Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: Bell phone

"Rosey's Auto Graveyard on Lincoln Highway at Vintage , Pa. Between Philadelphia and Lancaster, Pa." The Lancaster County Postcard Club's book, Lancaster County Postcards: Windows to Our Past (Stevens, Pa., 1998), p. 94, gives a date of 1919 for this postcard. Printed on the other side of the postcard: Rosey Buying and selling running and not running automobiles. Paying highest cash prices. Dealer in all kinds of supplies. On the Lincoln Highway. Vintage, Lanc. Co., Pa. Ind. Phone, Gap 420-G. Bell Phone, Gap 422. Published by I. Steinfeldt, Lancaster, Pa. Made in U.S.A. C. T. American Art. A-80583. Excerpts from a 1921 article about "Rosey" and "The Graveyard": "Rosey," whose real name is Morris Roseman, is proprietor of "The Graveyard," a most interesting and profitable "outdoor showroom" for defunct automobiles and other motor vehicles. Vintage is a small place twelve miles east of Lancaster, Pa., on the Lincoln Highway, which gives "The Graveyard" a strategical position: First, because of the tremendous motor vehicle traffic along the highway, and second, because Vintage is in Lancaster county, noted for its great number of automobile, truck, and farm tractor users and owners.... "Rosey" is a cheerful character, but while he is never tired of having colored post cards made of his famous "Graveyard," he does not consider his own portrait especially decorative and there aren't many pictures of him extant. --from K. H. Lansing, " Being a 'Character' Has Money Value ," American Garage and Auto Dealer , August 1921, pp. 13-14.

"Wm. C. Myers, practical artesian well contractor. Test holes for prospectors. Estimates on application. Work done on short notice. Satisfaction guaranteed. Bell 'phone. Salunga, Lancaster Co., Pa. Traction." For a similar business card, see U. W. Myers, Artesian Well Driller, Myerstown, Pa.

"C. Lloyd Major and His Orchestra. C. Lloyd Major, Bell 3-4109. 1944 Chestnut Street, Harrisburg, Pa." C. Lloyd Major was active as a musician in Pennsylvania during the 1920s and 1930s. His musical group went by various names, including C. Lloyd Major and His Victor Recording Orchestra, C. Lloyd Major and His Merry Musicians, and C. Lloyd Major and His Tallo-Ho Ten.

The Keystone Auto Transit Company used this business card to signal big plans--service to five cities, $1.5 million in authorized capital, a full slate of officers--when it started up in 1917, but it seems to have stayed in business for only a short time. The company placed an advertisement in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday, October 21, 1917, offering motor freight services that were intended to compete with the railroads. The ad promised quick delivery of freight by "trackless locomotives," a term that was sometimes used to refer to trucks and cars in the early twentieth century. "Freight in a Day" was the title of an article (though it reads like another advertisement) that appeared in the same newspaper a week later on October 28, 1917, and it also used "trackless locomotives" and other railroad terminology to describe the company's operations: "The Keystone Auto Transit Company have inaugurated a freight and express service between New York, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, [and] Harrisburg, employing a great fleet of tractors and trailers [early versions of today's tractor-trailer trucks] that carry as much as thirty tons to the load. "These big trackless locomotives [ trucks ] and their trailers will leave a specified station in each of the cities at exactly 11 A.M. and will undertake to deliver to the consignee's door on the day of shipment, which, of course, provides for early morning collection. "These collections are made by more than fifty lighter and even faster trucks, which carry the individual shipments to the general depot [which was a truck depot, not a railroad depot] for loading on the overland trains [over-the-road trucks ]. These trains [ trucks! ] are scheduled to meet frequently on each route, so that drivers and supplies are always available should an accident occur." Although it's obvious that the Keystone Auto Transit Company intended to compete with the railroads, the venture apparently failed, and I haven't been able to uncover much besides this business card to document the company's existence. For some interesting details about the challenges facing early trucking companies like this one, take a look at Wikipedia's article on the History of the Trucking Industry in the United States . Keystone Auto Transit Co. (Incorporated) Incorporating with auth. cap. $1,500,000. Large Shipments Especially Solicited. New York. Pittsburgh. Atlantic City. Baltimore. Philadelphia Service Station, 1714-16-18 Callowhill St. Bell Phone, Spruce 3826. Keystone Phone, Race 5090. J. W. White, President. F. T. Finch, 1st Vice President and Traffic Mgr. Pres., Phila. Motor Service Corp. V. E. Kugler, 2d Vice President and Treasurer. Treasurer, Blair Eastern Co. F. H. McNerney, 3d Vice President. Mgr., Western Furniture Mfg. Co. F. J. P. Hildenbrand, Secretary. General Insurance, Philadelphia, Pa. Hon. W. H. Fisher, District Mgr. Oaklyn, N.J. Represented by

"S. Elliott & Son, wholesale and retail dealers in pure artificial ice, manufactured by the Consumers' Ice Company of Lancaster. 242 S. Queen St., Lancaster, Pa. S. Elliott. S. G. Elliott. Bell 'Phone, 4924. United 'Phone, 1846 B."

"Atlantic City Hot Wiener Lunch, 6th & Broad Streets, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Telephone Bell 9221. Save this blotter for your check book. Going to the dogs. Coney Island lunch counter." For a similar blotter/business card, see Swails Restaurant, Best Coffee in the City, Harrisburg, Pa.

"Dr. F. C. Williams, eye specialist, Harrisburg, Pa. Eyes carefully tested and examined. Eye glasses and spectacles made to order and guaranteed to give perfect satisfaction. 928 N. Sixth Street, Harrisburg, Pa. Office hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 2 to 4, 5 to 8 p.m. Bell phone 357-R." See also Charles S. Frantz, Graduate Ophthalmic Optician, Watchmaker, and Jeweler, Lancaster, Pa. and B. B. Lupfer, Graduate Optician, New Bloomfield, Pa.

"Shaw's Harmony Boys, dance orchestra. J. H. Dubbs, manager, Bell phone 1131J, Lebanon, Pa. Have you heard them?"

"Roseland Nightingale Orchestra. A full evening's pleasure. Harry Wolford, business manager, 570 South Duke Street, Lancaster, Pa. Melody, pep, harmony. Bell phone."

"Swails Restaurant, R. O. Swails, prop. Before you try the rest, try the best. Strictly home cooked food. Best coffee in the city. 1913 Derry St., Harrisburg, Pa. Bell 3-9042. Open day and night. Never closed." For a similar blotter/business card, see Atlantic City Hot Wiener Lunch, Harrisburg, Pa.

"B. B. Lupfer, graduate optician, New Bloomfield, Pa. Bell 'phone. All work warranted. Office days, Monday and Saturday. 15 years experience. Wide practice." See also Charles S. Frantz, Graduate Ophthalmic Optician, Watchmaker, and Jeweler, Lancaster, Pa. and Dr. F. C. Williams, Eye Specialist, Harrisburg, Pa.

"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 .