Remember the days when you would go to your mailbox and it would be filled with Christmas cards? Those days are sure over. I took for granted that I would hear from all my friends and relatives during the holidays. Now I cherish each card that I receive and read the verses over and over.
I hear from my sister-in-law Rose a few times a year. I love getting her cards. She takes time to write about what is going on in her life and she is always sincere. I have another friend who sends hand-made cards and those are my favorites.
I have a great rapport with many of the direct supervisors that I have had over the years. I can count on getting a card from Kerri and Abigail and a Christmas letter from Jim. Somehow the work relationships morphed into personal relationships and I am quite blessed to have these people in my life. I have shared more personal information with them than I have with my brother and sister.
As Christmas cards delivered in your mail dwindle with each passing year, make sure you take time to really enjoy them this year.
I was listening to the radio the other day and caught a conversation about why women should not use the word just. I thought about it for a moment. I use this word all the time. Apparently, this trend began with an article by Ellen Leanse, former Google executive. The gist of what bothers Leanse about the word is, “it is a “permission” word – a warm-up to a request, an apology for interrupting.” Women tend to use the word far more than men. This post has received over 3 million views.
I write a few blog posts and I am quite positive I have over-used the word just; If not on my blog posts, certainly in my email correspondence. That is until I heard the radio spot and read some blogs posts about the use of the word. Now I catch myself deleting the word. I don’t know if there is a bit of validity to the negative connotation, but there may be. I looked the word up in the dictionary and it is synonymous to exactly and precisely. Another definition: to an exact degree or in an exact manner. That doesn’t sound apologetic to me. But that is just me. You can find a tremendous number of articles about the use of the word just; both praising the article and condemning it. You can come to your own conclusion. I certainly find it entertaining.
The Wrecking Crew is a must see music documentary, directed by Denny Tedesco. Denny is the son of the late Tommy Tedesco, who was a notable member of an elite group of musicians. This documentary tells the compelling story of a group of studio musicians, located in Los Angeles, who were used in the 1960s and 1970s. These were the unsung musicians behind some of the biggest hits of that era. Who used them? Almost everyone used them: The Beach Boys, The Righteous Brothers, Nancy and Frank Sinatra, The Byrds, Herb Alpert, Sonny and Cher, Mamas and The Papas, The Carpenters and The Monkees. They were also used for television them songs, film scores and advertising jingles. As a young girl, I watched every episode of TV show The Monkees. As I grew older, I heard that The Monkees were hired for their acting ability and not their talent as musicians. I did not know that The Wrecking Crew played the instruments on their albums. I am sorry that The Wrecking Crew did not get recognition for their work on the recordings they were involved in.
How surprising it was to see that Glen Campbell and Leon Russell were a part of The Wrecking Crew and that there was a woman guitarist, Carol Kaye.
I am elated that Denny Tedesco had the vision and determination to make The Wrecking Crew. Just to get the licensing for over 100 hit songs used in the movie had to be a daunting task. Denny raised $312,000 through a Kickstarter campaign to create the movie. I could watch this movie over and over. The interviews will totally captivate you. On The Wrecking Crew website, Denny gives credit to his mother, “If my father hadn’t had my mother, he wouldn’t have been as successful as he became. She really kept it together.” As you listen to the interviews in the movie, it becomes apparent that these studio musicians spent most of their time working. If they had families, it would have taken an incredibly supportive spouse to keep up with all the family obligations by themselves. They are also the unsung heroes in this story.
I recently embarked on a long road trip, heading to Northern California. As a memento of my trip I picked up a few postcards, as I always do when I travel. I purchased a postcard that was produced by Ranger Doug’s Enterprises. The postcard was a reproduction of a 1939 Works Progress Administration (WPA) poster by artist, C. Don Powell. Ranger Doug’s Enterprises reproduces WPA National Park serigraph posters. This company hand-draws every screen from original black and white photographs. From the new screens they recolor each poster using period artwork and palettes.
I also picked up a copy of The Historic Yosemite Postcard Book. This book has perforated pages and each postcard is quite charming. Finding these reproductions inspired me to search for original vintage postcards from this region. I thought that would be an easy task, and I am sure I could find tons of vintage postcards on-line. But that would be too easy. I would rather riffle through a stack of postcards at local antique shops. I journeyed to one of my favorite antique shops, expecting to find scads of postcards from Yosemite and the Redwood National Park. I only found one from this region. The back of vintage postcards can be as interesting as the front. This Redwoods postcard looks like it was mailed in 1949 and was mailed for one cent.
On October 1, 2015, Yosemite Park will commemorate the 125th anniversary of the establishment of Yosemite National Park. President Benjamin Harrison signed the legislation creating the nation’s third National Park. Yellowstone was the first National Park.
