Showing posts with label nostalgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nostalgia. Show all posts

Sunday, January 2, 2022

Rainy Day At The Ritz ...

“I can’t imagine there has ever been a more gratifying time or place to be alive than America in the 1950s. No country had ever known such prosperity.”

         ~ Bill Bryson

         ~ American-British author

          ~ born 1951

In the mood for a steak sandwich & fries, barbecue or maybe a burger, all topped off with ice cream? Then look no further than the iconic Ritz Barbecue, a tasty staple on the grounds of the Allentown Fairgrounds since 1928 in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Dine inside or step right up to the window to order as 1950s era music wafts outside and enjoy a slice of nostalgia served up by the eatery.

The Ritz serves up a pop of color in the painterly HDR image I shot in a rainy mist on a drizzly late December afternoon as the tree to the left is still festooned with Christmas lights.


 

Monday, February 3, 2020

Kissed By Nostalgia ...


“Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.”
           ~ Khalil Gibran
               ~ 1883-1931
I saw these X’s & O’s – symbols of hugs and kisses – etched on a tree a few weeks before Valentine’s Day 2020 at Lehigh Parkway, Allentown, Pennsylvania and presented the image in sepia to enhance a nostalgic feel.

I’m not sure how long they’ve been there, but I first photographed them in October 2014, just before Sweetest Day – that image was posted on this blog as “X’s & O’s” on October 15, 2014.

Monday, July 9, 2018

Wagons Ho! ...


“Roll along Wagon Train

Rollin’ over prairie where there ain’t no grass,
Rollin’ over mountain where there ain’t no pass.
Sittin’ on a board, eyein’ the weather,
Prayin’ to the Lord, we stay together
Side by side on the Wagon Train.

Wagon Train, roll along.

Pickin up a passenger in every town,
Wonderin’ if he’s ever gonna shoot you down.
Lookin’ for a pal, ain’t it a pity,
Looking for a gal, needn’t be pretty
If she’ll ride on the Wagon Train.

Wagons Ho!

Gotta keep em on the run.
Time to go and follow the sun.
Roll along Wagon Train.

Never had a cabin near a general store,
Only had a wagon and a forty-four.
Sittin on a board, eyein’ the weather
Prayin’ to the Lord, we stay together
Side by side on the Wagon Train.”
            ~ Theme song from the television series “Wagon Train,” which used the instrumental version, but lyrics do exist, as sung by star Robert Horton.

“Wagons Ho!” as Ward Bond (1903-1960) said as wagon master Seth Adams on the western television series “Wagon Train,” which ran on NBC 1957-1962 and ABC 1962-1965. Ward Bond was the original star with Robert Horton (1924-2016), who portrayed frontier scout Flint McCullough.

My late grandfather loved Wagon Train, though I really never saw it, as the series ended before I was born, until I watched the reruns in recent years – and developed a mad crush on Robert Horton!

I thought it would be fun to take this covered wagon music box that was a gift to my grandfather out in the backyard to photograph with some artistic enhancements and sepia on a sunny summer day in late June.

The result is Wagons Ho!

Wagon Train chronicled the adventures of a wagon train as it makes its way from St. Joseph, Missouri to California and the trials and tribulations of the series regulars who conducted the train through the American West.

Episodes revolved around the stories of guest characters typically played by stars such as Bette Davis, Jane Wyman, Ronald Reagan, Lee Marvin and Joseph Cotton portraying various members of the massive wagon train or encountered by it. Episode titles routinely emphasized the guest characters with titles such as “The Willy Moran Story” and “The Echo Pass Story.”

So notable was the show that veteran film director John Ford came on board to direct a 1960 segment.

The series was inspired by the 1950 film “Wagon Master” directed by John Ford and starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr. and Ward Bond, and harkens back to the early widescreen wagon train epic “The Big Trail” (1930) starring John Wayne and featuring Ward Bond in his first major screen appearance, playing a supporting role. Robert Horton’s buckskin outfit as the scout in the first season of the television series resembles John Wayne’s, who also played the wagon train’s scout in the earlier film.