Trees and Plants in Vintage Photos

Caption: "Cedar, diam 20 feet, cir 60 feet, near Monroe, Wash. Teeple Photo, copyright." Three women and a boy stand on or beside a towering cedar tree--20 feet in diameter with a circumference of 60 feet--that was (or still is?) located near the city of Monroe, Washington .

Tourists pose for a souvenir photo in front of the "Giant" (as the sign indicates), one of the huge redwoods in what used to be called Big Tree Grove but is now part of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park , located in Santa Cruz County, California.

A photo of people in or by distinctive trees for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A man and woman pose with their automobile at the Wawona Tree , a giant sequoia in Mariposa Grove , Yosemite National Park, California. The sign on the left says, "Wawona, diameter 26 feet, height 227 feet, roadway cut in 1875" (Wikipedia, however, indicates that 1881 was when the opening was cut through the tree). The Wawona Tree fell to the ground in 1969 after a heavy snowfall. It was about 2,300 years old.

The Brook Leaf Love Nest was an oversized tree house built along Kreutz Creek on a farm in Hellam Township, York County, Pennsylvania, in the 1920s. Newlyweds on their honeymoon rented the "love nest," and it was a well-known local attraction until it burned down in the late 1940s after being struck by lightning. Interestingly, The Haines Shoe House, Hellam, Pa. , was another nearby destination for honeymooners. For additional information, see the following York Blog postings: Brook Leaf Love Nest Tree House Known as Hellam Honeymoon Spot and Hellam Tree House Makes the Movie News Reels .

A sleeping photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Why is a sleeping baby perched in the crook of this tree? Who or what is holding the baby up so that it doesn't fall down? Unfortunately, there's no message or other information on the back of this real photo postcard to provide answers to these questions.

Getting ahead among the roots and rocks. The dealer from whom I purchased this photo speculated that it may have been taken at Devil's Den or some other rocky area on the Gettysburg Battlefield in Adams County, Pennsylvania, but I have not been able to confirm this.

A priests/nuns photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Stamped on the back of the photo: "Folkemer Photo Service, Baltimore, Apr. 27, 1928." There's nothing except the stamp on the back of the photo and the fuzzy details in the background of the image to indicate where these priestly fellows posed for their photo. The snapshot was probably taken somewhere in the Baltimore, Maryland, area--as the stamp suggests--but their relaxed stances make me wonder if they were visiting family and friends or traveling on vacation when the photographer took this picture.

A proud of their blooming plant photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. In 1910, sixty-year-old Sarah Hetyke posed for this photo next to the blooming mock orange tree in her yard and then wrote a poignant message to her three-year-old nephew on the back of it (see below). Handwritten on the back of this real photo postcard: Lewis Stifler Aug. 9, 1910 Dear Lewis, I am 60 and you are 3. You keep this to look at when I am dead and gone, and remember me. And I hope you will grow up to be a good and useful man. Lovingly, Your Aunt Sarah Hetyke Taken in the yard beside the mock orange tree when [it was] in full bloom.

Probably one of those blue-collar workers.

A celluloid medallion. For additional examples, see the George Eastman House's extensive collection of Celluloid Medallions & Buttons on Flickr.

"Dreamland at Legat Garden. Boudnek Photo. 58." This "Dreamland" castle was constructed in the 1920s by a man named John Legat as part of a garden in Fox River Grove, Illinois, that also included a wishing well, windmill, and fountain. Legat, who was married to the town's doctor, gave tours of his garden and sold postcard views of it (including, possibly, this one). Legat's land was later turned into building lots, and the garden gave way to a neighborhood of houses. Some of Legat's structures--including the castle--still remain, although they're in a state of disrepair. Check out Google Maps for a current view of the castle, which is located in a front yard at the corner of Grove and Lincoln avenues in Fox River Grove. For additional information, see the article, " Fox River Grove’s Other Castle ," which was originally published in the Northwest Herald , June 7, 2011. (The title of the article refers to another castle that's a full-size residence known as Castle Vianden or Bettendorf Castle; see the Wikipedia entry for Fox River Grove, Illinois , which provides a brief history and photo of this second castle.)

Handwritten on the back of the photo: "1345 14th Street No., St. Petersburg, Florida, Wed. morning, Aug. 19th, 1936. All ready to pull out for home." I'm not sure why the photographer decided to hide in the weeds across the street in order to take the picture.

A flowers photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A slide dated April 1959 shows an elaborate planter stand with flowering plants (violets?) situated in front of a window. Trendy curtains with geometric shapes flank the stand on both sides, and other household furnishings--a lamp, stereo, framed photo, artwork on the wall--are also visible. For another slide taken in the same house (with the same distinctive style of curtains), see Here's the Lady You Ordered! Where Do You Want Us to Put Her?

A trick or treat photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten on the back: "Hostetter Farm oats field." This photo doesn't feature a Children of the Corn scenario like Deborah Lundbech's delightfully spooky If You Grow It, She Will Come... , but I wouldn't want to see these sinister Grown-Ups of the Oats coming through the field toward me!

This real photo postcard was addressed to Miss Olive Hanner, Strasburg, Ohio, and was postmarked Akron, Ohio, Nov. 5, 1909. There was no greeting or message.

In this real photo postcard, a man hides among the leafy tobacco plants on a hazy summer day.

A photo of fields, crops, pastures for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten note on the back of the photo: "Here is a picture, and it does not look as if Nebraska was a tee-total failure in 1926. But 50% was a failure on the corn crop for 1926. Mr. H. G. Bolz." Rubberstamped on back: "Van Doran Photo Shop, 1406 O St., Lincoln, Neb." Prohibition was in effect and alcoholic beverages were banned in the U.S. when this photo was taken in 1926, so perhaps teetotalism was on the writer's mind when he said that the corn crop wasn't a "tee-total" failure.

"Banks. Pasadena, 1921. Rose Festival. Photo Card Co., L.A." The "Rose Festival" float on this real photo postcard was part of the 1921 edition of the New Year celebration in Pasadena, California, that continues today as the Rose Parade . The Pasadena Clearinghouse Association sponsored the float to represent "Banks" (financial institutions) in the area. For the Banks float constructed for the parade ten years after this one, see Pasadena Clearinghouse Float in the Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena, 1931 .