Album On the Road from Alan Mays

Lincoln Highway from Seylar's Tea Room, Tuscarora Summit, McConnellsburg, Pa. (Cropped)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 03:56:08 +0000

See also the full version of this real photo postcard.

Lincoln Highway from Seylar's Tea Room, Tuscarora Summit, McConnellsburg, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 03:56:10 +0000

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of on the road again.

Travelers along the Lincoln Highway in the Appalachian Mountains of southern Pennsylvania stopped at Doc Seylar's Tea Room near McConnellsburg. There they could get a bite to eat and go up on the roof for a view that included the Tuscarora Inn, located just down the road, and the Cove Mountain Tea Room, barely visible farther down the mountain.

Once they were ready to get back on the road again, motorists who departed from Seylar's Tea Room faced a descent of 1500 feet.

For a better view of the automobiles, see a cropped version of this photo.

Captions:

Lincoln Hy. from Seyl[a]r's Tea Room.
Tuscarora Summit. Cove Mts.
McConnellsburg, Pa. Elv. 2123 ft.

Lincoln Hy. De[s]cend 1500 ft.

Tuscarora Inn

Cove Mt. Tea Room.

Sign among the cars at lower left:

Dangerous Hill

Juniata River Near Amity Hall, Perry County, Pennsylvania, ca. 1930s

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 04:24:12 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of the long and winding road (road photos, winding or otherwise).

Caption: "The Juniata Near Amity Hall. 9."

This is a real photo postcard with a scenic view of the Juniata River in Perry County, Pennsylvania. The road in the photo is now US 22/US 322 (U.S. Route 22 concurrent with U.S. Route 322). The location is near Amity Hall, which refers to a landmark inn that closed in the 1980s, suffered a fire in 2009, and has since been torn down.

The tire cover on the back of the automobile parked along the road says, "See Bob" and "Auto Supplies." The license plate on the car is 69M52, and I believe it's a Pennsylvania plate. Unfortunately, I was unable to make out the year, which appeared on license plates at the time the photo was taken.

On the other side of the card is an Azo stamp box (squares in each of the four corners), which indicates that the photo likely dates to sometime between the 1920s and the 1940s. There's no message, address, stamp, or postmark on this card, but other copies that I spotted online had postmarks dating to 1935 and 1939.

Robert and Maud Pulling a Wagon

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 03:43:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of horses, carriages, or wagons.

The handwritten message on the other side of this real photo postcard says, "This is our horses Robert & Maud in front of Fulton Miller's house." There's no stamp or postmark, but the card is addressed to "Mr. Glen[n] Lyle, RFD, Brookville, [Pennsylvania], c/o Herbert Lyle." The Velox stamp box (with diamonds in the corners and "Place Stamp Here" in the middle) indicates that it may date to as early as 1907-1917.

Church Street, Hyndman, Pennsylvania, ca. 1910s

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 29 Aug 2022 03:57:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of highways and byways.

Caption: "Church St., Hyndman, Pa."

This is a real photo postcard showing the buildings and landscape at the corner of Church and Bedford Streets in the small town of Hyndman, which is located in the south central part of Pennsylvania among the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians.

Fortunately, Google Street View has recorded both metropolitan highways as well as the small-town byways like the one. The current Google view of this location is similar to the scene captured one hundred years ago in the photo. The street is now paved and a few windows are missing from the house, but the pillars holding up the porch are intact and the iron fence is still there.

The type of Azo stamp box (with four corner triangles pointing up) printed on the other side of this photo postcard suggests a possible date that may be as early as 1904 to 1918.

Green Ridge Mountain on the National Highway, East of Cumberland, Maryland

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 04:27:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

An extra wild card photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park on the topic of The Long and Winding Road - road photos, winding or otherwise (submit a photo on this topic each week in addition to—or instead of—a photo for the weekly topic).

Caption: "21 miles east of Cumberland, Md., U.S. 40."

Sign: "Top of Green Ridge Mountain. Elevation 1115 feet, 1¼ miles down grade. Descend in second gear when road is wet. Use brakes only to snub to safe speed. State Roads Commission."

Shepperds Dell Bridge, Columbia River Highway, Oregon, ca. 1920s (Cropped)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 03:59:08 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard.

Shepperds Dell Bridge, Columbia River Highway, Oregon, ca. 1920s

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 03:59:10 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

An on the road photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

"Columbia Highway, Ore. Shepherds Dell, #254. Cross & Dimmitt."

