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Knowing a few days before my rest day that the weather was going to be nice, and not knowing how many more would be after the end of September, I made plans to head out.
The decision was made to be in Deshler, OH. at sunrise and head south following the CSX Toledo Sub. While most days are good along the subdivision, some days can be lacking, especially during this time frame of PSR railroading, where less is more.
Having tools to help find stuff, thanks to work, it was easy to see that today was going to be a good day. After consulting the magic pad, the first train I would encounter had just turned the corner at Deshler and head east just a few minutes after sunrise.
Checking the magic pad, again after photographing the train, I noticed that in about 50 minutes Q56025 would be approaching the area. With that I started south. I had Leipsic in mind for a photo, and in the half hour I had, I searched around for a spot while keeping a "eye" on Q560.
With the sun starting shift more to the south, and having a northbound train I settled for a shot looking southwest with "downtown" in the background along with the elevator.
Not long after Q56025 could be heard to the south blowing for crossings, and soon come thundering through waking up those that had slept in, behind CSXT 353 throwing up some smoke and 490 with 154 cars.
Soon the sleepy town will be quiet as CSX 353 & 490 "knock down" the signal at XN Tower and continue on north in the early morning, although it never stays quiet for long in Leipsic.
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Knowing a westbound was about to leave Rock siding, I scooted up to Randolph Wi. where there is a trust bridge over the WSOR. I've wanted a shot at this location for some time! After waiting over an hour, the train shows up just as a cloud is drifts in.:-(. It was a small one but... I got the consolation prize of it crossing over Cemetery Rd. Oh well.
View this one on black
Holga 120GN, Fuji Neopan400
Rodinal 1:50, 7:15min @ 24degC, agitate 1min, then 10sec every minute
Knowing several places to find these beauties is a treat, because they used to be a fairly rare sighting for me. Or maybe we're just having another good year for them! 2726
It's not easy finding what you really want. Often times, you tend to allow others to influence and decide what you want in life. This week, i was inspired by a couple of little events that bought me such happiness and bliss that no money can buy. The fulfillment which no success in any business could have given me. The kindness, the love and the compassionate that shines so much more than material things can bring me. I was reminded of what i really want ~ to serve others to make a little difference and to balance it off with my own inner happiness for myself. Sometimes a little act or a little sharing makes more difference than you can ever expect. This week, i allowed myself to work, strive and pause to enjoy what i already have. No amount of money is ever enough, the wanting in the world has no end but the peace and contentment do. This is what i truly want ~ peace and contentment.
Keira can't decide what she really want ~ the Hello Kitty or the Keroppi or the Bunny or the Panda shoes. I influenced her to go with the Hello Kitty shoes (naughty me).
Have a beautiful Sunday.
Love to you and yours.
Watching the moon
at midnight,
solitary, mid-sky,
I knew myself completely,
no part left out.
-----Izumi Shikibu
Getting bored easily could very well be not being mindful enough. People move for improving their statuses. But having a habit of doing it is a problem. It's just a job. Don't fix it if it is not broken.
Story:
Ralzoor woke up, not knowing what for a horrible event, happend yesterday. He get up, and do his morning routine. After he was finished with that, he go into his fields and do a bit of work. After some time, he hears a strange sound and as he look up, grey V-Wings flew over his head. He was confused and thought this whould be pirates that attack Antiquity again. Full of motivation and energy Ralzoor swings on his Speeder and heads towards Karren. In the city it was not the regular, happy mood as always. All feels like cold and lifeless. He flys further, reaching the marketplace. He sees Clone Troopers with painted armor and goes straight to them.
"Good Morning Captain, and Sergeant. I hope you had a good night. Did you know, why everything is so quiet and liveless?"
He wait, but the Clones give no answer and walking past him.
"Hey Foxtrot, Badge, i've spoken to you! Whats wrong?"
"Stop calling us like that Citizen! We,..we are just numbers.." He says with a strange tone.
"Thats sounds not like you Foxtrot, what happend?"
They take their blasters, aiming on Ralzoor.
"Hey, whoa! Calm down i'm going!"
"Better for you citizen!" They grons.
Then watching him, going into a bar.
*"What happend here? Why are they so weird?"* He was thinking to himselve.
He goes into the bar. A person greets him in a sideroom. He goes to him, he knows the person its an good friend from house Hax.
"Reaff, hey, how are you? Why are you here? But wait, before you answer these questions, tell me whats going on." Ralzoor said.
"Ralzoor calm down! Sit down please. I wish i dont must bring you this message but, the Republic and CIS is down, the Jedi are dead and the Clone Troopers are now Stormtrooper of the Galactic Empire."
Reaff replied.
"Wait, wait, wait. What?! Galactic Empire? Stormtrooper? You have to explain me!"
"Chanccelor Palpatine let all jedi kill, after their 'failed assassination' on him. He is the Emperor and formed the Republic into the first Galactic Empire. Palpatine, want all Jedi dead, the Clones hunt them. Since that happend, they are,... strange."
"But they are our friends why whould they attack us?"
"I dont know i think Palpatine has done something with them."
"But wait all Jedi dead,... Oh no, whats with Qary and Orif? Did you see them? They cant be dead, no they cant be dead. Foxtrot and Badge whould never do this."
"I'm sorry but i didnt seen them, but if they are alive we have to search them. I dont want to say that but i think, the Clones are soon our enemys. I have heard storys from Outerrim Worlds, where the Empire have done massacres because they searching for jedi or just wanted to demonstrate their power."
"I will not kill them! I try to help them, somethings not right with them. But if the Empire is our enemy and will attack us we have to kick them out of the system. And if we find them, they can help us with the Troops."
