Reading and Berks County, Pa.

"Arizona Kid and His Cow Girls, Reading, Pa., 1941. Arizona Kid, Sun Set, Texas Jean, Moon Beam, Utah Ginny, Montana Patsy, Popeye, Chuckles, Winnie, and Sheriff and Cactus Sam. WYZ."

This real photo postcard doesn't bear a stamp, postmark, or date but was addressed to: "Mrs. Daniel Ohlinger. From Mrs. Edwin Ohlinger." Handwritten message on back: "Dear Mother, We are all well at present, hoping this card will find you all the same. Earl is as naughty as he can be. Try and come down. I must close--the mailman is coming." As far as I can determine from searching the Web, it was Earl's mother--Mrs. Edwin Ohlinger--who wrote the message, and she and her son lived in Berks County, Pennsylvania. I'm not certain, however, who the baby might be (Earl's brother or sister, perhaps?), what band Earl might have played in, or where Earl's grandmother--Mrs. Daniel Ohlinger--lived.

A souvenir photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park . The souvenir photo category is a favorite of mine, and two of my previous theme park submissions happened to be souvenir photos (see Two Woman Posing for a Boardwalk Souvenir, Atlantic City, N.J. and High over Zurich, Sept. 22, 1910 ). This souvenir real photo postcard shows a man wearing a fez and riding an ostrich at the Cawston Ostrich Farm in South Pasadena, California, sometime in the early part of the twentieth century. The logo on the fez, consisting of a scimitar, crescent, and star, identifies the man as a member of the Shriners . The letters "RAJ" are barely visible above the logo and indicate that he belonged to the Rajah Temple , which was a local Shriners' chapter based in Reading, Pennsylvania, at the time this photo was taken. For another example of a souvenir photo from the Cawston Ostrich Farm, see ricksoloway's f_cawstonostrichfarm photo on Flickr.

"Don't walk! Ride a bicycle. Horses are high, but bicycles are low. Good second-hand bicycles from $1.75 to $8.00....Special: new bicycles, $12.75....Geo. H. Muhlenberg, the experienced jeweler. Closed on Sundays. Phone 105. Box 8, Morgantown, Pa." Mouse over the image to see enlargements of the spot illustrations depicting a Brownie riding a bicycle and a Brownie standing beside a "Look" sign . For another example of an advertisement that uses Brownies, see What Have You Found Now, Christopher Columbus? . For more on these creatures, see Wikipedia's articles on The Brownies and their creator Palmer Cox (1840–1924).

For more information, see Don't Walk! Ride a Bicycle .

For more information, see Don't Walk! Ride a Bicycle .

The men of the Marion Hose and Steam Fire Engine Company, No. 10, of Reading, Pennsylvania, sponsored a trip, probably as a fundraiser, to Springfield, Massachusetts, where they dined on beef and turkey at the Hotel Gilmore on October 7, 1909. This keepsake menu for the meal was printed in portrait orientation over a postcard of The Connecticut River at Springfield, Mass., Mt. Tom in the Distance, 1909 (see below for the original landscape version). Hotel Gilmore, A. E. Smith, mgr., Springfield, Mass. Marion Hose and Steam Fire Engine Co. No. 10 of Reading, Pennsylvania. Dinner. Consommé Printiniere. Baked bluefish, parsley sauce. Catsup, pickles, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish. Fillet of beef larded, mushroom sauce. Roast young turkey, giblet sauce. Lettuce-celery salad. Mashed potatoes. Mashed turnips. Green peas. Rice pudding. Pies: apple, mince, peach. Coffee, milk, tea. October 7, 1909. Allied Printing Trades Council, Union Label, Springfield.

"The Connecticut at Springfield, Mass., Mt. Tom in the Distance." For additional information about this postcard, which was overprinted with a menu, see Marion Hose and Steam Fire Engine Company No. 10, Menu, Reading, Pa., 1909 (below).

"Annual Fastnacht Social, sponsored by Beginner's, Primary, and Junior Depts., St. Andrew's Reformed Sunday School, Spruce Street off Perkiomen Avenue, Tuesday, February 21, 1950. Supper served from 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets, 10 cents." Although "fastnachts"--a type of fried doughnut--are eaten in central Pennsylvania on Fastnacht Day , it's not known whether the traditional treat was featured as part of this "Fasnacht Social" supper held as a church fundraiser in Reading, Pennsylvania, on Shrove Tuesday in 1950. For additional information on Fastnacht Day, see Fastnacht Sociable, Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lancaster, Pa., Feb. 16, 1904 .

