Wishing you GOOD TIDINGS...

and a peaceful New Year in which these fellows yell "Good cheer!" as they pass by your door, but do not stop to tempt you to imbibe.



I will be spending mine in bed with a head cold. A jar of Vicks shall be as wild as it gets.

AFTER THE TREE is gone...

there's still a little bit of Christmas left behind.

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And for me, I'll take the Navajo rug!

BUMPUSES' DOGS and Black Bart

Any minute now I expect to see the Bumpuses' dogs come running along that porch carrying turkey legs. If this doesn't make sense neither will the reference to Black Bart.

Hoping all are making holiday memories.

MERRY CHRISTMAS dreamers

Where's SANTA?

A vintage snapshot of, I believe, children of military families. Your challenge is to find Santa.

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This is my submission for the holiday Sepia Saturday.

Happy Holidays to All.

Did you remember to SEND THE QUMIBYS A CARD?

Let's go to JULIA'S FOR CHRISTMAS!

Hey gang, let's all get in our cars and drive to Julia Barney's for Christmas. Looks like a nice place which probably can hold quite a few people. Plenty of lawn for tent pitching. What do you think?

She's already proficient at using abbreviations for texting: Thot and pic. Should be a fun time!

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ERNIE'S DAUGHTER Ready to Clean Up

I don't have a lot of photos of Ernie that you haven't seen, but I do have a lot of his daughter. I figured they should be part of the Ernie collection since either he or his wife took them. Here we have Ernie's daughter in the early 1960s at Christmas time. She's ready and waiting to clean things up once the package hurrah has taken place.


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Click on "Ernie" in the labels to see more about Ernie and his family.

Buy Your Holiday Gifts at MOORE'S ELECTRIC SHOP

Not a very festive photo, is it? Well, click on it and take a look at it large. Moore's Electric Shop had their store decorated for Christmas. Moore's was located south of San Francisco on the Peninsula.

The CHRISTMAS VILLAGE

Oh to be able to step back in time to visit this tree with the village below. No houses, just little animals.

When SANTA GOT A GOLD WATCH...

was it from the elves hoping he'd retire? Seriously, how many days a year must the elves work? I'm thinking the gold watch was a hint. "Hey old dude, time to pack it in."

And is it just me, or did the kid on the left eventually front a new wave rock band? I'm actually pretty convinced the guy doing Santa is actually Richard Attenborough deep into a part.

A CARD FROM MARGARITE ANDERSON in 1936

I'm sure the kids,  Janice and Wendall Anderson, had a lot to say too.

Click on either image to see them larger.

They'll NEVER TELL

My submission for this weeks Sepia Saturday.

GREETINGS from...

Virgil Larson.


Click on image to see it larger. From the George Kallman estate.

KODAK Christmas Greeting Cards

Click on image to see it larger. (SOURCE: Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Ideas for 1963)

Put the Doll IN THE CART

I find this to be an odd looking doll. I'm thinking it's because there isn't much depth to the sculpting. Sort of a creepy doll, but this little girl is clearly happy so what do I know?

Here's your task, if you choose to accept it. What is the doll sitting in? I know what I think it is, but I'm hoping someone else can confirm it. Someone wiser than me, which means most of the human race.


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The FAMILY ON THE STOOP

This comes from an old tattered photo album. This appears to be a photo of when the kids came back to visit in Canada. I'm merely speculating about this. The woman on the first step actually lived in Northern California near Ukiah. I'm not sure how many of these people are related by blood or marriage.


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I have featured other vintage snapshots from this album, including this one of the kids when they were very young.


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Can you figure out which person in the first photo is the one in the second?

Three Kids with a FART FAIRY

I'm pleased to present another vernacular photograph in the fart fairy category. Don't know what a fart fairy is? Take a look here to get the whole picture.

Now, looking at these kids, I'm suspicious the one on the far left, who has been ostracized by the others, may be the one who invited the fart fairy to the gathering. Further evidence is the frown on the middle child. You be the judge.


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I'll tell you, this is a very challenging category!

