Sepia Saturday

I did have a feeling that we had once had a picture of a boxer as a Sepia Saturday theme, but after a quick check through the list produced by Kristin Cleage and Marilyn Brindley (and available via our wonderful Facebook Group) I must be mistaken. However, the boxer we have for Sepia Saturday 166 (post your posts on or around Saturday 2 March 2013) is of a different kind altogether because she is a worker in a factory making paper boxes. The photograph is by Lewis W Hine and comes from the George Eastman House Photography Collection which is available via Flickr Commons. Far be it from me to suggest theme interpretations to all the Sepians out there, but boxes, paper, workers, machines and dangerously long skirts spring to my mind. All you have to do is to select an old photograph or two and say a few things about them and if you can tie it in with your interpretation of the theme image, well that is a bonus. Post your posts, link it to the list below and then pop in and visit as many other Sepians as you can manage. Easy peasy!
Alan Burnett

I could not come up with a suitable subject earlier but thinking about some advice I got in a comment on an earlier blog about the death of the last living member of my mother's family, and my guilty feelings about not going to the funeral, someone suggested I concentrate on happy times.

I heard , on the television in the distance as I was going about my morning routine the name, Mr. Keen.

I said out loud
"Mr. Keen," and HH finished with "...tracer of lost persons."

Light bulb 

I immediately came to my computer and blogged the following.
Courtesy of Wikipedia 



Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons was one of radio's longest running shows, airing (October 12, 1937 to April 19, 1955), continuing well into the television era. It was produced by Frank and Anne Hummert. The sponsors included Whitehall Pharmacal (as in Anacin, Kolynos Toothpaste, BiSoDol antacid mints, Hill's cold tablets and Heet liniment), Dentyne, Aerowax, RCA Victor and Chesterfield cigarettes. It aired on the NBC Blue network until 1947, when it switched to CBS.^[1]

Bennett Kilpack and Ann Thomas in an episode of Mr. Keen Tracer of Lost persons.

So I am using the theme long skirts.

Folks doing radio could wear anything they wanted and some even probably came with their P.J.s on.
I have a feeling this actress just skooted back and forth with acting jobs probably in the same studio.
 
Bennett Kilpack was the third of seven (four boys, three girls) born to William Gilbert Kilpack, a clergyman, and Maria Theresia Hennequin. Kilpack claims lineal descent from the poet, Alfred Tennyson.^[11] He attended school at Sutton, England, St. John's College, Finsbury Technical College^[12] and the London Oratory School.^[13] He immigrated to Canada (from England) for his first job as apprentice in a locomotive factory whence he soon graduated to become an electrical engineer for the Canadian Pacific Railway in Montreal.

Unable to find an engineering job in the United States, Bennett Kilpack became an actor. Kilpack's first acting job was as Michael Cassio in Othello.^[1] World War I interrupted Kilpack's early stage career; he became a member of the Royal Flying Corps and was stationed in Canada as salvage department head at a large flying field. In this capacity, he dismantled the plane in which Vernon Castle, the dancer, crashed.^[2]
He toured with Sir Philip Ben Greet's Shakespearean players, had several important parts in Broadway plays, and in 1927 was given the lead role in The Wayside Inn, an early radio serial.^[1] He subsequently played the part of Cephus in Way Back Home, which was presented on radio and as a film, with Phillips Lord as Seth Parker. As a radio serial it was also known as Sunday Night at Seth Parker's. Kilpack made his CBS debut in 1935 in Vanished Voices and subsequently played roles on CBS Radio in Hilltop House, Gang Busters, The Goldbergs, The Shadow and Grand Central Station.^[1]
Kilpack began his run as Mr. Keen in 1937. For 18 years Keen and his faithful assistant, Mike Clancy, entertained followers with their intuitive perception that kept listeners coming back for more. With 1690 nationwide broadcasts, Mr. Keen was the most resilient private detective in a namesake role. The nearest competitors were Nick Carter, Master Detective (726 broadcasts), The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (657) and The Adventures of the Falcon (473).^[3] Over a span of 13 years, Bennett appeared on nearly 1300 of the 1700 broadcasts. At age 67, Bennett made his last appearance as Mr. Keen on October 26, 1950, the show's 1314th broadcast.<sup>[3]


I vividly remember listening to radio shows as a young girl.

