Freedom, Defense, Recovery!

Sounds just like election year 2012!

Wave Motor, Santa Cruz, California

It seems like an early Mitchell postcard. The layout almost looks more like a Detroit. Never had heard of the "wave motor" until seeing this card. An interesting, but failed concept.

The inventors were a pair of brothers named William and John Armstrong. The wave motor, an oscillating water column, was built inside the cliff. They had dug a thirty-five by six foot hole into the side of the cliff that ran to a level below low tide. From there another tunnel connected it with the ocean. The purpose was to get water up to the the scenic dirt road on the bluff that needed to be kept damp because of the dust that was kicked up by tourists..

Some more info on the wave motor here:
http://www.haskey.com/johnh/wave_motor/index.html

The wave motor was dismantled in 1910 because of improved street paving that made it unnecessary to water down the roads. One of the tunnels still remains in the cliffs to this day.

The New Hotel Mayflower

First and foremost, I love the "Mayflower" ship hovering around it's namesake hotel! Probably has trouble finding a parking space though! As usual, I like to look for some background info on postcards. While I did find out that the Mayflower was originally the Mason and that the hotel was demolished in 1978 (all together now: Awwww), I couldn't find much else, but I did find this obituary:

“Irene Ann Byram, 99, passed away January 16th, 2012. Irene, known as Nonie by her close family and friends, was born on May 22, 1912 in Detroit MI. Irene moved to Jacksonville with her husband and children in 1935 from Wauchula Fl. She was employed by the Mayflower hotel for over 30 years. In 1944 she was sworn in as the first female bartender in the state of Florida by Governor Spessard Holland”

King Tower One-Stop - Tama, Iowa

Gas, Food, Lodging AND a Garage! Just a neat looking linen in my book!

Good News!/Bad News!

The Good: King Tower Cafe is now open for business again!

The Bad: King Tower Cafe has 1-star on Yelp!

Old Pigeon Ranch, New Mexico

I have to admit that when I looked at this card, my first thought was, "Where are the old pigeons?" Well I did a little homework and found that Frenchman Alexander Valle built Pigeon Ranch in the early 1820's. The ranch got its name because of the "pigeon-English" (broken-English) that Valle spoke. The ranch became a very important site along the Santa Fe Trail, serving as a stagecoach stop, U.S. Post Office and a trading post. In March of 1862, Pigeon Ranch and the surrounding area was the site of the biggest and bloodiest battle of the Civil War in the Southwest.

In 1924, Thomas "Tommie" Greer bought the Pigeon Ranch and turned it into a tourist attraction. Greer, being the "showman" that he was, claimed that the well on the ranch was "the oldest in the U.S.", a claim that is unfounded. He added trained bears (looks safe to me!) to the ranch to try to lure even more tourists.

By the 1940's the Tommie and his bears were gone. Today all that's left of the ranch is one building that sits precariously close to New Mexico's Hwy 50.

"Feathers" & "Dusty"

Always thought that this was such a interesting and perhaps noble travel adventure story...but according to this old newspaper clipping, I guess "Feathers" and "Dusty" weren't as noble (or as honest!) at paying their bills

The Los Angeles Herald - February 3, 1909

Toliver Dirigible Airship, San Diego, California

"The wonders of this ship are almost beyond any description. Few people in San Diego realize the wonders that have been accomplished during the last few months in the construction of the Toliver airship...When this ship makes its initial flight in May it will make a showing that will startle the whole world"

-newspaper advertisement for the Toliver Aerial Navigation Co, April 5, 1911.

Interesting note: In May of 2010, the world's largest airship landed in San Diego after setting a distance record. That airship is 4 feet shorter than Toliver's. Check out the lower right hand corner of the card to get a feel for the size of the "monster flying machine"....Toliver himself perhaps?

Short story HERE about Toliver and his life...not a happy ending!