Once Upon A Time-it was necessary. Once upon a time it was modern. Once upon a time it was desired. Now it is history.
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Rail Mail—Second Place
On June 30, 1977, trucks and airplanes replaced the railroad mail car as the main mover of United States mail. Movement of mail by train began in 1832 after businesses and members of the public complained mail delivery by horse or stagecoach was too slow.
Beginning in 1864 all mail in transit was beginning to be distributed by railroad mail cars. Assistant Postmaster William A. Davis in St. Joseph, Missouri is credited with creating the rolling post office to process and distribute United States mail.
As the train neared the station, the route agent would toss out the processed mail bag through the big open door of the mail car.
Then as the train left the station, the agent snatched the unprocessed mail bag hanging on a pole next to the track with a hook (catcher arm) extended from the rail car. Along the route to the next station the agent sorted, processed and prepared a new mail bag to toss to the next station, grabbed the next mail bag on the route and did it all again.RailMailAtlantaFine ArtGary RickettsGeorgiagrickettsgricketts.comHDRPhotography by Gary RickettsRailroadRailroad CarSoutheastern Railway MuseumTraintrain carBlack and WhireFine Art Photographyblack and white
Bygone Luxury—First Place, Photograph of the Year
The first railroad dining cars were attached to passenger trains in the nineteenth century. George Pullman, famous for the sleeper car, introduced the Delmonico dining car. The upscale dining car served food for the budget-breaking price of one dollar per meal.
The 1940/50s were the golden age of train travel and the dining car was a passenger’s favorite part of the trip. For the railroad, the dining car was expensive to build, staff and operate. Not only was a separate fully functional kitchen car required, the train had to be stocked with crockery, glassware, tablecloths, flatware, menus, and of course food.
To operate the “restaurant” on wheels, an average crew of ten people were required: cooks, waiters, bartenders, and a steward. All members of the crew, especially the chef, had to be able to perform duties while the train was in constant motion: rocking, slowing, speeding up, taking sharp curves—sometimes at eighty miles per hour.
Liquor was available in the dining car or club room car. However, in 1950, alcohol could not be sold while traveling through Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Judged Best of Photography in 2016 Shelby County Arts Council 6th annual Juried Art Show.
Second Place 2016 Gadsden Museum of ArtBygoneLuxuryAtlantaGary RickettsGeorgiagrickettsgricketts.comPhotography by Gary RickettsRailroadRailroad CarSlideshowSmugmugSoutheastern Railway MuseumTraintrain carFoodCapturing History Through PhotographyFine Art Photography
Enlist For Victory
During World War II, nearly 200,000 different patriotic poster were printed to rally support for the war effort and warn against leaking information to spies: “Loose lips sink ships”.
Besides recruiting, a number of posters encouraged support for the war effort, including buying war bonds, rationing gasoline, not wasting food, and collecting scrap metal to recycle into military materials. The most famous artist to produce a war poster was Norman Rockwell whose poster showed a soldier manning a machine gun with the caption: “Let’s Give Him Enough and On Time.”EnlistForVictoryAlabamaGary Rickettsgrickettsgricketts.comHuntsvilleMuseumPhotography by Gary RickettsShipSignSmugmugCapturing History Through PhotographyFine Art Photography
Pumpless—First Place
Once upon a time, a full service gas attendant pumped the gas for you, cleaned the windshield, checked the oil, tire pressure, radiator water level, and put air in your tires. He, and yes it was a he, did all that while you sat in your car. Not only that, you could get Green Stamps (look it up), road maps, calendars, key chains and of course a tiger’s tail for your gas cap all for free. Exxon’s slogan was “Put a tiger in your tank”.
During the oil crisis of the 1970s, oil companies offered a few pennies saving if you were willing to pump your own gas. And that was the beginning of the end for the smiling, friendly gas attendant and the freebies.
