Alan Mays' photos

A paper toy spinner intended to be given out to children on "Rally Day," a special celebration held by some Protestant churches in September or October to promote family attendance at church services and children's participation in Sunday school. "Glad you are here on our Rally Day. Insert pin and spin. Be a ten point member. 1. Attends regularly. 2. Comes on time. 3. Contributes weekly. 4. Studies the lesson. 5. Is attentive. 6. Seeks new members. 7. Is friendly. 8. Reads the Bible daily. 9. Prays for himself and others. 10. Attends church."

For an enlarged view of the structure , mouse over the image above. I didn't quite know what to make of this snapshot when I purchased it. The photo is dated July 1956 and shows a haphazardly constructed structure of some sort, with discarded tires, odd lengths of wood, and unidentifiable pieces of metal. A strangely shaped homemade bench stands on one side of what looks like an entrance, and a couple of steer skulls stand guard on the other side. I thought that it might be the entrance to a junkyard. A number of handmade signs appear on the structure. One sign warns, "Posted, Keep Out," and right below it is another that says, "Welcome." I spotted yet another sign with a religious message--"Do You Believe in Jesus, Thank You"--and then I noticed a pair of signs that simply say, "Sykes Ranch." Could that be the name of the junkyard? After numerous Google searches, I found a March 3, 2011, blog posting by Vance Lauderdale that described " Stephen Sykes and His 'In-Curiosity' House ." It turns our that the owner of Sykes Ranch was "a remarkable fellow named Stephen Sykes, who constructed an absolutely amazing folk-art house / junk pile / art creation outside Aberdeen, Mississippi, in the 1950s that he called 'In-Curiosity.'" Despite the Sykes Ranch signs in the photo, the structure was referred to as "In-Curiosity" by Sykes or sometimes just "Curiosity" by others, as Lauderdale recounts in his blog posting and in a Very Curious column that he wrote for Memphis Magazine , February 2011. Lauderdale also located an earlier article, " Do It Yourself 'Skyscraper' ," in Ebony magazine, March 1963, pp. 75-78, that described Stephen Sykes as "a 69-year-old bachelor with a driving amibition to rise above his fellow man." Sykes, an African-American veteran of World War I, began building In-Curiosity, which he used as a residence, in the early 1950s on family-owned land located along U.S. Route 45 near Aberdeen, Mississippi. Lauderdale heard that Stephen Sykes passed away sometime in the 1960s, and he assumed that all traces of In-Curiosity vanished when Route 45 was later widened. "But Sykes and his amazing creation," Lauderdale fittingly said, "live on in the memories of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of travelers in this area, and in grainy home movies and snapshots tucked away in boxes and scrapbooks." -------- For additional views of In-Curiosity, photos of Stephen Sykes, and further information regarding the maker and his house, check out Vance Laureldale's writings and the Ebony article: Vance Lauderdale. Very Curious column. Memphis Magazine , February 2011. Vance Lauderdale. " Stephen Sykes and His 'In-Curiosity' House ." Ask Vance , March 3, 2011. " Do It Yourself 'Skyscraper' ." Ebony , March 1963, pp. 75-78.

For information about Sykes Ranch, see the full version of this photo:

A real photo postcard, probably from Iowa, circa 1910s. There are newspaper pages underneath the ears of corn that the guy is holding, and details from the top corners of two pages are barely visible under enlargement. The headline of an article on one page begins with "Iowa M," and "[In]heritance" seems to be part of a section header on another page. At the top of the Inheritance page, the partial newspaper name and date looks like: "and Leader, Sunday Morning, November 14, 1910" (Leader, Sunday, Morning, and November are the only words that I'm reasonably sure about; another problem is that November 14 in 1910 wasn't a Sunday). If "Iowa" is a clue about the newspaper's origin, then perhaps the paper was the Davenport Democrat and Leader or the Des Moines Register and Leader .

A farm photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. When I first noticed this real photo postcard in a dealer's booth at an antique mall in York County, Pennsylvania, it was obvious that the photo wasn't in very good shape (and it did require a bit of touch-up to make it presentable for posting here), but I found the farm scene to be quite interesting. The sturdy stone house, windmill, large barn, and well-maintained outbuildings, along with the two dozen Holstein cows grazing in the pasture, make it evident that a prosperous farmer and his family lived here. The forebay--the overhang that extends from the front of the barn--and the corresponding banked entrance to the second level on the other side (it's not visible in the photo) identify this as a type of bank barn known as a Pennsylvania barn due to its popularity in the state during the nineteenth century. Taking a closer look at the scene, I realized that a man--the farmer, perhaps?--and two boys and a girl--his children?--were also out standing in their field (the man is standing in front of the cows just right of center, the two boys are on the left, and the white dress of the girl is visible near the building on the right). Later, when I viewed the photo under magnification, I discovered that the little white and brown dots located between the cows are actually chickens. As I debated whether to purchase the photo--its condition wasn't the best, and the price was a little more than I wanted to pay--I looked for any information on the postcard that might help identify the farm's location or maybe even the family. Unfortunately, there was nothing written on the back nor was the postcard sent through the mail, so there wasn't any postmark. But then I saw the dealer's tag, which said "Cowson Farm." That clinched it! With some research and a little luck, I might be able to determine where the Cowsons lived (probably somewhere in Pennsylvania and maybe even in York County). If I could identify the farm, then perhaps I could even take a photo of its current condition to compare with this earlier one. I took the real photo postcard to the main counter at the antique mall in order to pay for it. Since the cashier was removing the dealer's tag from the postcard, I wanted to be certain that I had noted the name of the farm correctly, and I asked to see the tag before she put it away. The cashier took a glance at the tag and then told me, "Well, the only thing it says is 'Cows on Farm.'" Doggonit! Even though I misread the tag and won't be tracking down any information on the Cowson family, I still have a decent photo of cows--and they're on a farm! 8-)

