Feller’s Garage Castle Shannon PA
Not sure of the fate of this structure. I did find a nice photo that someone took a year ago. This is just mine as I waited at the red light, taken with the iPhone.
Uncle Frank Put the Engine in the 1953 Chevy
It is an amazing skill Uncle Frank has- refurbishing old cars. Did you see his 1933 Buick?
The car he is working on now is a year younger than me! He’s got the engine in now. I am fascinated by the ability to do such work. Watch for future updates as he takes this baby on the road.
And the interior is from a Cadillac. I wouldn’t know where to begin. It is going to be a beauty! Shot in his West Mifflin garage.
Melted Blinds and Retro Signage on High Street
James, my SIL2B, spotted the melted blinds as I was shooting the signage.
Joyland Tavern and the Ladies’ Entrance-Signage on the Road to Johnstown
Tha Ladies Entrance
My friend M and I were driving to that Tulip Festival to see the artwork. We saw this sign along the way. Photographed it on the way back. I found another post of JOYLAND from someone else on the route to Johnstown. Lots of passersby must photograph this signage.
Three miles to Seward PA the sign says along the highway.
Michael Contemplates the Jukebox
Still in the COSI Progress exhibit. Last week we had a nice day trip to downtown Columbus, driving around the city to check out Laura and James wedding venue, reception and the hotel where we’ll be staying. When we went through the Columbus Science and Industry center the kids showed me their favorite room. There is a vintage soda fountain and in one corner the jukebox and the other corner a pinball machine which you can play if you have a dime.
Actual VINYL plays inside this gem of a coin-operated jukebox . Seems everything is moving to a digital file. Records, 8-tracks. cassette, CDs.
He was taking it all in......
Old School Metal Ice Cube Tray
Do you remember metal ice cube trays? There was a certain sound of the metal and the hinge. The ice clinking out into a tall glass. You could pinch your skin real easily. That’s what I remember.
This one’s on display at COSI(Center of Science and Industry) in Columbus OH where there is a whole section called PROGRESS. You walk through the different decades of technological and electrical and societal developments.
The kids love to crank the old fashioned telephone and there is a juke box and pinball machine. They are housed in a soda fountain. There’s a horse drawn buggy next to a VW bug. You can look through an antique camera and use a switchboard to connect phone calls. There is a television studio and items from the Space Age.
It is hot and humid here in Pittsburgh.
I was looking for a photo that looked cool. It looks like someone left the freezer open and everything melted.
Today We Saw a Turquoise Plastic Radio, a Bobble-Head Jesus, a Princess Grace Ashtray and a Copy of Paradise Lost
Where can you see all that in one afternoon? BELLEVUE, PA And in the slideshow at the end of this post!! Head vases, a statue of Groucho Marx, autograph book, Betty Boop and an Atwater Kent Radio.…..oh, and another church for sale, too!
After my 11 o’clock appointment, J and I headed for Bellevue. Who knew that tomorrow is the start of their 4 day long Summer Solstice Spectacular. You can click here for the details We grabbed a quick bite at Joe’s Rusty Nail, an ice cream scoop of chicken salad on greens, some mandarin oranges and strawberries with balsamic and a blueberry muffin. A tall glass of ice tea. Cash or check, no cards. We walked down the block to a place we had driven by. Joyce’s Antique Emporium at 494 Lincoln Avenue in the heart of downtown. Oh my. We could have spent hours there, everything so carefully arranged and classified. Things you might have had as a kid or your mom had or the neighbors or your grandmother. I’m still thinking about the set of Pyrex bowls I left there and am thinking about going back if they are still there. Afterwards we stopped by the Farmer’s Market booths and I bought some strawberries that I made into jam when I got home- Joy of Cooking recipe. There was a shaved ice vendor. J bought the perennial Bloodroot to plant in her wonderful garden. We had fun checking out the antiques store with EVERYTHING. The Pickers Show on the History Channel needs to come and do an episode from this place. I am serious. We had the nicest conversation with the man minding the place and he was knowledgeable and full of great stories about the items in the store! The aluminum glasses on a blue coffee table outside the store caught our interest and we couldn’t get over the variety of items displayed. Canisters Depression glass, Kewpie Dolls, Betty Boop, swizzle sticks, an accordion, bugle, toys etc etc etc….See the slide show below. Call them at (412) 761-1288.
Grand Ville Convertible- Classic Car
Parked on a side street as I rounded the corner to meet Cj at Lot 17 on Liberty last Friday evening. Gleaming black convertible. A Classic Car license plate. By Pontiac.
You see a lot of scenes like this in Pittsburgh and they feel like you are on a movie set. The interior was immaculate. Must get a lot of attention when driving around the city. Anyone know the year?
St. Joseph Church in the background
“If it is in aluminum, we make it” – but not anymore. Company is closed.
Vintage advertising. Aluminum Goods Manufacturing Company became Mirro but it turns out it all closed in 2003. I looked it up. (click here for history) And there is a photo of the building on Flickr. Used as an art space and bands practice in it.
