Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: playgrounds

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of at the playground . Five girls pose on playground equipment in Mayo Park, Rochester, Minnesota, circa 1910. Caption on the front of this real photo postcard: "The Playground. Mayo Park. 143." Printed on the other side: "Bert Crowell, Rochester, Minn." Postmarked in Rochester, Minn., May 14, 1910, and addressed to "Miss Hilda Swanson, #85 Cambridge Ave., St. Paul, Minn. Macalaster Park, c/o James Beddie." Handwritten message: "Rochester, Minn. Dear Aunt Hilda, I have not heard from you for a long time, but I had a card from Myrtle today and she said you had gone to St. Paul to live. Mama has been sick all the time lately. She seems to have a cold all the time. She has been lying down all morning. I hope she gets better. How are poor little James and William. Mama says that she wishes you would write soon and tell her. With love and kisses, Beth."

For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard:

A photo taken at the playground for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. This real photo postcard captures children in mid-swing on playground equipment at the Lost River State Park in West Virginia (mouse over the image above for a close-up view of the activity ). Workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) helped to construct the park, which opened in 1937. The three young men on the right-hand side were caught in mid-stride as they walked toward the camera. Their uniforms, including neckties tucked into their shirts, suggest that they were CCC workers.

Maypoles on May Day for the ABC Group (4/24/2017). Mouse over the image above to see close-ups of the maypole on the left and the maypole on the right . This real photo postcard shows the organized chaos of May Day festivities at a playground or schoolyard--location and date unknown, unfortunately--where two groups of students are dancing around two maypoles as other students and adults view the proceedings. Could this be a maypole dance competition between two classes or schools? Are the two groups racing to see who will be the first to finish weaving their ribbons around their maypole? It's not clear whether this is a competition, but it's interesting to note that older boys are holding up each maypole while girls wearing dark-colored skirts dance around one of them and girls in light-colored skirts dance around the other. Also, many of the boys standing in the background beyond the maypoles are wearing shirts emblazoned with the letter E, so I suppose it's possible that the clothes are athletic uniforms reflecting different classes or schools. In any case, even if we can't tell exactly what's going on, the image provides an intriguing glimpse at a May Day celebration from days gone by.

For more information, see the full version of this photo .

For more information, see the full version of this photo .