Automobiles and Airplanes

These are from a folder of negatives that belonged to Grace Shapley. Writing on the outside of the folder says: Negatives of Airplane trip, Aunt Bess and myself at 51 Lathrop Apt. and 13 John Street, Oquaga Lake, N.Y. , college negatives, etc. The folder also included some labelled photographs, taken in Syracuse and Binghamton, New York, as well as in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I have been able to identify some of the people in the photos, but not all of them.

Grace Shapley

 

Grace Shapley

Sepia Saturday - Henry Hoyt Fackler

I planned to post a somewhat scary family photo today, but I couldn't resist the automobile theme for Sepia Saturday, so I chose this one instead. Stay tuned for scary picture next week.

This is my great grandfather, Henry Hoyt Fackler, standing in front of the Chevrolet he won from the American Legion in Colony, Kansas in about 1931. Imagine winning a car during the Great Depression and how exciting that must have been. What did he do to win it? Did he catch the biggest fish? Win a prize for best painting? Enter a raffle? Unfortunately, I don't know. He does not look nearly as excited in this picture as he should though.

 

Here he is again in about 1938.

Henry Hoyt Fackler was born in Pennsylvania in 1878, but moved to Kansas at some point before he married Etta Mildred Day in 1899.  I don't know much about him except that he had a store and that he and Etta had five children. Henry died in 1946.

Here's an earlier photo  (circa 1900) of Henry Hoyt and Etta.

Recklesss Driving

Here are some humorous cards from the early days of automobiles. It was quickly recognized that people didn't see as much when they were driving, and that there were resulting conflicts with pedestrians and livestock.  There also weren't any lane dividers in the very early days of the automobile, so urban driving must have been very chaotic.

On that note, I would also like to announce the winners of the GPSmycity.com walking app. giveaway for iPhones and iPods from two weeks ago. I thank you for participating, and I will be contacting you to email you the code you need to get your app. Here are the winners:
Alan Burnett and Kakihara will both be getting walking tours of New York City.
Brian (from Paper Sponge) will get a walking tour of San Francisco.
Mark S. and Christine Wallace will both get tours of Prague, and
Judy from Judy's Notebook will be getting a tour of Tokyo.
It was interesting to me to see what locations you chose - all great choices!
Happy travels, and stay on the sidewalks to avoid crazy drivers.

The first card refers to the Metropolitan Police Act of 1839, passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 54 addressed a long list of nuisances, but did not anticipate the advent of the automobile. They were merely trying to address the problems of wild horse-cart driving.

In addition to furious driving, here are some other activities that were outlawed:

• Driving carts on the footway.
• Selling or distributing "profane, indecent or obscene books, papers, prints, drawings, paintings or representations", or singing any songs or ballads with similar content or using language "to the annoyance of pedestrians or passengers".
• Threatening or abusive behaviour or words.
• The blowing of horns (except by guards and postmen of the General Post Office.)
• Discharging firearms, setting fireworks or lighting bonfires.
• "Wantonly disturbing" persons by ringing doorbells, knocking on doors or unlawfully extinguishing lamps.
• Flying kites or playing games to the annoyance of others.
• Making slides upon ice or snow to the danger of pedestrians.

 

Here are the backs of the cards in the same order. The first one is interesting, because it was printed just before it became permissible to write a message on the back of the card. Before March 1, 1907, you could only write the address on the back of the card, which is why many people tried to scribble a message on the front.

The second postcard is from prior to 1907. Note that there's no space for a message here.