CAMPING without too much labor

How fast could this camper put their campsite together?


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I'm hoping to do some camping later in the year. I wouldn't even think about camping on this busy weekend. If the campground is full of people, the road home sure would be backed up. I prefer to camp in the offseason when kids are back in school and things are a bit more quiet. With luck I'll head north to Oregon. If I'm really really lucky I'll find a day to go to Powell's Bookstore in Portland. My heart beats a little faster just thinking about it.

LOOKING BACK on a friendship and summer

Why is it summertime brings back such vivid memories? I think more so than other times of the year. But then, maybe it's just me.

I don't know the story behind this house or the two women sitting on the porch. Perhaps it wasn't even taken in the summer. I have my reasons for guessing that this might actually be Florida which means it could be just about any time of the year. They can have windows open all year long. Of course, with the weather changes everywhere, I can remember having my doors and windows open in February this year.

So, if the warmth of the summer is what helps to make memories so vivid, does this mean with global warming we'll be getting more memories throughout the year?

It's okay, I ramble like this sometimes. I'm not in need of medical attention. It's just the heat and the memories I'm making.


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CAMPING with a wood nymph

If you go out in the woods today be careful of the wood nymphs.

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CAMPING

I have memories of camping in Yosemite and Sequoia as a child. Somewhere there are old 8mm movies of me in my cowboy boots, flannel lined jeans, and striped t-shirt running amongst the redwoods with a little red headed girl. I have no idea who the little girl was, just someone camped near us who became my friend while we were camping. She’ll never see the old footage of herself jumping up and down from behind a tree stump.


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These days I still love camping but admit I want to do it from an RV. I can’t sleep on the ground anymore and I like being able to go inside at night and not have to worry about bugs. I’ve got enough bugs here at home; I don’t need more bugs on the road. Plus, and it's a HUGE plus...I like having a bathroom just a few feet away. Get old and you'll understand.

I’m hoping to do some camping later in the year, perhaps by a lake in the Trinity Alps in the fall. That would be nice. Fall colors, warm days, cool nights, and a campfire with the smoke spiraling towards the tree tops into the dark starry sky. Yeah, I’d like to go camping.

Plus, maybe I wouldn't hear so many darn coyotes at night if I went camping.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

SUMMERTIME: Part 14

Summertime is nearly over. Months of anticipation down to weeks. Fall will soon be here. Some leaves have already started to turn. Soon the abundance of color will be upon us.

So let's end this summertime series with three "familiar" people, the Kallman family.

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Little George Kallman has his back to us. Lorena Aina Beck Kallman stares at the camera, her daughter Gladys by her side. There's no indication as to where on when this shot was taken. I imagine it was taken by Alfred Kallman, the patriarch of the family.

Water is a big part of summer. We play in it, we refresh ourselves on a hot day with it, we long for it when the ground is parched in the summer sun. And we create memories with it.

A warm summer afternoon playing in a stream. Good times. Good times.

SUMMERTIME: Part 13

Summertime is meeting friends on a warm day at the swimming hole beneath trees covered in Spanish moss. Your senses will create a memory you can return to for the rest of your life.

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On the back of this photo is written:

Swimming Hole

1945

Florida

I'm guessing there's a sign on the banks saying "Watch out for gators and water moccasins." Mind you, I'm just guessing and my guess is based on nothing more than the stories my mother told me about living in Banana River, Florida in the 1940s.

SUMMERTIME: Part 12

Summertime is sitting on the porch reading a book with grandma.

This post actually has multiple levels, none of which really have anything to do with the other.

Sitting as a child in someone's lap as they read to you is one of the great simple pleasures. Turning the pages, feeling the paper between your fingers; all of your senses are at play. Sitting with an iPad or a Kindle is not the same. A book is not a shiny object. You have to invest yourself into a book. Years later you may again find the same book and have the memories come flooding back. Taking it from a shelf and again holding it will for a few moments bring back that flurry of sensations you remember from so long ago.

The book this grandma is reading to her granddaughter is "Kiddie Land" by Margaret G. Hays.

Margaret G. Hays was the sister of Grace G. Wiederseim who became Grace Dayton, creator of Dolly Dingle and the Campbell's Kids.

Margaret is the author of "Kiddie Land" and her sister was the illustrator. You can see the title page to this book here.

Margaret G. Hays, sister of Grace Drayton, was a comic artist in the first decade of the twentieth century. She created 'Jennie and Jack, also the Little Dog Jap', and was also known for making paper dolls for postcards. She sometimes teamed up with her sister, for instance on the strip 'The Turr'ble Tales of Kaptin Kiddo'. (SOURCE: LAMBIEK.NET)

The next part of this post has to do with grandma herself. Does she look familiar? Is this a face that bears some resemblance to...oh I don't know...maybe Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States? Maybe it's just me. I see what I call Time Traveling Celebrities once in a while in old photos. In this case both grandma and Roosevelt are dead so grandma is not exactly time traveling as the two examples below are.

This photo was taken on April 28, 1939 when Roosevelt was in office. And mind you, this is not the first cross-dressing celebrity I've found.

I give you Will Ferrel in drag. Actually, I have no idea who this woman is. She was in my grandmother's album so she might actually be a relative of mine. This photo was originally posted April 30, 2009.

And then there's Matt Damon, originally posted November 21, 2008. I have no idea who this fellow actually is, but I do remember seeing him staring out of a pile of photos and being dumbfounded by the resemblance to Damon.

Really, you just never know who you might see in photos of people you don't know.

And to tie everything up with a piece of broken wire I'll admit that this hodgepodge is my contribution to this weeks Sepia Saturday. The theme was trees. As you can see I'm not even in a broken branch. More like low hanging fruit.

