Tram Tuesday - Lynchburg, Virginia

Lynchburg, Virginia has a rich and colorful history. Back in 1757, it was just a ferry crossing from Lynch's Landing across the James river. The ferry service was provided by 17-year-old John Lynch, who a few decades later petitioned the Virginia General Assembly for a town charter. Years later, the city was spared from any severe damage during the Civil War because General Jubal Early ran empty train cars through the area to make it look as if reinforcements were coming into Lynchburg.

In 1880, fifteen years after the end of the Civil War, the first horse-drawn streetcars started operation in Lynchburg. Streetcars didn't last as long in Lynchburg as they did in many other American cities though; they were gone by 1941.

The message on the back of the card appears to have been written in 1911.

 

 

The message reads:

Arrived here about 7;30 and hope to leave tomorrow. Feel well and hope you are to

Here are a couple of before-and-after views of Lynchburg, courtesy of Kipp Teague, Lynchburg resident and generous host of a Retroweb, which features many old and new views of Lynchburg.

Source

Source

The French Influence

These are American trade cards from the 1880s with French writing on them. But who reads French anyway? Best pretend not to,  or you may see yourself featured in some unflattering television spots.

 Here's what the back of the cards looks like.
 I'm not sure what Arnaud sold, but I would love to see what the shop looked like.

Hats and the People who Wear Them

I realized, when I was looking for photos of people wearing hats, that people in my family just didn't wear hats very much, at least not very exciting ones. My husband's family has a few photo postcards of people with hats; the only problem is that we're not sure who they are, maybe cousins or in-laws. However, it's probably safe to assume that they were recent immigrants to upstate New York from Moravia or Bohemia at the time the photos were taken. Her hat looks classic 1920s.

Never mind his hat, I'd love to know more about the pipe.

I have plenty of cards that show big beautiful hats, including this one, with the generous addition of glitter.

It also has an amusing message on the back.

 The message to Lloyd Robbins of Frankfort, New York was sent in November, 1907:

Would like to exchange postal if this card is ans. I will send better one

Lillian Rhodes

31 Maple Street

Gloversville

I didn't find anything definite about Lillian Rhodes, but Lloyd Robbins, born in 1897, seems to have been inducted into the military in 1918.

More exciting hats can be found at Sepia Saturday.