Tag Archives: red hook

“Tire Shortage”

07 Monday Nov 2011

Posted by in 20th Century, Color Slides

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As you probably know, during WWII many things were collected and recycled for the war effort like metal and rubber. Grampa Losee cleverly titled this “Tire Shortage” but it was most likely the truth to the image. Not only are these gentlemen changing a flat, they are probably worried about how many times they’ve patched the same tire over and over. This was probably taken along Rt. 9 in Red Hook, NY.

“Tire-Shortage” 4/12/42

I finally remembered the other day where I had put grampa Losee’s civil defender arm band, too late now for the “Buried Liz” post about civil defense, but not far from the subject of this post. The location was a lot safer and more obvious than I had given myself credit for!

 

“Snowbanks Along US 9”

31 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by in Color Slides

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In case you were under a rock for the last couple days, we had a massive, early snowstorm on Saturday. It looked a little like this, only with downed trees left and right, and not-as-cool cars.

Snowbanks Along US 9 02/22/1940, Red Hook, NY by John Losee

This is probably close to the apple orchard, north of town around Rockefeller Lane. Note that the road appears to have three lanes with white, dashed lines separating them. I asked someone once how those old cars got around in the snow and was advised that they were so heavy that they did pretty well, even with those skinny tires.

“Pullets & Doodlebug”

27 Thursday Oct 2011

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 “Pullets & Doodlebug” 9/12/1943 Red Hook, NY by John Losee

From 1931 until the late 40’s/early 50’s my grandfather owned and operated an apple orchard on the west side of Rt. 9 just south of Rockefeller Lane in Red Hook, NY. It was a tough business that he was forced to take on after his father died. Previous to that he was a scientist working for Bell Labs in the city. I have other shots of the Doodlebug and should see if I can identify the make, but this one is my favorite. I also love how he recovered a seat with an old flannel shirt.

During WWII, tractors were not mass produced as they are now. Instead, farmers took components from cars, trucks, and any other machinery available to build and repair their tractors so they could continue their farming. They called their invention “the doodlebug.”

They used their doodlebugs to plow, hay fields, haul logs, and pull out stumps. To do all this, the doodlebug needed good ground clearance for use in any conditions, going under trees, and climbing most any terrain. For protection they had a hood, cowl radiator, a small seat, some had a small truck bed, and most had a hitching point to tow with.

– Dundee Creek Doodlebugs

The shack in the background may be a chicken coop, but may also be his residence, which was a re-purposed chicken coop! When he married in 1944, my grandmother moved in there with him and they had their first two children with them until moving to Rock City in the early 50’s. My grandmother really, really loved my grandfather!

New Wheels

21 Friday Oct 2011

Posted by in 19th Century Photos

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As a follow-up to the previous post, here is a selection from The Pine Plains Register of Friday April 11, 1902, a year before the date on the section of quilt. This post started as an attempt to find Ward Bathrick mentioned in the social column of local newspapers and has become a post about getting around in the early 20th century.

Although cars were just becoming popular in 1902, most folks still used horses to get around or the very popular bicycle, I learned something from this paper from 1902; people of that era referred to a bicycle as simply as “wheel”. See the entries below for three examples from the same article.

First, a fun post from a place south and west of our area about someone getting a new car:

“There were great doings in the village of Walton one day last week. One of its prominent citizens purchased a fifteen hundred dollar horseless carriage in Philadelphia, and after it reached its destination and was unloaded from the cars, because of some defect in the machinery it could not be put in motion and the disappointed owner finally hitched his horses to it and drove to his home. His admiring friends accompanied him with drums, flags, horns, etc., and made the town lively for a while.”

Elizaville (the bit I had been searching for initially)

“Ward Bathrick and wife spent Saturday and Sunday with her sister, who is quite ill at Staatsburgh.”

Jackson Corners

“A few days ago Silas Lawrence lost a bag of corn between Nelson Bathrick’s and Pine Plains. Mr. Lawrence would be greatly pleased if the finder would notify him. His initials were on the bag.

The boys in this place have been getting their wheels out and are taking some lively spins.

James R. Wilbur went to Pine Plains one day last week on his wheel.

Harry H. Bathrick has a new wheel.”

The Pine Plains Register and countless other newspapers from NY State can be searched and viewed at Old Fulton Post Card.

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Red Hook children, c. 1890: Unknown girl on left, Leland 1874 – 1918 and Minnie Curtis 1880 – 1967 with their cousin Martha Fraleigh b. 1887. This image is part of my collection.