Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: Columbia

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of telephones . This is a real photo postcard used as an advertisement by the Keely Stove Company of Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The card dates to 1920, and it shows a woman with a candlestick telephone . She's getting married and wants a Keely Columbian Stove just like her mother has, so she's telephoning Herr & Co. in Lancaster, Pa., to order one. In other versions of the ad that I spotted online, the same woman is phoning J. A. Best & Co. in Allentown, Pa., and Bennett & Billington in Canajoharie, N.Y. I have another copy of this postcard that was addressed to Miss Fannie Groff, Kirkwood, Lanc. Co., Pa., R.R.#1, and mailed in New Providence, Pa., on Nov. 3, 1920. The handwritten message on that copy doesn't refer to the advertisement itself but the writer does mention "phoning" and "call[ing] . . . on the phone": "Tue. eve. [Nov. 2]. Dear Fannie, I received your letter this morning. I guess you think I am a great one for not phoning to you, but I was so busy today. And Jacob came up to vote [Warren G. Harding won the U.S. presidential election held that day], and because it rained he is staying up so I was not at Margie's to stay all night. Fannie, I won't be down this week, but I will come next Fri. eve. as far as I know now, if it suits you. We are invited to a kitchen shower on Sat. eve. Write to let me know if it will suit. And I will write later or call you up on the phone. R.E.M." History of this Genuine Photo The mother of this young lady has a Columbian Stove manufactured by The Keely Stove Co., Columbia, Pa. She is about to get married and telephones to Herr & Co., 7 E. King St., Lancaster, Pa., for she wants one just like Mother's. 515. Schaefer Ross Co., Inc., Rochester, N.Y.

A Thanksgiving postcard that shows Columbia —"the personification of the United States"—patting a turkey on the head. It's addressed on the other side to Miss Anna Johnson, Rockaway, New Jersey, Easton Heights. and postmarked Middle Valley, N.J., Nov. 25, 1909. Message: "I guess we can soon skate now if this weather lasts, and I hope it will. You must write and tell me about F., you know I want to hear about it. Laura." For the sake of comparison, see Uncle Sam's Thanksgiving Greeting for another national personification on a holiday postcard.

"Steamboat Mary, Wrightsville and Columbia, Pa. B. D. Beittel , Columbia, Pa." An early postcard of Steamboat Mary, which evidently ran on the Susquehanna River between Wrightsville, York County, and Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The card dates to the first decade of the twentieth century (circa 1907, based on the postmark of another copy I spotted elsewhere on the web). In the background is the Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge , a steel truss bridge that was built in 1896. It carried railroad and automobile traffic over the river until it was dismantled in 1963.

"Summit County Bank. Cuyahoga Falls, O. 1862. No. ______. 50. Pay the bearer fifty cents when like orders are presented in amounts of one or more dollars. W. A. Stanford. Lith. by A. S. Sanford, Cleveland, O." Unissued U.S. Civil War-era fifty-cent bank note.

For more information, see the full version of this check:

"The Columbia National Bank. No. 4159. Columbia, Penna., May 21, 1876. Pay to the order of C. J. Nourse, Jr. One and 80/100 dollars. $1.80. To Importers & Traders National Bank of New York. S. W. Shoch, Cashier. United States Internal Revenue, Two Cents. 2. National Bank Note Company, New York." Mouse over the image above to see an enlargement of the vignette of steamboats and sailing ships in the upper left-hand corner.

"W. A. King. D. R. King. W. A. King & Co. Columbia Steam Cracker and Biscuit Bakery, Nos. 169, 171, and 173 Locust St., Columbia, Lancaster Co., Pa. Bakers of large and small steam pretzels. Presented by ________." Daniel R. King and his son William A. King operated a bakery in nineteenth-century Columbia, Pennsylvania, when steam power was the cutting-edge technology and Victorian typefaces were in vogue.

"Pennsylvania Railroad. Centennial Excursion. Under the auspices of Putnam Circle, No. 113, B.U. (H.F.) of Pa. Columbia to Philadelphia and return. On Saturday, October 14, 1876 . Tickets, $2.00. 1." As Wikipedia explains, the Centennial Exposition "was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia." It was "the first official World's Fair in the United States." The organization sponsoring the rail excursion--"Putnam Circle, No. 113, B.U. (H.F.) of Pa."--was a local chapter of the Brotherhood of the Union (Holy Flame) of the Continent of America . Founded in 1850 by author and labor organizer George Lippard , the Brotherhood was "a secret benevolent society aiming to eliminate poverty and crime by removing the social ills causing them." Putnam Circle, No. 113, was organized in Columbia on February 10, 1875, and had sixty members by 1883, according to the History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania , by Franklin Ellis and Samuel Evans (Philadelphia: Everts and Peck, 1883), p. 581. Columbia is located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, about ninety miles west of Philadelphia.

"McCall's Ferry Hotel, C. F. Quade, proprietor. Opposite Columbia & Port Deposit Station. P.O. address: Bon View, Lancaster Co., Pa. The popular summer resort along the Susquehanna. Good fishing at all times. First-class accommodations." A photo of the McCall's Ferry Hotel and links to other historical photos from the surrounding Martic Township area are available on the Conestoga Area Historical Society's Web site (thanks to Rita over on Flickr for locating the hotel photo).

Columbia and Uncle Sam shake hands to celebrate the Fourth of July .

"Teach him to hold the flag holy and high for the sake of its sacred dead." Postmarked Harrisburg, Pa., July 2, 1909.

"The Columbia Diner, Route 30, Columbia, Pa. Open 24 hours. Private parties. Home made cheesecake. Take out." The Columbia Diner was located along the Lincoln Highway (Route 462 today but formerly Route 30) in Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

"When can their glory fade."

Even if you don't celebrate the fourth day in July as Independence Day, I wish you a happy and enjoyable July 4th! Alan

A giant Turkey Hill ice cream container and cow stand guard at the entrance to the Turkey Hill Experience, an attraction in Columbia, Pa., where you can find out how ice cream is made.