Travelers on what is now called the Historic Columbia River Highway in Oregon stop along the road to look over the side of Shepperds Dell Bridge. See a cropped version of this real photo postcard for a closer look at the bridge and automobile.

Bald Eagle Lookout, Uncle Tom's Cabin, West of State College, Pa. (Greyhound Bus)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 21:02:08 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

The bus driver is posing for the photographer while the customer in the background purchases snacks or souvenirs at the counter.

See below for the entire card and details showing Uncle Tom and the Bald Eagle Lookout.

Bus: License plate 03219. Destination was Chicago. "Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines." "4188. New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Detroit." "PRR" (keystone logo of the Pennsylvania Railroad). "Pennsylvania Greyhound Transit Co. Pa. P.S.C Certificate 19425." "Pennsylvania Greyhound Transit Company, carriers & operators."

Bald Eagle Lookout, Uncle Tom's Cabin, West of State College, Pa. (Lookout Tower)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 21:02:10 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

The two women on top of the Bald Eagle Lookout tower are posing for the photographer instead of viewing the mountains and valleys that are visible in the other direction.

See below for the entire real photo postcard along with details showing close-ups of Uncle Tom and the Greyhound bus.

Signs on the building: "Bald Eagle Lookout, see 75 miles, free tower." "See Bald Eagle, 1000 ft. below." "Free tower." "Coca Cola." "Uncle Tom's Cabin." "PeRo the ice cream, delicious."

Bald Eagle Lookout, Uncle Tom's Cabin, West of State College, Pa. (Uncle Tom)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 21:02:12 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Is that Tom (or whatever the proprietor's name actually is) standing there in the middle? And I wonder if the man at right is placing one of these postcards in the mailbox.

In addition to this close-up of Uncle Tom, see below for the entire postcard and details showing the Bald Eagle Lookout tower and the Greyhound bus.

Caption: "Uncle Tom's Cabin, 7 Miles West of State College, Pa., Route 322."

Bald Eagle Lookout, Uncle Tom's Cabin, West of State College, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 21:02:14 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A photo of public transportation (at the airport, or bus or train depot) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

For this real photo postcard, mouse over the image above to see details showing close-ups of Uncle Tom, the Bald Eagle Lookout, and the Greyhound bus.

Caption: "Uncle Tom's Cabin, 7 Miles West of State College, Pa., Route 322."

Signs on the building: "Bald Eagle Lookout, see 75 miles, free tower." "See Bald Eagle, 1000 ft. below." "Free tower." "Coca Cola." "Uncle Tom's Cabin." "PeRo the ice cream, delicious."

Bus: License plate 03219. Destination was Chicago. "Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines." "4188. New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Detroit." "PRR" (keystone logo of the Pennsylvania Railroad). "Pennsylvania Greyhound Transit Co. Pa. P.S.C Certificate 19425." "Pennsylvania Greyhound Transit Company, carriers & operators."

Nicolet Bay Campground, Peninsula State Park, Wisconsin

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 29 Aug 2015 16:40:22 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Caption on the front: "Nicollet Bay Camp Ground, Peninsula State Park, Wis. E-764."

Postmarked: "Fish Creek, Wis., Sep 7, 1949."

Addressed to: "Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Potter, Woodhull, Ill."

Message on the back: "Labor Day. Dear folks: This is where we located--lovely weather, fine time. Everyone swell. Bye, Hilda & M."

An Amishman and His Buggy at Zimmerman's Store, Intercourse, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 03:26:06 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A taken unawares photo (shots of people who clearly have no idea they're being snapped) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

A photo of the W. L. Zimmerman and Sons grocery store in Intercourse, Pennsylvania, shows an Amishman with his horse and buggy (mouse over the image above for an enlargement that makes it easier to see the man in his dark clothes).

Since the Amish religion prohibits photography, it's likely that the man in this photo was either unaware that he was being photographed or else he did spot the photographer and turned his back to the camera.

As scholar Donald B. Kraybill explained in a Top Ten FAQ about the Amish for the PBS Web site, "Amish churches forbid individuals to pose for face-on photos for two reasons. First, they cite the second of the Bible's Ten Commandments: 'Thou shalt not make… any graven image, or any likeness of any thing….' (Exodous 20:14). Second, in a communal society that values humility, posing for photos is a sign of pride that calls attention to oneself and rubs against Amish beliefs about the importance of deferring and yielding to others."

