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Category Archives: People/Places
1905 Steeplechase Park postcard
These were the halcyon days of the Steeplechase Park. This famed amusement part at Coney Island opened in 1897. Here one could ride the Ferris Wheel, the Human Roulette Wheel and play inside the Pavilion of Fun. And of course there was the Steeplechase ride itself. My mom has fond memories of Steeplechase. However, by [...]
Also posted in Ephemera Tagged amusement park postcards, Coney Island history, history of amusement parks, Steeplechase park entrance Leave a comment
Milford, NH Drive-In
We kicked off the 4th of July weekend by going to one of the few remaining drive-in theaters in the country: the Milford Drive-In in southern New Hampshire. In 1958, at the height of their popularity, there were about 5,000 drive-ins; today, less than 500 exist. Visit Drive-Ins.com or Driveintheater.com to see if there’s a [...]
Also posted in Uncategorized Tagged Drive-In theaters in the US, history of drive-in theaters, things to do in New Hampshire Leave a comment
The Tenement Museum in New York
Last weekend I was in New York and went to the Tenement Museum. It was a hot and humid day, so staff members handed out these fans. The Tenement Museum offers walking tours. Each tour is different and shows a slice of history from the perspective of NY immigrants. You get a sense of how [...]
Also posted in Recommended Tagged history of immigrants in the United States, museums in New York, New York walking tours Leave a comment
Pawcatuck River, RI vintage postcard
This postcard has a postmark date of 1915. The Pawcatuck River forms part of the boundary between Rhode Island and Connecticut. Its course is about 30 miles and passes through five towns in Rhode Island. There are eight dams along the river. The name is derived from an Algonquian Indian word and means “open divided [...]
Also posted in Ephemera Tagged History of Bradford Rhode Island, Indian names of rivers, vintage postcards of Rhode Island Leave a comment
Greenwich Village Weekly News
This weeky newspaper was printed for and by residents of New York City’s Greenwich Village. Each issue cost ten cents a copy or you could get an eight month subscription for one dollar. The paper was founded and maintained by a small group of unemployed workers who lost their jobs during the Great Depression. This [...]
Las Vegas Horseshoe Club matchbook
A bit of luck and a whole lot of promotion made the Binion family and Joe Brown very rich in Las Vegas. It started in 1951. That’s when Benny Binion opened a gambling hall and called it the Horseshoe. Several years later, with money rolling in and Binion in prision for tax evasion, casino ‘caretaker’ [...]
Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Statue
Not far from the famed music clubs in downtown Austin is a statue of a man who made his mark here — the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. This bronze sculpture stands along the banks of Lady Bird Lake on the south side of town. It was made by Ralph Roehming. The statue was dedicated 1994, [...]
Also posted in Music Tagged rock star memorials, Texas blues and Stevie Ray Vaughan, things to see in Austin 1 Comment
Sheldon W. Peavey (1938-2010)
My dad passed away on February 23rd at the age of 71. He battled pulmonary fibrosis and fought the disease with courage and faith. He never smoked and never touched a drop of alcohol. These are two things on a short list of things he didn’t like. Here are a few things he did like: [...]
