Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: 1918

A photo of libraries or books for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. "Transport Mercury. Red Cross. From American Library Association for all men on board. Not to be opened until return voyage." This real photo postcard shows a photograph taken on board the USS Mercury , a United States Navy ship, as it transported troops home following the end of World War I. The sign on the left indicates that the American Library Association provided books for the troops. I located another photograph of this same scene that was taken from a different angle. This second photo was cataloged as NH 45345 by the Navy's Naval History and Heritage Command, and its description also applies to my real photo postcard: "Scene in troop spaces in a hold below the waterline, showing a card game in progress [why aren't they reading their books?], with banjo accompaniment [the banjo player's hands are partially visible at far right in my photo], circa 1918-1919. Note books at left, placed on board by the Red Cross and the American Library Association. Sign with the books indicates that the photo was taken as Mercury was transporting troops back to the U.S. from Europe after the World War I Armistice [November 11, 1918]."

Caption on the front of this postcard: " C.V.R.R. Yards, Williams Grove, Pa." Printed on the back: "14546 - Pub. by A. M. Deichler, Lancaster, Pa., for J. Hurst Est., Mechanicsburg, Pa." Postmarked Mechanicsburg, Pa., Aug. 30, 1918, and addressed to Miss Grace Hoy, 730 S. Duke St., York, Pa. Handwritten message: "Dear Cousin, Expected to see you at the Grove but failed to see you there. Such a crowd of people I never seen as was there on Thursday. All well. Hope this will find you all the same. Emma." A photographic version of this scene appeared in " Grangers at the Grove: Annual Farmers Exhibition Ended Nearly a Century Ago ," a newpaper article by Joseph Cress, which was published in The Sentinel (Carlisle, Pa.), Sept. 5, 2015. "Engine Number 30 arrives in Williams Grove during the Grangers' Picnic in 1916" was the caption of the photographic version, which was provided by the Cumberland County Historical Society.

"Christmas 1918--Just to wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year and that 'Old Santa' will bring you lots of nice gifts is my earnest wish. Mary Elizabeth Doutrich." Mary Elizabeth Doutrich was the daughter of I. H. Doutrich, proprietor of a popular men's clothing store located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

"Groundhog Window Glass, Bell Phone 147-J, Summerville Phone 268, 310 E. Mahoning Street, Punxsutawney, Pa., Aug. 28, 1918. Sold to Mr. J. A. Boyer, Rural Valley, Pa. L. G. Bastin & Sons, window glass distributors and glaziers. Circle cutting, glazing, plate glass, window glass, bent glass, and bevel glass. 3-16 glass for windshields, colored glass, chipped glass, mirror and picture frames." L. G. Bastin & Sons, a company that was located in Punxsutawney , Pennsylvania, used "Groundhog Window Glass" as a brand name and also included an illustration of a groundhog on this 1918 billhead. The town of Punxsutawney, of course, is home to Punxsutawney Phil , the famous rodent whose annual weather predictions are celebrated on February 2, Groundhog Day .

In days of yore, the paper boy , message delivery boy , milkman , coal man , and even the garbage man might give you their holiday greetings! Compliments from the Garbage Man Christmas comes and Christmas goes, With summer rains and winter snows. The garbage man who always goes, Fighting mankind's every foe. He's poor and humble and knows no wealth, But is ever guarding the public health. He works in cheer and knows no fear, Of the deadly germ that is always near. So don't forget him when Christmas comes, To help him make his loved ones dear, With just a little Christmas cheer. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, 1917-1918.

See the full version of this real photo postcard for additional information.

This real photo postcard shows a teacher standing in front of his classroom in what was probably a one-room schoolhouse located in York County, Pennsylvania, sometime in the 1910s. Handwritten on the blackboard is "Elias M. Baugher, Teacher." The calendar in the upper left-hand corner displays the month of March, but the photo isn't clear enough to make out the year. Another interesting detail is the printed sign hanging above the blackboard, which says, "Try, try again." For a close-up of the blackboard, calendar, and sign , mouse over the image above, or select the thumbnail image below. Elias M. Baugher's gravestone appears on the Find A Grave site and reveals that he was born on February 15, 1892, and died September 25, 1918, at the age of 26. He is buried in the Chestnut Grove Brethren Cemetery, located in Jefferson, York County, Pa. The calendar that's visible in the photo tells us that March 1 occurred on a Friday in the year the photo was taken. Since March 1 fell on Fridays in 1907, 1912, and 1918, the photo probably either dates to 1912, when Elias was 20 years old, or to 1918 (the year he died), when he was 26. It's less likely, I would think, that the photo was taken in 1907, when Elias was only 15. A Google Books search turned up the Pennsylvania State Education Association's Report of Proceedings for 1919 , pp. 64-65, which included his name in a list of educators who passed away in 1918 and noted that he "died in camp." The report explained the circumstances: "During the year just closed war and disease exacted from us a heavy toll. Influenza proved a veritable scourge.... It left in its wake sorrow and sadness. More than one hundred teachers of the State were victims of its deadly attack." Another book, York County and the World War (1920), p. 124, relates that Elias was drafted into the army during the last months of World War I (1914-1918) and confirms that he died of flu: "Private Elias M. Baugher. U. S. Infantry, Camp Lee, Va. Private Baugher was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Freeman Baugher of near Jefferson, York County, Pa. He left for Camp Lee, June 24, 1918, with the third County quota of drafted men, where he died of influenza. Prior to entering the service he was engaged in farming in Frederick County, Md. Interment was made at the Chestnut Grove Church of the Brethren. He was 26 years old at the time of his death. He is survived by three brothers and three sisters besides his parents." So it turns out that Elias M. Baugher, a young teacher drafted into the army, fell victim to the 1918 flu pandemic , which, unlike other influenza outbreaks, "killed predominantly previously healthy young adults." As detailed in The American Influenza Epidemic of 1918: A Digital Encyclopedia , Camp Lee, located in Petersburg, Virginia, just 25 miles from Richmond, was home to almost 48,000 soldiers. The camp experienced its first case of the flu on September 13, 1918, and by September 19 there were more than 1,000 cases. Elias died on September 25, and the flu epidemic continued to rage locally in Camp Lee and then in Richmond. Influenza afflicted the country and the world in a global pandemic during the remaining months of 1918 and on into the following year.

This real photo postcard seems similar to one of Arthur Mole 's "living photographs"--World War I-era photos "in which tens of thousands of soldiers, reservists, and other members of the military were arranged to form massive compositions." Note the biplane flying overhead and the automobile at the left. The handwritten caption at bottom appears to end with "Steve Winters, 1918," but I haven't been able to make out the first two words.