Everyone Loves Tugboats

In the marine world, nothing is quite as popular with the general public as the tug boat. Whether it's with young children or old salty dogs, there's something that draws people to them, to the personalities they seem to evoke. And naturally, people over the years have snapped photos of them, including these two anonymous images, taken from a bridge in the 1940s or '50s, of two random tugs hard at work, a momentary slice of marine life during an otherwise ordinary, hard-working day.

Above is the Russel B. of New York, and below is the Frank P. Buchanan. I've not been able to find any information about these or the companies that owned them...if you happen to know anything, please comment!

A Winter Swollen River

There is no indication with this photograph of where or when it was taken (it was found in a Chicago-area antique store), but it appears that the river has been swollen by winter rains and is close to flooding (if it hasn't already).

Our House - 14

It is a bit harder to get a sense of the architecture with this family photo. It's probably the 1920s, and the trim on the porch is intriguing.

The Store Clerk

This kid looks very proud, wearing his tie, at work at what is probably his first job.

Cheyenne Canyon's Ramona Falls

Near Colorado Springs is a place called South Cheyenne Canyon, which has been a tourist destination since it opened in the 1880s. One of the prime features is the Seven Falls, a series of cascades which, from a distance, look like one large waterfall.

Our photo, probably taken in the late 1890s or early 1900s, shows the very uppermost of the falls, Ramona. A vintage graphic showing the full seven falls can be found here, and a graphic showing the names can be found here. In both of the links, near the top you can see the bridge that replaced the rickety one shown in our photo (and the ricketyness suggests that our photo is very early in the period of the falls' commercial development).