Poor Children

I wonder what life was like for this child, growing up in what looks to be a big city tenement house?  Look at old photographs, and one would assume that the world was made up of nice, middle class people living in nice, middle class neighborhoods.  That's because most poor people couldn't afford cameras.   Poverty isn't a pleasant way to live.  I know that from experience, but it is a great photographic subject.

The Howsers of Missouri

I've still got plenty of postcards left, but after this post, I'm going to move on to other things for awhile.  Top to bottom, "Ula Howser"  "From Myrtle Howser to Zilia Howard, Mrs Zelia Howard, Bagnell, Mo"  and "Elston Howser"   Bagnell, Missouri is a very small town that had a population of 93 as of the 2010 census.

Nostalgia

Ah nostalgia.  Do we all long for a simpler time and see that time as so much better than what we have now? The original photograph for this card was probably taken around 1910, give or take a year or two in either direction.  But it was mailed in 1940.  Did the lady who mailed it think about a looming world war and say to herself, "If only we could all go back,"  conveniently forgetting that World War 1 was just a few years in the future when this image was taken?  It's human nature to remember better times that never where.

Postmarked, "CANANDAIGUA N.Y. JUN 17 12:30 PM 1940"  Sent to "Miss L. Smith, 341 Maple Ave., Oradell, New Jersey"  And the message, "Greetings to all the Chapter and congratulations to the new sister.  Hope we have many more.  Alana T. Wallis"   I would guess that the chapter was a college sorority, but I suppose it could also be some sort of club.

Canandaigua is a bit confusing because there is both a Canandaigua city and a Canandaigua town,  they border each other, and each is on Canandaigua Lake.  Now if the city was big while the town was small, it might make some sense, but they're both about the same size.  I wonder if the urbanites look down on the townies?  Famous Canandaiguans include painter Arthur Dove and comedian Kristen Wiig.

Horse

Now here's a mystery.  Why would anyone make a postcard from this nag?  He's not a race horse.  No, this horse is a working horse, made obsolete by tractors and cheap fuel.  This one's a pretty old card, from back in the day when farmers worked their horses and didn't think of them as a family pet.  Maybe the owner of this animal had a soft spot and liked his livestock.  Maybe after his working life this horse was retired to the back pasture.  More likely, when this photo was taken, the farmer/owner was thinking of how much money he could get for old Jughead.  Take a look at this card and make an offer.  Jughead can still pull a plow, a wagon, and if that doesn't work, there's always the slaughterhouse.

Greer Garson

This is it.  In the past week or so, I've been putting up a few Hollywood celebrity postcards, and this is the last one I have.

I have to admit, Greer Garson isn't an actress that comes to mind when I think of classic movies.  The only movie of hers that I can remember is Mrs. Miniver, an overly sentimental film about a brave family during the London blitz.  In the end, actors and actresses aren't remembered for their acting, they're remembered for their movies.  Garson was a huge star in the forties, with five straight Academy Award nominations from 1941 to 1945, but didn't make that many memorable films.  There would eventually be seven nominations total, with one win, the already mentioned Mrs. Miniver.

She was born Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson in England in 1904.  She was, for her day, a very well educated woman, attended King's College, London, and the University Of Grenoble, France, with  degrees in French and 18th century literature.  Garson's intention was to teach, but ended up working for an advertising agency.  Her acting career started in amateur stage productions, she joined some repertory companies, did some experimental television productions in the late thirties and was discovered, and signed to a contract by MGM after being spotted by Samuel Goldwyn while on a talent scouting trip.  Her first film was Goodbye Mr. Chips, made in 1939.  Her last theatrical film was The Happiest Millionaire in 1968.  She continued making occasional TV appearances, the last, Little Women, in 1978.   She became a naturalized American citizen and died in Texas in 1996.

Garson was married three times.  Her second husband, the actor Richard Ney played her son in Mrs. Miniver.  Her third husband was Texas oilman Buddy Fogelson.

Greetings From North Bessemer

I gotta say, I've been to North Bessemer, Pennsylvania, and I wasn't impressed.

The message on the back, "Dear Helane,  I discovered you forgot cover but I thought I would send it home with Peurle on Sunday.  But I believe I will mail it to you at once.  Hershell was dissapointed he said I want my Helane to come back. We have a big circus in our town today.  Today I wish you could see it.  Grace"

Mailed to "Miss Helane Kohou, 935 Jerome St., McKeesport, Pa.  And the postmark, "UNITY STATION, PA  AUG 23, 3PM 1916"  I've also been to Unity Township, formally Unity Station, near Plum Township as well as McKeesport.  Again, not impressed.  The real question is how this postcard ended up in an antique shop in Pasadena, CA.  And finally, did Helane and Hershell ever get together?

Bing Crosby

How can a man be as well known, and as forgotten, as Bing Crosby?  There aren't many Americans who haven't heard the song White Christmas, and while It's A Wonderful Life has supplanted White Christmas, the movie, as the favorite TV Christmas special, it's still very popular.  But who remembers Bing Crosby the musical innovator?

I've been collecting 78 rpm recordings for decades and at first, if Crosby's name was on the label, I passed.  Then one day, I got a load of Crosby records as part of a larger lot and began listening.  What a revelation.  This beautiful bass-baritone voice that sang in an almost conversational style.  I was hooked, a Bing Crosby fan for life.   Too, as I listened, I noticed something else.  It was like there were two periods of music.  PB, pre- Bing, and AB, after Bing.  The style didn't exist before Bing Crosby came along.  I can remember a conversation I had with another fan.  He told me that there were changes in the technology of recording about the time that Crosby arrived on the scene that made it possible to capture the tonal range in his voice, and that was the reason for the change in popular musical styles. That always seemed specious to me, so I've never done any research into the claim, but I pass it along for what it 's worth.

And a quick note on Bing Crosby the actor.  Based on number of tickets sold, Crosby is the third most popular movie actor in history, behind Clark Gable and John Wayne.  Once I became a fan of the music, I started watching the movies.  White Christmas, of course, (For the record, I prefer it to It's A Wonderful Life), Holiday Inn and some of the other musicals, but also the road movies with Bob Hope.  The humor still holds up quite well.  At least in my opinion.

Bing Crosby was born Harry Lillis Crosby in 1903, in Tacoma Washington.  He began singing professionally while still in high school.  His first big success was as a member of The Rhythm Boys with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra.  Depending on the source, Crosby either quit to go solo, or was fired because of his drinking and marijuana use.  His first wife was the actress Dixie Lee.  They had four sons, two of whom, Dennis and Lindsay,  committed suicide.  A third son,  Gary wrote a tell all book accusing his father of being physically and emotionally abusive.  Philip, twin brother of Dennis,  died of natural causes.  Crosby had three more children with his second wife, Kathryn.  Harry Jr., Nathaniel, and Mary.  Bing Crosby died of a heart attack in 1977, in Madrid, Spain.