From the monthly archives:

January 2010

Observation Tower Restaurant

January 31, 2010
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I have a fuzzy recollection of going here as a child, but it’s truly the vaguest of memories. The unmailed card is from 1963, and was produced by the L. L. Cook Co. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The back reads:
OBSERVATION TOWER RESTAURANT
The Observation Deck, at the south end of Buchanan Dam on lake, located in Central [...]

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Arrowhead Motel

January 30, 2010
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This unmailed postcard probably dates from around 1960. The description on the back reads:
ARROWHEAD MOTEL
Burnet, Texas, Phone PLymouth 6-4251
“For Those Who Care”
Air-Conditioned by Refrigeration – Vented Heat. Swimming Pool, Playground, Patio, Television, Free Radios. A lovely spot for year round recreation and “Hill country hospitality,” near the intersection of U. S. 281 and Texas 29.
“Color [...]

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Wrecked at Indy

January 30, 2010
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Here’s one for the race fans, who are surely pleased that a new season has arrived. Photographed sometime in the early ‘teens, this is the “McFarlan Six” following a crash at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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Butte Motorcycle Club, 1914

January 29, 2010
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Who would’ve thought that there would be so many motorcycles in Butte, Montana… in 1914? These boys look tough, because they were.

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Cafe Del Rey Moro

January 29, 2010
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This Curt Teich postcard is unmailed, but was probably first released in 1941. The back reads:
CAFE DEL REY MORO
GARDEN OF THE KINGS
House of Hospitality in
BALBOA PARK, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
-
One of Duncan Hines
“Adventures in Good Eating”
P. S. This is an exact reproduction of the Moro
Gardens of Spain.

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Where Ever I Roam

January 29, 2010
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A bit of Navy/World War II humor. This postcard is unmailed and has no indication of the publisher or printer, but it almost certainly dates from the early 1940s. It’s definitely pre-1952, as the back says: “Place One Cent Stamp Here”. (the cost of mailing a postcard leaped to 2¢ in ‘52) The cartoon was [...]

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Remington UMC Ammunition Factory, Bridgeport

January 28, 2010
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This photograph of the Remington UMC (Union Metallic Cartridge) ammunition factory in Bridgeport, Connecticut was probably taken around 1912. Fans of the Travel Channel’s show Ghost Adventures might recognize this complex as the location of one of their recent investigations.

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Bridgeport Newsie

January 28, 2010
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A newsboy in Bridgeport, Connecticut, photographed by Lewis Hine in March of 1909.

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Class Photo, 1964

January 28, 2010
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This is my class photo from Bruce Shulkey Elementary in Fort Worth, probably taken in 1964. Old class photos are scary, aren’t they? It’s interesting how I remember some of the kids clearly, while others, probably two-thirds of them, don’t even look familiar. I don’t even remember the teacher! I guess 45+ years have that [...]

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The Best Lighted Main Street in America

January 28, 2010
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I don’t recall hearing of Amarillo, Texas as having the best-lighted Main Street (in this case, Polk Street) in America, but here you go! This Curt Teich postcard was published in 1939 and postmarked in ‘41.

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The Fabulous Sands Hotel

January 27, 2010
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Postmarked in 1958, this card shows the Sands Hotel in Abilene, Texas. The description on the back reads:
The Fabulous Sands Hotel
Abilene, Texas
Highway 80 West
100 Luxurious Air Conditioned Units – Heated Swimming Pool – 24-Hour Dining Service – Barber, Beauty and Gift Shop.

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Center Ave., Brownwood, Texas

January 27, 2010
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Judging from the cars, I’d guess that the image on this unmailed postcard dates from around 1940, although I’m sure it was sold for many years after. It shows Center Avenue in Brownwood, Texas, a city that’s roughly 80 miles from Abilene. It’s also a mere 9 miles from Bangs, Texas, a small town I’ve [...]

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The Coffee Pot

January 27, 2010
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Photographed in September of 1943 by Esther Bubley, The Coffee Pot was an eatery conveniently located near a Greyhound bus stop in New Bedford, Pennsylvania.

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Danville Cigarette Factory

January 26, 2010
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Lunch break at a cigarette factory in Danville, Virginia, circa 1911.

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Sand Dunes, Cape Cod

January 26, 2010
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An unusual postcard, this. The scene has an artistic quality to it, reminding me a little of an Edward Hopper painting, or better yet, Salvador Dali. Perhaps you’re familiar with those desert scenes of Dali’s, quiet deserts with solitary figures that are somehow foreboding, as if they may in fact be phantoms. Even the description [...]

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Book Review –  Genesis: I Know What I Like

January 25, 2010
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In 1977 I discovered the British rock band, Genesis, a group that, up to that time, I hadn’t given much thought to. I knew of them, and their song Your Own Special Way had received a good deal of airplay in the U.S., but I hadn’t heard anything that would inspire me to abandon Led [...]

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Karting with Dad

January 25, 2010
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Here’s a photo of my dad and I on rented go-karts, probably around 1968. The track was in Fort Worth, Texas, but I’m not sure which track this is. It’s probably the one that was on University Drive (a little north of the zoo), but their was also, at some point, a track much further [...]

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The Motor House

January 24, 2010
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The Motor House Pool, Williamsburg, Virginia
“The three swimming pools of The Motor House offer guests of this unusual establishment a refreshing pause in the sightseeing schedule of the historic city. There is a pool for diving, one for swimming and another for wading. Adjacent area playground for children and sports areas for adults. The Motor [...]

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