Friday, July 22, 2011

Recreation in Oregon

Sepia Saturday's theme this week has to do with launching men into space. This is as close as I could get. This photo was taken sometime between 1904 and 1918.  Ballston was never a big town. In 1915, it had a population of 104.  At that time, it also had a school, a post office, and two churches. It is now considered a ghost town. The original 1855 Ballston school building is still standing though. These ruffians were probably students there


Here's the back of the card. it looks like the sender was preparing to post it off to someone at the U.S. School of Music in New York.


If you want to get an idea of how the town looked, here are some old Ballston photos from the Ben Maxwell Collection at the Salem Public Library.

Businesses in Ballston in Polk County, Oregon, 1959
Oldest surviving school building in Polk County, Oregon, 1964
Old vacant store in Ballston in Polk County, Oregon, 1964
The former railroad station at Ballston in Polk County, Oregon
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24 comments:

  1. LynetteJuly 22, 2011 at 6:22 AM

    An interesting post card.

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  2. L. D. July 22, 2011 at 7:02 AM

    It is an interesting sight to see a guy being hoisted to the brink. I am sure it must have been a joke but I can't see any of those guys in the school of music.

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  3. AnnJuly 22, 2011 at 9:45 AM

    i've never seen a postcard like this! it's very unique to me!! were there a lot like these at one time? were they mostly made in certain parts of the country..or was this "style" widely used? Do you know? Your blog has really turned me into a "gotta know all i can about it" postcard lover!

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  4. Karen S.July 22, 2011 at 9:51 AM

    Wow this is a very cool postcard, they don't make them like this anymore! Thanks!

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  5. Christine H.July 22, 2011 at 9:52 AM

    Ann,
    These are what's known as real-photo postcards. In 1903, Kodak introduced a camera that took postcard size photos, so people could have their own photos developed as postcards. They were very popular and also unique. Depending on the subject matter, they can be some of the most expensive postcards. Not this one though.

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  6. Bob ScotneyJuly 22, 2011 at 10:44 AM

    Thanks for the links to Polk County, especially the old railway station. You could lose a herd of cattle in the grass.

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  7. Aimee DarsJuly 22, 2011 at 10:44 AM

    How interesting! I can only imagine the before and after! ;)

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  8. Little NellJuly 22, 2011 at 10:46 AM

    Very funny - poor chap being launched! Those real-photo postcards often turn up in my family pictures; I’m not sure they were ever sent as PCs though. Most have nothing on the back apart from a name and year.

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  9. AnonymousJuly 22, 2011 at 5:12 PM

    Those Ballston thugs were the worst in all of Polk County!

    Sure would have been nice to have scored that 7UP sign off of the old store.

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  10. MuseSwingsJuly 22, 2011 at 7:38 PM

    Thanks for adding the Ballston picture links - otherwise I'd have to drive over just to see the old school building. Your postcard is perfect for the space launch theme!

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  11. Alan BurnettJuly 23, 2011 at 7:54 AM

    A great card - and what a ingenious link to the theme.

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  12. JinksyJuly 23, 2011 at 8:07 AM

    Bit of a last ditch stand for the one in the middle...

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  13. JanineJuly 23, 2011 at 10:52 AM

    Was machen die Jungs denn da???
    Sieht aus als wollten die beiden Großen, den kleinen in der Mitte auf die Gleise legen.
    Na ja wahrscheinlich hättren sie dann keine Postkarte davon gemacht.
    Ich wünsch dir was
    Janine

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  14. Tattered and LostJuly 23, 2011 at 12:32 PM

    Has the look of an old silent movie. I'm waiting for the Keystone Cops to appear running down the track.

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  15. Sheila @ A Postcard a DayJuly 23, 2011 at 3:05 PM

    It looks suspiciously as though the population was about to become 103.

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  16. PattyFJuly 23, 2011 at 3:29 PM

    Great postcard! I wonder if it's a candid shot or if they posed like that for the photographer.

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  17. JudyJuly 23, 2011 at 4:52 PM

    Being the youngest can really be the pits sometimes :) Thanks for the links to the old photos. Interestingly (enough for me, that is) I spent a good portion of Thursday looking at old (1860s to 1940s) one room school houses in my county, with their steps and covered porches.

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  18. PostcardyJuly 24, 2011 at 5:51 AM

    Interesting photo. It took me a while to figure out there was a boy in the center. The boy on the left seems to be missing a leg, so I thought one of the center legs belonged to him.

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  19. Mike BrubakerJuly 24, 2011 at 7:34 AM

    The postcard is a great gag, but the addressee puzzled me as I had never heard of that school. I looked "U.S. School of Music" on Wikipedia and discovered it was a music correspondence school that dates from 1898 and had an extensive training program to learn music on all kinds of instruments from piano to harp to Hawaiian steel guitar. They lasted until 1980.

    Now the mystery is why is that particular address on the card? A joke for a distant music teacher?

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  20. Bruno LalibertéJuly 24, 2011 at 10:11 AM

    i think i ran into some descendants of those ruffians when i was a kid...
    :/~

    fun post nonetheless!!
    :)~
    HUGZ

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  21. North County Film ClubJuly 24, 2011 at 10:40 AM

    Space launch!!! I love it!
    Barbara

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  22. Archie TechtJuly 24, 2011 at 9:08 PM

    I'm guessing this one was posed, but there were no doubt some real launches... Like Ticklebear, I can relate to the local toughs making life difficult- this pic reminded me of the time I was crossing a stream on log and one of them rolled the log... I hung on upside down for a bit, but fell in eventually- fortunately it wasn't too high above the water!

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  23. DorincardJuly 25, 2011 at 9:27 AM

    You're so funny! :D :D

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  24. chrisAugust 1, 2011 at 8:21 AM

    wow what a design

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