A unique invitation for a Halloween party that probably took place in Reading, Pennsylvania, on Friday, October 25, 1929. The bat at left unfolds to reveal the witch at right opening her arms to invite potential partygoers to "see what fate holds through the year for you." For separate views of the bat and witch, see This Bat Comes from the Witches' Den to Summon You! and Come Take a Stir at the Witches' Brew .

"This bat comes from the witches' den to summon you!" A wide-eyed bat that reveals a Halloween party invitation when unfolded. For the complete invitation, see Halloween Party Invitation with Bat and Witch .

"Come take a stir at the witches brew / And see what fate holds through the year for you." "At the stroke of 8. On Fri., Oct. 25th. Place 548 S. 19th St. Edna Gerber. 'MASK.'" A beckoning witch invites potential partygoers to come stir the witches' brew. For the complete invitation, see Halloween Party Invitation with Bat and Witch .

"All Seasons Greetings from your milkman, Don Griffith, St. Lawrence Dairy. Winter. Burnish." For the entire unfolded greeting card , see:

"All Seasons Greetings from your milkman, Don Griffith, St. Lawrence Dairy. Spring. Summer. Autumn. Winter. Burnish." See also the folded view of the card :

Single-sided greeting card printed in blue with other handpainted colors. Information regarding Karl Ramet is elusive. From brief mentions here and there, I believe that he was an artist who taught drawing in the Reading, Pa., schools in the early 1910s and then later moved to New York City, where he designed the sets for at least one Broadway show.

A ticket for the Pennsilfaanisch Deitsch Fersommling (Pennsylvania Dutch gathering) held at Haag's Hotel in Shartlesville, Berks County, Pa., on May 4, 1990, by the Grundsow Lodsch Nummer 12 on da Dulpehocka Pawd (Groundhog Lodge No. 12 on the Tulpehocken Path). As Wikipedia indicates, "A Fersommling (plural, Fersommlinge) (also spelled Versammling or Fersammling) is a Pennsylvania Dutch social event in which food is served, speeches are made, and one or more g'spiel (plays or skits) are performed for entertainment." Check out the wonderfully amusing photo of King Groundhog arriving at the Fersommling held on February 2, 1968, by Grundsow Lodge Nummer Ains on da Lechaw (Groundhog Lodge Number One on the Lehigh). Folklorist Don Yoder points out in his book Groundhog Day (Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 2003), p. xii, that the groundhog is "a vital if tongue-in-cheek symbol of the Pennsylvania Dutch. This identity is celebrated in the all-dialect Grundsow Lodges (Groundhog Lodges) of Southeastern Pennsylvania, where every February hundreds of Dutchmen meet to spend the evening feasting and frolicking, with pledges of allegiance, the sacred Groundhog Oath, and lots of harmless revelry--all in Pennsylvania Dutch." Although some Groundhog Lodges do hold Fersommlinge on Groundhog Day or later in February, other gatherings--like this one on May 4, 1990--are scheduled at different times. -------- (Not yet translated from the Pennsylvania Dutch.) Grundsow Lodge No. 12 on da Dulpehocka Pawd Des baweiss'd das da ________ fon ________ 'n fol shtandich lead iss fon da Grundsow Lodsch No. 12 on da Dulpehockae Pawd, und fershprocha hut die yarlich 1990 Fersommling ei tzunemma om 7:13 ovets, da 4't Moi onn, Haaga Watshaus, Shartlesville, Pa. Harvey A. Hill, Jr., Hauptmann William H. Keener, Shreiver Sei so gute und halt ken sitzplatz zurick. Please do not reserve any seats. Seating is available as members arrive. No. 0255 -------- Dierra Tzettle Des beweiss'd das da ________ fon ________. Mir Zwelf Daller Batzawled hut fer ein Glead tzu, werra bleiva fon da Grundsow Lodsch No. 12 on da Dulpehocka Pawd. Fohr g'shloga fom Glead Tox $12.00 RAWD No. 0255

"Visit Roadside America, famous miniature village, Route 22, Hamburg, Pa. Harry R. Dubbs, Allentown, Pa." A cardboard sign for Roadside America , the quintessential American roadside attraction.