SUMMERTIME: Part 11

Summertime is hanging the "Gone Fishin'" sign on the door even if you don't fish.

Tomorrow: sittin' on the porch

SUMMERTIME: Part 10

Summertime is being able to go outside and enjoy the weather and the long afternoons before the sun sets.

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Tomorrow: hang out the sign that says...

SUMMERTIME: Part 9

Summertime is going to a baseball game and enjoying yourself whether your team wins or not.

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This weeks Sepia Saturday theme seems to be a blushing romance and dare I say it, hoping to get to first base? Since I’m still working on my summertime theme (if that’s what you want to call it) I’ll have to say the only romance in my shot is for those who are truly enamored with baseball.

I’m okay with baseball. I’m not big on watching sports of any kind, but I have been to a few professional baseball games in my life.

For anyone who has read this blog for the past few years you may remember this photo being shown once before when a friend called and said, “Meet me at the ferry on Wednesday. We’re going to a Giant’s game.” I did enjoy it. I don’t remember which team won, but I LOVED the park. I mean really LOVED the park with its views of the San Francisco bay.

This photo comes from the Bill and Dick Excellent Adventure album. I have featured a variety of photos from this album the past few years.

As you can see from the handwriting at the bottom, this was taken in Portland Oregon sometime around or after 1916. I have no idea the name of the team. I do know there are a heck of a lot of straw boaters in the stands.

As to the other words at the bottom, Mazie King…take a listen (open this link in an additional window) and try to sit still. Is it not the perfect tune to go along with this image? It all becomes a silent movie with the actors about to come to life at any moment.

As to who was Mazie King and why is her name on the photo? Well, I believe the curly haired woman in the foreground IS Mazie King. Take a look at this photo and tell me if you think it's the same woman. From what I've been able to find she was a dancer and appeared on Broadway and in vaudeville.

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UPDATE: Thanks to readers I can add the information given below in comments into the actual post.

From WYJ in regards to the baseball team: The team would be the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League. There have been several versions of the team over the years. The latest was evicted by the city in 2010 so the stadium could be used by a MSL soccer franchise.

From Anyjazz in regards to Mazie: Yes, that's her. According to Wiki, "The Passing Show" was a music and dance revue staged annually from about 1894 on. From 1912 to 1924 it played on Broadway in New York. Mazie King was probably in it as a "Toe Dancer."

Thank you!

Tomorrow or possibly the next day or the next: more summertime

SUMMERTIME: Part 8

Summertime is remembering the water's fine so have fun and just go with the moment.

Tomorrow: buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks

SUMMERTIME: Part 7

Summertime is spending the day by the river without a phone.

Tomorrow: letting go

SUMMERTIME: Part 6

Summertime is camping in the redwoods with family beneath thousand year old trees.

Tomorrow: wait and see

SUMMERTIME: Part 5

Summertime is boys at the beach trying to impress the girls.

Tomorrow: camping

SUMMERTIME: Part 4

Summertime is bathing beauties at the beach trying to impress the boys.

Tomorrow: the guys of course

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I've added a new site in the Other Sites, Other Worlds column to the left:

American Snapshots

It appears to be a site that just got up and running this month. It looks like it has potential.

Sadly, many of the sites in the list are close to dead. Many no longer post new images, but I think it's worth leaving them on the list for what they did post. I basically keep the list for myself so I remember all of these other places to visit to see old photos.

Should you ever come across a site you want to share just let me know.

SUMMERTIME: Part 3

Summertime is a picnic on a lazy warm afternoon with family and friends.

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Tomorrow: bathing beauties

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I collect vernacular photography which I think of as photographs of the ordinary by the ordinary. Snapshots are my favorite, especially showing people involved with their surroundings and not lined up and posed.

There are people who believe collecting these photos is odd and a waste of time. Why collect something taken by an amateur of people you don't know? It has no value? Why not collect something with a pedigree?

The obvious answer for me is money. I can't afford photos by the greats, but I can afford these. But more important it's the challenge of searching through junk to find a jewel. An amateur snapshot that is as beautiful as many I've seen by professionals. And since I know nothing about the photographer who am I to say they were an amateur? Perhaps the photographer was a professional or it was just a very lucky shot by an amateur. Makes no difference to me. The shot is perfect.

Others might not agree with me and that's fine. It's my little gem and I have no idea if there are more copies floating around somewhere. This may be the only one in existence and I might be the first person to react this way to it. For awhile it was someone else's trash. Not anymore, at least not for now.

This is my contribution to this weeks Sepia Saturday. To see more summertime shots click here and here. More will be added over the next several days.

SUMMERTIME: Part 2

Summertime is sitting and laughing in a hammock with friends beneath the shade of an old tree.

Tomorrow: picnics

SUMMERTIME: Part 1

Summertime is carefree days and rollerskating along the shaded sidewalk in front of your house.

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Tomorrow: hammocks and friendship

Virden redux

Many months ago, June 9th to be specific, I did a post about small town America featuring a real photo postcard of downtown Virden, Illinois. Several months later I received an email from someone who grew-up in Virden and I promised to post another shot when I returned from vacation. I forgot, but I've finally remembered.

This is a real photo postcard of what looks to be a really lovely street in Virden. The card was post dated on July 11 at 9:30 am but there is no year on the postal cancellation. I'd imagine it's around 1905 to 1910. Purely a guess. 

I wish I'd posted this during the summer because it has such a glorious summertime feeling to it, but I did promise this person I'd post it. I hope you and your folks enjoy this.

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