The Press Corps …
I have ran across this negative for years and for some reason or another, have never bother to scan it until just the other day. This looks like it was taken out at Pensacola Beach in the 1940’s maybe. It could have been at one of the fights that was held out at the Casino or it could have been at one of the beauty contests put on at the Casino. Check out the old Speed-Grafex that guy kneeling is holding … I have parts of one just like it over at my barn. And check out the guy with the Bolex movie camera, my father had one just like it. In fact, I have reels of film that my father made that I would like to have converted to DVD’s, but I know that it would cost a small fortune. The guys hanging around look like they would be in style today … that guy’s bathing suit looks like something surfer’s would wear today. If anyone recognizes any of the people in the photo let us hear from you … thanks for looking …
First Methodist Church …
This photo of the First Methodist Church in downtown Pensacola Florida must have been made around 1920 or so … and that is just a guess on my part. This image was made from a copy negative that I scanned years ago, in fact, I do not remember it all. So I do not know where it came from and I hesitate to say that my father made this photo … he was born in 1915 and this had to have been made around that time. Notice that there are trees out front and there is no railing on the front steps. I have never seen this photo anywhere before and I have seen a lot of photos showing the different ” stages ” of First Methodist Church on Wright Street in Pensacola Florida. Maybe some First Methodist Historian can give us a clue. Thanks for looking …
Irene’s Beauty Shop …
Here are several panorama photographs that my father made with the Wide-Lux camera that he had. I know nothing about this business, Irene’s Beauty Shop, so anything that anyone can share with us is appreciated. These were made back in the 1950’s sometime. Here is another view …
This obviously is the front of the store and the other photo showed the back where all of the “stylists” worked. Back in the 1950’s I believed that they were called ” beauticians” then and you very rarely hear that word mentioned today … at least I have not heard anyone say it in the last 20 years or so, maybe more. If anyone remembers ” Irene’s Beauty Shop – Store “, please share it with us. Thanks for looking …
Bob Hope …
This is one of Bob Hope that my father made from back in the late 1970’s when he came to Pensacola to play in the Pensacola Open Golf Tournament. This was out at Perdido Bay Country Club when the tournament was held there. Do not know who the man riding with Bob Hope is … so I do not know if it is he or Mr. Hope who is the Alabama fan. Maybe both! Thanks for looking …
Skipper’s …
Before Skipper’s was a dive shop, it was a fishing tackle store. I do not remember it as a fishing tackle store … I just remember it as a dive store. In fact I got my diving certificate from Joe Kingry ( the owner ) back in 1969 … 43 year ago. I have not been scuba diving in years, but I have snorkeled down in Belize in the last 7 or 8 years. One good thing about getting your scuba diving certification is that it is good for life, so you can rent scuba gear wherever you travel. In fact that reminds me to go find my scuba card …
Thanks for looking and as usual, all comments are welcome …
Downtown in a Hurricane …
This is looking west at the intersection of Garden Street and Palafox Street. You see the Blount Building on the left side of the photo and the corner of the San Carlos is on the right side. Next to the Blount Building is Marston – Quina Furniture store. The showrooms were on different floors and you would ride the freight elevator to get to each floor. It was a real highlight for a ten year old kid … our cousins the St. Johns owned the business, so when I went with dad ( or mother ) to visit them, I got to ride the elevator up and sown for what seemed like hours … the high-light of my day! I do not know what hurricane this was when my father made this photo, but I have posted one other one looking down Palafox Street during this same storm. Not sure of the year, but I am sure it was the mid 1950’s. Thanks for looking …
Baseball at Admiral Mason Park …
This is one that I just ran across the other day … I do not have a clue who the ball – player is, but it is a good photo of the Admiral Mason Ball Park. How about that press-box up top? It sort of makes you wonder if you need to spend over 50 million dollars to play a game of baseball? Let’s see, with interest that $50,000,00 turns into $80,000,00 + . What a deal!!! The new Community Ball – Park starts looking like a steel every time you run the numbers … All I can say is ” Play Ball and More Ball and More Ball … ” Thanks for looking …
One More From Modesto …
Here is one more for my friends out in Modesto … I cannot tell you how many hits I get on this site from people out in Modesto, but it is quite a few. My father never mentioned about traveling through Modesto on his trips out to LA to visit his sister back in the 1950’s. If I was on these trips, I would have only been between the ages of 2 and 5. I know that he took several trips to Yosemite and I guess that Modesto must be somewhere between there and Los Angeles. I do not know if this sign still exists out in Modesto now, it looks as if it would be too low for trucks to pass under. I have found several new negatives from this area that I will post in the near future … and I thought that I had run out of Modesto negatives! Thanks for everyone’s comments and as always, thanks for looking …
UPDATE: I did some work on this photo and sharpened another image up a good bit. The lettering on the sign reads: ” Water Wealth Contentment Health ” . I also noticed that the car’s tag in front of my parent’s car reads” 9D 16890″. Years ago, the Florida state license tag identified what county that the car was registered in. The “9” meant that the car was registered in Escambia County, which happened to be the 9th most populated county in the state at that time. A tag that started with “1” meant that the car was from Miami or Dade County. I think that Santa Rosa was somewhere around “33”, but I believe that only the first ten counties were identified by population and from “11” on they were alphabetic. At first I thought that my father had made this photo because of the sign, but it could have been something simple like just seeing this car registered in Escambia County out in Modesto California. I am sorry that the Internet does not show how sharp these images actually are … someday I will have to try to put on a show so everyone can see the finished prints. Thanks again … Frank
Sam Huff …
This is one of my dad and the legendary football player, Sam Huff. He looks just like an average joe here, but he had a reputation as one of the fiercest, most physical player to play the game of football. There was a photo of him in Sports Illustrated in the last year … you sure would not want to line up across from line! If anyone remembers what he was doing here in Pensacola back in the 1950’s, please share it with us. Thanks for looking …
LA Coliseum …
This is the LA Coliseum back in the 1950’s. It is hard to believe all of the historical events that this place has held … the first Super Bowl, political rallies, the Olympics and the list could go on and on …
Frank Hardy Made My Photographs Two 
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