DUSTIN HOFFMAN...Time Traveling Celebrity

It's been awhile since I found a Time Traveling Celebrity, but this was worth the wait.

I give you Dustin Hoffman caught as a time traveler.

If you aren't aware of my "theory" you've been missing out on certain facts of life. 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.

So where was Dustin and was he just taking a quiet vacation or immersed in preparing for a part? A film still to be made?

Click on image to see it larger.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

An American Dream is the latest book in my series of vernacular photography books. The American dream of owning a home through vintage vernacular photographs. The focus is on the people who lived within the homes as well as the varied architecture from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Click on image to see it larger.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

An American Dream is the latest book in my series of vernacular photography books. The American dream of owning a home through vintage vernacular photographs. The focus is on the people who lived within the homes as well as the varied architecture from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

Another AMERICAN DREAM

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Another vintage photograph from An American Dream.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.



An American Dream is the latest book in my series of vernacular photography books. The American dream of owning a home through vintage vernacular photographs. The focus is on the people who lived within the homes as well as the varied architecture from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

AN AMERICAN DREAM

Another image from Tattered and Lost: An American Dream. Each photo of a house in the book is shown complete on the recto page. An enlargement of the people in the photo is on the preceding verso.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

An American Dream is the latest book in my series of vernacular photography books. The American dream of owning a home through vintage vernacular photographs. The focus is on the people who lived within the homes as well as the varied architecture from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

TBM's in Flight

The TBM Avenger was a very successful torpedo bomber made by General Motors in World War II. I've heard a lot of grand stories from my dad about his training in this plane. They were daredevils who would have gotten into a lot of trouble if it hadn't been war time. A friend of his dive bombed a farmer off of his tractor out near the Salton Sea. Yeah, daredevils and a little bit stupid at times. They also buzzed a ferris wheel in San Diego. People at the park reported seeing two planes go down in the Pacific. My dad and his buddy in the other plane were sent on a mission to find the downed pilots. Of course, they were looking for themselves, but never told HQ that. Yeah, it takes a certain breed to be a Naval Aviator.

You can read about the TBM Avenger here.

Click on image to see it larger.

I remember when I found out that actor Paul Newman had hoped to be a Naval Aviator, but it didn't happen because he was color-blind. He did however end up as a gunner and radioman in TBM's. I remember looking at my dad and saying, "Oh my how different our lives might have been if Paul Newman had been your radioman/gunner." Alas, he was not in my dad's squadron.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

An American Dream is the latest book in my series of vernacular photography books. The American dream of owning a home through vintage vernacular photographs. The focus is on the people who lived within the homes as well as the varied architecture from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

AN AMERICAN DREAM

For years I've looked at vintage photographs of families standing in front of their homes from long ago. They have always fascinated me. The people are immediately put into the context of their lives. You understand a little bit more about them.

My newest book, Tattered and Lost: An American Dream, is about houses and the people who lived within. From grand houses to one room buildings on a prairie, the people that lived inside are fascinating. The variety of architecture is fascinating.

This book is different from my previous books because each spread is dedicated to one photo only. On the verso page is an enlargement of the people in the photo, the recto shows the full photo.

There are a lot of stories here to be told.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

TBMs Aloft

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Introducing the latest edition to the Tattered and Lost series available at Amazon.

Tattered and Lost: An American Dream (Vol. 8)

The American dream of owning a home through vintage vernacular photographs. The focus is on the people who lived within the homes as well as the varied architecture from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

GETTING AWAY from It All

This is actually just a portion of a photo.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

AMERICA Nov. 9, 2016

Lost and ALONE, but NOT FORGOTTEN

This is a repost from 2009. It is my submission for Sepia Saturday's remembrance of World War I. I reference two online folks who were able to fill in some of the lost information about the photo. One of them, Eloh, has been missing in action for many years from her blog. At some point someone has gone in and deleted all the very funny stories she told.

I again thank both of them for providing the information they did.

And I do recall that a writer from Wisconsin or Michigan—I can't remember—contacted me about using the photo in a story she was writing for a local paper. I was told I'd be sent a link to the article. Of course I never was. It's happened many times that I've given folks permission to use something with the stipulation they eventually either send me a copy of the book or a link to the piece. Too often they simply don't follow through with their side of the deal.
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I have no information about this photograph. I don't know if this World War I graveyard is stateside or in Europe. It's sad, mysterious, and just plain interesting. Nothing is written on the back. Perhaps someday someone will stumble across it in Flickr who knows something about it.

Click on image to see it larger.

