Army Ball

The playoffs have started, and once again my Pittsburgh Pirates are on the outside looking in.  In the American League I'm rooting for the Oakland A's.  I like the idea of a World Series champ that's also the team with the second lowest payroll in the game.  In the National League, I'm sort of pulling for the St. Louis Cardinals.  The Pirates may never be a contender because of free agency.  The Cards lost their best player, Albert Pujols, to the far richer Los Angeles Angel, and  it would give me hope if the Cards could get another championship.  I'm torn about the Washington Nationals.  On one hand, I wouldn't mind seeing them win it all because the team has never won anything.  On the other hand, I liked them when they were the Montreal Expos and I hated to see them leave Canada.

No date, names, or location on the photograph, but the third baseman looks to be in a military uniform, so it's another bored soldiers having  fun picture.

War Is Dull

Watch a war movie and you'd think World War 2 was non stop hell.  The reality was that most members of the military were support personnel and for them the conflict was more boredom than terror.   My father was a ninth grade drop out who could do complex mathematical computations in his head.  That skill got him four years in a darkened room breaking codes.  He was stationed in England so he was able to get out and about, but he still spent  most of his time on base.  In the Pacific, the island campaigns were about capturing islands with airfields.  The marines would land, fight for a few days, a few weeks, or a few months.  After  the island was taken, the air corp would move in.  For the air crews, there were missions over Japan.  For the ground crew, it was servicing the planes and waiting for the war to end.  If they were lucky a USO show might come through.  If not, they had to amuse themselves.  It looks like these guys decided to put on a show, and in the all male environment of a Pacific island air base, someone had to play the girl.

Another Brewer Postcard

On September 6,  I published a postcard written by Frank Brewer while he was at Camp Gordon, probably during World War 1.  Like the earlier postcard, this card isn't stamped or  addressed but does  have a  written message. So, each may have been sent in an envelope.   Signed "Brewer" the hand writing on this card seems similar but has enough differences that it might have been written by a different Brewer family member.  Too, the earlier card was full of misspellings, and this one isn't.

The message,

"Dear Friend,

 I am going to make a move in a day or so.  Over to the gulf coast somewhere.  Will let you know my new address when I get there.

This place is fine but I want to look around some.

As ever,

Brewer"

If nothing else, the Brewers get around.  Click on Brewer in the labels section to see both postcards.

Thinking Of Snow

It was 105 today (In Los Angeles.) and I'm tired of the heat.  I'd love to play in the snow.  Dated 1932.

Summer Camp

A postcard, and the caption, "CAMP NOTRE DAME, Lake Spofford, Spofford, New Hampshire An interior view of a typical cabin."

I'm not going to write much about the whole summer camp experience. I came from small town, rural poverty and  never went to summer camp.  I had a shot at church camp one year, but the whole atheism thing shot that one down real fast.  Anyway, no first hand knowledge and since most people are aware that summer camps were where city folks shipped the kids for a bit of rural, summer fun....Well, I'll leave it at that.

I went to Google and ran a search for Camp Notre Dame.  I didn't find a website, so I'm guessing that this particular summer camp went belly up.  I did find a listing for a populated place, government speak for a community too small for town status, so the old cabins might still be there, just no longer being used by happy campers.  I also searched the names carved in the cabin rafters.  The only real hit was for Conrad Ambrette, a lawyer from Darrien, Connecticut, born in New York City in 1947.  It might not be him, but the age is about right.

The Summer House

This photograph reminds me of a John Cheever story.  Not a specific story, but one of the ones where somewhat unhappy New Yorkers go off to the New England summer house and work hard to avoid an inevitable confrontation.

The North Texas State Normal College Album 4

Which photograph doesn't fit?  Most of these images have a nineteenth century feel.  One can imagine the subjects going to the tin typist and being told to stand absolutely still.  But the last photo is of people used to photography.  People who know what a camera can and can't do and how to play for the photographer.

Click on NTSNC in the labels section to bring the whole collection up.