Text of the sign that the two men at the front are holding: "Suvretta House Été 1919! [Suvretta House summer of 1919!]" (mouse over the image to see an enlargement of the sign ). A real photo postcard showing the chef staff of a luxury hotel, the Suvretta House, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in 1919. The hotel celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2012.

For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard:

A real photo postcard. Caption: "#5268. High-Water Mark. 1912." Four young men pose with their bicycles near the High Water Mark of the Rebellion Monument , which is located on the Gettysburg Battlefield in Gettysburg, Pa. The woman in the background is taking a closer look at the monument. For an earlier postcard view of the monument, see High Water Mark Monument, Gettysburg, Pa., December 2, 1906 . For a recent photo, see High Water Mark Monument, Gettysburg, Pa., August 8, 2013 .

"See--flying saucers are real!" An advertising postcard with a postmark dated July 27, 1967. Excerpts from the back of the postcard: "Extraterrestrial Spaceship. Actual photograph of a flying saucer taken by Paul Villa on June 16, 1963, near Albuquerque, New Mexico. Learn: Why spaceships and their crews from other worlds are visiting our planet…. Subscribe to: Flying Saucers International…. Send for free brochure and saucer book to: Amalgamated Flying Saucer Clubs of America, Inc. (AFSCA)…." The Flying Saucers Are Real was also the title of a popular paperback book written by Donald Keyhoe and published by Fawcett Publications in 1950.

This Victorian-era advertising trade card for the Estey Organ Company features a parade of Brownies , the popular creatures created by author and illustrator Palmer Cox (1840–1924). For other Brownie sightings, see Don't Walk! Ride a Bicycle and What Have You Found Now, Christopher Columbus?

Although "TMI" simply means " too much information " to most of us, residents of central Pennsylvania also use it to refer to the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station , a nuclear power plant situated on an island in the Susquehanna River that's three miles downriver from the borough of Middletown and twelve miles from the city of Harrisburg, the state capital. Thirty-five years ago--on March 28, 1979--one of TMI's two nuclear reactors experienced a partial nuclear meltdown , which the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission still calls the "most serious accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant operating history." The partial meltdown resulted in a release of radioactive materials, and pregnant women and young children living within a 20-mile radius of the plant were advised to evacuate the area. It took several days until plant operators were certain that the situation was under control. Gary and the Outriders, a local music group, recorded an original song, "Goodbye T.M.I. (The Ballad of Three Mile Island)," and released it as a 45 rpm record. Its catchy melody contrasts with its dire refrain: "Goodbye, goodbye to your life, T.M.I." To hear the song, check it out on YouTube: Gary & The Outriders - Goodbye T.M.I. (1979) . For another musical reaction to the TMI accident, see the cover of the record album, Potter County Was Made by the Hand of God But the Devil Made Three Mile Island , on Flickr.

A medical photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A real photo postcard published by the Grogan Photo Co., Danville, Ill. Postmarked Chicago, Ill., July 13, 1946. " Iron lungs ," a colloquial term for negative pressure ventilators (these medical devices are no longer called "respirators"), were notably used in the 1940s and 1950s to treat polio patients with paralyzed lungs. Fortunately, with the development of vaccines to prevent polio and the development of new types of ventilators and treatments, iron lungs are now used only infrequently.

Pipe-Smoking Man (aka Yellow Socks Guy) relaxes in front of a warm and cozy fireplace. Tasteful art-- The Half Way House, Thatcham (1848), a copy of a painting by William Shayer Sr. (1787-1879)--hangs above the mantle, an issue of Seventeen is peeking out of the magazine rack, and the same floral-print curtains that were visible in The Silence in the Room Was Deafening show up here, too. See also Pipe-Smoking Television Man . (Thanks to goenetix for identifying the painting!) For related slides, select the thumbnail images below.

National Theatre, 6th & Dauphin Sts. This ticket and 10c will admit 1 adult or 1 child. Clara Bow, "Call Her Savage." Our Gang comedy & Betty Boop. Wed. & Thurs., March 1 &2, 1933. Fri. & Sat. Tim McCoy, "End of the Trail."

"Let me cry your next sale and get the money. My prices are right. J. H. Markle, auctioneer and notary public. Lock box 44, Hanover, Pa. Spangler, 113 Locust St., Hanover. Pa."

A real photo postcard of the tiny buildings in the Miniature City that once stood in Clinch Park near the Lake Michigan shore in Traverse City , Michigan. For some other postcards and photos, see my gallery of Miniature City, Clinch Park, Traverse City, Michigan images.

An slide, circa 1959, from Pipe-Smoking Man's family .