I was photographing this collapsible cup for the keeporpitch blog thinking it might be something I could part with and then when I looked at the photograph I decided, who am I kidding? I can’t get riud of this item just yet, So didn’t want people to vote on it and say PITCH it cause I know I’m going to let it stick around with me some more. I think it is something my dad got at a yard sale or Golden Oldies thrift shop at the home where they lived in Illinois.
Aluminum
with the dogwood motif.
aluminum item.
I guess you could take it camping.
Zenith Radio Model 12-S-370, 1939
Tonight at the book club meeting I sat at the table with this radio in front of me for the evening. I knew it had a story and the hostess just wrote to tell me I left my notebook where I had jotted down what I needed to know about the radio’s history. I remembered the location of Beaconsfield Street in Detroit. Here is what Lisa B. wrote to me just now about this radio from her husband’s family. Zenith Radio Model 12-s-370. found online Antique Radio Museum.
Here is what Lisa wrote in an email tonight- “So here you go: The radio belonged originally to neighbors of Virginia and Joseph Belloli who lived on Beaconsfield Street or Holcumb Street in Detroit. During WWII the neighbors were German nationals and as German nationals they could not own the radio because it had short wave capabilities. The neighbors sold the radio to “Granny” and “Grampa”. Joseph was born 1895 in Cuggiono Italy and Virginia in 1896 in the US, though her family was from Cuggiono as well. And just to make things complicated, three Oldani sisters married three Belloli brothers. You just have to accept if you were born Belloli and you meet another Belloli in Detroit or St. Louis, yes, somehow in some convoluted way, you are related.”
You can see more about this model in a video a guy made on youtube with one he found at the curb in Peoria IL
Button, Button, Whose Got the Button? ( & Bridal Veils, too!)
1700 Carson Street is the home of a great button store. It fascinates me- Parker Button. Boxes and boxes stacked from floor to ceiling. All colors, shapes and sizes. Like an artist’s palette. Shank or flat. Frogs and belt buckles. Ribbon and trim. Spools of thread to sew them all on for utility or ornamentation. My mother had a glass jar full of buttons. My sister made me the coolest necklace from vintage mother-of-pearl shirt buttons, strung onto embroidery floss. Do you have any clothing missing a button?
The other half of the shop is Clarissa’s Boutique . One word to describe the bridal veils, jewelry and accessories for custom headpieces and wedding necessities- exquisite? lovely? classic? ethereal? They will create a custom headpiece for you but allow three months. Feathers, flowers, jewels, or pearls. Voted the Best of the Knot for weddings 2011.
These Days Buttons are Often a Part of Web Design
Or people push our buttons.
Press the button to call the elevator
or select your floor.
Today’s post is the old fashioned kind.
Two-hole, four-hole or shank.
Metal, plastic, shell or bone.
Beatrix Potter shapes of rabbits.
When was the last time you sewed on a button?
Today marks 500 blog posts and counting!
Growing up we had a record with the song ( these lyrics are from 1929)
Button up your overcoat, When the wind is free, Oh, take good care of yourself, You belong to me! Eat an apple every day, Get to bed by three, Oh, take good care of yourself, You belong to me! Be careful crossing streets, ooh-ooh, Cut out sweets, ooh-ooh, Lay off meat, ooh-ooh, You'll get a pain and ruin your tum-tum!
Night Light- Two Houses
Driving back from Murrysville I saw the lights on the porch at Clayton, the home of Henry Clay Frick. Evergreen swags dangling from the portico. Drove around the block to come back and use the driver’s side window as my makeshift tripod. Lots of photos in the dark lately, it’s dark so early! Wednesday night Steve and I ate dinner a Grant Avenue Bar & Grill and when I pulled down the alley I saw the Candy Cane/ Snowflake house. Scroll down to see the Millvale House.
Decorated for the upcoming Holiday tours.
First Christmas House spotted in Millvale.
Loading the 1950 BelAir, Rock Island, Illinois
Driving around with my sister, we were looking for the Historic District and saw this scene. BTW I am in Columbus OH not Illinois this weekend. One friend wrote and thought I was on a cross country trip and had stopped working. The men were loading the 1950 BelAir behind the pick-up.
Watching the men load the 1950
Happy Day Cake Recipe
For Birthdays it was the 1-2-3-4 Cake recipe or the Happy Day Cake recipe on the back of the Swan’s Down Cake Flour box, frosted with Penuche icing. My mother would put the saucepan into a sink of cold water and then beat it by hand once it cooled. I can hear the ring of the metal loop at the end of the pan’s handle. And as I remember it she added a dash of vanilla extract. My dad would pour milk over a slice and eat it with a spoon. Cake and frosting recipes below photo.
Happy Birthday Mary. This vintage cake pan was a gift from her to me.
Happy Day Cake
2½ cups sifted cake flour
1½ cups sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
Sift flour with sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir shortening to soften. Add flour mixture, ¾ cup of the milk and vanilla. Mix until all flour is dampened, then beat two minutes at medium speed. Add eggs and remaining ¼ cup milk. Beat one minute longer. Pour into two 9-inch layer pans that have been lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans; remove from pans and cool thoroughly on racks.