While searching through vintage postcards, I came across a great postcard of Grand Central Depot. I was looking for more information about American Studio, the company that produced this card, and discovered an interesting site: http://www.metropostcard.com. If you enjoy vintage postcards, you will have to spend some time on this site. Opening paragraph from the Metropostcard website: “At the beginning of the 20th century a perfect storm arose between the growing forces of technology, economics, and art that created the Golden Age of Post Cards. It marked a major paradigm shift in which postcards moved from solely being a means of correspondence to a collectable item. More cards were produced and collected on a worldwide basis during those early years than at any other point in history. It is these cards in particular that are the most sought after by today’s collector, but the entire spectrum of postcards ranging from the earliest 19th century postal to digital cards is what makes up the field of Deltiology.”
There was a period in time when advertisements (vintage mural ads) were painted on brick buildings and barns. The peak period for this form of advertising was 1920’s to 1940’s. The signs that you may come across today are most likely faded and I love that look. The sign painters were called “wall dogs”.
A gem of a ghost sign is located right in our own back yard on the east wall of Coopersmith’s Pub in downtown Fort Collins. The Coca-Cola/Angell’s Delicatessen sign was painted in 1958 by local sign painter Dan Brown. He received $400 for the fabulous work.
Restored Ghost Sign in Fort Collins, CO
Preservation conservator, Deborah Uhl from Ethereality, was selected to restore the painting in 2011. The finished work keeps the integrity of the faded piece, yet protects it from further fading and chipping. In 2013 the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) awarded The City of Fort Collins the Award of Merit for the preservation and interpretation of the Coca-Cola/Angell’s Delicatessen sign.
I find the restored ghost signs, that keep their faded appearance, to be quite enchanting. I am equally thrilled to see a revival in ads painted on buildings in these modern times. Colossal Media has brought this form back into vogue and has been credited by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times for solely bringing a resurgence to this form.
As I travel around the country, I will be taking photos of painted building signs to share on this blog.
When I entered the graphic design field, many years ago, we would have scads of clip art books around the office. Some of the books were quite large and I doubt if you could find many copies today. We used the clip art to create camera ready pages (mechanicals) in the production of printed pieces. Sometimes the art was used for reference to draw line art with Rapidograph pens. My specialty was creating line drawings using these pens. My work area was usually very messy, but I was meticulous with the drawings. I enjoy finding old clip art books at vintage book stores and library book sales. I have a small clip art book, Overture to “Line Art,” produced by Volk Corporation, Pleasantville, N.J. in 1959.
The artwork from Overture to “Line Art” takes you back to a simpler time where everyone had milk delivered to their doorstep and a gas station attendant pumped your gas and you never had to get out of your car. Don’t you wish that was still an option on rainy days? Best of all, there were no cell phones back then; the mode of communicating was a big black phone. I wish I had a phone like my grandmother’s. I would much rather talk on an old fashioned phone than on a cell phone.
I was considered a mechanical artist when I first entered graphic design. I was very fortunate to work with Anne DiFrancesco. Anne was the art director at one of my first graphic design jobs. She would give me increasingly more difficult assignments. I had minimal experience in creating logos or using Rapidographs. I had only a few pieces in my portfolio from my classes at Fairfield University. Anne routinely put design projects on my desk and would say, “give it a try.” I absolutely loved creating logos and doing the technical drawings. Here are a couple of my early drawings.
Anne decided to break away from company that we both worked for. She invited me to join her in the creation of A & M Studios. The A was for Anne and M for Mary Ann. She regretted using that name when I left A & M to do freelance graphic design as Graphic Support Services. I believe she changed its meaning to Advertising and Marketing, which works well with A & M. Anne continues to be in business today as A & M Studios in Westport, CT. I would not hesitate giving Anne my highest recommendation, she is a consummate professional and a wonderful designer.
Eventually I had to learn marker techniques to mock up designs to give clients an idea of what their finished printed piece would look like. This was very challenging for me, especially the lettering. Here is comp (mock-up) of a proposed marketing piece for a client, The Bodine Corporation, and the finished piece. The idea was to use a metallic ink, since we were illustrating machinery. The client loved it and Anne and I continued to do design work for The Bodine Coporation for many years.
One of my favorite people to work with, in the graphic design world, was Kerri Iserman at Designs by K & G in Fort Collins, CO. Kerri was a joy to work with; always an upbeat attitude and so creative. When I began working with Kerri, I was an Apple-Mac person. Kerri patiently taught me how to use PC’s for design work. I would love to watch Kerri switch between an early version of Windows to the MS-DOS side, for troubleshooting computer issues.
A side benefit to working at Designs by KG was the membership they provided to PULSE, a local fitness center, where would be play racquetball after work. Kerri was a fierce athletic competitor and we had a ton of fun. I haven’t played racquetball with Kerri for many years, maybe it is time for a re-match.
Windsor, CO is a charming town, but it is a small town. You have to look hard to find hidden art in this town. In front of the old Windsor Hospital, located at 216 Fifth Street, you will find a dandy design on the storm drain cover.
Sometimes you can find art in the most common places. Try to really concentrate and look for art objects as you travel about. This storm drain cover is located in the PF Chang’s parking lot in Loveland, CO. The artwork shows water running from open hands and reads “City of Loveland Storm Water. Share the Earth. Don’t Pollute. No dumping. Drains to Waterway. East Jordan Iron Works, Made in USA.” It is marvelous that someone decided to make this a beautiful piece instead of the typical designs that one normally sees. I will be looking for more of these treasures during my travels and will be posting as I find interesting covers.