New Jersey is the only state where pumping your own gas is illegal.PumplessAlabamaAutomobileBessemerBuildingCarCloudsDoorFenceGary RickettsGas Stationgrickettsgricketts.comLamp PostMotorcyclePhotography by Gary RickettsSmugmugTruckWindowFine Art PhotographyBlack and Whireoldblack and white
Chess Lamp
Oil lamps have been around for eons, even mentioned in the Bible. All manner of fuel from olive oil to whale oil has been burned. Coal oil, extracted from a soft oily coal, was widely used in early 19th century America. However, coal oil produced a smokey, smelly flame. In 1846 Abraham Gesner distilled a clear liquid from coal which he named kerosene from the Greek word for wax oil: keroselaion. In 1857, Joshua Merrill developed a more effective distillation and purification process using liquid petroleum. The result was a safe, cost efficient fuel lamp fuel. Thus was born the “Kerosene Lantern”.
ChessLampGary Rickettsgrickettsgricketts.comPhotography by Gary RickettsLandscapeAntiqueFine ArtClockBlack and WhireFine Art Photographyblack and white
Fork and Spoon—Third Place
The earliest known fork that was made in England is dated 1632, and is in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The most common use for a fork at that time was to hold meat while it was carved or for the serving of sweets.
In the Middle Ages, round stale bread with the center carved out was used as a plate, called a trencher. Food was scooped out of the trencher by hand while knives and spoons were used to pick up what the hand couldn’t. Everyone carried his own knife and only the wealthiest provided knives or spoons for their guests. Even inns expected travelers provide their own tableware.
When the fork (as a substitute for hands) was first introduced to England, many of the Church of England clergymen were opposed to the use of forks, believing it ungodly.
By 1926, the number of different fork types in a set of silverware became so overwhelming that the then Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover and the Sterling Silverware Manufacturers limited the number of separate pieces in any silverware pattern to 55.ForkandSpoonAlabamaGary Rickettsgrickettsgricketts.comHuntsvilleMuseumPhotography by Gary RickettsSmugmugspoonsFoodCapturing History Through PhotographyFine Art Photography
12 O'Clock High-On June 12, 2021, Liberty Belle experienced an in-flight fire resulting in an emergency landing in a field outside Aurora, Illinois. Although nearly destroyed, the Liberty Belle Foundation, Inc. is rebuilding the Liberty Belle in Douglas, Georgia. Visit the Foundation web site and help restore an icon of of our nation’s history.
Nicknamed "Flying Fortress" because of extensive defensive firepower, the B-17 was used in every theater of operations during WWII. However, it was primarily used by the 8th Air Force to mount massive bombing raids against Nazi targets in Europe. Those raids were launched from airfields in England.
The “Mighty Eighth”, as the 8th Air Force is known, conducted daylight strategic bombing raids from May 1942 to July 1945, which came at a high price: over 47,000 causalities, including more than 26,000 dead. Of the brave men who flew those missions 17 earned the Medal of Honor, 220 Distinguished Service Crosses, and 442,000 Air Medals.O'ClockHighGary Rickettsgrickettsgricketts.comPhotography by Gary RickettsBlack and WhireFine Art Photographyblack and white
Meals On Wheels
As train routes became longer with fewer stops between terminals the question arose of how to feed passengers en route. The solution arrived in 1862 when the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad introduced the first dining and kitchen car. By the late 1900s, kitchen cars and dining cars were routine on all rail routes.
In 1927, the Pennsylvania Railroad Dining Car School opened to teach proper meal preparation and “deft and courteous service”. Each participant received a 109 page railroad kitchen cook book. It was not unusual for a kitchen car to prepare 300 or more meal each day.
Each kitchen car’s chef, a culinary art master, was in charge of the kitchen. Usually the chef had three assistants. One cooked meats, one prepared vegetables, and one made salads, desserts, and cold plates. Passengers in the dinning car were given menus from which to order, which included such treats as Pennsylvania Dutch chicken, baked potato, cream of chicken soup, sliced roast beef, veal cutlets, ginger muffins and more.MealsWheelsAtlantaCoffee PotGary RickettsGeorgiagrickettsgricketts.comHDRKitchenPhotography by Gary RickettsRailroad CarSoutheastern Railway MuseumTraintrain carFoodBlack and WhireFine Art Photographyblack and white
