Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: stations

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of sing, sing, sing!—folks making music vocally . An unidentified country musician poses in front of a microphone bearing the call letters for radio station WVLN in Olney, Illinois. Although the microphone and guitar suggest that he sang and played for a show on the station, I haven't been able to determine who he is. I was surprised to see that he was wearing a holster with a revolver. I hope he stuck to the singing and strumming and avoided any shooting. This is an unused real photo postcard with no date or any other additional information on the other side.

"Union Steam Fire Engine & Hose Co., No. 1, Lebanon, Pa. 123-125 S. 9th St. (near Walnut)." Printed on the back of this postcard: "24224 - Pub. by Harpel's Art Store, Lebanon, Pa. Officers. President - Geo. T. Spang. Vice-Pres. - Wm. S. Rise. Secretary - Wm. A. Spangler. Treasurer - Chas. H. Killinger. Chief Eng. - Levi Hartz. Equipment - 2nd. size Amoskeag Engine, Hose Wagon. Organized Feb. 22, 1780. Chartered as Steam Fire Engine Co., March 19, 1866." According to an article that appeared in the Lebanon Daily News on April 22, 1970, p. 19, this was one of a series of fire company postcards published by Harpel's Art Store for the thirty-third annual convention of the Pennsylvania State Firemen's Association, which was held in Lebanon on September 10 to 14, 1912. For another Lebanon fire company postcard, see Liberty Steam Fire Engine and Hose Company, No. 3, Lebanon, Pa., 1912 .

This is a screen capture from Google Maps showing the Bartholdi Hose Company in 2013. For more information, see the postcard view of the Bartholdi Hose Company, Butler, New Jersey, ca. 1920 (below).

Postcard published by Rudolph Bros., New York City, and postmarked Aug. 26, 1922. According to the Butler Volunteer Fire Department 's Web page, the Bartholdi Hose Company No. 2 was established in Butler, New Jersey, in 1908, and the postcard view of its fire engine and firehouse (above) dates to 1922 or earlier. When I checked Google Maps, I was amazed to find that the Bartholdi Hose Company , as recorded by Google in 2013 (see screen capture below), looks much the same as it did 90 years earlier!

"Pomeroy's Juvenile Hour. WEEU. Bernie, program director. Photo by Pomeroy's." Pomeroy's was a department store that had locations in Reading, Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre, and other Pennsylvania cities. This real photo postcard, which shows the Reading store in the upper left-hand corner, was used to advertise Pomeroy's Juvenile Hour radio show, which debuted sometime in the 1930s. Various local radio stations carried the show, including WEEU in Reading and WHP in Harrisburg. Pomeroy's ran ads for the Juvenile Hour in newspapers, too, as this excerpt from the Harrisburg Telegraph , Sept. 29, 1932, p. 8, demonstrates: "Pomeroy's, 'Harrisburg's Greatest Department Store,' Saturday, 9:30 a.m. You are invited to attend our first 'Juvenile Hour' radio broadcast direct from our broadcasting studio on the third floor. See and hear Harrisburg's future radio stars as they broadcast over radio station WHP. These performers are all between the ages of 2 and 12, and you'll marvel at their exhibition. If you are unable to attend the broadcast in person, tune in at 9:30 Saturday morning on station WHP and you'll get an hour of radio sunshine and happiness that will thrill you for a long time to come. Pomeroy's 'Juvenile Hour' will be on the air every Saturday morning, 9:30 to 10:30."

"Wishing you a fortune in happiness! Mr. Fortune. WCBM." Homer Todd, shown here holding a telephone handset and sitting in front of a microphone in this postcard-sized promotional photo, originated the Dialing for Dollars program on Baltimore, Maryland, radio station WCBM in 1939. As "Mr. Fortune," he would randomly call phone numbers and award cash prizes to listeners who answered the phone and could tell him the amount of money he was offering as a prize (the amount increased each time the phone went unanswered or the wrong amount was given as an answer). Dialing for Dollars turned out to be wildly successful and was carried on many different stations as a franchised program first on radio and then on television into the 1970s. Todd--his full name was Homer Ulric Todd, Jr.--apparently continued his career as Mr. Fortune at WCBM until at least 1950. He passed away in 1967 at the age of 56. .

"9704. Fire Headquarters, Creston, Ia. 1902. C.F.D."

