Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: rivers

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of the long and winding road (road photos, winding or otherwise) . Caption: "The Juniata Near Amity Hall. 9." This is a real photo postcard with a scenic view of the Juniata River in Perry County , Pennsylvania. The road in the photo is now US 22/US 322 ( U.S. Route 22 concurrent with U.S. Route 322 ). The location is near Amity Hall , which refers to a landmark inn that closed in the 1980s, suffered a fire in 2009, and has since been torn down. The tire cover on the back of the automobile parked along the road says, "See Bob" and "Auto Supplies." The license plate on the car is 69M52, and I believe it's a Pennsylvania plate. Unfortunately, I was unable to make out the year, which appeared on license plates at the time the photo was taken. On the other side of the card is an Azo stamp box (squares in each of the four corners), which indicates that the photo likely dates to sometime between the 1920s and the 1940s. There's no message, address, stamp, or postmark on this card, but other copies that I spotted online had postmarks dating to 1935 and 1939.

"Steamboat Mary, Wrightsville and Columbia, Pa. B. D. Beittel , Columbia, Pa." An early postcard of Steamboat Mary, which evidently ran on the Susquehanna River between Wrightsville, York County, and Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The card dates to the first decade of the twentieth century (circa 1907, based on the postmark of another copy I spotted elsewhere on the web). In the background is the Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge , a steel truss bridge that was built in 1896. It carried railroad and automobile traffic over the river until it was dismantled in 1963.

A photo of day trippers (people on a day out, groups or individuals) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Real photo postcard caption: "Palisades Hike, Feb. 14, '15. #5. E." Eight individuals appear in this "Palisades Hike" photo taken on February 14, 1915, but I'm not sure exactly what they're doing or which Palisades they're visiting (see a list of possible locations on Wikipedia's Palisades disambiguation page). The woman in the foreground is carrying an American flag, and the two men on the left are apparently moving rocks around (or looking under them?) as a boy standing in the middle of the stream watches. The others in the background seem to be cautiously making their way over some of the large boulders situated along the other side of the stream. Perhaps the "#5" designation means that this is the fifth in a series of photos taken that day by a photographer whose name might be indicated by the circled "E." If so, we may have to wait to see if additional photos turn up in order to learn more about these Palisades hikers and the trip they took on Valentine's Day in 1915.

"Excursion to Ft. Madison, given by Benevolent Union. Steamer W. W. Saturday, June 29, 1907. Adults, 50c."

A child's ticket for a steamboat trip on the Schuylkill River between Reading, Pennsylvania, and the Klapperthal Pavilion, which was located outside of town and contained a dance floor, restaurant, and other amenities. The back of the ticket is stamped "Jul. 4, 1896." Captain John A. Hiester (1842-1922) built boats and ran steamboats on the Schuylkill for many years. See also Reading Steamboat Company Ticket, Reading, Pa., to High's Grove . Steamboats Iona, Golden Eagle, and Atlantic Reading to Klapperthal and return (down) (up). Capt. John A. Hiester. Children's ticket.

"Reading Steamboat Co., this ticket is good for one passage from Reading to High's Grove. Good for this day only. Reading Steamboat Co. Return ticket from High's Grove to Reading." The Reading Steamboat Company operated steamboats on the Schuylkill River in the city of Reading, Pennsylvania, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A front-page article in the Reading Eagle newspaper for Monday, August 3, 1903, for instance, included this brief report about company operations: "Steamboat Trips. The Reading Steamboat Co. made trips with its steamboat, 'The City of Reading,' on the Schuylkill [River] between Hain's and Kissinger's locks Sunday [August 2], and carried hundreds of passengers. The round trip was 1½ miles. The vessel will ply between the same points next Sunday."

That's John C. Kindler, who was the fire department chief in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in the driver's seat of his 1913 Studebaker-Flanders automobile. His passenger is Edward Halbert, assistant chief. Note the fire gong and the two fire extinguishers mounted on the side of the vehicle. The setting shows Front Street in Harrisburg , with the benches and trees of Riverfront Park across the street and the faint blue of the Susquehanna River barely visible in the background.

Printed on the back of this postcard: "The Broadway Limited, the Aristocrat of the Rails, is America's foremost train. It makes the daily run over the Pennsylvania Railroad between New York and Chicago in 20 hours; Philadelphia and Chicago in 18¼ hours. Direct connections in new Union Station, Chicago, for Pacific Coast and points West." As Wikipedia explains, "The Broadway Limited was a passenger train operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad between New York City and Chicago. It operated from 1912 to 1995." The illustration on this advertising postcard comes from a 1920s painting by Harold Brett entitled Speed and Security . It shows the Broadway Limited traveling over the Rockville Bridge , which crosses the Susquehanna River a few miles north of Harrisburg, Pa.