"We think they will. The Empire want to crush every Seperatist loyal world. Our spys say, they could plan to kill all Republic Sentors. If thats true we have to prepear us for a war."
"I hope its not comming to this. But youre right we have to be prepared."
"Yes, but for now rest a bit."
I nodded to him and take a sip from my drink. And thought a while about it.
Knowing people in the industry definitely has its perks, got to help a buddy of mine who drives this beauty load up and strap down the load, and also get a makeshift photoshoot in.
British postcard in the P{icturegoer Series, London, no. 581.
With his natural charm and knowing smile, Clark Gable (1901-1959) was 'The King of Hollywood' during the 1930s. He often portrayed down-to-earth, bravado characters with a carefree attitude, and was seen as the epitome of masculinity. Gable won an Academy Award for Best Actor for It Happened One Night (1934), and was nominated for leading roles in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and for his best-known role as Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind (1939).
William Clark Gable was born in 1901 in Cadiz, Ohio, to Adeline (Hershelman) and William Henry Gable, an oil-well driller. He was of German, Irish, and Swiss-German descent. When he was seven months old, his mother died, and his father sent him to live with his maternal aunt and uncle in Pennsylvania, where he stayed until he was two. His father then returned to take him back to Cadiz. At 16, he quit high school, went to work in an Akron, Ohio, tire factory, and decided to become an actor after seeing the play The Bird of Paradise. He toured in stock companies, worked oil fields and sold ties. His acting coach Josephine Dillon, 15 years his senior, paid for him to have his teeth repaired and his hair styled. She also trained him to lower his voice and attain better body posture, attributes that that were instrumental in contributing to his later success and eventual iconic status. In 1924, with Dillon's financing, they went to Hollywood, where she became Gable's manager and first wife. He appeared as an extra in silent films between 1924 and 1926. However, he was not offered any major film roles, so he returned to the stage. While Gable acted on stage, he became a lifelong friend of Lionel Barrymore. He moved to New York City, where Dillon sought work for him on Broadway. He received good reviews in Machinal (1928). He gave an impressive appearance as the seething and desperate character Killer Mears in the Los Angeles stage production of The Last Mile. In 1930, Gable and Dillon divorced and a year later, he married Maria Langham (a.k.a. Maria Franklin Gable), also about 17 years older than him. After several failed screen tests, Gable was signed in 1930 by MGM's Irving Thalberg. He made his talking film debut as an archetypal villain named Brett in the Western The Painted Desert (Howard Higgin, 1931), starring William Boyd. Joan Crawford asked for him as co-star in Dance, Fools, Dance (Harry Beaumont, 1931) and the public loved him manhandling Norma Shearer in A Free Soul (Clarence Brown, 1931) the same year. His unshaven lovemaking with bra-less Jean Harlow in Red Dust (Victor Fleming, 1932) made him MGM's most important star. His acting career then flourished. At one point, he refused an assignment, and the studio punished him by loaning him out to (at the time) low-rent Columbia Pictures, which put him in Frank Capra's It Happened One Night (1934) opposite Claudette Colbert. He won an Academy Award for his performance. The next year saw a starring role in Call of the Wild (William A. Wellman, 1935) with Loretta Young, with whom he had an affair (resulting in the birth of a daughter, Judy Lewis). He returned to far more substantial roles at MGM, such as Fletcher Christian in Mutiny on the Bounty (Frank Lloyd, 1935) and Rhett Butler in the Oscar-winning epic Gone with the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939).
After divorcing Maria Langham, Clark Gable married Carole Lombard in 1939, but tragedy struck in January 1942 when the plane in which Carole and her mother were flying crashed into Table Rock Mountain, Nevada, killing them both. A grief-stricken Gable joined the US Army Air Force and was off the screen for three years, flying combat missions in Europe. When he returned the studio regarded his salary as excessive and did not renew his contract. He freelanced, but his films didn't do well at the box office. He starred in such films as The Hucksters (Jack Conway, 1947) and Homecoming (Mervyn LeRoy, 1948) with Lana Turner. He married Sylvia Ashley, the widow of Douglas Fairbanks, in 1949. Unfortunately this marriage was short-lived and they divorced in 1952. In July 1955 he married a former sweetheart, Kathleen Williams Spreckles (a.k.a. Kay Williams) and became stepfather to her two children, Joan and Adolph ("Bunker") Spreckels III. In 1959, Gable became a grandfather when Judy Lewis, his daughter with Loretta Young, gave birth to a daughter, Maria. In 1960, Gable's wife Kay discovered that she was expecting their first child. In early November 1960, he had just completed filming The Misfits (John Huston, 1961) with Marilyn Monroe, when he suffered a heart attack, and died later that month. Gable was buried shortly afterwards in the shrine that he had built for Carole Lombard and her mother when they died, at Forest Lawn Cemetery. In March 1961, Kay Gable gave birth to a boy, whom she named John Clark Gable after his father.
Sources Ed Stephan (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
It's taken me awhile to find my card reader and get everything gathered together again. When two ceilings started leaking in my mother's house early on during Hurricane Irma's wrath, I quickly gathered what valuables I could to try to protect them from wind and rain, not knowing what to expect since the worse was yet to come.
Both my house and Mom's sustained damage from Hurricane Irma. When the storm finally cleared and I saw the two trees in my backyard had snapped off in the powerful wind, I counted my blessings: neither directly hit the house.
I worried about all my squirrel friends, but I seem to have as many post-Irma as before. Sadly, there are noticeably fewer birds.