I was born in 1937 when this show started and I probably listened from about 1945 to 1950.
My uncle would listen with us before he went out on a date or whatever he had planned. 

We listed to "Hit Parade," "The Squeeking Door."

"Lets's Pretend" on Saturdays, probably forerunner to cartoons on TV. 

I remember the sponsor for Let's Pretend.

"Creme of Wheat, it's so good eat, and  we have it every day."  

Good golly I can't remember what I had for dinner last night.
  
I remember "Our Gal Sunday" one of the soap operas my grandmother listened to.

Those are some good memories.

Go here for more Sepia Saturday</sup>   

 

Sepia Saturday

It is our closest Sepia Saturday to St Valentine's Day, so what better prompt picture for Sepia Saturday 164 (post your posts on or around Saturday 16th February 2013) than a picture of ...... a tortoise. You might think it is strange the way the human mind works, but when I was young I was very fond of tortoises and turtles. So it turns out was Captain D Michelson of the Australian 2/2nd Battalion, for here we have a picture of him with the regimental mascot - Tim the turtle. The photograph dates back to March 1940 and forms part of the Australian War Memorial Collection on Flickr Commons. If you are looking for a theme for SS164 there are tortoises (or turtles), pipes, watches and all sorts of other things in this picture. You might also want to go with a wartime theme or a pet theme : or with whatever theme you want.   ALAN BURNETT.

Did not have any photos with turtles in them so went to the trusty web.

I found this on a site by Y.W. Goodman,

about how good Pit Bulls are for nanny dogs.
It was a page full of examples of children with pit bulls, no information was give about any of them.
 

You can imagine how excited I was when I found this.

 Forget the dog, this is about the cutest thing I have ever seen.

Wonder if the blocks of wood that the turtles are propped up on are to display them better or used for chocks. 
Since turtles are supposedly very slow this would be perfect way to give the little tyke a sense of adventure.
I can just imagine how he would yell
"Giddy up, go."

I just noticed the reins are only attached to the two front turtles.
I don't expect the organizer of this little photoshoot was expecting this wagon to move very far.

Linking up with Sepia Saturday.   

 

SS, snow, blizzard

Sepia Saturday
Snow

Courtesy of New York History Museum
Blizzard of 1888

Led blindly by their teachers, schoolchildren gripped makeshift lifelines -- sheets, towels, rugs, a school bell rope -- as they plunged desperately into the blizzard of 1888.
"It came from the northwest with the force of a hurricane. The wind bitterly cold. The snow fine, sharp and penetrating," survivor Ernest Nyrop of Neligh wrote years later. "It was like the finest flour and smothering in its action making breathing very difficult."
The blizzard struck on what began as an unusually mild day. The temperature in Valentine on Jan. 12, 1888, fell from 30 degrees in early morning to 6 degrees below zero by mid-afternoon, and the cold hit a bone-chilling 35 below the next two nights.
Farmers tunneled into haystacks to stay alive. Teachers tied young students to ropes so they wouldn't wander while stumbling through driving snow. Men and women groped houses in search of doors.
Raging winds banged shutters, battered walls and shook buildings. Some believed it was an earthquake. The noise caused young children to scream and brought older students to tears. It lasted 12 to 18 hours.
No one knows the exact death toll. Historians estimate at least 235 perished.

***

And we think we have it rough.

Outside our front door
2009.
Thank goodness for gas logs no electricity for 3 days.

Roughing it.

Go here for more Sepia Saturday

Growing up in the country-Sepia Saturday

I am sure we have had bicycles before on Sepia Saturday, but there again we have had most things before. The skill - as old Sepians know too well - is to search through the Theme Image in order to find some connection to your own featured archive image. With this weeks' picture - Western Union Messengers, Danville, Virginia  (1911, from the Flickr Commons collection of the Museum of Photographic Arts - you might want to go with bicycles, or young lads with caps on their heads, or that wonderful lettering on the wall. This is Sepia Saturday and you can go where you like : just post your post on or around Saturday 2nd February 2013       Alan Burnett

Well my entry is not real old but is the only one I have with a bicycle in it.

