Studes in Roadside Americana photos

[JRoberts]

#2416 there is a sign on the side of the station that says Vermont Truck Stop, #2419 there is a sign next to the station "Information Lake Champlain Ferries". I believe both of these photos was taken by Don Weidemeyer longtime photographer for the VT Highway Department. The white numbers on the photos are one of his trademarks. He recently passed away at the age of 96.

I believe the location for #2419 may be along US 2 in South Burlington, VT and was taken in advance of the construction of Interstate I-89 through this area, thus the reason for the closure of the gas station. It was going to be torn down.

Thanks for the info. It makes the pictures come to life in a bigger way.

[dpson]

Thanks Joe & Bob,

I began work with the VT Agency of Transportation in 1980 and remember Don Wiedenmayer and his work from that era. There are over 19000 of his photos his that have been preserved and are now available on the University of Vermont (UVM) website at this link: http://www.uvm.edu/landscape/search/...-52d548df90dad . I realize this is not of interest to everyone, but I figured if some of the photos posted here are identified then that brings some reality to these.

BTW: The Olds wagon in photo #2416 sure looks like one my dad had at that time, of course there is no way to prove it but there is a possibility that could be his car. Small world...

[BRUCESTUDE]

Seattle, 1945

[JRoberts]

[JBOYLE]

Nice shot of the Munster's Coach.
I saw it when a friend had it in his UK museum, it was very impressive in size and quality.
After it left the country, Barris made a replica.

I believe the original is back in the US.

[SN-60]

This fellow sure has a lot of faith in bumper jacks!

[skyway]

Re #2434, I say again "Not all 1942 Skyway Commanders (this time a Crusing Sedan) wore WW tires.
Can't help my self, but this was a point constantly made by the late great Earle Haley!

[Carl Purdy]

[JRoberts]

"Entrant into Great Race, west of Cheyenne, with Studebaker pilot car foreground, March 1908."

"The above scene appears to be somewhere between Buford Station and Tie Siding. The road is not atypical. Montague Roberts, the Thomas driver, described some roads as being tracks of "fresh cooked molasses candy." The vehicles of the "Great Race" were not, however, the first to traverse the continent. In 1903, George Wyman drove from San Francisco to New York on a motorbike. In the very same area he got stuck in the gumbo and had to secure a team of horses to pull the 90 pound bike out of the mire. Indeed, the mire was so thick that the bike was stuck bolt upright and did not fall over. Wyman described the mud:

Down at the bottom I struck gumbo mud, and it stuck me. Gumbo is the mud they use in plastering the crevices of log louses. It has the consistency of stale mucilage and when dry is as hard as flint. It sticks better than most friends and puts mucilage to shame. When you step in it on a grassy spot and lift your foot the grass comes up by the roots. My wheel stood alone in the gumbo whenever I wanted to rest, and that was pretty often. Every time I shoved the bicycle ahead a length I had to clean the mud off the wheels before they would turn over again. I kept this up until finally I reached a place where I could not move the bicycle another foot. It sunk into the gluey muck so that I could not shove it either forward or backward."

http://www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com/lincoln2.html

[BobPalma]

In talking with Fred Fox today, he e-mailed the following and said I could add it to the forum vis-a-vis the above photo:

Hemmings Classic Car

[WinM1895]

The building is extant. Google Earth: 813 Front Street, Needles CA

[Studedude]

[DEEPNHOCK]

There's one in there.... There has to be....
Hey! I think I see Rich!

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