way back when

I don't know if you've heard of Shorpy. It's a fascinating repository of old photos of America. A friend gave me the url a year ago, and now part of my morning routine, right after getting my coffee and right before reading the news, is to browse through their archives and see what they've posted for that day.

Look at this picture of a Christmas parade from the 1930s:



Look at the teeth on that paper mache head. Is he supposed to be an elf? Or a radish? It's so weird. I wish I could see what color it was painted.

And the clown! Can you imagine a clown in a Christmas parade now? From the look of it, the clown is an early prototype of the American clown, all smiles and birthday parties, and not the raunchy, almost burlesque old world clown.

Anyway, check out their archives when you're looking for something to do.