Jones and Mudd cousins.

Back row, Joey Mudd and Dwight Jones

Front row, Larry Mudd, John Jones and Jerry Mudd.

This was taken in 1975.

The bicycle is obviously a girl's bike that my nephew Jerry is on.

It belonged to one of our daughters. 

The Mudd boys lived right on the highway and it was not safe to ride on the highway so they loved to play in the freedom that this large farm afforded them.
Riding bicycles and horses, fishing in the ponds and camping in the cabin down by the river.
 

The house in the background was about one mile away and was where my husband's brother and family lived who farmed this hugh parcel of land.

We lived in the tenant house on this farm for 10 years. 

    

If I were to make a timeline of my life, the death of my only sister, the mother of the Mudd boys was in 1972 and it changed all of our lives forever.
It is obviously one of the events in our lives that we 
use to date all other events. 

Sort of like dating photos by which car or piece of furniture is shown in a photo. 

At the time we lived in the country with wide open spaces to play and ponds to fish in.

These boys spent a lot of time at our house.

The death of their mother knocked them for several loops.

They could come here and rip and run and maybe, forget for a time.

Til this day I am their surrogate mother.

We console  each other. 
Their two sisters spent most of their time caring for their home and their father.


Go here for more Sepia Saturday stories  

     

Sepia Saturday----In the background

Sepia Saturday

Jan 19 2013

This photo of Alan's was actually the background of a photo taken of his aunt.
But he choose to crop to the action in the background.

I took 'In the background for my theme.'

This photo was taken around 1925.

The sister is a nurse from St. Joseph's Hospital in Lexington Kentucky visiting the home of a patient recently released from the hospital.
Follow-up was and still is an important part of hospital care, whether it be a phone call or a home visit.
 
  The potato bag at the window shows the ingenuity of folks to use what they had to get along in the world.

I see a hat, probably on a nail.
Maybe a bucket and dipper for water.
A roasting pan for cooking and a lamp on the table.

I spent 25 years of my nursing practice as a home health nurse with the sisters and these scenes are still common today. 

St. Joseph Hospital was founded in 1877 by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth
(of whom you hear me speak a lot.)
and still stands today as one of the premier hospitals of this state.  

This photo taken from 
"Impelled by the Love of Christ."
History of SCN  1924-1936
by
Patricia Kelly, scn and
Rachel Willett, scn


Go here to see other interpretations of Alan's prompt photo. 

 
 

Sepia Saturday- Bib overalls and such

It is true to say of my old family photographs - and from what I have seen over the years, the same is true of most other Sepians (I love that word but it was invented by Ticklebear and not by me) - that photographs from the first half of the twentieth century either feature one's relatives in their Sunday best, or in their overalls. Well so often in Sepia Saturday we have turned our spotlight on the Sunday finery,  so this week I want to focus the spotlight on the humble overalls (and, workwear of all types). Now regular Sepians who are members of the Royal Houses of Europe - and there are several of them, aren't there your majesty? - may have trouble finding a working relative, but I suspect the rest of us won't find it too much of a challenge. And you can always interpret my archive theme image - which is from the collection of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia - in any way that you want to. All you need do is to post your post on or around Saturday the 8th December 2012 and add a link to the list below.--Alan Burnett

 Did you know that overalls have been around since 1750?

There were worn by the British army and called "slops".

They didn't look much like our overalls today

that came ca 1850--100 years later.

 y

My husband will not wear blue jeans today because he said he had to wear them when he was a little boy and he will not wear them now.

He will not wear shorts either.

I love him dearly but he has bowed legs.
I think that is why he will not wear jeans or shorts.

As evidenced in this photo of 1939 overalls were worn by little boys as well as  adults.
Probably all the girls dresses were homemade from feed sacks as that was the normal material used at that time.
The feed sacks were sold by the local Mill for sewing purposes as they had never been used.
 
