Dusty old records survive! This archive having been revisited after 3/4 century, can be digitized and is to be preserved. The pages include Naval deployment orders, training records, and memory scraps.
Logged is a (non-military) November 4th joy flight with Esther L. (Mom) as passenger — type NE 1 number 49340 1.0 duration Burbank California 1945.
From Aunt Jayne’s dusty family archive comes this forgotten 1910 photograph of a first car in Iowa…
What car is it? A major clue is the marque logo on the facade. Star Cars. The emblem, while somewhat faded, is a match from the Durant Motors Company, manufacturer of.
A 1923 Star Runabout roadster is an obvious preliminary guess but this automobile using a catalog picture above is not a match for Pop and Mom’s car. Here is a better one:
 |  |
The trunk bustle has a reverse sweeping curve up to the convertible top whereas the Star (above) maintains a constant arc to a level body top edge line. The side by side cars are much sportier looking especially with the rakish mountable spare tire. The visual comparison on the right is a [1918-] 1923 Dodge Standard A Roadster. Tell me if you think it a ringer for our original car on the left…
As usual more questions than answers. Grandpa’s first car is showing some age so perhaps the photo was snapped sometime after the mid ’20s. There isn’t a numbered registration plate on the bumper. The place looks closed; out on a Sunday drive? They could have acquired their car from the Star Cars Auto Repairing or had it serviced there however It seems an unlikely photo venue.
We are on the wrong track. The object of the photo is quite possibly of the building or property itself which just happens to include a random car in the foreground. The original photoshoot could not happen before 1922 because this was the inception of the Durant Company’s Star Car. Based on the weathered appearance of the paint logo on the building face, I’d have to say that it was a least a few years further along.
This car pictured, having no backseat, would have been suitable for 2 or 3 but hardly large enough to be used as a family car. I count Grandpa, Grandma plus 4 children by that time. A roadster would have been impractical and the folks in Iowa were a sensible and pragmatic sort.
Here’s what we know: The caption date of 1910 is bogus and we are pretty certain that the car is not a Star; furthermore we are not swayed by claims of the featured car’s provenance. The significance of the building we have yet to learn. My Aunt’s pen & ink caption is fantastical — or is it…
This photograph is hand dated 1910. The Randrup family lived in Copenhagen (København) Denmark The letter K on the registration plate so designates. The owners hand draped over the front seat armrest and his shoe on the running board seem to be rather crudely inked out. (early days for photoshop)
The carbide headlamps used acetylene gas but the side marker lamps were oil burning and that may explain why the lense on the passenger side is blackened. It would have been used, as required, for street side parking during the night.
There’s a folding top but it’s a fair weather open car without windshield or side windows. I would say very low mileage based upon the state of clean and shine. See the messy bits on the pristine roadway substrate inside of the front year tire. I hope that this automobile wasn’t blamed. Good reason to check your shoes before coming indoors!
The 1910 Randrup family photo op featuring the brass era touring car above has been identified. It was a difficult task because I only had the first 3 design letters visible on the radiator: “Ber” and come to think of it; that longhand script style was pixelated and no doubt in a foreign language to boot.
Typing just three letters into a Google Search did not result in a handy autofill suggestion! I did however manage to find a comprehensive list of makes whose name began with the letter B. Matching up the next two letters narrowed that list considerably and voila. After selecting a few of these near matches, comparing images of early cars, fender and radiator shapes I found a match. The dead ringer confirmation is the unique “B” signature script of the name on the radiator which was clear in other comparison photo records.
It’s a French made Berliet motorcar and as a company went on to a long history but one not well known in the USA — except for one obscurity. The Berliet design and manufacturing rights were licensed to the American Locomotive Company of New York. They attempted to capitalize on an American perceived exotic european excellence theme but note that the eye catching brass Berliet logotype on the radiator was struck.
As a Railroad Man, Christopher Strombotne knew the importance of schedules and keeping time. His Hamilton pocket watch was a tool of the trade necessity.
It is a personal mission to discover and understand, validate and maintain family heritage. A family tree is an obvious means and method. Civic ledger books and Church records are commonly used to validate the verbal recall of relatives during generational passdown. This printed historical documentation has been digitized and access enabled through personal computing.
An example is the military experience of family members who were engaged by World War. There are those who kept memories alive and told all; going so far as to write memoirs, books, and reminisce at social reunion with others who also shared in the experience. They re-live those years which they consider to be an important part (if not the highlight) of their lifetime.
Those family members that I knew who served, had vivid memories as well but there was a difference. They didn’t wish their lives to be defined by this particular event and in an effort to move on, their war stories were seldom a topic of casual conversation. Those of us eager to know “what it was like” gathered the anecdotal tidbits over time.
With the internet and the availability of declassified military reports it is now possible to the retrace events as a virtual itinerary. This timeline validates the first person recount and adds clarification to bigger picture understanding.
Browsable portals such as the WWII Archives Foundation and this enthusiast collection contain reams of raw data. The above view is a snapshot sample of a war diary of a naval warship observing the hour to hour defensive or offensive exploits in the Pacific Theatre. Another example illustrates an Army Air Force sortie in Europe. This becomes especially interesting knowing that family relatives were involved during these recordings. Putting it altogether as a retelling the memory can be preserved.
