Photographers Archives - Page 120 of 162

Hanging Around the Saloon, Chicopee Mass

August 23, 2017March 27, 2015 by Derek Strahan

A group of workers hanging around outside of the Cyran & Gierlasinski Cafe on Grove Street in Chicopee, on June 29, 1916. Photo courtesy of Library of Congress.

The scene in 2014:

Social reformer and photographer Lewis Wickes Hine visited Chicopee several times in the 1910s, documenting child labor conditions in some of the city’s factories. The first photo here shows a group of workers hanging around a saloon at the end of the workday. It’s probably safe to assume that the cafe was Polish; the names of Cyran & Gierlasinski leave little room for doubt. By the late 1800s, Chicopee had become an industrial center, and many of the workers were immigrants, either French-Canadian or Polish. To this day, many Chicopee residents are of French-Canadian and Polish ancestry, some of whom are probably the descendants of the men in the 1916 photo. Today, the Cyran & Gierlasinski Cafe might be gone, but the Polish influence is still present; the site is now the parking lot for the main offices of the Polish National Credit Union.

Springfield Municipal Group, Springfield, Mass

January 23, 2016February 28, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Springfield Municipal Group from across Court Square, probably around 1913. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The Municipal Group in 2014:

The first photo was taken shortly before the Springfield Municipal Group was completed, perhaps even on the same day as the first photo in this post. In this photo, the buildings are still surrounded by a fence, and a sign for A.E. Stephens Co, the contractors, can be seen on a temporary shed on the right-hand side of the photo. In the ensuing 100 or so years in between the two photos, not much has changed in this scene. City Hall, Symphony Hall, and Campanile tower are all still there, as is the Civil War monument and the Miles Morgan statue, which is barely visible in the distance in front of the bell tower. One thing that has changed, though, is the way people get to City Hall. In the first photo, a trolley can be seen on the far left, and no automobiles are visible anywhere in the scene. Today, there are no trolleys to be found in Springfield, and instead Court Square is surrounded by cars, as seen in the 2014 photo.

Calvin Coolidge and Allen Treadway at Plymouth, Vermont

February 10, 2016February 3, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Congressman Allen T. Treadway presenting two rakes to President Calvin Coolidge at the Coolidge Homestead in Plymouth, Vermont on August 19, 1924. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

The scene in 2014:

I’m not quite sure what’s going on in this first scene. I understand that Congressman Allen Treadway is giving two hand-carved rakes to President Coolidge, but I’m not entirely sure why. Film of this ceremony can be seen at the beginning of this video.

Congressman Treadway represented the First Massachusetts District from 1913 until 1945, and before that he was the President of the Massachusetts Senate from 1909-1911, three years before Coolidge himself would hold the same position. They never actually served together in the Senate; Treadway left just before Coolidge started, but like Coolidge he was a Republican from Massachusetts and fellow graduate of Amherst College.

Coolidge Family at Plymouth, Vermont (2)

January 23, 2016February 3, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Calvin, Grace, and John Coolidge at the Coolidge Homestead in Plymouth, Vermont, probably in August, 1924. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

The scene in 2014:

In the 1924 scene, President Calvin Coolidge and First Lady Grace Coolidge are walking toward their car, with their son John walking behind them. It’s the same car as the one in this post, but it doesn’t appear to be taken at the same time as that one, since all of them are wearing different clothing. I don’t know where they are heading, but probably not anywhere too formal, given that John is wearing overalls. Today, the scene hasn’t changed much, although sadly there are no antique cars parked in front of the house anymore.

Coolidge Family at Plymouth, Vermont (1)

January 23, 2016February 3, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Grace, John, and Calvin Coolidge at the Coolidge Homestead in Plymouth, Vermont, probably in August, 1924. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

The scene in 2014:

The 1924 photo in this post was probably taken at about the same time as this one, when John Coolidge (center) was stacking kindling at his grandfather’s farm in Plymouth, Vermont. Standing on either side of him are his parents, Calvin and Grace Coolidge. Today, the barn doesn’t look much different, aside from the ramp leading up to the door.

Calvin Coolidge, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford at Plymouth, Vermont

January 23, 2016February 3, 2015 by Derek Strahan

From left to right, John Calvin Coolidge, Sr. (President Coolidge’s father), President Calvin Coolidge, a bucket, Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison, at the Coolidge Homestead in Plymouth, Vermont, on August 19, 1924. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

The scene in 2014:

As mentioned in this post, three industrial giants of the early 20th century stopped in Plymouth, Vermont in August 1924 to visit the president. Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Harvey Firestone (not pictured) were traveling around the country on a camping trip, using cars to travel from place to place to promote the many recreational opportunities that cars provided. During their brief stay in Plymouth, Coolidge presented Ford with a sap bucket that had belonged to his great-great grandfather; the presentation ceremony was recorded in the photo above, and also in this film, starting at about the 3:18 mark.