SERENADE, oh so blue

I haven't a logical clue about what is going on here. The young lady seems to have been interrupted while reading a book by two guys wishing to serenade her. Could she look less interested? And no, it really is that blurred.

Our bored lady appears to be leaning on an organ and..there's a tiny tiny Girl Scout in the background. Say what? A munchkin on the organ? You don't get to say that everyday.

And I see that the violinist is in uniform. Marching band? Were there ever marching bands with violins? Oh man, I'd love to see that at the Rose Parade. Violins and violas attempting to march down the boulevard behind a float of a fire breathing dragon that's gone awry. Happy New Year indeed!

This image, an RPPC, comes from the same place as yesterdays. The summer fun box from my best friend.

Let's make her part of OUR GANG

This little dahlin' looks like she should be in an episode of the Our Gang series, including the dog with the spotted eye. In reality I have no information about her other than a few years ago my best friend sent me a fun summer box full of magazines and photos.

Let's see, what category shall we put this little gal? Girl with dog? Laundry on the line? Odd looking pump in background?

Seriously, does anyone know what the pump thingie might be?

Can I get a SLICE OF CHEESECAKE TO GO with my new shoes?

1940s or 50s? I don't know. You can see the back of the print and all the information I have.

She's flirtatious and sweet. Was this a shot for a soldier overseas? Or was it really just a shot of her new shoes? We'll never know.

A BARN: Three points of view

It's easy to establish that this is a barn. I think we all agree on that.

Now, most people are thinking (If I may presume to think your thoughts.) that this is a barn being moved. That would be the logical thought. But what if...

It's the first mobile home. The company hoped to make a fortune. It was a bust. They went broke and could never figure out why, but I believe it had something to do with not being able to get it under an overpass and out of the county.

Or...

It's a barn...a screaming barn. A startled barn. It's tiny eyes wide open in anticipation of being barn-napped. No sound comes out of its gaping mouth. In silence it screams, the men unaware that it has awakened from its deep sleep.

I'm just sayin'...it's a possibility.

Where's GLADYS KALLMAN?

This weeks Sepia Saturday post is again "Where's Gladys Kallman?"

There is nothing written on the back of this photo, but from previous posts about Gladys I think you should be able to find her.

Click on image to see it larger.

I really love these kids. A bunch of fine characters. It seems to have been a theme for this photographer to have kids pose with a favorite toy. I've found others online.

Now, settle in and find Gladys.

Think of all the life stories here. The expressions on the kids faces speak volumes. Perfect jumping off points for numerous stories.

Click here, here, and here to see similar photos by the same photography studio, Frances Thompson Studio in San Francisco. And here is another photo that is for sale showing the kids holding toys.

This photo is from the George Kallman estate.

I have not found any historical information about the photographer.

UPDATE: Reader Paul A. Peterson has provided the following information about the photographer, Frances Thompson. Thanks Paul and I'm envious of your collection.

The photographer, Frances Thompson, was born 26 Jan 1867 in CA, and died 10 May 1947 in San Francisco, CA. Her mother's maiden name is Satterler. In about 1912, Frances married a clergyman, Webster Loring Clark (1865-1946). In 1935, she operated a studio located at 545 Post St., San Francisco. I own 19 examples of her work, class photos dating from 1914 to 1935.

__________

I have a new design up at Cafe Press, My ABC's, perfect for the little grade school students in the house. Or maybe the teacher who teaches them. Then again, at my age a little visual aid for memory purposes is always helpful!

You can find various items at my Tattered and Lost Cafe Press shop.

PBM in for service in Oppama, Japan, in 1950

The title pretty much says it all. This was my father's PBM, a seaplane, docked for service at Oppama, Japan in 1950. They were in getting their 220 hour major overhaul.

I'm sure it's just me, but I'm waiting for a girl on roller skates to show up with a tray of malts and burgers.

You might also like P5M offshore at IWOKUNI, JAPAN.

Click on image to see it larger.

And here's my dad's crew for VP-42, crew 6 taken in Iwokuni.

Click on image to see it larger.

On the back it says:

This is a crew picture taken at Iwokuni just before we sent the plane over the side.

And from Wikipedia, a little about the PBM:

The Martin PBM Mariner was a patrol bomber flying boat of World War II and the early Cold War period. It was designed to complement the PBY Catalina in service. 1,366 were built, with the first example flying on February 18, 1939 and the type entering service in September 1940.

The first PBM-1s entered service with Patrol Squadron FIFTY-FIVE (VP-55) of the United States Navy on 1 September 1940. Prior to the outbreak of World War II, PBMs were used (together with PBYs) to carry out Neutrality Patrols in the Atlantic, including operations from Iceland. Following the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, PBMs were used on anti-submarine patrols, sinking their first German U-Boat, U-158 on 30 June 1942. In total, PBMs were responsible, wholly or in part, for sinking 10 U-Boats during World War II. PBMs were also heavily used in the Pacific, operating from bases at Saipan, Okinawa, Iwo Jima and the South-West Pacific.

The United States Coast Guard acquired 27 Martin PBM-3 aircraft during the first half of 1943. In late 1944, the service acquired 41 PBM-5 models and more were delivered in the latter half of 1945. Ten were still in service in 1955, although all were gone from the active Coast Guard inventory by 1958 when the last example was released from CGAS San Diego and returned to the US Navy. These flying boats became the backbone of the long-range aerial search and rescue efforts of the Coast Guard in the early post-war years until supplanted by the P5M and the HU-16 Albatross in the mid-1950s.

PBMs continued in service with the US Navy following the end of World War II, flying long patrol missions during the Korean War. It continued in front-line use until replaced by its direct development, the P5M Marlin, with the last USN squadron equipped with the PBM, Patrol Squadron FIFTY (VP-50), retiring them in July 1956.(SOURCE: Wikipedia)

Ahhhhhhh...SPRINGTIME

Where I live we have not had snow, though "they" did sort of promise some a few weeks ago. We have had plenty of rain and more is predicted. I think we actually had Spring in January when I was able to have my doors and windows open all day. Up is down and down is up. Nothing is the least predictable anymore? Anyone think things were a bit more predictable when you were a kid?

This photo is of unknown people, given to me by my best friend. She does not know who they are, thus the reason I now have it.

I think of all the photos that get tossed because people don't recognize the subjects of the shot. Tell you what, if you know someone is going to toss photos jump between them and the trash can. Don't toss! Send them to the Tattered and Lost archives where they will be given a peaceful place to rest. Stop the madness!

GLADYS KALLMAN at Balboa High School in 1948

Instead of where's Waldo, let's play "Where's Gladys?"

This photo includes Gladys Kallman. I know this because her brother George wrote a note and attached it to the photo. Otherwise I'd have never found her.

I believe this to be Gladys Kallman's senior photo. It measures 36" x 8". How on earth was anyone supposed to display this? As would be expected, it was folded.

1948. The war was over, but in just a few years we'd be sending troops to another war. Korea. What became of the class of 1948. Old enough to be your parents? Your grandparents? Think of the stories these people could tell. These kids would now be around 80 years old.

Now, go ahead and find Gladys. You may need to go back to last weeks Sepia Saturday post to remember what Gladys looked like.

And click on any image to see it larger.

Unlike handing your yearbook around for signatures, these kids handed around this photo. Here are just a few messages written to Gladys on the back of the photo.

And now...here's Gladys. Look at the third row up from the bottom, about 1/3 of the way through.

Another Sepia Saturday post.

The BEAUTIFUL LADY In San Francisco

Sometimes not having any history for an image makes my heart ache. This is one of those times. I compare this to my post entitled The Lovely Young Girl at BAKER'S ART GALLERY except that this time I have no information. Just an image of a beautiful lady done by a very good photographer. But no information. Nothing written on the back. And the photography studio, The Johnson Studios, leads to vapor. I'm not finding anything.

Just as I long to know who the young girl was at Baker's Art Gallery, I long to know the story of this lady.

Click on image to see it larger.

If this was taken before the 1906 quake it's likely that the studio was destroyed. So, most likely the negative was destroyed. Which leads to the horrible question, did this lady survive?

