Bedford and Bedford County, Pa.

An ice cream sundae-shaped building (with a cherry on top!) along the Lincoln Highway (Route 30) in Everett, Bedford County, Pa.

Caption: "S. S. Grand View Point. A Steamer in the Allegany Mts. Elv. 2624 ft. 17 m. W. of Bedford, Pa. U.S. 30. 4-CEG-32." Signs and banners: "Grand View Point Hotel. Post Cards. Souvenirs. See 3 States and 7 Counties. Visitors Welcome. Free Telescope." "Restaurant. Rooms." "S.S. Grand View Point....Open for Business." This image of the famous Ship Hotel , which was a popular roadside attraction along the Lincoln Highway (U.S. Route 30) in western Pennsylvania until it burned to the ground in 2001, is a real photo postcard by Charles Elmer Gerkins (indicated by the initials "CEG" in the caption) that's dated April 1932 ("4-32"). In The Ship Hotel: A Grand View along the Lincoln Highway (Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 2010), author Brian Butko quotes a 1930s WPA guide to explain the reason that the building was shaped like a ship: "The S.S. Grand View Point Hotel was remodeled in 1931 to give the impression of an ocean liner, because the owner saw a resemblance between early morning mists rising from the valley and billowing ocean waves." After enlarging the image, I discovered that two of the banners on the building (including the one hanging on the railing just above "3 States") indicate that the "S.S. Grand View Point" is "Open for Business." Since the building was remodeled to look like a ship sometime in 1931 (the smokestacks, deck, and bow-shaped front of the building were added at that time), I wonder if this photo from April 1932 shows the building just after it reopened. See also two linen postcards that illustrate the 63-Mile View from the hotel and the Approach to the Hotel :

"Grand View Point Hotel. See 3 states and 7 counties. Pa., Md., W. Va, 63 mile view from Grand View--Ship Hotel on Lincoln Highway, U.S. 30, 17 miles west of Bedford, Pa., looking into 3 states and 7 counties, 80 miles east of Pittsburgh, Pa. 4A-H1905." Printed on back: "Distributed by H. Paulson, Grand View-Ship Hotel, Central City, Pa."

"Grand View Point Hotel. Approaching S.S. Grand View Point Hotel on the Lincoln Highway, 17 miles west of Bedford, Pa. Elevation 2,464 feet. 3A-H421." Printed on back: "Grand View Point Hotel at the most beautiful spot in U.S. Summit of Allegheny Mts., 17 miles west of Bedford, Pa., on Historic Lincoln Highway, overlooking 3 states and 7 counties. Elevation 2,464 feet. Distributed by H. Paulson, Grand View-Ship Hotel, Central City, Pa."

"Risbon Roller Rink, Cypher Beach, Hopewell, Pa., R.R No. 2. Good only on date sold. Admit one, est. price .29, fed. tax. .06. 35 cents. 018948. 018949."

"Skidoo. This is not a one way ticket to heaven. Return same to Bedford Roll-Arena, one mile north of Bedford, Pa." Lou Brooks, in his terrific book, Skate Crazy: Amazing Graphics from the Golden Age of Roller Skating , pp. 42-43, shows illustrations of similar cards and explains, "The dreaded 'Scram' and 'Skidoo' card! Just like at any party, the hosts liked to keep things at the rink moving with interesting games, often turning the rink into somewhat of a social laboratory. Floor ushers, acting out their version of traffic cop, would slip these cards to unsuspecting couples, urging them to skate the second half of the dance with someone they had never met." I'm not sure, however, if this card was used in the same manner, and I'm not certain what to make of the "This is not a one way ticket to heaven" warning.

Handwritten on back: "Super Highway near Bedford, Pa."

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"!

Now located along the Lincoln Highway (Route 30) at the entrance to the Bedford County Fairgrounds in Bedford, Pa., the Coffee Pot building formerly stood a short distance down the road and housed a small eatery. After years of neglect, the building was restored and moved to its present site in 2004.

