Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: Northumberland County

A photo of parades and/or flags for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. The dealer's notation on the back of this real photo postcard says, "Welcome Home Day, Sunbury, Pa., 1919." The city of Sunbury , Pennsylvania, held a Welcome Home Day for returning World War I soldiers in 1919. This was one of the floats in the parade that was part of the celebration. Take a look at a cropped version of the photo for a better view of Lady Liberty and the other riders on the float.

Lady Liberty stands in the middle of a parade float in Sunbury, Pa., in 1919. A sailor and a soldier are in front of her, and a nurse and another woman are at the back of the float. For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard.

Who was that masked man? Why, Uncle Sam, of course, though his appearance here was for Halloween rather than the expected Fourth of July holiday. You may also want to take a gander at the full photo .

Uncle Sam makes a holiday appearance for—the Fourth of July? Nope, it was a prize-winning Halloween costume in Sunbury , Pennsylvania, on October 31, 1931. A handwritten note on the back of this snapshot describes the scene as "Uncle Sam in full costume, Oct-31-1931. Best masked person at Sunbury street frolic. Grand champion premium of $1.50." You can take a closer look at that champion mask, or check out a different Uncle Sam from Michigan .

"All Stars at Augustaville dance. Coleman caller. 1-21-'33." The musicians ("All Stars") and caller ("Coleman," with megaphone) for a dance that evidently took place in Augustaville, Pennsylvania, in 1933.

Mouse over the image above to see a close-up of the queen and her retinue . Although I purchased this photo at an antique mall in Lewisburg, Pa., it didn't initially occur to me that this was a photo taken at Bucknell University, which is located in the same town. Instead, it seemed likely that this was a scene from "Milton, Pa.," as noted in the lower right-hand corner of the photo. I finally deciphered "Ishiguro," whose photography studio was located in Milton, and that name, along with the "May 1934" date written on the back of the photo, finally led me to Bucknell and its L'Agenda 1936 yearbook, which identified Dorothea Millikin as the 1934 May Queen. A newspaper article that appeared prior to the 1934 May Day celebration, which was part of a Spring Festival, provides additional details about the event: "Bucknell University's first Spring Festival will be held next week-end [Friday, May 11, to Sunday, May 13, 1934] in connection with the annual May Day pageant and Mother's Day celebration. The three-day program will feature dramatic, musical, and athletic events for all students. . . . The annual May Day pageant Saturday afternoon will be preceded by a fashion show and tea for the co-eds and a varsity baseball match with Ursinus [College] for the men. Hundreds of visiting mothers will be entertained at the Mothers Banquet Saturday evening at which the men's glee club will entertain" ( "Bucknell Plans May Day Spring Festival and Mother's Day Event," Gazette and Bulletin [Williamsport, Pa.], May 5, 1934, p. 13). Notation at the lower right-hand corner of the photo: "Ishiguro, Milton, Pa., No. 2." Handwritten date on the back of the photo: "May 1934."

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