This cake also may be baked in three 8-inch layer pans for 25 to 35 minutes, or in a 13- by 9-inch pan for 30 to 35 minutes. Batter may be spooned into 36 medium paper baking cups in muffin pans, filling half full. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar, more or less
- hot water, optional
Preparation:
In a saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Add the brown sugar. Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium low and continue to boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually add sifted confectioners’ sugar. Beat until thick enough to spread. If too thick, add a little hot water. Frosts top and sides of a 2-layer cake or a 13×9-inch cake.
Emmett Kelly/ “Weary Willie” Clown
My sister thinks we got this hand puppet at the circus. It was before I was 5. Some people have a fear of clowns(coulrophobia)
There is an Emmett Kelly Museum in Sedan, Kansas -born there in 1898. You don’t hear the word “hobo” anymore.
How do you feel about clowns?
Old Fashioned Rose Bouquet in Candlelight
Book club tonight, I hosted. And Then We Came to An End by Joshua Ferris. Recommend if you work in an office or a cubicle, author nails office culture and characters in an economic downturn, lots of seemingly authentic people inhabit the book. Well written. Joan brought a mixed berry pie from Patty’s Farm Market and some vanilla gelato. Sliced Pink Lady apples and Cabot sharp cheddar. Guacamole and white corn chips. Tess picked lovely roses from her garden and brought the bouquet in a vase. The smell permeated the living room. After everyone left, I lit a couple of candles to photograph them. There are more than 450 varieties of roses that start with the letter B. If you want to grow them click here
My Grandmother Hendricks crocheted the doily. I love that word.
Samantha at Cafe Sam’s Bar
You look twice. Cause you see her kind of hunched over at the bar I asked the hostess if it would be okay for me to photograph her. She said, “Sure!” Tonight we had dinner at Cafe Sam on Baum Boulevard. It’s a big old house. There were 9 of us, former and one current Greenfield teacher. They come around with samples on a tray, pickled deviled egg with the whites soaked in beet juice, strawberry daiquiri in a tiny cup. And when they bring out your check there is a freshly baked cookie on top!
The mannequin makes you look twice!
Classic Corner Drugstore
Received a comment from Gail yesterday that the triangular building downtown reminded her of Shalit’s Drugstore in Morristown where we went to HS. So when I saw this corner drugstore tonight on the way home from the All City HS Art Showcase, I stopped to photograph it. Looks like I’m in the middle of traffic. Camera propped against a light pole, cable remote. Seems the CVS, Eckerds, Walgreen’s eat up all the independents but this one’s still open in Bloomfield on the corner of Penn Ave and Main St.
A busy corner, a block from the new Children's Hospital.
Pittsburgh Filmmakers Harris Theater Downtown
Refurbished and renamed in 1995.
Saturday night and the neon lights glow. We’re waiting for Steve to get the car in the parking garage. No tripod but a slim tree trunk, the cable remote. Evokes another era. I realize I’ve photographed at least 3 other vintage movie theaters. Pittsburgh Filmmakers screens the Film Festival here and at Regent Square and Melwood. Another restored theater in Wisconsin(click to see)
Model Railroad Mother Hangs Out Wash
Somedays it’s fun to play. The era is supposed to be c.1936. My mother pinned clothes on a merry-go-round contraption with a center metal pole, stuck in a concrete surrounded hole. The needs-to-be-oiled sounds of a pulley as the clothesline is reeled out with colors, shapes and flags. Whipping around in the breeze, drying in the sun. The smell of a pillowcase on a clean bedsheet that earlier flapped on the line. I bought these at the Hobby Shop. Read about HO scale .
Just reading about HO scale on WikiPedia. Miniatures appeal to me.
Steel Mill at Night on the Monongahela River
Some things draw you in. I returned to West Mifflin to see if I could get the mill in sharper focus. The atmosphere affects the smoke coming out of the smokestacks. I got out of the car this time. Once the trees are in full leaf it will be harder to get the entire scene.
Time Flying in Stained Glass (2)
It was a different kind of day. Testing. I was a helper-outer on the second floor the first two periods. When I returned to the art room I came down a stairwell I don’t use. The window with the sun coming through. An hourglass with wings? All those inventors and scientists. I wondered what ones the students would know. It was my prep. I went to the art room and got my camera. I remember a statue of Howe in Seaside Park in Bridgeport CT where I went to college. Remembered I lived on Howe St. when we first moved to Pittsburgh. I had to look up McCormick. Cyrus. And George Stephenson. Good thing it wasn’t Jeopardy with the category of inventors. An unexpected find at school today. The hourglass with wings struck me. Scroll down to see the detail shot.
Coming down the stairs
What I Found at School Today.
Vintage Milkbox on Dorothy’s Front Stoop
Used as a mailbox now, these silver milk boxes were on everyone’s porch steps. Growing up our dairy was Alderney Farms in New Jersey. Thick glass, with paperboard circle caps. You could get a dozen eggs, some cottage cheese. Leave the empties for the milkman to exchange for fresh cold bottles of milk. We still had delivery in the mid sixties. The delivery truck door had a sound when it’d slide. You can buy an old milkbox on ebay.
Lavender from Dorothy's garden rests on her vintage milkbox. I think I need to get her a new flag!
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