It's ironic, then, that this grocery store appeared in the 1985 film Witness when actor Harrison Ford, who played the part of an undercover detective dressed in Amish garb, made a call from a telephone booth located on the porch of the store. That was a later phone booth, since the booth visible in this photo is the small but elaborate building situated between the buggy and the Gulf gas pumps (it has a "Zimmerman's Store" sign on one side and a very faint "Enterprise Telephone Co." sign painted above its front door).

Unfortunately, Zimmerman's grocery store (the sign partially visible beyond the phone booth probably refers to "[Lanco] Service Stores," a local affiliation of independent grocers) went out of business in 2014. The store's role in Witness was described in "Lancaster County Grocery Store Featured in Harrison Ford Movie Closes Its Doors," an article by Tim Stuhldreher that appeared on LancasterOnline, April 3, 2014.

Check out Google's street view of this same scene, which dates to 2011 when the store was still open.

Mrs. Campbell's Barbecue, Tyrone, Pa., ca. 1930

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 21:09:32 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Three signs with slightly different wording are visible on this real photo postcard:

- "This is Mrs. Campbell's Bar-B-Q."
- "This is Mrs. Campbell's Home of the Bar-B-Q."
- "This is Mrs. Campbell's Home Bar-B-Q."

Judging from the few newspaper advertisements that I was able to track down, Mrs. Campbell's Bar-B-Q was in business near Tyrone, Pennsylvania, during the late 1920s and early 1930s.

One ad in the Tyrone Daily Herald, Dec. 22, 1927, p. 8, provides the following information: "Chicken and Waffles Sunday. At Mrs. Campbell's Barbecue. Come and eat all of Mrs. Campbell's famous waffles you can eat. 5 miles west of Tyrone, near Bland's Park. Phone 9756-R."

Bland's Park is now known as DelGrosso's Amusement Park and is located along Pleasant Valley Boulevard (also called Old U.S. Route 220) between Tyrone and Altoona.

Although the park is still in existence, I haven't been able to determine what happened to Mrs. Campbell's Bar-B-Q. The latest mention of the eatery that I was able to find was an announcement in the Altoona Mirror newspaper for April 10, 1934, p. 20: "The Ladies' Aid society of the Methodist church will meet at Mrs. Campbell's barbecue on Wednesday evening, April 11."

Yonker's Tower, Polish Mountain, U.S. Route 40, Maryland (Cropped)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 15:33:36 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard:

Yonker's Tower, Polish Mountain, U.S. Route 40, Maryland

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 15:33:38 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Caption on this real photo postcard: "A wonderful view, 15 m. E. of Cumberland. Yonker's Tower, top of Polish Mt., U.S. 40. Elv. 1340 ft."

Sign at the top of the tower (to the right of the flag): "Yonkers." Sign on the tower below the Yonkers sign: "Mountains of Imperial, The Cream of All Ice Creams. Greatest View in Md."

Yonker's Store and Observation Tower was a place where motorists could gas up, get a bite to eat, and enjoy the view at a high point along U.S. Route 40 in Maryland. Mouse over the image above to see a close-up of the building and tower.

Watson's Motor Hotel, U.S. Route 20, Cleveland, Ohio, 1950s

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Tue, 28 May 2013 22:37:07 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Slide (probably dating to the 1950s) showing cars parked in front of Watson's Motor Hotel, which was located at 3333 Euclid Avenue (U.S. Route 20), Cleveland, Ohio. Visible in the background is the sign for the Colonial House Motel, 3301 Euclid Avenue. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any trace of either motel on the current Google Maps street view of the area.

Main sign: "Watson's Motor Hotel. Restaurant. Elevator. Penthouse suites. Meeting rooms. Air conditioned. AAA approved."

Giant Covered Wagon and Oxen, Lincoln Highway, Kearney, Nebraska

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 21:14:06 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Snapshot of an oversized covered wagon (or prairie schooner) and concrete oxen located along the Lincoln Highway in Kearney, Nebraska.

For more recent images, see the Giant Vehicles page (scroll down to the "Covered Wagon, Kearney, NE" section) on RoadsideArchitecture.com and a Google Maps Street View of the location.

Alaska Or Bust

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 14:28:09 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

An Ektachrome slide dated June 1971.