1924 HIKE ACROSS AMERICA PHOTO ALBUM - CALIFORNIA - HAM RADIO - AVIATION - WV COAL MINES
Item #577
11.25 x 7.25” textured brown-black string-bound album with “Photographs on the cover in gold. The album appears to have been compiled by Arnold Nygren of Jamestown, NY, and contains around 450 black and white photos from 1924, and newspaper clippings that date up to 1959. The front of the album contains the most recent pictures from Arnold’s football career with the Crescent Athletic Club Class A team with photos from games in 1930 and several newspaper clippings about game results. There are also programs from annual team banquets. These are followed by photos of ham radio equipment, towers, and operators. In 1926 Arnold and a friend hiked from New York to California and there are photos from all sorts of sights seen and friends visited during this trip, with a stop in Kansas to visit friends. Most of the photos from this trip are of nature, Native American villages, and friends. In California, Arnold visited his uncle’s farm in Escalon, saw a rodeo, and even took a picture of the crown prince of Sweden being welcomed to San Francisco. There are photos of planes, aerial shots and even three photos of the Dirigible Shenandoah, six days before it's final flight. Arnold also includes photos of his time working at coal mines in West Virginia and his time at Camp Vail in New Jersey as part of the Signal Corps. Arnold would go, it seems, to be part of Kolster Radio at Turner Radio Shop. The last section of the album has been playfully called “Wine, Women, and Song”. Photos measure between 1 x 1.25 and 6 x 3.5” with some in corner tabs and some glued. Annotations are written on the photos. There appears to be 3 photos missing.
Example newspaper clipping
HIKE ACROSS CONTINENT
In a successful attempt to solve the high cost of traveling with a pair of hiking shoes and a trust in passing motorists, Harry Gustafson of 99 Bowen street and Arnold Nygren of 116 Bowen street arrived in California Wednesday after a three weeks trip covering over 4,000 miles and visiting many points of interest. Word of their arrival was received by the parents of the young men.
“SAN FRANCISCO, July 23—Two real sports have reached the Golden Slope, after hiking 3,000 miles across the North American continent. They arrived today from Jamestown, New York, with very little baggage, but in excellent health and spirits. These young men are Harry Gustafson, a member of Amun Ra fraternity, Elphentine chapter, and Arnold Nygren, who played on the Jamestown High school basketball team about three years ago.”.
Price: $1,250.00