Posted: January 24th, 2009 | Author: Mark | Filed under: Ohio, Vintage Postcards | Tags: cambridge | No Comments »
Aside from history buffs, the word Chautauqua doesn’t mean a thing to people today. But a hundred years ago it was familiar to everyone, and most had experienced them firsthand. So what is a Chautauqua? They were traveling shows that provided both entertainment and enlightenment, the stage hosting lecturers of all types, including evangelists, politicians and comedians. Chautauquas also featured musical acts, theatrical performances and even motion pictures in their formative years. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Author: Mark | Filed under: Ohio, Vintage Postcards | Tags: cambridge | No Comments »
A few days ago I wrote of Brown High School in Cambridge, Ohio, the school my father attended in the early ’30s. That post was illustrated with a postcard of the school, a rather ordinary-looking card that I found on eBay. I hadn’t thought much more about that postcard until I came across this photo in dad’s 1931 annual. The similarities were striking, and I wondered if the photo could in fact have been used as a template for the postcard. But while the photo obviously dates from 1931 or earlier, these postcards are usually found with postmarks from the ’40s. Basing postcard art on preexisting photos was commonplace, but would they have used so old a photograph? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: November 25th, 2008 | Author: Mark | Filed under: Ohio, Vintage Postcards | Tags: cambridge, school, yearbook | No Comments »
This vintage postcard, a surprisingly common card, shows Brown High School in Cambridge, Ohio, probably in the ’40s. Doug Stevens, my father, graduated with honors from BHS in 1934 and went on to attend Ohio University in Athens. Although I have all four of dad’s yearbooks, they reveal little historical information about the school. In fact, the only date I’ve found is the year the school opened, 1909, and that’s only because it appears on the postcard! One internet source reports the building shown here to have been demolished long ago, but when the school closed is unknown. I’ll keep searching, and post any new findings!
Aside from history buffs, the word Chautauqua doesn’t mean a thing to people today. But a hundred years ago it was familiar to everyone, and most had experienced them firsthand. So what is a Chautauqua? They were traveling shows that provided both entertainment and enlightenment, the stage hosting lecturers of all types, including evangelists, politicians and comedians. Chautauquas also featured musical acts, theatrical performances and even motion pictures in their formative years. Read the rest of this entry »
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