An unwritten, undated card from my great-uncle Gustaf's postcard album: "The Three Cooks at Highgate, Mont." The card sits in between postcards from 1904 in the album. Gustaf lived in Pennsylvania between 1902-1911. So far, I have not come across any evidence that he himself ever travelled much further west in the US. But perhaps some friend sent him this card with a letter?
Somehow, the door in the background does not really suggest a first-class restaurant... And yet there is a printed postcard?
From the official website for the state of Montana, I learn that the discovery of gold brought many prospectors into that area in the 1860s; leading to boomtowns growing rapidly - and declining just as quickly when the gold ran out. Later, there was also silver and copper mining. And a lot of cattle and sheep ranches and wheat farming, as the gold-diggers and miners needed to eat... But the gold ran out (and perhaps silver and copper too); and post-WWI droughts and depression meant that a lot of farmers were forced to leave the state as well.
(That reminds me of a novel I recently read & reviewed on this blog: The Practice House. That was about Kansas, not Montana - but drought and depression hit hard there too.)
Anyway. My best guess at the moment is that the "Three Cooks" postcard may be from a boomtown restaurant for miners; and perhaps sent with a letter to Gustaf from a friend working in that area for a while. Whether he was one of those three cooks, or a miner eating their food, I'm not likely to ever know!
(If anyone has other ideas, feel free to suggest them.)
I'm linking to Sepia Saturday 472. Connections to the prompt picture (below): Restaurant, male bonding, men standing outside a door... And someone must have had a camera, or there would be no photo! Whether the three cooks ever became Famous I don't know, but they may have been dreaming of it.
PS. I have recently revived my Greetings from the Past blog (based on Gustaf's postcard collection + old family photos) and put in some new posts there this week. This post/card may re-appear there as well a bit further on.
21 comments:
Great match to the prompt. I agree -- someone in the photo may have been a friend or somehow known to your Uncle Gustav. Otherwise, why would he save it in an album? Such a nice, casual picture of a hectic time out west. Great post.
Your assessment certainly sounds the most plausible to me.
Here in Germany, it was not uncommom that professional photographers would offer to take pictures of families etc. and then have them printed prepared to be used as postcards on the back. We have some from my grandparents' childhood (around the time of WWI). Maybe it was to enourage people to have more photos made, or send more postcards, or both.
It would be interesting to know what became of the men, and their families.
I agree with you, I think it was a boom town restaurant and might have been considered a NICE restaurant for that era and location. I love just seeing their hair and clothing...
Such fun trying to guess who these men were, and why they ended up in your relative's scrapbook! We can guess all day and tomorrow too! But it does seem they were a happy bunch, and that makes the connection to the meme even better.
It is fun to guess. They look as if they could be brothers - but maybe that is just because of the familiarity they have developed in the kitchen.
I wondered if they were brothers or related? Despite them being cooks they still look quite dapper with their hair brushed to the side, almost brylcreemed?
Thanks. So much guesswork involved when one comes across a photo of completely unknown people in among the more obviously family-related ones.
Graham, I'll hold on to it unless I happen to come across a better theory!
You may well be right, Meike, about a photographer offering to take their picture (and print it as postcard) rather than the other way round. I have seen a few other old early 20th c family photos that were printed on postcard paper as well. And the immigrant areas of the US were probably an especially lucrative market for it... Everyone wanting to send "successful" photos back to their families in Europe!
Yes I suppose our demands on restaurants have increased a bit since 1904 (or whenever this was)...
Yes they look proud of themselves, don't they!
I'm having difficulties enough telling my own relatives apart on the old photos!!
Perhaps they made an extra effort with their hair for the photo? (There's another thing we'll probably never know!!)
My first thought is: I wonder what they were cooking? A quick Google would suggest that Highgate may have been in Billings, Montana. Does that sound right?
The depletion of gold must have been devastating for all those who travelled west to seek their fortune. In Canada, of course, it was the same in the Klondike. Lots of ghost towns now.
I enjoyed your post very much.
Thanks Kat. Good questions... I'm afraid I have no answers! I tried googling Highgate but I found no town in Montana by that name (only some living facilities for elderly people). So far I have no indication that my own relative ever went to Montana himself. He lived first in Port Allegany PA, then moved to Galeton PA - and then back to Sweden in 1911 or so. In Galeton he worked at a lumber yard.
A wonderful mystery, but I think you are right.
It's a fine occupational photo and definitely the sort of thing someone would send to a friend. My check on the newspaper archives suggests Highgate Station was a stop on the main railroad line near butte, Montana. As the big steam locomotives of the era needed to regularly take on coal and water along the line there may have been no town there named Highgate. But the station stop likely allowed time for the crew and maybe passengers to get a bite to eat before moving on. I think there were a lot of Canadians in the American Pacific northwest who likely introduced British names like "Highgate."
The big wooden door could have been the back door to the place. The fellows looked like they just stepped out of the kitchen. I would think, had they been posing in the front of the place they might have been spiffied up just a bit more? One way of thinking about it anyway. I like the picture a lot, though! :)
Thanks for that contribution about Highgate, Mike. Sounds plausible!
LaN, I agree it's likely to be the back door rather than the front. It says "wild west" to me rather than a posh city restaurant, though!
Post a Comment