"S. S. Grand View Point Hotel. A Steamer in the Allegheny Mountain[s]. 17 miles west of Bedford, Pa. U.S. 30. Elevation 2464 feet." An aerial view of this ship-shaped hotel, once a popular stop along the Lincoln Highway in western Pennsylvania, shows just how precariously it was perched on the side of the hill. Mouse over the image for an enlarged view of the building and the cars and trucks parked along the road. For more information about the hotel, see the Grand View Ship Hotel: A Steamer in the Allegheny Mountains, 1932 . For additional postcard views, see below.

Part of a real photo postcard of the Grand View Ship Hotel (see below). Note all the vehicles parked along the road. Is that a bus with the Greyhound logo?

A memorials photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Inscription on the monument: "The Lost Children of the Alleghenies were found here, May 8, 1856, by Jacob Dibert and Harrison Whysong." See also a detail showing the inscription and the full version of the real photo postcard (below). The Lost Children of the Alleghenies monument stands as a memorial to the sad story of George and Joseph Cox, ages 7 and 5, whose bodies were discovered at the site on May 8, 1856. The boys wandered away from their home in the Allegheny Mountains of northern Bedford County , Pennsylvania, on April 24. The boys' parents sought help when they were unable to locate their children, and hundreds of people eventually came to help search through the mountainous terrain during the following days. After two weeks of searching, however, the boys still had not been found, and the freezing cold weather in the higher altitudes was a cause for concern. A man named Jacob Dibert, who lived some distance away and had not participated in the search, dreamed that he was out in the woods looking for the boys. He dreamed for three nights in succession that he saw a dead deer, a little shoe, and a tree that had fallen across a stream. After crossing the stream, he found the boys' bodies. He sought the help of his brother-in-law, Harrison Whysong, who was familiar with the area where the boys had gone missing. After Jacob described what he saw in his dream, the men attempted to locate the site. They noticed a dead deer, found a boy's shoe, and spotted a tree that had fallen over a stream. They crossed over, and discovered George and Jacob's lifeless bodies. The poignant story of the boys "found by a dream" circulated widely in newspapers and books and by word of mouth. The monument was built and dedicated on May 8, 1906, fifty years after the sad event. For more information, see the Wikipedia article about the Lost Children of the Alleghenies . The boys' story was also the subject of Alison Krauss's 2007 song, "Jacob's Dream."

Inscription on the monument: "The Lost Children of the Alleghenies were found here, May 8, 1856, by Jacob Dibert and Harrison Whysong." For more information, see the cropped version of this real photo postcard.

For more information, see the cropped version of this real photo postcard.

A photo of hotels/motels for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Caption: "S. S. Grand View Point Hotel. A Steamer in the Allegheny Mountain[s]. 17 miles west of Bedford, Pa. U.S. 30. Elevation 2464 feet." Signs: "Grand View Point Hotel. Post Cards. Souvenirs. See 3 States and 7 Counties. Visitors Welcome. Free Telescope." "Hotel. Restaurant." This building started out as the Grand View Point Hotel in 1927 and then became the S. S. Grand View Point Hotel, or Ship Hotel , in 1932 after remodeling. For more information about the hotel, see my description of the Grand View Ship Hotel: A Steamer in the Allegheny Mountains, 1932 . See below for some other postcard views.

Sign on building: "Grand View Point Hotel." Road sign: "Lookout Point Grand View. Allegheny Mountains, elevation 2464 ft. Lincoln Highway." Handwritten caption at bottom of photo: "Lookout Point Grand View. 17 m. W. of Bedford, U.S. 30. CEG." This is a real photo postcard showing the Grand View Point Hotel sometime between 1927, when it was built, and 1932, when it reopened after being transformed into the Ship Hotel , which became a popular tourist attraction along the Lincoln Highway . See also a cropped version of this photo for a better view of the original hotel and a later photo of it as the Ship Hotel.