"H. J. Heinz Company, Main Plant and General Offices, Pittsburgh, U.S.A. Pure Food Products, Heinz 57 Varieties. The house in which we began, 1869." An advertising postcard, ca. 1900s-1910s, published by the H. J. Heinz Company , a food processing company known for its ketchup and more than 57 Varieties of other products.

This tinted real photo postcard shows the original Sewickley Bridge , which spanned the Ohio River between Sewickley and Moon Township in western Pennsylvania. Located about twelve miles northwest of Pittsburgh, the bridge was completed in 1911, dismantled in 1980 after significant deterioration, and replaced by a new bridge that opened in 1981. A Find A Grave search identified the final resting places of "Wesley Charlton" (probably Mark Wesley Charlton, Sr. , 1877-1921) and "Wm. Snowwhite" (probably William Snowwhite , 1886-1968). Charlton and Snowwhite likely lived in the area at the time the bridge was completed in 1911. I haven't been able to determine any other specific reason that they chose the bridge as the subject for the holiday postcard that they created that year. Greetings of the Season, Christmas, 1911 This is an exceptional view of the Ohio river bridge and the only one of its kind in existence. It was obtained through an unique process by Wesley Charlton and the plate and product are the exclusive property of Wm. Snowwhite, the sender.

Advertisement on the back: "All leather Triangle Brand Shoes. Sturdy good looking shoes for husky boys. Dainty styles for growing girls. They last longer. Pleasant View Store, general merchandise, Nuangola Sta., Pa." This wheel chart or volvelle was an advertising giveaway intended for children, who could turn the interlocking paper wheels to display information about each American state. The arrow at the top of the wheel points to Pennsylvania ("Penn."), for instance, and corresponding text visible in the small windows on the map reveal that Pennsylvania's capital is Harrisburg, its principal city is Philadelphia, it gained statehood in 1787, and other tidbits of information. See below for a variety of other wheel charts on various topics.

"Fergani A. H. Khattab, dragoman & tourist conductor, Cairo, Upper Egypt, & Nubia, Nile trips and camping contractor. Address: Mena Pyramids P.O., Cairo, Egypt." As far as I can determine, "dragoman" in this context on a business card simply means "interpreter or guide." Wikipedia's dragoman article explains the historical significance of the term, which referred to "an interpreter, translator, and official guide between Turkish, Arabic, and Persian-speaking countries and polities of the Middle East and European embassies, consulates, vice-consulates, and trading posts." For a similar card, see SonomaPicMan's Dragoman's 1885 Calling Card on Flickr.

"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).

"Risbon Roller Rink, Cypher Beach, Hopewell, Pa., R.R No. 2. Good only on date sold. Admit one, est. price .29, fed. tax. .06. 35 cents. 018948. 018949."

"Rhodes Casino on the Pawtucket. Good for One Dance. Season 1901. Rhodes Bros, proprietors. 12345. 12346." Compare this dance ticket with Ticket Good for One Dance, Giffey's Hall, Ridgeville Corners, Ohio .

This red-border Kodachrome slide (undated, but probably from the late 1950s) shows an underwater performer at Weeki Wachee Springs. She's holding food to attract fish in one hand, while she hangs on to the air hose that she uses for breathing in the other hand. As Wikipedia explains, " Weeki Wachee Springs is a natural tourist attraction located in Weeki Wachee, Florida, where underwater performances by 'mermaids,' women wearing fish tails as well as other fancy outfits, can be viewed in an aquarium-like setting in the spring of the Weeki Wachee River."

What appears to be a photo of tourists bravely enduring the tumultuous waves of the whirlpool rapids in the gorge below Niagara Falls is actually a composite photo concocted in a photographer's studio. For an illustration showing how the photographer achieved this effect, see "How to Visit Niagara Falls Without Leaving Home," part of the American Museum of Photography's Montages, Multiples, and Mischief page. The Whirlpool Rapids Bridge (formerly known as the Lower Steel Arch Bridge) is visible in the background of the photo, and a second bridge, the Niagara Cantilever Bridge , is partially visible behind it.

Posted to the Vintage Photos Theme Park group for "rattan/bamboo/wicker" theme week. Although the photo is obviously contrived, the gondola--with attached ropes and sandbags--looks like a real wicker basket similar in appearance to those used for hot air balloons. A real photo postcard addressed on the back to: "Mr. and Mrs. J. [Paules?], Oakryn, Pennsylvania, U.S. America." The message on the back: "Sept. 22nd, 1910. We are spending the afternoon at Zurich on our way home from Switzerland, had a lovely drive. The lady in the balloon with us is the one we have been staying with at St. Gallen. Love, Leslie and Ethel."