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Bob Rice #6738 -
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Eric- I see you post alot of pic's... many from Cailfornia, mid-state and around the Sacramento region. Do you know where the first pic in #2032 is ? guessing this may be near the famous Guadalupe Dunes.
The famous silent movie "The Ten Commandments", the epic Cecil B. DeMill filmed in 1923. He famously buried, somewhere in the sand dunes, the largest movie set ever built. Never told anyone where he buried it. He wanted to insure his movie would be forever remembered, even with the self-explanatory title. That act of a secret buried treasure became a huge attraction for many people here on the central coast during the early 30's & 40's and later. The movie set (only a very small part) has been found. The most of it has never been recovered. The movie set is alleged to be the size of a small burgeoning city. It is still a big attraction. Apparently, the burial site is extremely remote, even today.
http://dunescenter.org/visit-the-dun...ty-of-demille/
I just wondered... motorcycle riders are noted for finding those out-of-the-way- places... oh, I hope that guy didn't drink up all his canteen water. He' way out there in the dunes, stuck. with his rear stand buried. The look on his face says it all.
C2KComment
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C2K, good of you to notice the commonality in my posts. You are correct that I am currently living in (and a native of) Sacramento California, although in about 2 months I will be moving my family to the Dallas/Ft Worth area of Texas. I don't know where the first picture in #2032 came from. I found it in a digital archive online, I think from USC. Could certainly be in the Guadalupe Dunes. Interesting story about "The Ten Commandments", I'd certainly never heard about that before. That is one of the things I love about sharing photos with this group, so many people have interesting thoughts and background to add. Thanks!Eric Olson
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Thanks Eric and JoJo for those comments. One of the reasons I like this thread is not the specific content of the older motorcycles, but the particular scene or context of where the photo was taken.
Some scenes of course are pretty easy to figure out. For example, most people recognize something like a National Park or a well known backdrop. But the majority of photos are taken at a much more obscure locations. I often wonder the "why here" part of the pic. Many times a photo is taken, and its pretty clear the "event", sometimes it's not so obvious. Some pic are taken at random, usually have some sort of theme to add clarity. What might that be ? why a pic in the middle of a remote sand dune? whats up with that ?
Why would anyone go out on a remote sand dune, and put the rear stand down just to take a pic ? There is always reason for the "moment in history forever captured". So many reasons, we'll never really know... unless the photo has an explanation scribbled on the back of the print. most pics were taken to recognize the moment for reasons other than the backdrop or something else.
Of course, here we are looking at old bikes, but the pic often tells a backstory beyond just motorcycles. Sometimes we see it, sometimes we don't. makes me start thinking...
As a child, my brother and I spent plenty of hours is the local city museum wandering through the halls of history, learning what we could about our local history and so much more. The experience prepared me in ways I could never imagine for later in life. At the time, I hated it at first. But with parents who subscribed to the notion "you kids will learn to like it... or else", I learned to make the best of my circumstances. also, or else. The museum was a place to go when the summers were just too hot outside, and the building had a swamp cooler. So, thats where we spent our time, till Dad came home from work. I developed a fondness for looking at old pictures that somehow told a story. OK... you get it !!
Motorcycle riders seem to have a penchant for "lets stop here for a pic". Its a good thing, we wouldn't have that "moment" otherwise. I get a kick out of dissecting (nearly everything) about what I am interested in. Sometimes spending way too much effort, for simply curious reasons. I guess I would call it "the jeopardy syndrome"... just too much trivia for any human being to remember !
Anyway, keep it coming. These vintage pics are a wonderful addition to this forum. Thanks to all, for all the reasons.
C2KComment
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C2K, I suppose were all kindred spirits to some degree on this forum, but what you say really resonates with me. I often look at pictures and wonder what the “rest of the story” is. My wife can’t understand why I have to speculate on old pictures I see, abandoned buildings we drive by, or old derelict equipment we see rusting away outside. I know everything has a story and I love to guess what it is, or better yet do some researching and find out what actually happened!
I wonder what the story is with these two good ol’ boys? They don’t look like the type to stage a picture to me, but somebody got the shot. I’d like to know what they had on their minds just then.
A man on a well used Harley-Davidson motorcycle stops to chat with a farmer on May 8, 1953.jpgEric Olson
Membership #18488Comment
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Excelsior tour 4 001.jpgExcelsior tour 5 001.jpg Here are some local 1913 photos I had for a while. Then I find a 1913 motorcycle magazine that explains them.
Tom Excelsior tour 001.jpgExcelsior tour 2 001.jpgComment
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OK Eric... how 'bout this one ? pic #2037; two mid-western farmers... one on the tractor, probably gonna be workin' late... and the man on the Harley, his best buddy, still in his workshop clothes, reads his newspaper at the shop during the lunch break... !!!
Bill's gonna ride out and tell his friend Tom the news. arrives and says "Hey Tom. the paper says the War is over". The tractor guy has the a look, of something like... "ah, thats BS, I dont believe it".
cool bobbed front fender... cut down after a spill. the bike looks like it has plenty of miles on back roads. I know nothing about tractors, although this one doesn't look like its got alot of miles on it, by the condition of the tires. He's dressed for a pleasant day. not too, not too cold.
no guess why the photographer was doing a photo shoot in the middle of no-where... except maybe the the local gum-shoe newspaper writer was thinking something like this...Now I have to figure out a way to get the news out...nobody is gonna this... maybe if I spread the word with a picture of tellin' the farmers out here. geez, the nearest town is almost 30 miles away in Omaha. gonna have to break 'em in slow, nobody's gonna believe this story.
Here's what the newspaper photographer says...
"Hey Bill, I'll follow you out to the field, and if I can keep with you... get set up, and when you tell Tom 'the war is over', I'll take a few pic's... that way if it goes to print, I might sell a few more copies".
whadda say ?
Oh, the crap I can dream up sometimes !! could be a possiblity, we'll really never know. anyone can put a description on the photo to set the scene or even the perceived "tone" of the message intended. Maybe I should just limit my scrutiny to only the motorcycles. I will have plenty of questions. Did the rider really cut his fender after a spill, or how did that really happen ?
I love this thread !! strawberry fields forever https://youtu.be/HtUH9z_Oey8
C2K
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That was an interesting read. A shame the whole article isn't intact--oh well. Thank You Tom.Originally posted by Tom Wilcock View Post
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