"Hook & Ladder No. 1, responding to an alarm, Providence, R.I."

In this real photo postcard, the hostess for the local WGAL-TV version of the Romper Room children's show in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is standing in front of the station's "Color Television" camera (the show was broadcast in color beginning in 1957). The unnamed hostess is holding a drawing of the show's logo, which featured a jack-in-the-box . Behind the hostess is a board with illustrations of "Don't Bee" and "Do Bee." The message on the right-hand side of the board is "Don't be toy selfish," and although we can't see the left side, the sentiment there was probably "Do be toy sharing." Wikipedia's Romper Room article mentions the Bees in its description of a typical episode : "A recurring character was Mr. Do-Bee, an oversized bumblebee who came to teach the children proper deportment; he was noted for always starting his sentence with 'Do Bee', as in the imperative 'Do be'; for example, 'Do Bee good boys and girls for your parents!' There was also a 'Mr. Don't Bee' to show children exactly what they should not do." Perhaps the most interesting and perplexing Romper Room prop--not visible in this photo postcard, unfortunately--was the magic mirror, whose appearance on the screen was always accompanied by a psychedelic mass of swirling colors (see the 1980 Romper Room Magic Mirror Clip on YouTube for an example). As Wikipedia explains, "At the end of each broadcast, the hostess would look through a 'magic mirror'--actually an open hoop with a handle, the size and shape of a hand mirror--recite the rhyme, 'Romper, bomper, stomper boo. Tell me, tell me, tell me, do. Magic Mirror, tell me today, have all my friends had fun at play?' She would then name the children she saw in 'televisionland,' saying, for example, 'I can see Kathleen and Owen and Julie and Jimmy and Kelly and Tommy and Bobby and Jennifer and Martin' and so on. Kids were encouraged to mail in their names, which would be read on the air--first names only." I'm not sure how long Romper Room continued on WGAL-TV, but the show apparently lasted into the 1990s in some areas. For another Romper Room-ination on Ipernity, take a look at arts enthusiast's Romper Room Exercise Book .

Signs: Amoco, American Gas. U.S. Tires.

"Your windshield was cleaned by courtesy of Glass House Shell Servicecenter."

"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).

"Pennsylvania Rail Road, Lancaster Division, 1882. Pass ________. To Hess & Flinn's Station, the cheapest furniture and upholstery house in the city. No. 148-150 North Queen St., Lancaster, Pa. Hess & Flinn." This advertising trade card is a clever parody of a railroad pass (for examples of the real thing, see below for Pennsylvania Railroad Company Pass, 1908 and Pennsylvania Railroad Company Pass, 1909 ). Instead of authorizing travel over a railroad line, however, it invited potential customers to visit Hess & Flinn's furniture store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, during the year 1882. For another Hess & Flinn trade card, see Hess and Flinn, Dealers in All Kinds of Household Furniture, Lancaster, Pa. (below).

Handwritten note on the back of this photo: "This is the place. Taken Sept. 12, '52. Come and see us." Handwritten by someone else: "[Eau] Claire, Wis. Simon's Gas Station." Signage on front of gas station building: "Texaco. Lear & Simon. Marfak Lubrication. Washing." Other signs, banners, and billboards around the gas station: Registered Rest Room. A Texaco Dealer Service. Grand Opening. Come in! Meet your new neighbor. B. F. Goodrich Tire. Defies skids! Grand opening today! Free gifts! Copenhagen. Outdoors, indoors, the best way to take tobacco. If you like beer you'll love Schlitz.

Printed on the back of this linen postcard: "Lesher's Diner, Routes 11 & 15, 28 miles north of Harrisburg, 28 miles south of Sunbury, Liverpool, Penna. Breakfast, luncheon, dinner. Specializing in steaks, chops, sea-food. Home-made pastries baked in our kitchen, Have your car serviced at adjoining AMOCO Station while dining in our delightful diner. 24 hour service. Photography by James E. Hess. Pub. by Mellinger Studios, Lancaster, Penna."

"Fort Hunter Park Service Station, Wm. Penn Highway (Routes 11 and 22), 6 miles north of Harrisburg, Penna. Luncheon service in an atmosphere of dignity. Unusually complete touring camp and picnic facilities." The Fort Hunter Park Service Station building is now part of the Fort Hunter Mansion and Park , which is a division of the Dauphin County Parks and Recreation Department .