An oldtime 78 rpm record was recently uncovered and saved to digital format (Thanks MLS). It is an heirloom preserved. The voice in the recording belongs to Grandmother Strombotne as she sings — Elegy. It was produced in 1948. The vocals are in French so if one wishes to follow along; there is an English translation.
The Elegy by Jules Massenet was a popular melodie in Europe in the last decade of the nineteenth century. At some point it was adapted to lyrics by Louis Gallet
Ô, doux printemps d’autre fois, vertes saisons,
Vous avez fui pour toujours!
Je ne vois plus le ciel bleu;
Je n’entends plus les chants joyeux des oiseaux!
En emportant mon bonheur, mon bonheur…
Ô bien-amé, tu t’en es allé!
Et c’est en vain que [le printemps revient!]1
Oui, sans retour,
avec toi, le gai soleil,
Les jours riants sont partis!
Comme en mon coeur tout est sombre et glacé!
Tout est flétri
pour toujours!
0:01:46 MP3 128kbps 1.62MB
Such a beautiful voice. Â Grandmother Strom was active in her community and taught voice to her music pupils.
Mme. Strombotne, who received her early training in Denmark, has one of those round-toned, bell-like voices that seem to be the prerogative of Scandinavian sopranos. It is the kind of voice Wagner wrote for, and her ‘Elsa’s Dream’ from ‘Lohengrin’ had the right quality. Her low range is unusually strong. No voice can retain its full glow, especially in high notes and pianissimos, but there was a warmth of mature interpretation to make up. A greater drawback was deviation in pitch in the more brilliant numbers. The simple and direct songs came over best, lovely songs that everybody used to sing and that have been neglected lately: Schumann’s ‘Du Bist Wie Eine Blume’, Grieg’s ‘En Svane’, Quilter’s ‘Go Lovely Rose’. It is not often that a singer’s strongest impression is made in the opening selection, but Handel’s ‘O Mio Cor’ had a rich vocal line…
pianissimos : a passage played, sung, or spoken very softly
 |
 |
 |
Harold Kay (left) president of the Peninsula Artists and Opera Association,
congratulates pianist Mortimer Markoff and soprano Elsa Strombotne and
her accompanist, LeRoy Miller following their concert
in Palo Alto in March which was sponsored by the Association.
May 1959 Issue
“The final concert in the Peninsula Artists series on March 20 introduced to local audiences mezzo-soprano Elsa Strombotne in a joint program with Mortimer Markoff, well-known Palo Alto pianist. The policy of presenting new artists with those already established is beneficial for all concerned.
Mme. Â Strombotne is a vocalist with the range, Wagnerian power and freshness we have come to expect from Scandinavian singers. The size of her voice, free from vibrato, suggests a career in opera and oratorio but as a recitalist she proved to be a sensitive interpreter, at home in many styles. The soprano’s pitch is not always flawless and she needs to curb an urge to take all top tones fortissimo. Her English diction can be improved upon. LeRoy Miller contributed sound accompaniments.”
* * *
mezzo-soprano is the middle vocal range for women, comparable to the baritone range among men. The word mezzo means medium or middle in Italian, and usually refers to female singers with characteristics of both alto and soprano singers. The classic mezzo soprano has the ability to reach high notes, usually up to the C two octaves above middle C, while retaining a richer timbre of voice similar to that of a deeper-ranged alto.
vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music.
fortissimo : very loud
Hear one of Elsa Strombotne’s recordings…
S’man visiting NYC happened upon the Ellis Island tour which led to an unexpected find. Memorialized there on a panel of the American Immigrant Wall of Honor was the name of his Great Great Grandfather. The discovery led to momentary excitement and debate here at home because previous searches of the Ellis Island/Port of New York records database had turned up null with zero matches. We know from Emigration Records that John Christopher Strombotne sailed from Trondheim, Norway arriving in Hull, UK in 1882 before making the crossing on a steam ship from Liverpool or Glasgow. Many Scandinavians arrived at Quebec or Halifax, where there were excellent rail connections from the Canadian ports to the US Mid-West where he settled. Odds were that he never visited NY. So, why is John Christopher’s name displayed on Ellis Island? It is the one place in the United States where an individual can honor his or her family heritage at a National Monument. Included at the exhibit are names representing all ethnicities, all years of arrival, all points of entry, and all modes of travel. S’man, on the scene, was able to solve this mystery. It was his Grand Aunt, Gena responsible for the tribute.
Dad Harrison was an early adopter. Action photography for the hobbyist did not become mainstream until years following. This clip is part of an archive that was originally captured on 8 mm filmstrip. At some point these films were copy | transferred to VHS cassette tape. This media is now obsolete as well. Using an analog to digital converter his films can be passed on to the next generation, preserving his effort. A music track has been dubbed with artistic license but if you wish to sample the original goods you can mute the audio. In those days the viewers at home in the living room would supply laughter and narration (if they weren’t already asleep).
The automobile (at 1:45) appears to be a postwar Oldsmobile Torpedo 2 door sedan circa 1946.
BOOMER — Drifter who went from one railroad job to another, staying but a short time on each job or each road. Boomers were railroad workers often in big demand because of their wide experience, sometimes blackballed because their tenure of stay was uncertain. The sheet music title reads: “When The Sunset Turns The Oceans Blue To Gold“