List of names that I was able to clearly read:

1. Charles A. Vogt / Pvt 50Co.T.C. 17 Grand Div / Died 1919
2. Charles J. Vallier Jr. / Sgt. 311 Engrs  / Died Mar. 6. 1919
3. John C Zitzmann / Col or Sgt Heqrs Co 312 ??? / Died Oct. 13. 1918
4. Macgo Alston / Pvt CoD 304 Labor ??? / Died Jan. 6. 1919
5. Robert Illig / Pvt Co A 38 Engrs / Died 
6. Edward P Bowe?? / Wagoner
7. Clarence V. Fanning / Pvt Co D 312 Engrs / Died Jan. 7. 1919
8. Michael J Connolly / Pvt Hdqs Co ??? / Died ??? 
9. Walter C Skole / Mechanic CoG 344 Inf / Died ???
10. Albert C. Welch / Sgt. CoF 348 Inf / Died Feb. 5. 1919
11. Ernest Bisbee / Wagoner Sply Co 348 Inf / Died Nov. 4. 1918
12. Eugene B. Ball / Corpl 15 Engrs / Died Mar. 13. 1919 
13. David L Dosh??? / Cook CoM ??? / Died Feb. 9. 1919

To see the people in the photo even larger click here.

Update: The net is an amazing place. This photo can now be put into context with the world. Eloh, from the hysterically funny blog http://elohssanatahw.blogspot.com/, and Lori, a genealogist from http://www.familytreesmaycontainnuts.com, together filled in the pieces. I present to you their findings.

From Eloh:

I looked at the larger photo, wow, there is some "silent film" going on isn't there. A whole movie in the expressions and body language.

The woman, possibly Graves Registration? She's wearing what seems to be a campaign ribbon on her lapel. It could be a flower stem or a pencil in her right hand and it looks like papers between her purse and body.  I'm stumped with the pockets both full of hankies. They could be scented, but the exhumed remains really wouldn't be that stinky.  Maybe she just has a heart, maybe fashion?

The full bird colonel is obviously upset with her. He is used to getting things his way.  On his collar is the Engineer insignia and the Combat Infantrymans. Color is a problem with the rank of the other two, but one thing about the Army, some things stay the same.  I'll still be guessing that the oak leaf is gold and that Major is the Colonels' Aid. (Personal secretary).  Color problems again, and again it would normally be a silver bar of a First Lieutenant, could be a Captain at that angle of the photo, but he is young and not paying attention to his surroundings, he is only interested in what that Bird Colonel wants. He is also wearing Engineer Insignia. I can't make out the patch, left shoulder it would tell us what "Army" he was assigned to.
(7th Army has been in Europe since  WWII)

I noticed in your list of names a Junior and thought it the most likely to connect up to something useful.  I was lucky as he did have a child.

This is a relocation of soldiers killed in France.

Charles J. Vallier Jr. / Sgt. 311 Engrs  / Died Mar. 6. 1919

Born:  10 Jul 1888  Place:  Of, Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Died:  6 Mar 1919  Place:  , , , France
Wife's Name
Mae MINN

Born:  Abt. 1892  Place: 

one child listed as still living.

It will be very interesting to find out where his body is today.

From Lori:

I am pretty sure the cemetery is Suresnes, Ile de France, France. The American military cemetery at Suresnes was established in 1917 by the Graves Registration Service of the Army Quartermaster Corps. A majority of the World War I dead buried there died of wounds or sickness in hospitals located in Paris or at other places administered by the Services of Supply. (Many were victims of the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919.) The graves area consists of four burial plots: three of World War I, with a total of 1541 graves, and one of World War II, containing the graves of 24 unknown soldiers, sailors, or airmen.

At least one of the names (Ernest Bisbee) on the list is buried there. I didn’t find any family trees looking for Charles Vallier.

Thanks to both of you for helping to fill in the pieces. Perhaps someday someone looking for information about their ancestors will find this photo online.

Update: Thank you to Natalie Karst for finding and sending the following two newspaper clippings relating to Walter C. Skole in the list above. Because of her sleuthing we now know the cemetery was Carbon Blanc and that it is possible the woman in the photo is Edith Wilson, wife of President Woodrow Wilson.

It's always so rewarding when I post something and even more comes back to me than I initially posted. I can't thank those who participate enough. It's a little thread of history.

Click on images to see them larger.

To see another post about a U.S. soldier who lost his life during war please visit my link to the Sgt. C. E. Mower which now contains many new images from the shipboard newsletter from the 1940s provided by reader D. Kauffman.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

The BIRTHDAY Girls

This lovely little vintage real photo postcard was given to me for my birthday. No date on it, but it was sent to my friend's grandmother.

Click on image to see it larger.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.