Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: grass

A Mennonite couple standing arm in arm. For more information, see the full version of this photo.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of arm in arm . A Mennonite couple -- notice the woman's plain dress -- stand arm in arm in front of a picket fence as they pose for this photo, which I purchased in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Two farm buildings are partially visible in the background. On the right-hand side is a barn with a ramp leading to its second level, which is a typical feature of barns in Lancaster County. The building on the left-hand side may be a tobacco barn, which is also commonly found on farms in the area. See a cropped version of the photo for a better view of the couple.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of crossed arms . A real photo postcard postmarked in Groton, South Dakota, on August 23, 1909, and addressed to "Mrs. Lottie Larson, [Westley?], [Wis.?]." Handwritten message: "This Is what we did last Sunday. What do you think of it? Frank." For another photo with crossed arms, see Girls and Women on a Rustic Bridge .

VINTAGE PHOTOS THEME PARK - UPDATE TO MONTHLY TOPIC (12/13/2020): FREE-FOR-ALL (Uploading to Ipernity isn't currently working, so let's make it easier to find an already-uploaded photo to post. Submit as many vintage photos ON ANY TOPIC as you'd like each week in addition to—or instead of—a photo for the weekly topic. Let's end the year and celebrate the new one by continuing this Free-For-All through January.) A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of in colour . A man and woman dressed in light blue or grey clothes pose in front of their house, which is painted in pastel shades of blue. There's a blue Adirondack chair on the porch, a bicycle on the sidewalk, and a car--barely visible on the right--parked in the driveway.

I chose musicians in order to pick a theme about people (or any other topic) for the first week of Wild Card Month—Pick Your Own Theme! in the Vintage Photos Theme Park. The handwritten message on the front of this real photo postcard (see the left-hand side) is: "Vara Light, 928 Maple St., Lebanon, Pa. Answer soon." There's no stamp or postmark on the other side, but Vara Light addressed the postcard to " Miss Sarah Zimmerman , Linglestown, Pa.," and also wrote a message: "This is a picture taken at Mt. Aetna last summer. The one standing is my uncle, a minister. Also the one with the violin [meaning that the violinist is also one of her uncles?]. The lady with the guitar is my aunt. Am working now in Lebanon. Tell Miles to answer my card." This postcard back has an AZO stamp box (four corner triangles pointing up), which suggests a date as early as 1904 to 1918. Vara Katherine Light married William Hoehle Keller on September 1, 1910, and at that time her address was 330 N. 9th Street, Lebanon, Pa. It seems likely, then, that the card dates to sometime prior to their wedding. I haven't been able to identify which of Vara's aunts and uncles might be the musicians in the photo, but they may have been siblings of her father, Harry Henry Light , who was a prominent businessman in Lebanon, Pa. I previously posted a Small-Town Parade with Cornet Band and Church Float photo for the theme of people playing musical instruments in 2014 and another photo showing Pop Morehead's Family for the theme of musicians and musical instruments this past April. For other photos and ephemera, see my Music and Musicians album.

An amusing postcard that draws upon the "Oh You Kid!" craze of 1909 for its humor. This card was a bit risqué for its time, suggesting that a husband might fool around with other women while his wife is away. The caption on the card comes from the song, " My Wife’s Gone to the Country! Hurrah! Hurrah! ,” which was one of the "Oh You Kid!" songs published as sheet music in 1909: My wife’s gone to the country, hurray! hurray! She thought it best "I need the rest" That’s why she went away She took the children with her, hurray! hurray! I love my wife, but oh, you kid! My wife’s gone away In this age of social media, it's difficult to appreciate just how popular this--nudge, nudge, wink, wink--idea of "I love my wife, but oh, you kid!" became as it circulated in print through sheet music, postcards, and newspapers. Jody Rosen, however, documents its wide-ranging influence in a fascinating article that appeared in Slate magazine. See " How a Sexed-up Viral Hit from the Summer of '09–1909–Changed American Pop Music Forever ." For some additional postcard and sheet music examples, see my Oh You Kid! and Its Variants album.

Swinging and squinting in the bright sunlight. Location unknown.

That's Gilbert's Aunt Sue with Spottie the cat perched on her shoulder, and Uncle John is holding Pat the dog. Check out the full version of this real photo postcard:

A handwritten note on the back of this real photo postcard says, "For dear little Gilbert from uncle John, aunt Sue, Pat, and Spottie cat with lots of love and kisses ." Unfortunately, there's no address or postmark on the card, and I don't have any additional information regarding the location of Cozy Nook Farm or the identity of Gilbert and his aunt and uncle. You've probably already noticed that Uncle John is holding Pat the dog. But have you spotted Spottie the cat yet? If not, mouse over the image above to see where Spottie is located .

A haunted house photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. There's no question that the house in this undated real photo postcard was haunted. We can see that an ectoplasmic substance was flowing down from the roof of the house and drifting toward the men and women below. I don't want to think about what happened to the unsuspecting group when the ectoplasm reached them. In addition, the radiating beams of energy visible in the lower right-hand corner could only have emanated from a ghostly orb just out of camera range. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the orb drifted right through the front door of the haunted house, startling the photographer and causing the photo to be off-kilter. Of course, some investigators are likely to dismiss this clear-cut evidence of haunting as a light leak or some other imperfection in the photo, but I think that the malevolent nature of these paranormal manifestations is obvious. I'm sad to report that I don't have any further information regarding the fate of the photographer or the individuals in the photograph.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of cooking: outside or in . I'm not sure what mama's cooking, but she may be preparing food for a picnic. There appear to be white cloth-covered baskets lying in the grass, with one or two baskets barely visible behind mama and another in the right midground. "Mama cookin' 'em. Catherine Mueller." Sent to Mr. W. S. Osgood, 410 Morris Bldg., New Orleans, La., and postmarked Kansas City, Kans., Aug. 20, 1907. There's no other message on the back.

Handwritten on the back of this photo: "He just has to sample." See also Skip and His Birthday Cake .

Handwritten on the back of this photo: "Skip, 3 years, 1957." See also Skip Just Had to Sample His Birthday Cake .

"Orchilla Guano. The great soil enricher. Will grow big corn. Improves the quality and increases the quantity of the wheat; used with great success on berries, peach trees and all kinds of vegetables. Never fails on grass. R. A. Wooldridge & Co., importers, 64 Buchanan's Wharf, Baltimore, Md." The stars and stripes of the U.S. flag seem to be an odd choice for the background of this nineteenth-century trade card that advertised imported bird, uh, manure . For another card from the same company, see Orchilla Guano :

A Kodachrome slide dated July 1959. After a hard day at the Big Rocks shootout, this diminutive Dale Evans has holstered her gun and is shielding her eyes as she heads toward the sun with Buttermilk (if she had waited until evening, she could have avoided the bright light and followed the conventional Western gunslinger practice of riding off into the sunset ). See also Gunfight at Big Rocks and Holding Down the Fort .

A Kodachrome slide dated July 1959. Still grasping her toy gun, this Dale Evans wannabe--with Buttermilk and Lassie by her side--stands ready to defend Big Rocks against the bad guys. See also Gunfight at Big Rocks and Riding Toward the Sun .

A Kodachrome slide dated July 1959. This little gunfighter is wearing a Dale Evans cowgirl hat as she holds her toy gun and prepares to take aim at the bad guys. Perhaps she's pretending that her toy horse is Buttermilk , Dale's trusty steed on TV's The Roy Rogers Show (1951-57), and her pet collie is Lassie , the canine star of the popular and long-lasting television show (1954-73). See also Holding Down the Fort and Riding Toward the Sun .