Nikon D5200
18.0-140.0 mm
f/4.5, 18.0 mm
1/250, ISO 100
Hand Held
Knowing CSX had one to come down the former B&O Indiana Sub last year in the early AM, we were surprised to find them plus an I&O train traveling the same parallel territory at the same time! Here's a CSX/I&O 2-for-1 nearing Cincy at Delhi, OH. Summerail '13.
What's gonna happen in 2014?!? Who knows, but in TWO weeks we are gonna find out! Many of the previous images are only but a few reasons to attend this great annual tradition - and did I mention this year's Summerail program lineup will include "hometown heroes" like My Bro, Sayre Kos and Mike Schafer, just to name a few?!? STAY TUNED!
knowing that not everyone enjoys my crappy baseball pictures... I found something else this morning to share! Two beautiful roses opened just in time for the rain :)
***Question: What do you do when you have three inter-related stories to tell that will all help to bring about the conclusion to a current story arc?
Answer: Build a story tower... of course!
So, without further ado. Here is the conclusion to "League of Heroes: Ascent: Jail Break".
League of Heroes: Ascent
Episode 1: Jail Break - Part 4
Exterior - The burning New Brickton prison:
“Your ten minutes are up…” Detective Garnet muttered to himself.
“Excuse me sir?” responded a young officer.
“Oh, nothing Williams. I was just talking to myself.” Detective Garnet paced uncomfortably and looked up at the burning prison. “Is the perimeter secure Williams?”
“Yes. Nothing is getting in or out of there with out us knowing,” the young officer motioned to the burning building and shouted over the din of sirens as more fire trucks slid into the prison yard. “Should we try to get some officers in there to restore some order to this chaos?”
“Let’s hold the line here a little longer, and give those firefighters some time to do what they do best.”
Garnet didn’t finish the rest of that sentence, but he silently thought to himself, “Well, you’ve just bought yourself five more minutes Cloak. You’d better make it count.”
Interior - Solitary confinement a.k.a. “Desolation Row”:
The Crimson Cloak had spent the last ten minutes fighting his way through unbearable heat, wicked flames, and the chaos of a hundred savage prisoners who suddenly had their life term commuted by an unexpected explosion. The men who were held in “Desolation Row” were the worst of the worst. They were career criminals with hands as bloody red as the cape worn by the Crimson Cloak. They would not hesitate to tear the hero limb from limb with their bare hands if given but one chance at him.
The Cloak had already dispatched a dozen roving gangs on his way down to solitary. His costume was stained with blood, charred from the flames, and torn from combat. Yet he still strode with an inhuman air of calm down the dimly lit corridor. These thugs, this human refuse, would not deter him from his prize. He needed answers, and the man to give him those answers lived right here in “Desolation Row”.
The Cloak knocked a would be attacker out cold with his staff, and stood before the cell of the Thin Man. The door to his cell had already been torn from its hinges, and hung limply to the side. The soft glow of the fluorescent light draped the Thin Man in a sickly hue as he cowered on his bunk. The Cloak stepped into the cell.
“Go away! Leave me alone!” shouted the slim prisoner as he scooted back as far as he could. The cold stone wall behind him an instant reminder that he was trapped.
“Shut up, and tell me what I need to know Thin Man.” the Cloak leaned in the fluorescent lights glowing ominously on his red goggles.
“Ah… Ahhhh… Abbb… About what?”
“This explosion!” The Cloak reached out and grabbed the whimpering man and hauled him up of his by his collar. “You know everything Thin Man. You are New Brickton’s resident stool pigeon, so don‘t hold back on me now.”
“Ahh… ye… ye… yesss… Of course n… no… notttt. Not for you kah… kah… Cloak!” The Thin Man’s feet dangled as the Cloak pressed him forcibly against the wall.
“TALK!”
“Wah… wah… well, yah… yah… you s-s-see. I’m not re… re… really privy t-t-to the pah… pah.. plan.” The Thin Man squirmed and avoided the steely glare of the Cloak.
“WHO WAS BEHIND THE EXPLOSION!!!” Crimson Cloak bellowed in a harsh and gravely voice, losing all patients with the small man who he held limply before him.
“It… it… it was the sk… sk… SKULL! Okay?!? This is juh… juh… just pah… pah… part of his puh… puh… plan. It g-g-goes SOOOO much deeper.
“I figured as much, now tell me something I don’t know. Who caused the explosion?” The Cloak lifted the squirming man up so that his head touched the buzzing fluorescent light.
“Duh… duh… doc… doctor... Doctor Toxin! L-l-listen! Th-th-that’s all I know!”
“Better watch your back Thin Man.” The Crimson Cloak threw the prisoner back onto his bunk like a rag doll, and strode out of the cell slamming the broken door behind him.
Interior - Tunnel system below the prison:
Sam Sterling was drenched in sweat, he was beaten and bruised, and now he was on the retreat. His fight against Firebug and Barricade had not gone well at all. With his gleaming shield and his mechanized armor, he was able to hold out against their combined might, however the structure around them had not fared so well and soon collapsed around them.
When Sam came to, he was three levels down and there was no sign of Firebug or Barricade. Though, he soon found his mentor, Captain Electron, broken and beaten to unconsciousness. William Watts lay in a heap against the cold cement floor. His mask had been torn away and he was left for dead by his attackers.
Sam regained his composure, the servos and actuators in his suit helping him to upright himself, and he got to his feet. His HUD in his helmet blared multiple warnings. Slowly, he made his way over to Watts and gathered the fallen hero into his arms.
“Sir? Are you awake? Are you even still alive?” Sam felt like weeping as he tried to check for a pulse. He had let down his mentor. He had promised him that he would be there when he needed him, but he had failed and now William Watts had paid the ultimate price.
“You’d know that if you’d look at your HUD… geez…” A weak voice groaned up at Sam.
