Intense Camping in Tents

Handwritten message on the back of this real photo postcard: "This was the name of our camp at Cooks Mill where we was the last ten days of August." These seven campers have enough firepower--a couple of shotguns and a rifle--to "raise hell," as their sign suggests, but it's more likely they used their guns and rods for hunting and fishing (I'm not sure why the one woman is holding a tin horn, though). Their camping trip, which took place during August sometime in the 1900s or 1910s, is documented in these three photos (the one above and two more below). The location--Cooks Mill--was a small settlement in rural Bedford County, Pennsylvania, that was described in 1900 as having one store, a grist mill, and ten dwellings.

Handwritten message on the back of this real photo postcard: "This is the table where we had a many good meal those ten days. The lady at the end was a visitor. She brought 1 gal. of ice cream along." The seven Raise 'ell campers and a visitor are seated around the table where they had "a many good meal" during their stay. Perhaps they're eating the ice cream that the woman at right brought with her. Next to her are two milk cans, which were probably used to store water. The stream that's visible In the background is Wills Creek , which is still a popular fly-fishing destination today. Is that a Buster Brown outfit that the boy is wearing in this photo and the previous one ?

Handwritten message on the back of this real photo postcard: "To yous all. This is a view of our tents. Rhoads and two of the clerks came down one night. Hunter." The seven Raise 'ell campers are sitting in front of their tents. What appears to be a quilt or coverlet is visible in the first open tent, and the man seated in front of that tent is still holding the shotgun he posed with in the first photo . Charles R. Rhoads was a pharmacist in the nearby town of Hyndman , Pa., in the 1900s and 1910s. Could he have been the Rhoads who--along with two of the clerks in his pharmacy--visited the camp? And how ironic is it--considering the guns that are visible in the photos and the hunting that presumably took place during the camping trip--that the writer's name is "Hunter"!

A camping/tents photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Judging by the banner hanging above the tents, Camp Chicken is the name of this encampment. Three women and a child pose in front of the three tents on the right. On the other side, a man is lying in a hammock, and behind him is a boy and another man, both of whom are sitting on chairs. A breeze blowing through the woods has blurred the large American flag flying above the kitchen tent, and some of the smaller flags hanging above the openings to the other tents are also blurred. Sunlight filtering down through the trees has formed a dappled pattern in the clearing. This is an unused real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box on the other side (four corner triangles pointing up) that indicates a date that may be as early as 1904 to 1918. For similarly in-tents scenes, see Tents at Raise 'ell Camp, Cooks Mill, Pennsylvania , Bob White Camp , and The Methodist Church Choir Camp, 1908 .

A camping/tents photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. There wasn't any message or other information on this real photo postcard to indicate the date or location of Bob White Camp, unfortunately.

An in the choir photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Caption: "The Methodist Church Choir Camp." A real photo postcard addressed to Miss C. V. Blackwell, The Marlborough, East Orange, N.J., and postmarked Princeton, N.J., August 12, 1908. Handwritten message on the other side: "Can you recognize any of the faces? Mabel." A group of women and girls--presumably members of a Methodist church choir on a camping excursion--are gathered around a table under a tent as they pose for the photographer. Mouse over the image above for a closer look at the campers and a better view of the sickle mower in the lower right-hand corner.

A group of female campers who were evidently members of a Methodist church choir. For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard.

A hatchet is perched at the top of a piece of wood that's leaning against the tree, and a lantern hangs from the upright cutter bar of the horse-drawn sickle mower that's parked in front of the tree. Mouse over the image to see my notes about some of the objects in the photo. For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard.

A photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park topic of awkward family photos (vintage photos of odd, embarrassing, or amusing scenes from your own family's history or someone else's) . After the cavorting couple overturned the bench they were sitting on, everyone in camp stopped what they were doing to watch as the two of them continued their awkward antics on the ground. "Black Diamond Camp" is painted on the side of the bench, but I haven't been able to determine where it might have been located. See also the full version of this real photo postcard. Another photo— Footrace Photo Finish? —that I purchased along with this one may show some of the same individuals.

For a better view of the cavorting couple on the ground, see the cropped version of this real photo postcard.

A photo of tents, including wigwams, yurts, etc. for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A photo from the early days of automobile camping.

Handwritten on back of photo: "Orville Mellis, Decatur, Illinois, 1938, Lincoln impersonator." Reminiscent of Alexander Gardner's photo showing Allan Pinkerton, President Lincoln, and Maj. Gen John A. McClernand posed in front of a tent on the Antietam, Maryland, battlefield, Oct. 3, 1862.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of on vacation / holiday . Sign: "The Club." Life preserver: "U.S. Vol. Life Saving Corps." This is a hand-tinted real photo postcard addressed on the other side to Miss G. Manning, 331 W. 29 St., N.Y. City. It was postmarked at Midland Beach , Staten Island, N.Y., and New Dorp , N.Y., on August 25, 1908. Handwritten message (with original spelling): "Dear Grace, I'm having a splendid vacation down here. We have a bungaloe down here for the month of August & part of Sept. It's great sport. I would have written sooner but never think of writing down here. I didn't attent that millinery class in the YWCA because you didn't. Love, F. Cooper." Added to the message: "Drop me a card. My address -- name. c/o W. H. Putnam, New Dorp, St. Island, N.Y. Woodland Beach." See also the full version of this card.

A real photo postcard from 1908. For more information, see the cropped version of the card.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of asleep . Handwritten note on the other side of this photo: "This is the party that claims he got the Manheim bunch full when in Altoona . I caught him napping when the Dead Game[r]s of Lancaster was camping here." The Dead Gamers' Camping Association was a fraternal group based in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (see The Dead Gamers Camp in Allenwood, Pa. , an article by Heather Truckenmiller on the Valley Girl Views blog). The photographer caught the man fast asleep on a cot during a sunny afternoon as bright light illuminated the sleeper and the side of the tent. This is a real photo postcard, and the type of Azo stamp box (with four corner triangles pointing up) printed on the other side suggests a date from 1904 to 1918.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of X marks the spot (an X to indicate something or someone on the photo) . "C.M.T.C. Camp" is the label that appears below the main tent area in this photo, which is credited in the lower right-hand corner to the "Chicago Aerial Survey Co." This is a real photo postcard, and the type of Azo stamp box (with squares in all four corners) printed on the other side suggests that the card dates between 1924 and 1949. Over 400 tents are visible in the photo, and the message that's part of the image says: "Had a fine trip here, all O.K. Here is my home for a month. X marks my tent. Everything looks fine so I'm sure I will like it here. Will write a letter soon." The postcard is unused, however, and no one has added an X to indicate a tent. This C.M.T.C. Camp was located in Illinois at Fort Sheridan (now closed except for the Sheridan Reserve Center ) and was one of about fifty Citizens' Military Training Camps , which were month-long training programs held each summer from 1921 to 1940 at U.S. Army posts.