CAN'T BUST 'EMS Are for Hard Workin' Folk

When I saw this weeks Sepia Saturday prompt my first thought was of can't bust 'ems, aka overalls. I have photos of my dad on the ranch in his can't bust 'ems with a big smile on his face. He wore them to school for years along with his hobnail boots. I have no idea who the people are in these vintage snapshots.

For me overalls have always been the clothing of hard working people who came home with dirt under their nails and a longing for a good meal and sleep...and country kids.


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TWO NEW BOOKS AVAILABLE: I have two books now for sale on Amazon throughout the U.S./Canada and Europe, including the UK. One is a revised version of Tattered and Lost: Childhood, the other is completely new and called Tattered and Lost: Telling Stories. Take a look at the links in the left column to find out more about them or click on the Amazon links farther down the page.

      

I am currently revising the original first volume of Tattered and Lost and hope to have it available soon. Each of the volumes is in a new trim size with more photos at a reduced price from the previous books.

And if you're quick of eye you'll notice a man wearing overalls eating watermelon in the Telling Stories example in the lefthand column.

Name THIS CAR!

Okay car lovers, what the heck is this? I was saddened when I scanned this neg to see it was so blurred, but I figured it was good enough to have car lovers curious.

A driveway dragster? You tell me.


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Okay...NAME THIS CAR!

Another photo from the Arthur Bowen estate. This photo was also taken in Germany in the early '50s. Any ideas?


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NAME THAT CAR!

Arthur Bowen, son of schoolteacher Gertrude Bowen, was living in Germany in the early 1950s working for the U.S. government. He wrote postcards home to his mother about wanting to buy a car. Amongst the photos from his estate were a couple of photos of cars. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to figure out what this car is. I already know because he wrote the information on the back. 

Any guesses? I think you'll be surprised by this one.

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BILL BURRUD?

Last year I bought a box of photos that contained images of a woman named Gertrude Bowen and her son Arthur. I think the photos had probably belonged to Arthur. Many of the photos were severely damaged, but still interesting. This is one of the images from the damaged pile.


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I remember Bill Burrud doing some sort of travel or nature films that were shown on tv. Now, I have no idea if this is a photo of a young Bill Burrud with his family or if there is another reason this TV Guide clipping was stuck to the image. Doesn't make sense to me. The man looks like an insurance salesman, not an adventure seeker. Anyone have any ideas?

It's little. It's white. It's from the 1950s. WHAT IS IT?

Other than the VW Beetle, I'm not acquainted with little cars from the 1950s in the U.S. so I'm leaving this open to discussion. Anyone know what this car is? The photos were taken at an Air Force base.






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Kids on horses...IT'S A CATEGORY

Kids on horses or ponies is definitely a category so I'm not sure why I don't always buy them. You know if I find a shot of people eating watermelon it's coming home with me; same with someone cutting a cake. But I often leave kids astride a poor pack animal in the bin. I need to rethink this. Sure, often the kids look less than thrilled. They're duded up in some cowboy duds and then stuck on a horse. The parents are smiling, the guy with the horse is trying to get the kid to smile, and the horse with one leg resting is just thinking, "What did I do to deserve this?" as the kids pees through the chaps and onto the horses back.


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Yeah, I think I need to rethink this category. There's more going on than what appears on the surface.

I'm so VERY CONFUSED!

If the photo is of Pa, Ma, and Clyde...which one is Pa or which one is Clyde? It's pretty safe to guess that one of them is Ma...but...but...
but...I'm so confused.



They are quite adamant about this what with the "." period after Pa and Clyde.

YOU HAVE A CHOICE this holiday season

The holiday season is upon us. Dance and be merry! Or be like me and sit on a log and stare at some guys butt.

CAUGHT skinnin' a live potato!

Well dang nabbit! I don't let folks take my picture so it's with great surprise that I find this shot of me showin' up! I guess they thought it would be funny to post a photo of the old woman peeling the skin off a live potato on Thanksgiving. Dang cell phone cameras!


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May you all have a potato skin free holiday!

