Draw That Bridge - Multnomah Falls

Two weeks ago I posted a card of Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge near Portland. That card showed the falls before the bridge was built in 1914.  I invited you to submit designs for a bridge. There was one submission, which was terrific, but I can't post it due to copyright issues. It showed the Jantzen bathing suit girl spanning the falls. Very clever, and I wish I could post it, but I understand Jantzen may not want their trademark used that way.  Anyway, as promised here is the card showing the bridge. It's also an old card (from about 1920)  but it doesn't look much different today.

 Here's the pre-bridge card again:

At 620 feet, Multnomah Falls is the highest waterfall in Oregon. The Benson Footbridge was built midway on the falls in 1914., allowing people to cross 105 feet above the lower cascade. It's a beautiful view and a great starting point for a number of hiking trails.


Here's the back of the card:

Streetcar Sunday - Sayre, Pennsylvania

Sayre, Pennsylvania is located in the Penn-York Valley along with the towns of Athens and Waverly.  The New York-Pennsylvania border cuts through the valley, but there are no physical borders between the three towns, which have seamlessly connecting street grids.  According to Ken Bracken, President of the Sayre Historical Society, the Waverly Sayre & Athens Traction Company provided streetcar service for  the three towns from 1916 until 1930.  Mr. Bracken also mentions that the street looks very much the same today, except for the bank on the corner, which was badly damaged by a gas leak explosion one night in the 1960s.

Sadly, after 1930, there was no public transit for a very long time. Today, the Endless Mountain Transportation Authority provides bus service in the area.

I also would like to mention a great website if you are conducting any history or genealogy research on relatives from Bradford and Tioga Counties in Pennsylvania or Chemung County, New York. Joyce Tice has put together an incredible genealogy and history website for the area.

Camp Upton, N.Y.

The picture above is a real-photo card of Camp Upton, on New York's Long Island. Camp Upton isn't there anymore; in its place you will find Brookhaven National Laboratory. Camp Upton was built hastily in 1917 as an induction and training center for World War I soldiers. One of the soldiers at Camp Upton was Sergeant Irving Berlin who wrote Yip, Yip Yaphank while he was there. The commanding officer at the camp wanted to build a community center at the camp and thought that Berlin could help raise $35,000 to build it with a musical revue. The Yip, Yip Yaphank production included the famous song, Oh! How I hate to get up in the morning, and made $80,000 for the Army, which never built the community center.

The camp was deactivated after World War I, and the land was designated Upton National Forest and  reforested by the Civilian Conservation Corps. With the advent of World War II, the camp was reconstructed and put back into service. Camp Upton was then declared surplus on June 30, 1945, but it was decided that the base would not be dismantled.  Instead, it was converted into a research center for the peaceful uses of atomic power. These are all world War II era cards.