Alan Mays' photos

"T-26 Mr. Ground Hog, the Original Weather Prophet." After digging out following a record-breaking thirty-some inches of snow last weekend , I'm hoping that the groundhog won't see his shadow on Groundhog Day . In this amusingly garish linen postcard, Mr. Ground Hog seems to be baring his teeth at the notion of being pulled from his den to display his skills at prognostication. For some other items featuring the weather-wise woodchuck, see my Groundhog Day album.

A watching photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. "Viewing fish from 'Walk Under Water.' Nature's Giant Fish Bowl, Homosassa Springs, Fla. 2-E-540." Visitors to Homosassa Springs, a Florida tourist attraction promoted as "Nature's Giant Fish Bowl," could watch the fish swimming in the waters of the springs through glass panels--as we can see in this real photo postcard--in a "'Walk Under Water" observatory that was located below water level. (In this day and age, the glass ashtray there on the ledge seems a bit out of place.) Today, the state of Florida has preserved the site, which is now known as the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park . The park still has a "Fish Bowl" underwater observatory, where visitors can view fish as well as manatees. For photos and postcards from other Florida springs, see my images tagged with Silver Springs and Weeki Wachee Springs .

"Bristol County Association. G.A.R. Clambake. Riverview Park, Labor Day. Seat No. 332." Handwritten additions to the front of this ticket: "C. L. Deane & J.D.H. Jr. Sep. 6/88. (over.)" Handwritten note on the back (see below): "Worst clam bake I ever went to. Tables set in open field. Broiling hot sun. Clams half done. One waiter to our table. Everything in the bake was smoky. Everybody disgusted. C. L. Deane." "C. L. Deane" was clearly displeased with the food and service at the clambake that he and "J.D.H. Jr." attended as part of an early observance of Labor Day in 1888. The Bristol County Association, based in Bristol County, Massachusetts, was a local chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), an American Civil War veterans' organization. C. L. Deane may have been Charles Learned Deane (1871-1955). If so, he would have been only 17 years old when he registered his complaints about the clambake on his ticket for seat no. 332.

"Worst clam bake I ever went to. Tables set in open field. Broiling hot sun. Clams half done. One waiter to our table. Everything in the bake was smoky. Everybody disgusted. C. L. Deane." Complaints about the food and service at a clambake that was held over 125 years ago. For more information, see the front of this ticket :

"Central Studios. 369P. With 'Pete,' Our Gang Dog, Steel Pier, Atlantic City." Our Gang was "a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures" that first appeared in movie theaters as early as the 1920s. The films were later released on television beginning in the 1950s under the original Our Gang name or as The Little Rascals . Pete the Pup , also known as Pete the Dog With the Ring Around His Eye, was a fixture in the comedies, and he (or his successor, whose ring was painted on) posed with children for souvenir photos like this one at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the 1930s. The boy in this photo, who doesn't seem to be enjoying his time with Pete, is the same kid who's playing with his toys in Sonny, Bunny, and Dummy and A Pedal Car for Christmas .

"I'll eat oranges for you—you throw snowballs for me." Embossed studio name and address: "Flag Studio, 25 E. Colo. St., Pasadena." Vacationing in sunny California during the winter? You could rub it in by sending a souvenir real photo postcard like this one to your friends and family in colder climes back home. Here's the full version of this real photo postcard:

"I'll eat oranges for you—you throw snowballs for me." Embossed studio name and address: "Flag Studio, 25 E. Colo. St., Pasadena." See also a cropped version of this real photo postcard:

This invitation is over 125 years late, but if you have a time machine you may still want to consider attending. You and all are invited to attend the fair of the Pioneer Steam Fire Engine Comp'y, at the large hall of the Ephrata Mountain Springs, Saturday evening, January 28, 1888, to continue 15 evenings. Fine attractions. Music by the Ephrata Cornet Band. Change of entertainments, marches, shooting gallery, poppets, refreshments, etc. etc. Admission, 10 cts.; children under 12 years, 5 cts; season tickets, 50 cts.; family tickets, $1.00. See all your friends and relatives. Come often. There will be lots of fun, and all for the cause of protecting our home and property.

A wonderfully odd photo (I received it as a Christmas gift!) that makes it look like giants still walk the earth. A boy sits in the driver's seat of a continuous-track tractor that's pulling a plow, while a man and a woman (possibly the boy's parents or maybe his mother and grandfather) awkwardly pose for the photo by standing on the other side of the tractor (mouse over the image to see a close-up ). The small size of the tractor and the looming hill in the background help to distort the perspective, making the man and woman seem much taller than they actually are. I also like how the man is waving one of his gloved hands in a sort of we-come-in-peace gesture.