She is such an elegant lady. What do the flowers represent in her hand and on the chair? I have no idea. Anyone out there have a suggestion?

And speaking of the chair...even the chair is elegant. Thank goodness she isn't leaning against one of those heavy ugly chairs with the cord hanging down.

Oh to step back in time and be hiding in the shadows of the studio as this portrait sitting took place. To hear the voices of the photographer and the woman as they worked together, laughed together, and then their final parting with the photographer telling her when the images would be ready.

The photographer had two studios. One at 1228 Fillmore Street. The other at 1028 Market Street. Were they large like Baker's Art Gallery or just small shops?

I did find two other photos online attributed to The Johnson Studios:

Portrait of a Chinese Man in Glasses

Funeral shot of Arvid Lambert Lorén

This image is from Bert's collection.

SITTING and READING

I literally dreamt about this photo last night so I figured I had to post it. It was purchased at an estate sale last year.

It was a restless night with little sleep. When I did sleep I had some very strange and adventurous dreams. In one of the more mundane moments, I suddenly realized I needed to find a photo and began going through albums. I came upon this one. In the real world this is not in an album. In my dream I wrote a whole post about this fellow and the marvelous room. The simple fact that he's sitting and reading is charming these days. And please note his book does not require batteries. My mental writing was very clever, but alas I remember none of it so my even saying it was clever is to be questioned. In my dream I believed it clever, but then I went and petted my feral peacock so there you go. Oh, and there was something about spies.

Click on image to see it larger.

I love the peaceful setting of this room. The victrola. The beautiful clock on the bookcase. Even the bookcase itself. Then add in the light from what appears to be a bedroom. A comfortable and lovely home. Let's escape there for awhile and just wander through the rooms while he quietly reads. Don't bother the reader. If he looks up just nod and smile and quietly explore. I expect he too has a nice smile.

Lovely Ladies TAGGED AND WAITING

I really don't know what's going on in this photo. A group of lovely ladies of various ages all sitting on steps, many with tags hanging off the front of their blouses. Amongst them is one little girl. Who were these ladies and what prompted the gathering?

I'll admit when I see someone with tags like this, tied on with string, I can't help but think of American citizens being tagged during World War II and carted off to relocation camps. That thought is even more in my mind right now because of what has happened in Japan. Another heartbreak that causes me deep and stuttered breaths.

Click on image to see it larger.

But blogging is a place to escape for a few moments from the real world, at least at my blog.

So let us ponder these ladies? Mail order brides wearing shipping labels? Their version of the "Hello. My name is..." name tag? Did they all go around shaking each other's hands, meeting and greeting for the first time? Wives of conventioneers? And what of the little girl? Was she the only child at this event and did she remember this event and tell stories throughout her life?

There's no information written on this photo. It is another image from Bert's collection.

GLADYS KALLMAN, George's sister

For this weeks Sepia Saturday I'm focusing on Gladys Kallman, sister of George Kallman.

I know nothing about Gladys other than I believe she may have been a nurse, just like her mother. I need to dig deeper within the hundreds of photos I now own.

She went to Balboa High School in San Francisco, graduating with the June 1948 class. I'll be featuring the graduating class photo in the future. It measures 35.5" x 8" and is full of signatures on the back.

For now let's just watch Gladys grow up. And take a look at this previous post showing her and George as children.

Click on any image to see it larger.

"Gladys Kallman in foothills Summer 1942"

June 1945

"My car, Gladys"

1956

And now for your viewing pleasure...IN THE CENTER RING...

I present Count and Leslie Vier!

Okay, these little guys are simply as cute as cute can be even if I don't really like using the word cute. These guys are cute. They also look like a circus act with their little matching tights. I'm thinking tumbling across the sawdust covered ring while the spotlight follows them. Perhaps their mother standing on the back of a horse riding in circles.

Of course, they're not a circus act. Well, I can't really say that's true because I don't have any information about them other than that their names are truly Count and Leslie Vier.