This school, Mayes School, was founded by Fred O Mayes db
1891 who was a teacher and principal in Washington County.
There is an entire area of Springfield Kentucky called Mayes subdivision that was sold to contractors for the building of homes after all the Mayes family died out.
 
That is where the old school was located.
I remember playing on that vacant land as a young girl.
 

The teacher pictured is Regina Rudd, my great aunt on my father's side. 

She was one of three sisters of my grandfather's who were teachers.

This probably was a one-room schoolhouse as the students look as if they are all different ages.  


It must have been very warm weather as the students in the front have no shoes on. 

Go here for more Sepia Saturday interpretations of Alan's prompt picture.

 
 

Sepia Saturday- theme-bridges

Bridges have always had symbolic meaning. When discussions were taking place on the design of the first Euro notes, it was decided that the common illustration on all denominations should be a bridge - to symbolise the joining together of people, communities, and nations. Our Sepia Saturday theme image this week is entitled "Rough Wooden Bridge Over River, Group With Dog on the Shore". It comes, via Flickr Commons, from the Phillips Glass Plate Negative Collection, at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia. The Museum provides no further information about where the bridge is, but the brilliance of on-line communities such as Flickr Commons (or, indeed, Sepia Saturday) is that such information is soon forthcoming : the footbridge was in Mosman Bay on the north shore of Sydney Harbour. The location of the photograph is not the only question posed by the title - it takes a sharp eye to spot the reported dog. 

You Sepia Saturday theme for this week could therefore be bridges, lakes, rowing boats, dogs (present or absent).  Alan Burnett

 This photo was taken from 

"Impelled by the Love of Christ"

History of Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Kentucky

1924-1936

by

Patricia Kelley,SCN

and

Rachel Willett, SCN

I pass by Peter's Puddle everytime I go to Nazareth which is at least once a week.

The bridge has been gone a long time.
It was not there when I was first introduced to Nazareth in the 1970s.
 

Peter's Puddle is still there and fishing is allowed to the community around with the possession of a permit.
There is now excellent access by paved road around the lake and to the rail way that is still there but not used by the campus.
At one time the bridge was the only way to cross over the lake to reach the railroad station. 

 

I could not find when it was built or when the bridge came down.

It is located near the railroad tracks where the students used to board the train to travel  home and about.  

  

These photos were in the same book taken sometime in the 1920's.

At this time Nazareth was a college and not a high school as evidenced by the mature dress of the graduates.

Nazareth College was eventually moved from Bardstown into Louisville and is now named 

Spalding University of Louisville Kentucky.

One of our daughters graduated from Spalding with a BSW and completed her master's program at 

University of Louisville Kent School of Social Work. 

Go here for more Sepia Saturday  

 

Sepia Saturday Libraries

Our Sepia Saturday Archive Picture Prompt this week comes from the collection of the New York Public Library and features a group of children avidly reading their books following a talk about books by the staff of the Library. The picture dates back to the 1920s (note : there is not a Kindle in sight) and offers a variety of potential directions for Sepia Posters to take (books, reading, kids, libraries, ridiculous check jackets ... or whatever). The only instruction, as usual, is to post your post on or around Saturday 17th November 2012 and include a link on the list below.

My entry today comes from a picture used by a TV station, KCRA in Sacramento CA. on November 14.
The subject of the discussion was:

On this day in..

On this day, November 14, in 1731, the first lending library in the country was opened and the first librarian hired.

This was in Philidelphia.
 

It is still open today  

The Library Company was the brainchild of a group of local merchants (Ben Franklin was one- the group called themselves “The Junto”) – These guys met to have discussions about philosophy, politics, civic issues … one of the things that came up often was the general need for more comprehensive libraries. Naturally having a library of your own at that time was the mark of a successful person – so there were private libraries – and books were not always easy to come by. So at first, these gentlemen wanted to expand their OWN libraries – but eventually, it expanded into the idea of having a subscription library for the entire community.

This is a painting, one of many of Benjamin Franklin involved in various projects by Charles E Mills.
I could not find info on Charles E Mills on the internet.

Go here for more SS