Streetcar Sunday - Hastings, U.K.

Hastings is located on the coast of East Sussex in England. Historically, the town has been an important fishing port and a tourist destination.

Hastings had tram service between 1905 and 1928. Initially, most of the system operated with overhead wires, except for some areas right along the waterfront, such as this one. They were operated on what was called a Dolter stud contact system, which was later determined to be too dangerous, because it occasionally electrocuted horses. So, in 1914 these were replaced with petrol electric trams. However, in 1921 this section was converted again and operated on overhead wires along with the rest of the system. In 1928 the entire system was converted to trolley buses, but there has been recent discussion in Hastings about re-introducing trams.  For more detailed history of the Hastings trams, check out this website. If you are interested in the future of trams in Hastings, you may want to check out the Hastings Tramway Club.

Hastings has another claim to fame: Fred Judge, photographer and postcard publisher. This postcard could well have been printed by Judge, especially as his shop is in the center of the photo! Here's an enlargement so you can see it clearly. Fred and his brother started producing postcards in 1903.

If it is a Judges card, the number in the stamp box would help to determine an approximate (O.K., very approximate) date. The earliest numbered series in 1906 started out at 50. This one is numbered 4719. I would guess that the card is from about 1910, whether or not it was printed by Judges. By the way, Judges is still printing postcards.

Oh, and here's what the same corner looks like today:

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The Woodin Album

This is not my family, but I feel disturbed by abandoned relatives even if they belong to others. These and a few other photos were included in a postcard album. Why was this album discarded? Who were these people?  I know a little. The surname for the family appears to be Woodin, and they lived in Cortland, New York at the turn of the century. Lulu, Jennie, and Fred...and their parents, presumably, whose names I don't know.

I think the album I have is Jennie's. Here are some of the pictures.
Fred, Lulu, and Marjorie (?):

Fred and Lulu  (The first two pictures appear to have been taken outside. Note the grass, leaves, and plants at Fred's feet.)

Marjorie?

 The parents?

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful posts and stories of Sepia Saturday here.

Kamehameha Day - Honolulu, Hawaii

Today is Kamehameha Day, a public holiday in the State of Hawaii (or Hawai'i.) It honors King Kamehameha, who first established the Kingdom of Hawaii, uniting the eight islands.  One of the most important traditions of the holiday is the draping of the statue of King Kamehameha with lots of 25-foot long floral tributes, which are created on site by volunteers throughout the day.  There are also parades, hula competitions and other events.

This photo and the next one were brought back from Hawaii by our favorite mailman, John Korinek, when he was stationed at Fort DeRussy in Honolulu after WWII. (Click here to see the previous post on John the Mailman.) So, this photo would probably from 1946 or 1947. The angle is a little strange, especially as King K. looks as if he has an extra head dress made from a palm tree.

The second photo is of Waikiki Beach, very crowded but missing the big hotels that are there now.  I can only imagine that the beach crowd is related to the military presence.