They look like both of them are a bundle of energy about to explode. Perhaps anxiously awaiting a trip to the ice cream parlor following their trip to the portrait photographer. I can imagine the photographer watching as they ran circles around him before settling in place.

"Quick! Take the shot!! They may never look this still again!!!"

Seriously, who names a kid "Count" and not expect some trouble?

Another photo from Bert's collection.

UPDATE: I did a bit of searching online and believe I have found photos of the brothers as adults. I'm not positive, but the fellows on this site look very much like these boys. You'll find a listing of photos at the bottom of the page. Just look for Count or Leslie. There is even one of Count on a motorcycle.

The historical information about the two boys is as follows:

Charles Leslie Vier was born in America Fork, Utah Co., Utah on November 25, 1912. He died in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah about 1958. Charles Leslie Vier son of John W. Vier & Harriet A. Preston. He was married to Mildred Irene Johnson on April 6, 1954 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co, Utah. Their Children were missing.

Count Woodrow Vier was born in America Fork, Utah Co., Utah on May 5, 1914. He died in Placer, California in October 7, 1978. Count Woodrow Vier son of John W. Vier & Harriet A. Preston. He was married to Dorothea Delores Gillette in February 24, 1943. They had sons.

DOT JONES, Gleeful Time-Traveling-Celebrity

If you don't watch the tv show Glee you can skip through all of this text because it probably won't make any sense. Actually it's not going to make any sense no matter how you come at it.

This photo is from Bert's collection. I was going through a stack of photos last night and suddenly noticed, at least in my mind (such as it is), that this woman was possibly a Time-Traveling-Celebrity! I've posted about this before. It's one of the special privileges celebrities have that we lowly peons never even get a chance to explore. They can pop in and out of time at will. The only trace of such activity is if a photo is taken when they're there and not here. Oh I'm sure if caught they simply claim to be studying for a part, immersing themselves in their role. I'm still waiting to find out what Will Ferrell was doing in drag and in my grandmother's photo album.

This is my latest discovery. Actress Dot Jones, most recently starring as Coach Beiste on Glee. It looks to me that she did a little time traveling back to the late 1890s or early 20th century. Just a day of getting away from the daily grind of Hollywood or role researching? We will probably never know.

To see other celebrities caught out of place, out of time...

TIME-TRAVELING-celebrities

NEWS or noise?

Time-traveling WILL FERRELL

There's a pictures of PARIS HILTON IN HER ATTIC...

And no, I'm not crazy. I just play one online.

The MAN WITH HIS CAR and the scribbles

Was it a child that defaced this photo? They probably didn't consider it defacing because they were simply drawing lines around the obvious image. Tracing the lines and adding barbed wire at his feet.

Turn it over and we see the hand with the pencil became just a scribbler...and yet the man shines through due to the heavy handiwork on the front.

If a child didn't do this I have to wonder why an adult would. What's fascinating is that the image survives at all. Why was it saved, not tossed? Perhaps it was kept because it was the only known image of this person or because of what had been done to it.

As you can see there's no information given in regards to this fellows identity. This is from Bert's collection.

__________

I have an update about a previous post that you might enjoy. I've discovered the name of the man in the C. H. Masters photo which you can see here.

GEORGE KALLMAN grows up

The past two Sepia Saturday posts have been about a fellow named George Kallman. The first post is where I gave out all the actual details I have about this man and showed him with his sister Gladys. To see the second post click here.

I'm hoping someday a former student will do a search for him online and find these photos. It would be grand if someone were to step forward who knew him during his 40 years of teaching elementary school. There must be hundreds of former students from the San Francisco area who remember him. So I'll keep my fingers crossed.

For now, we look at George as he moves from adolescence to an adult and what must have been a life changing event.

This first shot has no date on the back, but I'm assuming he's probably around a junior in high school.

These next two shots are dated June 12, 1945. Senior photos?

The following three are dated November 3, 1945. George joined the Army, either by choice or by draft.

And this final shot is dated February 2 1948.

I'm wondering when George got out of the service and where did he go to college to get his teaching degree? Most likely we'll never know.

This is my Sepia Saturday entry for this weekend. More of the Kallman family next week.