Sepia Saturday Week 59 Mystery men awaiting (Click Here to Sepia site)



Men waiting for the train
Leechburg, PA   1900

 I found these two photos among  the collections of my aunt Virgina (Jinx) and although I know nothing about any of the people and the photos are  ragged, I thought they were interesting historical slices from the past.  This first  shows six men at the train station, so it was marked on the back, writing nearly faded away along with the year 1900.  No names, no other information.  Four of the men appear to  be smoking cigars.  All are wearing hats which would have been expected at that time, but I find the variance in dress interesting.  Check out the  middle man with long coat and derby and the short swing style jacket sported on the 2nd man from the right.  The 2nd man from the left looks like he is ready to bolt.  I wonder if they were meeting passengers on that train or waiting to board. Are any of the men relatives?  The man standing on the far right  resembles  my Grandmother Roses'  brother,  Bill.  Far more questions than answers here now. I expect they  must have known one another, else why would they have posed for the photo.  I could make up a wonderful tale using this photo and just may do that someday.   Leechburg, PA is a borough  about 15 miles from my home town in PA and was founded in 1850 by David Leech who purchased land from a local Native American, White Maddock.  In  better times it was a major port on the PA canal and home to steel mills, foundries, coal mines.  It is the first place where natural gas was used for industrial purposes in the country.  

The second photo is another historical snap and interests me, the decor of the place and the flashback to a time when hats were cleaned and shoes/boots were shined as a way to make a living.  I suspect one would starve today making a living at either or both services combined.  Again I know neither who the man is nor why my aunt had this photo.  Looks like he had a great business.  Is he the owner or a customer?


Apollo, PA Hat Cleaner  1926

I wonder if this photo may have been taken in the summer, around Memorial Day or the  4th of July with the flags and all the straw hats on the shelf along the right.  The back of the photo stated only "Apollo, PA 1926"  and I have added Hat Cleaner.  Apollo, PA is another  of the small boroughs near my home town.  As I was writing I recalled  learning in elementary school that Apollo, PA named after the Greek God is a palindrome,(before you grab your Funk and Wagnalls that is a word that is spelled the same forward or backward).  It was another steel town along the rivers out of Pittsburgh founded in 1895. 

These are my two mystery photos.  Both in poor condition and both intriguing.  Wish I had known about these when I could have asked my aunt for information.  As always click on the title to go to the Sepia Saturday host site where you can see other's photos.