Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: shadows

A real photo postcard of a man holding a deer head. For a similar photo, see A Man and His Moosehead Bier .

A soldier and his father stand at attention in the bright sunlight while his mother waits impatiently in the shadows with her hands on her hips.

"Die elft yairlich Fersommling uns Fesht fon da Grundsow Lodsch Nummer Neina on Da Deef Runn. Mittwuch ovet der sivve un zwanzichscht Chanevari om halver siwwa owets im Nei Hilltown Schuulhause, Hilltown, Pa." Rough translation: "The eleventh yearly gathering and feast of the Groundhog Lodge Number Nine on the Deep Run, Wednesday evening, January 27, at 6:30 in the evening in the New Hilltown Schoolhouse, Hilltown, Pa." A groundhog adorns the cover of this 1965 booklet containing the program for a gathering of the all-male members of Grundsow Lodsch Nummer Neina (Groundhog Lodge Number Nine). The lodge is one of several groups that meet to promote the Pennsylvania Dutch language, and get-togethers often take place on or near Groundhog Day (February 2) each year. For another Grundsow Lodsch item, see Groundhog Lodge No. 12, Gathering, Shartlesville, Pa., May 4, 1990 (below). For further information, track down a copy of William W. Donner's book, Serious Nonsense: Groundhog Lodges, Versammlinge, and Pennsylvania German Heritage (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2016). By the way, the Pennsylvania German Groundhog Lodges and their gatherings, which began in the 1930s, are distinct from the celebrations featuring the nationally known Punxsutawney Phil , who's been prognosticating the weather for the Punxsutawney, Pa., Groundhog Club since 1886, and other local groundhog celebrities, including Octoraro Orphie, who's the weather forecaster for the Slumbering Groundhog Lodge of Quarryville, Pa. (see below), which has been in existence since 1908.

A real photo postcard addressed on the back to Miss Rose Gill, Oak Street, Tyrone, Pennsylvania, and postmarked August 16, 1947. Message: "Dear Rose, This was taken near Albuquerque, N.M., on Aug. 15, 1947. Kids weren't washed or combed yet, and the rabbits aren't really that big. Love, Mrs. Preacher." For another example of small kids posing with a big bunny, see Giant Jack Rabbit, Ogallala, Nebr.

Sent to Mrs. Nell Frishour, Dayton, Oreg., and postmarked Portland, Ore., Oct. 31, 1909, with the message: "Look out for ghosts tomorrow night. E.W."

Or is it? I'm hanging on here at Ipernity until the bitter end, which I hope won't be bitter. 8-)

Photographer's name embossed on photo: "S. W. Kuhnert, Harrisburg Pa."

A home sweet home photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park . Handwritten on the back of this real photo postcard: "How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood." The words written on the back of the photo refer to a line from "The Old Oaken Bucket," a poem written by Samuel Woodworth (1784-1842) that was first set to music in 1826 and has become a popular song that's endured over the years. The poem begins: How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood, When fond recollection presents them to view! The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tangled wild-wood, And every loved spot which my infancy knew! Whoever wrote on the back of the photo presumably had "fond recollections" of living here as a child and must have considered it a "home sweet home" (which itself is a reference to another song that also dates to the early nineteenth century). The namesake "gold elms" are visible just behind the house, which is a Colonial Revival Cape Cod , an architectural style common in the United States from the 1930s to 1950s. I'm not sure whether the dog that's visible among the shadows in the lower right-hand corner is there to welcome or to warn off the photographer.

Parked over at the Incredibly Boring Postcards group. Printed on the back of this postcard: "The beautiful Monroeville Shopping Center, Monroeville, Penna." The Monroeville Shopping Center, known today as the Miracle Mile Shopping Center, was situated just a couple of miles away from the location of the later Monroeville Mall , where George Romero filmed his cult horror film Dawn of the Dead .

Handwritten on the other side of this real photo postcard: "Fannie Kline." The unique elements in this photo--the tilted orientation, massive stone house, little chicken/big horse juxtaposition, shadow people at the bottom, and unenthusiastic look of the woman posing with the plow--all combine to make for an odd yet amusing scene.

Stamped on the back of this photo: "Aug 18 1949." Posted to the Vintage Photos Theme Park group as an "unintended people's shadows" photo (and there's a dog, too!).