“You’re alive!” Sam blushed, embarrassed that he forgot about all of the tech that was crammed into his suit. Suddenly alarms went off in his helmet… warning of an impending explosion.
Silver Sentry got to his feet and dashed away as quickly as he could, cradling Watts in his arms he could feel the heat of the explosion before he heard it. Flames burst through the subterranean corridor as the two heroes made their narrow escape.
… It all began with an explosion… Now it was time to rise from the flames.
Knowing that my everyday spots would be occupied by others, I went for different! 35028 Clan Line from above approaching Winchfield on 1Z84, the Sherborne to Victoria return John Farrow Salute.
Taken from Old Potbridge Road...
mémoire2cité - Sols absorbants, formes arrondies et couleurs vives, les aires de jeux standardisées font désormais partie du paysage urbain. Toujours les mêmes toboggans sécurisés, châteaux forts en bois et animaux à ressort. Ces non-lieux qu’on finit par ne plus voir ont une histoire, parallèle à celle des différentes visions portées sur l’enfant et l’éducation. En retournant jouer au xixe siècle, sur les premiers playgrounds des États-Unis, on assiste à la construction d’une nation – et à des jeux de société qui changent notre vision sur les balançoires du capitalisme. Ce texte est paru dans le numéro 4 de la revue Jef Klak « Ch’val de Course », printemps-été 2017. La version ici publiée en ligne est une version légèrement remaniée à l’occasion de sa republication dans le magazine Palais no 27 1, paru en juin 2018. la video içi www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwj1wh5k5PY The concept for adventure playgrounds originated in postwar Europe, after a playground designer found that children had more fun with the trash and rubble left behind by bombings -inventing their own toys and playing with them- than on the conventional equipment of swings and slides. Narrator John Snagge was a well-known voice talent in the UK, working as a newsreader for BBC Radio - jefklak.org/le-gouvernement-des-playgrounds/ - www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/chasing-the-vanishing-p... or children, playgrounds are where magic happens. And if you count yourself among Baby Boomers or Gen Xers, you probably have fond memories of high steel jungle gyms and even higher metal slides that squeaked and groaned as you slid down them. The cheerful variety of animals and vehicles on springs gave you plenty of rides to choose from, while a spiral slide, often made of striped panels, was a repeated thrill. When you dismounted from a teeter-totter, you had to be careful not to send your partner crashing to the ground or get hit in the head by your own seat. The tougher, faster kids always pushed the brightly colored merry-go-round, trying to make riders as dizzy as possible. In the same way, you’d dare your sibling or best friend to push you even higher on the swing so your toes could touch the sky. The most exciting playgrounds would take the form of a pirate ship, a giant robot, or a space rocket.
“My husband would look at these big metal things and go, ‘Oh my God, those are the Slides of Death!'” - insh.world/history/playground-equipment-of-yesterday-that...
Today, these objects of happy summers past have nearly disappeared, replaced by newer equipment that’s lower to the ground and made of plastic, painted metal, and sometimes rot-resistant woods like cedar or redwood. The transformation began in 1973, when the U.S. Congress established the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which began tracking playground injuries at hospital emergency rooms. The study led to the publication of the first Handbook for Public Playground Safety in 1981, which signaled the beginning of the end for much of the playground equipment in use. (See the latest PPS handbook here.) Then, the American Society for Testing and Materials created a subcommittee of designers and playground-equipment manufacturers to set safety standards for the whole industry. When they published their guidelines in 1993, they suggested most existing playground surfaces, which were usually asphalt, dirt, or grass, needed to be replaced with pits of wood or rubber mulch or sand, prompting many schools and parks to rip their old playgrounds out entirely.
Top: A Space Age rocket-themed playground set by Miracle Playground Equipment, introduced circa 1968, photographed in Burlington, Colorado, in 2009. Above: Two seesaws and a snail-shaped climber, circa 1970s, photographed in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, in 2007. (Photos by Brenda Biondo)
Top: A Space Age rocket-themed playground set by Miracle Playground Equipment, introduced circa 1968, photographed in Burlington, Colorado, in 2009. Above: Two seesaws and a snail-shaped climber, circa 1970s, photographed in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, in 2007. (Photos by Brenda Biondo)
That said, removing and replacing playground equipment takes money, so a certain amount of vintage playground equipment survived into the next millennium—but it’s vanishing fast. Fortunately, Brenda Biondo, a freelance journalist turned photographer, felt inspired to document these playscapes before they’ve all been melted down. Her photographs capture the sculptural beauty and creativity of the vintage apparatuses, as well as that feeling of nostalgia you get when you see a piece of your childhood. After a decade of hunting down old playgrounds, Biondo published a coffee-table book, 2014’s Once Upon a Playground: A Celebration of Classic American Playgrounds, 1920-1975, which includes both her photographs of vintage equipment and pages of old playground catalogs that sold it.
Starting this November, Biondo’s playground photos will hit the road as part of a four-year ExhibitsUSA traveling show, which will also include vintage playground postcards and catalog pages from Biondo’s collection. The show will make stops in smaller museums and history centers around the United States, passing through Temple, Texas; Lincoln, Nebraska; Kansas City, Missouri; and Greenville, South Carolina. Biondo talked to us on the phone from her home in small-town Colorado, where she lives with her husband and children.
This 1975 Miracle catalog page reads, "This famous Lifetime Whirl has delighted three generations of children and still is a safe, playground favorite. Although it has gone through many improvements many of the original models are still spinning on playgrounds from coast to coast." (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)This 1975 Miracle catalog page reads, “This famous Lifetime Whirl has delighted three generations of children and still is a safe, playground favorite. Although it has gone through many improvements many of the original models are still spinning on playgrounds from coast to coast.” (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)Collectors Weekly: What inspired you to photograph playgrounds?Biondo: In 2004, I happened to be at my local park with my 1-year-old daughter, who was playing in the sandbox. I had just switched careers, from freelance journalism to photography, and I was looking for a starter project. I looked around the playground and thought, “Where is all the equipment that I remember growing up on?” They had new plastic contraptions, but nothing like the big metal slides I grew up with. After that, I started driving around to other playgrounds to see if any of this old equipment still existed. I found very little of it and realized it was disappearing quickly. That got to me.I felt like somebody should be documenting this equipment, because it was such a big part—and a very good part—of so many people’s childhoods. I couldn’t find anybody else who was documenting it, and I didn’t see any evidence that the Smithsonian was collecting it. As far as I could tell, it was just getting ripped up and sent to the scrap heap. At first, I started traveling around Colorado where I live, visiting playgrounds. Eventually, I took longer trips around the Southwest, and then I started looking for playgrounds whenever I was in any other parts of the country, like around California and the East Coast. It was a long-term project—shot over the course of a decade. And every year that I was shooting, it got harder and harder to find those pieces of old equipment.
This merry-go-round, photographed in Cañon City, Colorado, in 2006, is very similar to the Lifetime Whirl above. In the background are a rideable jalopy and animals, including four attached to a teeter-totter. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)
This merry-go-round, photographed in Cañon City, Colorado, in 2006, is very similar to the Lifetime Whirl above. In the background are a rideable jalopy and animals, including four attached to a teeter-totter. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)
Collectors Weekly: How did you find them?
Biondo: I would just drive around. I started hunting down local elementary schools and main-street playgrounds as well as neighborhood playgrounds. If I had a weekend, I would say, “OK, I’m going to drive from my home three hours east to the Kansas border, stay overnight and drive back.” Along the way, I would stop at every little town that I’d pass. They usually had one tiny main-street playground and one elementary school. I never knew what I was going to find. In a poorer area, a town often doesn’t have much money to replace playground equipment, whereas more affluent areas usually have updated their playgrounds by now. It was a bit of a crap shoot. Sometimes, I’d drive for hours and not really find anything—or I’d find one old playground after the other, because I happened to be in an area where equipment hadn’t been replaced.
I couldn’t get to every state, so I had to shoot where I was. I think there certainly are still old playgrounds out there, especially in small towns. But there’s fewer and fewer of them every year. My book has something like 170 photographs. I would guess that half the equipment pictured is already gone. Sometimes, I’d go back to a playground with a nice piece of equipment a year later to reshoot it, maybe in different lighting or a different season, and so often it had been removed. That pressured me to get out as often as I could because if I waited a few weeks, that piece might not be there anymore.
A 1911 postcard shows girls playing on an outdoor gymnasium at Mayo Park in Rochester, Minnesota.
a 1911 postcard shows girls playing on an outdoor gymnasium at Mayo Park in Rochester, Minnesota.
Collectors Weekly: What did you learn about playground history?
Biondo: I didn’t know American playgrounds started as part of the social reform or progressive movement of the early 1900s. Reformers hoped to keep poor inner-city immigrant kids safe and out of trouble. Back then, city children were playing in the streets with nothing to do, and when cars became more popular, kids started to get hit by motorists. Child activists started building playgrounds in big cities like Boston, Chicago, and New York as a way to help and protect these kids. These reformers felt they could build model citizens by teaching cooperation and manners through playgrounds. These early main-street parks would also have playground leaders who orchestrated activities such as games and songs.
“I started driving to playgrounds to see if any old equipment still existed. I found very little of it and realized it was disappearing quickly.”
In the late 1800s, Germans developed what they called “sand gardens,” which are just piles of sand where kids can come dig and build things. There were few of those in the United States as well. But by the early 1900s, the emphasis of playgrounds was on the apparatuses, things kids could climb on or swing on.
Soon after I started researching playground history, I happened to stumble on an eBay auction for a 1926 catalog that the playground manufacturers used to send to schools. At that point, I wasn’t thinking of doing a book, but I thought I could do something with it. I won the catalog; I paid, like, $12 for it. And it was so interesting because I could see this vintage equipment when it was brand new and considered modern and advanced. The manufacturers boasted about how safe it was and how it was good for building both muscles and imaginations.
After that, I would always search on eBay for playground catalogs, and I ended up with about three dozen catalogs from different manufacturers. My oldest is 1916, and my newest is from 1975. So I would take a photograph of some type of merry-go-round, and then I might find that same merry-go-round in a 1930 catalog. Often in the book, I pair my picture with the page from the catalog showing when it was first manufactured. I discovered a couple dozen manufacturers, which tended to be located in the bigger industrial areas with steel manufacturing, like Trenton, New Jersey, and Kokomo and Litchfield, Indiana. Pueblo, Colorado, even had a playground manufacturer. Burke and GameTime were big 20th century companies, and actually are among few still in existence.
The cover of a 1926 catalog for EverWear Manufacturing Company. (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)
The cover of a 1926 catalog for EverWear Manufacturing Company. (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)
Collectors Weekly: I recently came across an old metal slide whose steps had the name of the manufacturer, American, forged in openwork letters.
Biondo: I love those. One of the last pages in the book shows treads from six different slides, and they each had the name of their manufacturer in them, including Porter, American, and Burke. One time when I was traveling, I did a quick side trip to a small town with an elementary school. In the parking lot was this old metal slide with the American step treads, lying on its side. You could tell it had just been ripped off out of the concrete, which was still attached to the bottom, and was waiting for the steel recyclers to come and take it away.
I thought, “Oh my gosh, just put it on eBay! Somebody is going to want that. Don’t melt it down.” But nobody thinks about this stuff getting thrown away when it should be preserved. If you go on eBay, you can find a lot of those small animals on springs that little kids ride, because they’re small enough to be shipped. Once I saw someone selling one of those huge rocket ships, which had been dismantled, on eBay, but I don’t know if anybody ever bid on it. It’s rare to see the big stuff, because it is so expensive to ship. It’s like, “What kind of truck do you need to haul this thing away?” I don’t know of anyone who’s collecting those pieces, but I hope somebody is.
A metal slide in Victor, Colorado, had step treads with the name "American" in them. Photographed in 2008. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)
A metal slide in Victor, Colorado, had step treads with the name “American” in them. Photographed in 2008. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)
Collectors Weekly: It seems like an opportunity for both starting a collection or repurposing the material.
Biondo: I photographed many of the apparatuses as if they were sculptures because they have really cool designs and colors. Even when they’re worn down, the exposed layers of paint can be beautiful. Hardly anybody stops to look at it that way. People drive by and think, “Oh, there’s an old, rusty, rundown playground.” But if you take the time to look closely at this stuff, it’s really interesting. Just by looking at these pieces, you can picture all the kids who played on them.
Collectors Weekly: Aren’t people nostalgic for their childhood playgrounds?
Biondo: While I was taking the pictures, I visited Boulder, Colorado, which is a very affluent community. I was sure there would be no old playground equipment there. When I was driving around, all of a sudden, I looked over and saw this huge rocket ship. It turns out that one of the original NASA astronauts, Scott Carpenter, grew up in Boulder, and this playground was built in the ’60s to honor their hometown boy. Because of that, the citizens of Boulder never wanted to take down the rocket ship. One of the first exhibitions of this photography project happened in Boulder, and at the opening, I sold four prints of that rocket ship. People would come up to me at the exhibition, and they’d go, “Oh my gosh, I grew up playing on this when I was a little kid! Now, my kids are playing on it, and I’m so excited that I can get a picture of it and hang it in their bedroom.” So people have a strong nostalgic attachment to this equipment. It’s sad that most of it’s not going to be around for much longer.
A 1968 Miracle Playground Equipment catalog features the huge rocket-ship play set seen at the top of this story. (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)
A 1968 Miracle Playground Equipment catalog features the huge rocket-ship playset seen at the top of this story. (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)
Collectors Weekly: Besides slides and animals on springs, what were some other pieces that were common in older playgrounds?
Biondo: I didn’t come across as many old swings as I expected. I thought they would be all over the place, but I guess they’re gone now because they were so easy to replace. I tended to find merry-go-rounds more frequently—you know, the one where you’d run around pushing them and then jump on. When my kids were younger, they’d go out playground hunting with me, and the merry-go-rounds were their favorite things. They’re just so fun. The other thing you don’t find often is the seesaw or teeter-totter, and that was my favorite.The Karymor Stationary Jingle Ring Outfit appeared in the 1931 playground catalog put out by Pueblo, Colorado's R.F. Lamar and Co. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)
The Karymor Stationary Jingle Ring Outfit appeared in the 1931 playground catalog put out by Pueblo, Colorado’s R.F. Lamar and Co. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)
Before I started this project, I didn’t know there was such a variety of equipment. I figured I’d see seesaws, swings, slides, and merry-go-rounds. But I had no idea there were such things as revolving swings, which would be attached to a spinning pole via outstretched metal arms. Many mid-century pieces had themes from pop culture like “The Wizard of Oz,” “Cinderella,” “Denis the Menace,” cowboys and Indians, and Saturday-morning cartoons. During the Space Age, you started to see pieces of equipment shaped like rocket ships and satellites, because in the ’60s, Americans were so excited about space exploration. What was going on in the broader culture often got reflected in playground equipment.
Pursuing the catalogs was eye-opening. I live about an hour and a half south of Denver, so I often looked for playgrounds around the city. There, I’d find these contraptions where were shaped like umbrella skeletons, but then they had these rings hanging off the spindles. I’ve never seen them outside of Colorado. Then I bought a 1930s catalog from the manufacturer in Pueblo, Colorado, which is only 45 minutes from me, and it featured this apparatus. Later, I met people in Denver who’d say, “Oh, yeah, I remember that thing as a kid. It’s kind of like monkey bars where you had to try and get from ring to ring swinging and hanging by your arms.” There was so much variety, and even so many variations on the basics.I have a cool catalog from 1926 from the manufacturer Mitchell, which doesn’t exist anymore. I looked at one of the contraptions they advertised and I was like, “Oh my God, this looks like a torture device!” It was their own proprietary apparatus and maybe it didn’t prove to be very popular. I had never seen something like that on a playground. There probably weren’t very many of them installed.
This strange Climbing Swing from the 1926 Mitchell Manufacturing Company catalog looks a bit like a torture device. Brenda Biondo says she's never found one in the wild. (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)
This Climbing Swing from the 1926 Mitchell Manufacturing Company catalog looks a bit like a torture device. Biondo’s never found one in the wild. (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)
Collectors Weekly: After a while, were you able to date pieces just by looking at them?
Biondo: From looking at the catalogs, I certainly got a better idea of when things were built. But there were a handful things I couldn’t find in the catalogs. You can guess the age by knowing the design, as well as by looking at the amount of wear and the height of the piece. Usually, the taller it was, the older it was. One of the oldest slides I photographed was probably from the ’30s. I climbed to the top to shoot it as if the viewer were going to go down the slide. Up there, the place where you’d sit before sliding had been used for so many years by so many kids that I could see an outline of all the butts worn into the metal. You can imagine all the children who must have gone down that slide to wear the metal down like that.
This 1930s-era slide, found in Sargents, Colorado, in 2007, developed a butt-shaped imprint. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)
This 1930s-era slide, found in Sargents, Colorado, in 2007, developed a butt-shaped imprint. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)
Collectors Weekly: How did Modernism influence playground design?
Biondo: In 1953, the Museum of Modern Art in New York held a competition for playground design. Modern Art was just getting popular, and the idea of incorporating the theories of Modernist design into utilitarian objects was in the air, and was translated into playgrounds for several years. I have a 1967 catalog that features very abstract playground equipment made from sinuous blobs of poured concrete. And you’ve probably seen some of it, but there’s not too much of that around. That’s another example of how broader cultural trends were reflected in playgrounds.
When most people think of playgrounds, they say, “Oh, that’s a kiddie subject. There’s not much to it.” But when you start looking into them, you realize playgrounds are a fascinating piece of American culture—they go back a hundred years and played a part in most Americans’ lives. These playground pieces are icons of our childhood.
Collectors Weekly:What was the impact of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which launched in 1973?
Biondo: Things started to change after that, which is why I limited to book to apparatuses made before 1975. New playgrounds were starting to be build out of plastic and fiberglass. I looked up the statistics, and according to the little research I’ve done—contrary to what you’d expect—there’s not much difference in the number of injuries on older equipment versus injuries on equipment today. A “New York Times” article from 2011 called “Can a Playground Be Too Safe?” explains that studies show when playground equipment was really high and just had asphalt underneath it and not seven layers of mulch, thekids knew they had to be careful because they didn’t want to fall. Nowadays, when everything is lower and there’s so much mulch, kids are just used to jumping down and falling and catching themselves. So kids learned to assess risk by playing on the older equipment. They also learned to challenge themselves because it is a little scary to go up to the top of the thing.
This old postcard of Shawnee Park in Kansas City, Kansas, circa 1912, shows how tall slides could get.
This old postcard of Shawnee Park in Kansas City, Kansas, circa 1912, shows how tall slides could get.
At my local park where you have new equipment, the monkey bars aren’t that high and there’s mulch below it, but a child fell and broke their arm last year. When I was talking to the principal at the school where they had just torn out that old American slide, I asked her, “Why did you replace the equipment?” She said, “We felt the parents in the community were expecting to have a little bit newer and nicer equipment. And this stuff had been here for so long.” And I said, “Have you seen a difference in injury rates since you put up your newer equipment?” She replied, “I’ve been a principal here several years, and we never had a serious broken-bone injury on the playground until four months ago on the new equipment.”
There were some nasty accidents in the ‘60s and ’70s, where kids got their arms or their heads caught in the contraptions. Those issues definitely needed to be assessed. What’s interesting is the Consumer Product Safety Commission never issued requirements, just suggested guidelines. But manufacturers felt that if their equipment didn’t meet those guidelines, they’d be vulnerable to liability. Everybody went to the extreme, making everything super safe so they wouldn’t risk getting sued.A 1970s-era climbing-bar apparatus, photographed in Rocky Ford, Colorado, in 2006. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)
A 1970s-era climbing-bar apparatus, photographed in Rocky Ford, Colorado, in 2006. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)
In the last decade, people have been looking at playground-equipment design and trying to make it more challenging and more encouraging of imaginative play, but without making it more likely someone’s going to get injured. And adults, I think, are realizing kids are spending more time indoors on devices so they want to do everything they can to encourage kids to still get outside, run around, and climb on things.
Collectors Weekly: You don’t need a playground to hurt yourself. When I was a kid, I fell off a farm post and broke my arm.Biondo: Oh, yeah, kids have been falling out trees forever—they always want to climb stuff. Playground politics are always evolving. Even in the 1920s, the catalogs talked about how safe their equipment was, and they were selling these 30-foot slides. Sometimes, I’d be out with my family on a vacation, and we’d make a little side tour to look for an old playground to shoot. My husband would look at these big metal things and go, “Oh my God, those are the Slides of Death!” because they were so huge and rickety. But back then, these were very safe pieces of equipment compared to what kids had been playing on before.
A page from the 1971 GameTime catalog offering rideable Saddle Mates. (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)
A page from the 1971 GameTime catalog offering rideable Saddle Mates. (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)
Collectors Weekly: Growing up in the 1980s, I always hated the new fiberglass slides because I’d end up with all these tiny glass shards in my butt.
Biondo: Yeah, I remember that, too. It’s always something. It is fun to talk to people about playgrounds because it reminds them of all the fun stuff they did as kids. When people see pictures of these metal slides, they tell me, “Oh my gosh, I remember getting such a bad burn from a metal slide one summer!” The metal would get so hot in the sun, and kids would take pieces of wax paper with them to sit on so they’d go flying down the slide. I have some old postcards that show playgrounds from the early ’20s. The wood seesaws not only were huge, but they had no handles so you had hold on to the sides of the board where you sat. I’m looking at that like, “Oh my God!” It’s all relative.
playground_postcard_milwaukee
Kids ride the rocking-boat seesaw at a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, park in this postcard postmarked 1910.
(To see more of Brenda Biondo’s playground photos and vintage catalog pages, pick up a copy of her book, “Once Upon a Playground: A Celebration of Classic American Playground, 1920-1975.” To find an exhibition of Biondo’s playground project, or to bring it to your town, visit the ExhibitsUSA page. To learn more about creative mid-century playgrounds around the globe, also pick up, “The Playground Project” by Xavier Salle and Vincent Romagny.) insh.world/history/playground-equipment-of-yesterday-that...
The sun goes down as the city lights
Pave their way through the darkest night
Raindrops fall as an old man cries
Never thought to ever think twice
Of all [S]he had, of all [s]he lost
A selfish life and guess comes with the cost
Same old streets, just a different name
Same old house, just the family's changed
Pickett fence, the window stains
Freedom spells by a man in chains
The silence is all we have to give
And the memories of a life, I wish we'd lived
From all that you made
That you lost or threw away
Traded in for a brand new life
But I can't, can't let go, can't turn around
Hold my head high and walk away
Ha, yes, I do take bird photos - remember?
Yesterday, 8 August 2019, was more of a barn day than a bird day. A while ago, another photographer had mentioned that a few barns in a certain area SE of Calgary had been removed and I was curious to see if I could tell which ones were missing. There is one huge barn in particular that I am always hoping still stands. I would love to be able to get photos from both sides of it, but it is way out in a farmer's field that is, of course, private property. Standing in the road, I can only get a distant shot and I had a problem with heat distortion yesterday. There is an old, round, wooden grain bin and a smaller barn just near the barn, too. I think the first time I ever saw the barn was on 21 January 2015, when I took my daughter out for the day.
My intention yesterday had been to leave early in the morning, but it was already 10:45 am when I climbed into my car. Seeing the weather forecast for the next six days included rain on each day, I knew I just had to do this trip yesterday. Some of the roads I drove to get to my destination(s) were familiar, but others less so. There are two or three highway intersections that are confusing to me and I usually end up taking the wrong turn.
For a change, I turned off the main highway going south before my usual turn, in order to shorten the distance. My first sighting was a distant Red-tailed Hawk perched on a wooden fence at a wetland that used to be a great spot, but now is totally dried up.
After a quick stop at a tiny church that I always photograph when I am out that way, I continued east till I came to the three old Mossleigh grain elevators - one of the places I always get confused about which way to drive. Ideally, a dramatic sky would have been great, but I have taken better photos in the past.
From Mossleigh, I did my usual exploring, finding that a lovely old, wooden house was still standing. I believe this was built from a kit years ago, and it remains in reasonably good condition.
Eventually, I found the large barn that I wanted to see again. It took me a while to work out which road it was on (thought I knew!), but I found it after some driving back and forth. It was good to see the smaller barn, in less then good condition, nearby. The other two times that I have been standing in the road to take photos, a lady has come along the road from a nearby farm and very kindly told me to on in and take any photos I'd like. No-one around yesterday, so I stayed on the road,of course. At one point, I happened to glance up the road and saw what I thought was someone's dog on the crest of the road. When I zoomed in on my camera, I realized it was a coyote, who started walking towards me. Unfortunately, it turned off into the field and disappeared. When I was at this smaller barn, it amused me to see a magnificent Mule near the barn, plus a horse. The Mule looked huge and was a real poser, wanting to be in almost every shot I took. Such a gorgeous creature, that I don't remember seeing before.
Once I had taken a few photos, I started on my homeward drive, not stopping anywhere as I could see that, if I hurried, I could get to the Saskatoon Farm in time to get a meal before the restaurant closed for the day. Yay, I just made it.
Knowing that Frank Lake was only a short drive away, I couldn't resist driving back south to have a quick look. Found a couple of my friends there and spent some enjoyable time with them. Only took a few photos there, most to be deleted, before heading home. A fun day, though hot and hazy.
I started talking to Amanda online not really knowing if we would hit it off as we seemed quite different people but I grown to absolutely love her. She’s always so happy and she has an infectious enthusiasm about everything she does. She quickly became one of my best friends.
Plus she’s one of the only other t-girls I know who seems to have grasped the concept of time. It’s always good to know that you won’t be waiting around on your own for an hour or so before any of the other girls actually turn up.
It’s amazing how many girls turn up all pleased with themselves and say “Hey! I’m early for a change” 😁 and then, when you point out they were supposed to be here an hour ago, they’ll say… “well yeah… but I’m early for me!”
Knowing how to change the background is handy if you have an image you like but the background is not flattering.
*Preview : Small Town Inertia
David, knowing that now it's a matter of waiting, saying goodbye to his mother Eugene.
Trolley - New Orleans, 1955. “After seeing these pictures, you end up finally not knowing any more whether a jukebox is sadder than a coffin.” - Jack Kerouac, preface to the first edition of The Americans. 😳 The boy. The eyes. The hands. | #SothebysPhotographs #robertfrank #theamericans #nycart #artmuseum #artgallery #auction #photography #exhibition #newyorkart #art #gallery #sothebys #christies #artnerd #arthistory #instaart #culture #artsy #galleryart #masterpiece #creative #photooftheday #artoftheday #photographer #filmphotography #filmisnotdead
one from today .taken in cold dark ,foggy ,conditions again after a very slight adjustment to micro adjust i think its really falling into place now
iso 1600 | 300mm| -1.33ev |F7.1 | 1/160 | hand held
Our memory is a landscape, our bodies are its map. We can trace lines with our fingers that will take us down roads, we can find markings that symbolize a monument in our past; these are our scars.
For a series on mapping, I took to photographing the physical and psychological impression scars leave on a person. The ambiguity of the physical in the photograph is to pair with the ambiguity of the quote, not depicting the incident or injury, but acting as a brief view into the human psyche. Rather than romanticized and sensationalized, the photographs are gritty depictions of gritty truths.
The series Memory Markings has been made into a limited edition book which can be bought at Toronto's Gladstone Hotel briefly.
Knowing this was running in an earlier path to what I had done before I thought it rude not to have a go once again here. This time I did a different angle and knew it would be shadow free.