THE SUITOR and the Wallpaper

Vern met Charlotte at a Grange dance and was immediately taken with her smile. After several dates Charlotte decided it was time for him to meet ma and pa.

"Pa is thinking of retiring and the two of them will move in with my brother and his wife. He said we can have the house. You'll love it. Ma decorated it herself."


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The WALLPAPER REALLY PULLED THE ROOM TOGETHER

Home Decorating 101:  Always have something in your room that makes people say, "Whoa, the _____ really pulls the room together." Now, this could be a rug if you are planning an homage to the Dude, or, as in this case, a wallpaper that you got really really cheap.

Make sure to get something that makes a statement before visitors even have a chance to make a statement. It will be a focal point in your room where for years to come family and friends will want their photo taken.


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It will also confuse drunks who end up having a very hard time telling anyone where they were.

"Honestly officer, there were like huge prickly leaves and horses everywhere. Oh, yeah, and there was an angel watching me alllllllllllll night, bless her little heart."

Little sailors, guns, and a BIG HAPPY SMILE

What more could a little boy ask for? A sailor suit, a stuffed animal, and a gun. Which is bringing this little lad the most pleasure? Let us hope the gun was a toy and that his smile wasn't from the glee of taking out the neighbor.

MRS. COLEMAN redux

It's always fun to go to the antique store and find more photos in a series that I didn't find the first time around. For a few years it was photos of Ernie. Alas, I haven't found anymore of Ernie, but I did find a couple more of his young daughter.

Yesterday I found this one of Mrs. Coleman. Mrs. Coleman and the apartment building she lived in in 1915 was featured here and here. What a simple joy it was to find another photos of her. Sadly Mr. Coleman will remain a mystery.

Perfect little BALLERINAS

And this is why this place is called Tattered and Lost. Who else would buy this shred of a memory?




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Colorful LIL

I always find hand tinting of photos fascinating. Sometimes it's so bad that it makes a bad photo good. Sometimes it's a stunning piece of workmanship.

On photobooth Lil I'm fascinated by the choice that was made to put background color on the left, but nowhere else. Conscious artistic decision or run out of paint?

The VETERANS AMONG US

These are the men we celebrate on Veterans Day. These are the men we celebrate on Memorial Day. The truth is that we have no idea how many of these young men never returned to their homes to share meals with their families, thus no idea which holiday is appropriate for each of them.


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I have no information about this photo, but can surmise it was taken of US troops during World War II in the Pacific theater. After having seen so many war movies it almost looks like a still from a Hollywood production. It could have been taken from the miniseries The Pacific.

Nearly hidden among all of these men, waiting for their rations, is one fellow who looks like every GI you've ever seen in a World War II movie. But these guys aren't in costume. These guys didn't have fancy trailers to go to between takes. These guys were walking in the mud, swatting the mosquitos, complaining about the food, and unsure what their futures held.

We remember this weekend, November 11th, those who have served our country in too many wars.

This is my submission for this weeks Sepia Saturday. The theme photo showed women working as telephone operators, part of a machine. I went with men working as part of a war machine.

SHARI in color

Another photo of Shari, but no information as to when it was taken. Such beautiful big eyes.



I also believe that this photo of two kids rollerskating is of Shari with perhaps her brother. This photo was originally posted August 4, 2011.


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SHARI with Nancy Kimberly in 1950

Did you play dress-up as a kid? Did you have a bunch of old clothes that belonged to your mom or dad that were now yours to do with as you wished? I do remember have some purses and hats when I was very little.

Perhaps some of you will also remember the following items: plastic high heels, fur stole, pop beads. I had a pair of kids size plastic high heels that were held on with a strip of black elastic. The shoes came with a gray and white faux fur stole. You might not believe this, but I still have the stole. I don't know where, but I do remember I have it. I think the set also came with pop-beads. I still have some of those too. The heels? Long gone. Even if they fit I wouldn't wear them. It's been decades since I wore high heels. I always hated them and finally decided my feet were more important than fashion.

On the back of this photo it says that this is "Shari with Nancy Kimberly around 1950." Shari is on the right. These little girls are classics!


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