Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: camping

A camping/tents photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Judging by the banner hanging above the tents, Camp Chicken is the name of this encampment. Three women and a child pose in front of the three tents on the right. On the other side, a man is lying in a hammock, and behind him is a boy and another man, both of whom are sitting on chairs. A breeze blowing through the woods has blurred the large American flag flying above the kitchen tent, and some of the smaller flags hanging above the openings to the other tents are also blurred. Sunlight filtering down through the trees has formed a dappled pattern in the clearing. This is an unused real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box on the other side (four corner triangles pointing up) that indicates a date that may be as early as 1904 to 1918. For similarly in-tents scenes, see Tents at Raise 'ell Camp, Cooks Mill, Pennsylvania , Bob White Camp , and The Methodist Church Choir Camp, 1908 .

Postcard addressed on the other side to: "Prof. H. C. Klinger, Liverpool, Pa., R.F.D. #1." Partial transcription of the message (no year and no postmark): "Sept. 17th, 9 a.m. At Grange Park C. H. in remembrance of the hunting . . . J. J. Jordan." The Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair --usually just called the "Grange Fair"--has been held annually in Centre Hall, Pennsylvania, since 1874. For another postcard with the same ears-of-corn border, see Memorial Day .

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"!

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: "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.

Caption on the front: "Nicollet Bay Camp Ground, Peninsula State Park , Wis. E-764." Postmarked: "Fish Creek, Wis., Sep 7, 1949." Addressed to: "Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Potter, Woodhull, Ill." Message on the back: "Labor Day. Dear folks: This is where we located--lovely weather, fine time. Everyone swell. Bye, Hilda & M."

A camping/tents photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. There wasn't any message or other information on this real photo postcard to indicate the date or location of Bob White Camp, unfortunately.

"Fergani A. H. Khattab, dragoman & tourist conductor, Cairo, Upper Egypt, & Nubia, Nile trips and camping contractor. Address: Mena Pyramids P.O., Cairo, Egypt." As far as I can determine, "dragoman" in this context on a business card simply means "interpreter or guide." Wikipedia's dragoman article explains the historical significance of the term, which referred to "an interpreter, translator, and official guide between Turkish, Arabic, and Persian-speaking countries and polities of the Middle East and European embassies, consulates, vice-consulates, and trading posts." For a similar card, see SonomaPicMan's Dragoman's 1885 Calling Card on Flickr.

A photo of tents, including wigwams, yurts, etc. for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A photo from the early days of automobile camping.