collection.