For more information, see the uncropped version of this photo:

After a record-breaking 30.2 inches of snow and hours of shoveling this past weekend, I'm trying to think sunny thoughts! 8-)

"Cloister Diner, Route 322, 1 block off Route 222 (at Ephrata Cloisters), Ephrata, Penna." Still in business as the Cloister Restaurant , this 1950 Silk City diner has been remodeled and is now enclosed in a brick exterior. It's situated across the road from the entrance to the Ephrata Cloister , a state historic site that was formerly a religious community founded by Johann Conrad Beissel in 1732.

"Pomeroy's Juvenile Hour. WEEU. Bernie, program director. Photo by Pomeroy's." Pomeroy's was a department store that had locations in Reading, Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre, and other Pennsylvania cities. This real photo postcard, which shows the Reading store in the upper left-hand corner, was used to advertise Pomeroy's Juvenile Hour radio show, which debuted sometime in the 1930s. Various local radio stations carried the show, including WEEU in Reading and WHP in Harrisburg. Pomeroy's ran ads for the Juvenile Hour in newspapers, too, as this excerpt from the Harrisburg Telegraph , Sept. 29, 1932, p. 8, demonstrates: "Pomeroy's, 'Harrisburg's Greatest Department Store,' Saturday, 9:30 a.m. You are invited to attend our first 'Juvenile Hour' radio broadcast direct from our broadcasting studio on the third floor. See and hear Harrisburg's future radio stars as they broadcast over radio station WHP. These performers are all between the ages of 2 and 12, and you'll marvel at their exhibition. If you are unable to attend the broadcast in person, tune in at 9:30 Saturday morning on station WHP and you'll get an hour of radio sunshine and happiness that will thrill you for a long time to come. Pomeroy's 'Juvenile Hour' will be on the air every Saturday morning, 9:30 to 10:30."

A signs photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. "Guess who?" is what appears on the sign on the backs of these women (or could they be men disguised in women's clothes?), and the handwritten message on the other side of this real photo postcard says, "If you know us, drop us a line." The card was postmarked Hollidaysburg, Pa., Dec., 4, 1911, and addressed to "Master Clairmont Hileman, R.F.D. No. 3, Hollidaysburg, Pa." If this is the same person identified as Clairmont W. Hileman (1903-1943) on the Find A Grave Web site, then he was eight years old in 1911.

Handwritten message on the back of this real photo postcard (no date, address, stamp, or postmark): "Dear Cousin Minnie, Here is a picture of our little home with Art and I in the picture. Hoping you are all well. With love, Cousin Jennie McCandless."

It's somewhat difficult to see, but the caption, "The Kids from Butler, Pa.," is written in gold lettering across the left side of this postcard. Multiple baby cards like this were published in the early twentieth century. Printed on the back: "Serie 1525. United Art Pub. Co., New York." Postmarked Butler, Pa., March 24, 1910, and addressed to Miss Twila Daniels, Clarington, Pa. Unsigned message on back: "I love my wife but O you kid . You know who."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park posting for the topic of hands/feet (a photo in which hands or feet are prominent)--if you have both, please feel free to post 2 photos . This jolly bunch documented their trip on board the steamer Dubuque by writing "STR DUBUQUE" on the bottom of their shoes and then propping their feet up for the photo (mouse over the image for a better view of the shoes). If you look closely enough, you may be able to see a faint erased "S" on the "T" shoe. Notice also the steamboat's smokestack, which is located behind the boy on the right. Part of the boat's decorative trim is visible to the right of the smokestack, too. This Dubuque was the fourth and last steamboat with that name, according to the Encyclopedia Dubuque . The description for a postcard in the collection of the Davenport Public Library (see Steamer Dubuque on Mississippi River ) provides some additional details about this Dubuque , which was "a stern wheel packet steamboat originally named Pittsburgh and built at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1879. It was rebuilt at Dubuque, Iowa, in 1896 for the Diamond Jo Line and renamed Dubuque . The boat sank in 1901 but was raised and Streckfus Steamers [another steamboat company] took over. In 1919-1920 it was converted to an excursion boat and renamed Capitol ." Given that chronology, it seems likely that this photo was taken sometime in the 1900s or 1910s. Whatever the date, I'd wager that this photo was a shoe-in for the funniest one taken of this bunch during their excursion on the steamer Dubuque .

For more information, see the uncropped version of this photo: