Archive for the ‘1950’s’ Category
Wreck on Highway 90 Leaving Milton Florida …
For those of you that travel Highway 90 or live in the Milton area are familiar with the bridge across Pond Creek. Well, I have found some negatives from a wreck that occurred at that bridge back in the 1950’s between a Greyhound Bus and a pick-up truck. I do not have any details about the wreck, but I just want to show you what the bridge looked like and you will also see the area surrounding the bridge. Sixty something years ago, this bridge was wooden and there was nothing but dirt and scrub oaks around. You were still several miles from downtown Milton, which only took up two city blocks before you came to Blackwater River and once you crossed the river, you went back to dirt and scrub oaks … and maybe a few pine trees here and there. OK, enough talk, here are some photos …
These views you are looking east toward the bridge and Milton. The first you were maybe 200 feet from the bridge and the second shot you were maybe only 50 feet from the bridge.
All of these photos you have been looking east. Since this is an MP directing traffic, my guess that the vehicle that ran into the bus might have contained military personnel. Whiting Field is no where near this bridge, so the MP would have no reason to be in the area unless he was just driving by and wanted to help. In the middle photo you see where they are connecting the tow truck to bus and if you look real close in the first photo, you see the tow truck on it’s back two wheels with it’s front wheels completely suspended three or four feet off of the ground. They must not have had these huge commercial tow trucks that you see towing 18 wheelers down the interstate back in the 1950’s. Another photo …
This photo is from the middle of the bridge looking west. You can the wooden timbers that run across the bridge pretty good in the top photo. I would imagine that an insurance adjuster representing the Greyhound Bus Company hired my father, but I have no way of knowing. But as I usually say, that is not my purpose here … my sole purpose is just to show things / times as they were. My thoughts were … can you imagine taking a trip in an un-air conditioned Greyhound Bus across the United States on two-lane county roads with no interstate? The interstate system was still 7 or 8 years from starting and at least 15 to 18 years from finishing ! I do not think that they started the Interstate until the early sixties and did not completely finish until the mid to late seventies. Thanks again for looking and I am sure that there are a few of you that remember this old wooden bridge across Pond Creek … let us hear from you … Frank
Pensacola High School Football Team in the 1950’s …
I found three negatives of this team in different variations years ago and finally sat down and worked one up. The other two are in very bad shape and has sections missing and are in terrible shape. This was the easiest to clean-up and make presentable. I would have to guess that this team was in the 1950’s sometime. Notice how each manager is wearing a white jump-suit with a number on one side and the abbreviation for “Manager” on the other side. No clue what the numbering means or meant. Maybe someone will know and be able to tell us. I know that the author, Rick Fountain, who wrote an excellent book recently on the history of the Pensacola High School Football team reads this blog occasionally and he might be able to shed a little light on this group photo of the team. Thanks for looking and if you know any information on this group, please share it with us. Thanks again for looking … Frank
Old Sacred Heart Hospital Nursing School …
This building on 12th Avenue used to be the home of the old Sacred Heart Hospital Nursing School. I am not sure of the years that it was built and was the school and home for the nurses of Sacred Heart Hospital. From 1969 until around 1979, it was the home of the Academy of Arts and Sciences … this was were I went to high school for 10th, 11th and 12th grades and graduated in 1971. I believe there were 55 kids in my class. If you look real close you will see three nuns and two nurses in this photo, which was made sometime in the 1950’s, I would guess. I have posted a view from the other side earlier, but this is the first from the south end looking north. If you happen to know the years when this was the nursing school, please let us know … Thanks for looking … Frank
Sacred Heart Nurses …
Here are several examples of nurses portraits that my father used to do in the 1950’s and into the 1960’s, before the nursing school closed down on 12th Avenue. The name on the girl’s dress reads ” Broughton ” . The girl’s name below I could note read. I will have to find the negative envelope that these came out of to see if there are names written down . But that is not my point … I just wanted to post several examples of portraits that my father made of these girls when they graduated. It isn’t funny how you just say “girls” and don’t think about men being nurses in this era. I cannot even tell you a date when men started entering the nursing program … maybe one of the viewers to this blog will be able to tell us. Looking back, after I made that previous statement, I cannot even think back to when I started seeing men working as nurses in the hospitals locally. Here is the other nurse …
I thank everyone for taking the time to view this blog and for those who post comments. Please check back … I have a few images worked up and ready to post and I plan to put them up in the next week or so. Thanks again … Frank
Billory Baptist Church, Holley Florida …
This was the original Billory Baptist Church in Holley Florida. I would guess that this was made back in the 1950’s. I want to say that this church has been torn down, because I know that another larger was built in the 1970’s. If anyone knows any history about this church, please share it with us. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Miss America 1951 …
Here are a few more photos of Yolande Betbeze from Mobile Alabama who was chosen as Miss America 1951. The link goes to the Miss America web site, but you might want to go to her Wikipedia site and read what they have say. I am not going to go into it here, but she was one of the most controversial winners that the Miss America had up until that point. Here are several of her from a parade … most likely a Fiesta Parade, but I am not real sure which parade it was. Here we go …
The middle photo was taken on the corner of Palafox and Garden Street because see the Masonic Lodge building in the background ( which is now Vinyl Music Hall ). As far as any of the people in the background, maybe you might see someone that you recognize and identify. That policeman sure pulled some tough duty escorting Miss Betbeze around … he must be the chief or the chief’s relative, I am sure that this would have been a prized job to have. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Shoob’s Camera …
Shoob’s Camera Store … I guess I could Google it and see if it is still around and in business, but I have been busy lately and just have not had the time. If anyone out there has ever heard of it or has ever bought a camera from them, let us hear from you. I hope you noticed that I have changed a few things on this site and my personal blog, Frank Hardy Photo Blog . I still am in the process of changing a few things around here, that I hope are for the better, but more on that later. I still have a lot of images to post and they should keep me busy for years to come, so please check back periodically. That should do it for know … thanks again for looking and all comments are appreciated … Frank
Mrs. Babe Ruth in Pensacola …
Back in the late 1950’s, a Babe Ruth baseball team from Pensacola won the national Babe Ruth Baseball Championship. It was a real honor for a small town baseball team to beat out all of the other teams from all of the fifty states. Mrs. Babe Ruth came to Pensacola to present the winning team a trophy and while she was here, she took in a Dons’ baseball game. My father made a photo of her with the team. I also recently ran across a news clipping in the local paper about her coming to Pensacola and I also found a nice looking drawing of the “Babe” that I am including.
If any one was in attendance at any of the festivities, please let us hear from you. The drawing of Babe Ruth and the news clipping are courtesy of my good friend, Rusty Bizzell. His uncle , who is in the newspaper clipping, was the coach of the Babe Ruth team that won. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Another Paper Machine View …
No information or details on this image other than the obvious … a paper machine. I would guess that it could be one from the Pensacola News Journal that my father had made back in the 1950’s. I have a post somewhere on this blog of a man standing along side of the paper machine showing the scale of the machine. I wish that I had more info, but photos like this have always been interesting to me … I hope some of you out there find this interesting also. The more than anything else, it just shows how far technology has progressed in the last 40 or 50 years. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
First Baptist Church in Pensacola Florida …
This was the church building for the First Baptist Church in Pensacola Florida back in the 1950’s before the new sanctuary was constructed in the mid-to-later 1950’s. I have an interior view somewhere that I will post later. Here are several of the new sanctuary below …
This last photo is church letting out from the first service held in the new sanctuary. I have several interior views that I will post later and also several events like the ground-breaking for this church and several from the Easter Sunrise Service that First Baptist used to hold over at Bayview Park on Bayou Texar. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Frank Hardy Made My Photographs Two 
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