The Making Of I Love Baseball

The Making of I Love Baseball, by Joe Manning The headline in my local paper said: "Manning and Vozzolo Make the Baseball Hall of Fame (sort of)." It was true. We have lifetime passes to the museum in Cooperstown to prove it. But it’s not what you think. We didn’t make it … [Read more...]

Gig At The Amtrak

I wrote this poem after reading the following in the September 1995 edition of Jazz Times. Used by permission. "I had a conversation with Hank Mobley before he died. Hank was a very prolific writer, but most of his songs were in different publishing companies, they’re all over … [Read more...]

Lumina & Elizabeth Desmarais, Winchendon, Massachusetts

Lewis Hine caption: Elizabeth Demaris [i.e., Demarais?], 13 years old. A spinner in the Spring Village Mill, Winchendon, Mass. Been working since May. Lumina Demaris, sister of Elizabeth, admitted 12 years old. Been a doffer in Spring Village Mill all summer, Father and sister … [Read more...]

Angelina Guinzali, Boston, Massachuetts

Lewis Hine caption: Angelina Guinzali (15 years old?) works for Madame Ball, dressmaker at 603 Boylston Street. Boston, Massachusetts, January 25, 1917. When Lewis Hine made this touching photograph of a lovely Italian-American girl in the first month of 1917, he and his … [Read more...]

Mildred Greenwood, Winchendon, Massachusetts

Lewis Hine caption: Comparison of Ages: Left end, Marion Deschere, just passed 13 years. Helps sister in mill "some." Next is Mildred Greenwood, "going on 14." Goes to school. Next is Mamie La Barge, 13 years, but said 14 years. Right end is Rosina Goyette, said 14, probably 12 … [Read more...]

Dubben Brothers Hardware, Delhi, New York

In 2006, my wife and I drove into Delhi, New York, while taking a "trip back in time" to Oneonta, where we met 40 years ago while attending college. Delhi, a small town with a rich agricultural history, is about 20 miles south of Oneonta. My wife spotted an interesting item in … [Read more...]

Harmony Mill, Cohoes, New York

The Harmony Mills complex was one of the largest mills in the United States, but most of the space is now either vacant or occupied by small companies and a retail outlet. … [Read more...]

Isabella Roy, Fall River, Massachusetts

Lewis Hine caption: Bella Roy, said 11 years old. "Been comin' here 7 years, been pickin' since I was 5 years old." Lives 44 Bowler St., Fall River. Sister Jeanette said 6 years old beginning to pick now. Also their cousin Anita (on right hand) 7 years old regular picker. Began … [Read more...]

Grandfather, Reunion, & Bunky Hipple

Grandfather is about my paternal step-grandfather, who was my best friend when I was young. Reunion was inspired by a huge January snowstorm a few years ago, and a girl I had a crush on in high school. Bunky Hipple (that was really his name) was sort of a legend in my hometown, … [Read more...]

Anna & Alice Dugas, Winchendon, Massachusetts

Lewis Hine caption: Annie Dugas, spinner at machine on top floor of Glenallen Mill. Location: Winchendon, Massachusetts, September 1911. "I knew that she had worked in a mill, but there was no face to it until now. It's hard to see an older person as a child, especially your … [Read more...]

Selena Walls, West, Texas

Lewis Hine caption: Twelve year old Selina Wall working at spooling in the Brazos [?] Valley Cotton Mill, West, Texas. Their family Record says she was born, March 23, 1901. Her mother said: "She's just taking the place of her sister fifteen years old. Selina could earn a dollar … [Read more...]

Napoleon Camire, Manchester, New Hampshire

Lewis Hine caption: Boys working in Amoskeag Mills, Manchester, N.H. Smallest boy is Napoleon Cammery, 194 Merrimac St. Been in mill 1 year. Next boy is Jerry Moore, 352 Chestnut St. Martin Markey, 33 State St. Location: Manchester, New Hampshire, May 1909. This is the third … [Read more...]

Hugo Umhoefer, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin

Lewis Hine caption: Group of children, 7-9-11-13-14 years old, hoeing corn for father on farm near Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, Joe Umhoefer, July 1915. Location: Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. "My parents always stressed the importance of their children getting an education. They … [Read more...]

Belton Cotton Mill

Selena Walls worked at the Belton Cotton Mill, in Belton, Texas, when she was as young as eight or nine years old; and she worked in the Brazos Valley Cotton Mill (no photo available), in West, Texas, when she was as young as 12 years old. The following appeared in the … [Read more...]

Canaday family, Ola, Idaho

Dorothea Lange caption: Wife and baby of president of Ola self-help sawmill co-op in doorway of their home. Gem County, Idaho, October 1939. This is one of my favorite Dorothea Lange photos. She took many at the Ola Self-Help Sawmill in the small village of Ola, in 1938. Three … [Read more...]

Mary & Dora Roberts, Winchendon, Massachusetts

Lewis Hine caption: Group of workers in Glenallen Mill. Smallest girl helps her sister Dora Roberts in mill. Lives at 13 Woodlawn St., there are 13 in the family, five or six working. Apparently prosperous. In this group is also Corinne Cuillette. Location: Winchendon, … [Read more...]

Reed’s Landing, Coxsackie, New York (2008)

June 20, 2008: My family has been taking daytrips to Greene County, New York since the early 1970s. My wife grew up in Long Island. In the 1950s, her family often vacationed at a lakeside camp of cottages in the tiny town of Craryville, just a few miles east of the Taconic … [Read more...]

Vibrant Music Scene In North Berkshire Spawns Graceful CD (2002)

Windsor Lake, the glorious new CD by The Flying Garbanzos, is the result of the kind of offhanded collaboration that can only thrive in a rich and diverse music scene. In the last decade, that scene has been quietly cultivated in North Berkshire. Dale Ott, 50, started playing … [Read more...]

John Howell, Indianapolis, Indiana

Lewis Hine caption: John Howell, an Indianapolis newsboy, makes $.75 some days. Begins at 6 a.m., Sundays. (Lives at 215 W. Michigan St.) Location: Indianapolis, Indiana, August 1908. "In the evenings, he would go play pool, and me and my brother would go with him. He was a … [Read more...]

Urban Scenes

Cities have their own special curiosities: alleys, functional doo-dads on buildings, forlorn scenes in downtrodden neighborhoods, and in one case here, a person sitting on a stoop. The utilities in the two bottom photos, common gadgets on buildings in all cities and towns, … [Read more...]