This is a long blog post, if you like history, you should enjoy this. Go grab a cup of tea and start reading. If you don’t like history, you may want to skip this post.
I began doing walkabouts at a young age, walking all over Lancaster County, PA. Lancaster was the capital of Pennsylvania from 1799 to 1812. I lived near the Thaddeus Stevens School of Technology. I would walk to my grandparent’s apartment almost every other weekend; two miles each way. My grandparents, Clara and Harry, lived in an apartment building within blocks of the downtown area – 14 East Walnut Street. My favorite aunt, Auntie Bert, lived a few blocks from my grandparents, near Lancaster General Hospital. None of them owned a car, so we walked everywhere.
The highlight of my visits with my grandparents was the trip to the downtown farmer’s market. My grandmother would take me with her when she shopped at the Lancaster Central Market (the country’s oldest farmers’ market). She would carry a large wicker basket for the week’s groceries and I would carry my small wicker basket. I found this old photo of Clara’s basket and wish I had a photo of mine. My basket would be filled with Utz’s chips, Muenster cheese, and whoppie pies. Grandma’s basket would have items like scrapple, chow chow relish, shoe fly pie, Lebanon bologna from the S. Clyde Weaver booth, homemade Amish egg noodles, and amazing produce. As a treat, I was allowed to get a soft pretzel before we left the market. All the vendors knew my grandmother and called her by name. Quaint does not begin to describe the experience of going to market on a Saturday morning. This is one of my favorite memories.
Clara’s Basket
Neighborhood grocery stores abounded in the city of Lancaster, as well as taverns, penny candy shops, and malt shops. My two aunts (grandfather’s sisters, Aunt Mary and Aunt Grace) lived in the same apartment building that my grandparents lived in. They all had their groceries delivered from the corner grocery that was located a block away.
Lancaster Central Market
I have read that shopping can release endorphins. I am quite certain that the stimulation of all the colors and textures in a farmers’ market can do that. I believe there is a real possibility that endorphins can be released into your body during a walkabout and a warm glow will come over you.
When I was young, the Lancaster downtown area was magical. The historic buildings were magnificent (most are gone today, in the name of progress and modernization). In the 60’s and 70’s entire blocks were razed through an urban renewal program – out with the old, in with the new. It was heart-breaking to watch the demolition of the buildings and watch the history disappear. What came after was horrifying to me; large cement structures that took over entire blocks.
There were three large department stores in downtown Lancaster, Watt & Shand, Hager Brothers Department Store, and M.T. Garvin & Co. Watt & Shand operated from 1879 to 1992. It is now the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square. The Hager Brothers building, designed by Lancaster architect C. Emlen Urban, was built in 1910, sold to Watt & Shand in 1968 and closed in 1977. It is currently the site of The Shops at Hager and The Condominiums at Hager are located upstairs.
Postcard of Downtown Lancaster, PA
In 1970, Watt & Shand opened a store in the new mall outside town, Park City. Building that mall was another act accomplished by spinning it as keeping up with modern times. All the cities, at that time, were developing malls. And we continue to this day to try and attract people to go back to their downtown areas. Elaborate development plans are created to resurrect downtown areas. Instead of renovating the buildings that create charm, we let them deteriorate and build new buildings far from urban locations. It is encouraging that many cities have “seen the light” and are now spending the money to save buildings or at least build in a sympathetic style to integrate into existing historical sites. I realize I am on my soap-box talking about this. I have watched this happen in many other cities throughout the United States. It is a slippery slope when store and restaurant/tavern owners leave a downtown area. Crime escalates in the neighborhoods and people stay away. Turning that scenario around is a challenge. Kudos to the brave souls who take the chance and revitalize downtown areas.
I write posts for the Loveland Center for Business Development (LCBD) blog, facilitate the LCBD Bloggers – a LinkedIn group, and just started Mary Ann’s Walkabout blog. I am an apprehensive writer and within minutes of posting, I can find fault in the writing.
I received a lovely email from an LCBD client the other day and in the note she wrote: “I wanted to tell you how much I love your first blog post :). It was very inspiring. So often, we get caught up in our own little worlds and forget to truly open our eyes and soak in the wonders of Mother Nature. She can help us to center ourselves if we truly open our eyes, ears, and hearts. Thank you again! I took a screenshot of your post as it will serve as a daily mantra. I was pretty bummed out yesterday.” (this LCBD client just went through some very serious surgery) “Your post lifted my spirits. I went outside in the backyard and took note of all that Mother Nature had to offer. You really are inspiring me to write.”
I had a very difficult time writing my first post for this blog. This email made my day; hearing that it helped brighten someone’s day.
e no cell phones back then; the mode of communicating was a big black phone. I wish I had a phone like my grandmother’s. I would much rather talk on an old fashioned phone than on a cell phone.
d would say, “give it a try.” I absolutely loved creating logos and doing the technical drawings. Here are a couple of my early drawings.
