A Compelling Image that Evokes Emotion and Wonder about People Long Gone
I recently restored this image; I find it sad and tragic. It makes me want to know the names and faces and stories behind the sign and events that led to it. The sign is crudely made and that, in my opinion, adds to my curiosity and sadness. I would assume it is long gone (but I hope it's in the new building as an artifact; I'll be contacting the administrator to find out).
Please, if you are moved as I am, share your feelings (or anything you care to write about the image).
A. Mac (Restoration)
FYI
The National Asylum for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers was established on March 3, 1865, in the United States by Congress to provide care for volunteer soldiers who had been disabled through loss of limb, wounds, disease, or injury during service in the Union forces in the Civil War. Initially, the Asylum, later called the Home, was planned to have three branches: in the northeast, in the central area north of the Ohio River and in what was then still considered the northwest, the present upper Midwest. The Board of Managers, charged with governance of the Home, added seven more branches between 1870 and 1907 as broader eligibility requirements allowed more veterans to apply for admission. The impact of World War I , producing a new veteran population of over five million men and women, brought dramatic changes to the National Home and all over governmental agencies responsible for veteran's benefits. The creation of the Veterans Administration in 1930 consolidated all veteran's programs into a single Federal agency. World War II , the Korean War , the Vietnam War , the Gulf War , Operation Enduring Freedom , and Operation Iraqi Freedom further increased the responsibility of the nation to care for those who have served their country.
The photograph was taken c. 1915 in Hot Springs, ND as far as I know.
Although I have hundreds more of these slides to restore, create their digital counterparts, key word, and submit and/or upload to agents and my websites, I somewhat dread finishing up the last one -- I'm always looking around for more old slides or prints to either acquire outright, or, to restore and return to their owners on a quid-pro-quo basis; that is, I will create digital restorations which I'll then give on DVDs to the photo owners (along with the return of the originals), that in exchange for the copyrights.
35mm slides or larger, prints and other media are what I look for at yard sales, flea markets -- you name it. Any images 70 years or older that are accessible to the public, are "public domain"; however, the owners of the actual, physical-property originals can claim copyrights and control licensing and distribution.
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It makes me curious and sad; like a number of women I have known in my life
and loved nevertheless
What a powerful image Mac....Well done.
The fact that the plaque was shaped like a tombstone has a message all its own ...
Well-thought out, Petey.
If I can speak with the facility administrator, I will not only ask if they saved the sign, but, if there's any information as to whether or not the tombstone shape was intentional.
I went to the Confederate Soldiers home which is not far from my house and took pictures. The whole dang thing is sad. Very sad...
Thanks, for posting this. It must have not been a very welcoming environment for those that were stuck there. But at least they were fed and had shelter, which is more than some of our WWI vets had.
If the sign was made circa 1865 it's not so crude, it was probably of average or good quality for the time. The sad thing for me is that it looks like a grave marker. That and the text that says that "all dogs found on the property will be killed by the Provost Guard", that's cold.
What makes you sad about this photo ?
The same thing that makes me sad about wars in general; that politics and money and the exploitation of humanity is usually at core.
The sign by today's standard appears "crude," but even assuming it was somewhat state-of-the art in its day, it still implies to me, that even today's version of such a sign would be nothing more than a monument manifesting the stupidity of a world run by greed, the power of the greedy, by bigotry and other self-serving motivations -- and sold via ugly propaganda and lies used that mask those degenerate aspects of "humanity". Broken bodies, broken families, destroyed lives, death and destruction benefiting mostly those who do not send their own children into war.
Even today, the current Congress has denied veterans benefits because "we can't afford it" (according to Senate Republicans like McCain and Graham), that while approving billions in tax exemptions and subsidies to corporations making record profits!
I trust I have answered your question, Pat.
In the WiFi of the day you send the command giddyap! [in all caps ] ...
With the the proper equipment in place, harness, reins, etc
Funny thing the visual image. Powerful at bringing back memories... sometimes unrelated. So I went internet shopping for the one that your picture brought back to my memory.
Pilgrim State Hospital where my aunt stayed in 1965
Your right Perrie, the photo brought out a memory that is very sad.
These are photos of the only Insane Asylum in the United States that was for a specific race of people, Indians. Most of the Indians that were sent there were not insane, but had rebelled against the Indian agents, Christian schools and the like.
The Hiawatha Asylum for Insane Indians..to add to the indignity the city built a golf course over the cemetery where Indians that died there were buried. Very frickin Christian of them.
Welcome to South Dakota.
You asked about "driving" a horse.
When I think of "driving" a horse, I think of a boy with a long switch, behind several horses, that have no real reins or anything. The boy with the switch walks down the road, using the switch to sting the sides of the horse, to make him go where he wants them to. Sort of like herding sheep.
But that may not be right, either...
When "driving" a horse, is the horse's strength measure in carpower?
Truth thy name is Mac.
Mac this collection you are restoring is pricless, in every sense of the word. Such a small slice of our history, taken in the blink of a shutter, yet it still evokes a reaction in each beholder. Like this image, no onecould possibly have expeienced this place, yet it evokes a reaction in us. Well done man.
So, when I think of your mission, I see a coffee table book with historical significance, researchand the reactions of your readership.
This photo is a very powerful photo to me, and really does invoke strong emotions.
It is by Roland Reed, Ojibwe women on the shores of Red Lake MN. 1907. Mr. Reed entitled it ''Enemy Wind''. Her English name is, ''Evangeline''.
Here is one of the meanings of the word "drive" in the website dictionary.com:
to cause and guide the movement of (a vehicle, an animal, etc.): to drive a car; to drive a mule.