http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/home.aspxVarious pictures from my files, scrapbooks and library of pictures through the years.en-usCopyright 2010, WNTA-AMFri, 10 Sep 2010 23:43:04 GMTWed, 08 Sep 2010 14:15:52 GMT1http://emmisinteractive.comInside the Henry Ford Greenfield Village is one of the schools where William Holmes McGuffey had taught and where he used his Eclectic First Reader to teach young children how to read. McGuffey also wrote books for students up through high school, but it's his First Reader of which he is best well known.   Like the Dick and Jane books of a century later, the First Reader also used pictures to help students learn to read.  It was also filled with Bible passages designed to help young kids in regards to morals.   The inside of this log cabin structure was not too much different compared to other one room school houses across a young nation.  With all of our modern technology today, it's hard to think kids of all ages were in a bare bones room being taught the "Three R's" with just paper, pencil and a crude chalkboard... ...http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10138074http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10138074Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:15:52 GMTA few years ago, I spent my Labor Day vacation at the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, which is adjacent to the museum. Ford took some of America's historic buildings that were either ignored or  were going to be razed in the name or progress and relocated those structures at Greenfield Village.    You can walk into the Wright Brothers bicycle shop where they laid plans for the first heavier-than-air machine to fly, George Washington Carver's home, and a McGuffey school house where children used the nation's first books that taught them how to read.   While you can walk where you want, you can pay a few dollars to be transported by a Ford Model T.  They are not replicas, but original Model T cars that you can have in any color, so long that it's black.http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10137532http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10137532Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:59:01 GMTWith the recent news of local car dealerships closing and some established makes leaving downtown, I thought I'd repost of a picture of a downtown dealership from nearly 70 years ago.   This picture is courtesy of a listener who knows of my love of cars and automobilia.  I believe she has a relative in this picture.  The Nash dealership was located in the area where the RMTD bus terminal is today.  Nash began as Rambler in 1903 when former Buick and General Motors executive Charles Nash (born in nearby Cortland) bought the company in late 1916.    The 1939 Nash models were a step ahead of the Big 3 when it came to comfort during the cooler months.  They were the first to take air from the outside and warm it up with a heating coil.  Sounds pretty basic now, but at that time, cars just heated the air inside which ...http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10135503http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10135503Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:54:14 GMTI was driving through a small town when I came upon this sign. My first thought is that their entertainment options are a bit limited. http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10133719http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10133719Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:54:12 GMTThis is a picture I took of an ad at the Route 66 museum in Clinton, Oklahoma.  It was a bit of a challenge.  Taking the picture head-on had too much reflection from the glass, and too much from the side distorted the picture's dimensions.    The marketing of the Nash Rambler when it was introduced in 1950 was different than what other automakers who created small cars were doing.  While Kaiser was selling its Henry J model as cheap transportation, Nash at first decided to make the 100 inch wheelbase Rambler as a car with all of the fancy options (chrome wheel covers, fancy interior fabrics, heater, radio) standard.  The car was photographed at places like the beach, golf course, etc. to reach an upscale market.  More women were driving and in the days before power steering, the Rambler was a bit easier to handle.  Anyone who has driven ...http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10131118http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10131118Wed, 11 Aug 2010 12:17:30 GMTAnother picture sent to me via email of a flower in her garden.  This one is a Digitalis.    Thanks again to Cindy and Alisa. http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10129613http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10129613Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:49:26 GMTAs many of you know, I enjoy automobiles, cars, etc. and I have since I can remember saying my first words.  I also enjoy reading about automotive history as far as who designed what and the decisions that were made on certain model lines.   This picture of a 1936 Ford is an example.  The fact that it's a convertible is fun, but there is something on the body that Henry Ford's son, Edsel, included in this design that makes the car appear longer.  During the design phase of this model, they tried different tricks to make the car look longer, which included a longer wheelbase, but something seemed out of place and it didn't look quite right.  Edsel then started putting horizontal louvers along each side of the hood and then used some trim pieces that were left on the floor from another project.  It looked right and it ...http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10129611http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10129611Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:43:25 GMTI would like to say I took this picture, but I didn't.  It's a Balloon Flower that was sent to me via email.  My minor contribution was to sprinkle a little mulch in the area.   Much thanks to Cindy and her sister, Alisa. http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10129084http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10129084Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:47:00 GMTAs we go into AIRFEST 2010 this weekend at the Chicago-Rockford International Airport, I wanted to post a picture of one of my favorite aircraft.   This is a Douglas DC-3 that is in the aviation section of the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.  The picture originally didn't turn out because of a bad setting on my camera, but with the help of some software, I was able to lighten it a bit.   The plane only holds up to 31 passengers, but revolutionized long distance flight as it only took three fueling stops to go from coast-to-coast in around 16 hours.  Some folks make fun its looks, however, I like the Art Deco design and it has the most streamlined appearance of any commercial aircraft in its day.  It was also the most rugged and reliable, and there are many still flying today.   There was a military version of the ...http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10128511http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10128511Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:14:21 GMTThis is a piece of Route 66 in central Illinois.  It is parallel to Interstate 55, except the Interstate bypasses all of the towns and cities, while Route 66 goes through the heart of each city.  This stretch was abandoned as I-55 was built over 40 years ago.  Over the next 40 years Mother Nature will crumble it further with only memories left of what John Steinbeck called, "The Mother Road." http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10128498http://www.wnta.com/Blog/MarksPicture/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10128498Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:43:48 GMT