Get Your Hands Off Me (WWI-Era Photo Album)

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Image courtesy of the Hobart Historical Society.

She does not look amused, does she, at the way he's grabbing her.

I think we're still at the Epworth League Convention, June 1918, with the high school in the background. That smiling young woman at left looks familiar. Unfortunately, there are no identifying notes for this photo.

Wildflowers of Ainsworth: Swamp Dock

Down by the dock in Jerry Pavese Park, in the muddy soil at the edge of the water, you can find swamp dock:

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The leaves are enthusiastically green, but beyond that the plant is unimpressive. Here, a few of the tiny white blossoms are still clinging:


Elsewhere, they've already borne fruit:


So, nothing interesting about the plant itself, but thanks to my research, I learned a new word: terete. Botany is full of weird words that have no use in daily life.

Cavalry at Deep River, 1909 (Random Old Photos)

A not-so-recent purchase, but I only just recently got around to tracking down this event in the 1909 microfilm. Turns out it was nothing, really; the cavalry just happened to stop by on its way from somewhere else to somewhere else. But I'm sure its presence woke up the sleepy villages of Deep River and Ainsworth for a couple of days.

From the "Local Drifts" column of the Hobart Gazette, July 30, 1909:

The little town of Deepriver was exceptionally honored Monday [July 26, 1909] by a military force of about three hundred cavalrymen from Ft. Sheridan, Ill., passing through from Toledo, Ohio; the troopers pitched tent just east of the river bridge and remained until Tuesday when they moved toward Cedar Lake. They created quite an excitement in the village.

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Neither postcard was used. Their backs look like this:



A couple of online reference sites contend that that style of Artura stamp box first came into use in 1910 or 1911, so either A.F. Haase took his time about getting these photos printed up into postcards, or I've just inadvertently uncovered evidence that could shake up the world of postcard dating, in which case those shadowy organizations that have long suppressed the truth about Artura stamp box styles will soon be after me.

Metamorphosis Coming (Random Pointless Photo)

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Yesterday when I saw this spiny-backed caterpillar attach itself to my siding in the shape of an upside-down question mark, I figured it had plans.

By this morning it had partially wrapped itself up in a cocoon. The spiny part showing on the left side is the caterpillar's back.

I hope I'm around to see what kind of butterfly or moth comes out of there.

Wildflowers of Ainsworth: Prickly Sow Thistle

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A tough plant growing in a tough place — right next to the railroad tracks.

Vicious little thing. The spines on its leaves are sharp! According to Wikipedia, some people report getting a rash from it.

And yet, so they say, those leaves are edible. Who first was brave enough or hungry enough to try it?

Unfocused Smiles (WWI-Era Photo Album)

Two smiling young women, two badly focused photographs. I think the building behind the women is the high school. They were probably attending the Epworth League convention in Hobart, June 1918, but since there are no identifying notes on either, I can't be sure.


(Click on images to enlarge)
Images courtesy of the Hobart Historical Society.

Pirates of Lake George (Random Old Photo)

I have a backlog of purchases that I haven't shown off yet. This is one of them. Thank goodness the postcard-maker identified it as Lake George; otherwise I would never have known. There's really nothing in this picture to help us locate it, beyond a utility pole in the lower right corner, which only tells that the photographer probably stood on a road or railroad. Someone has built a rather rough boathouse, with what looks like a skull and crossbones over the entrance. And a kayak-type-thing nearby. Kayaking pirates on Lake George?


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The reverse, postmarked 1918, contains a message to a soldier.



I think I've found Emil Rodenberg in the records. He was from Illinois, born March 11, 1891. He was single when he received this card, but the following year he married a Josephine Biever, and the 1920 census finds them living in Chicago.

No clue who Helen was. Or Jim, for that matter.