PHOTO OF THE DAY: MUSEUM’S MONDAY LOOK BACK
With today being April 1, we thought this was an appropriate “April Fools’ Day” photo from our archives to share.
It was created by creating a double exposure in the darkroom; the image of the streetcar was superimposed onto the photo of Freeman’s Main Street looking to the south from Railway Street. We discovered similar photos of Main Streets in other towns with the same streetcar.
The photo is identified as one from C.C. Slack & Co., of “Soo” Falls, S.D.
In today’s digital environment, manipulating digital photos is easy, but 115 years ago, it took time and considerable skill to create an image like this.
While we’ve seen reference to this photo being from 1912, our records show the Waldner Café (on the right) operated from 1906 to 1911. Regardless, it’s likely from the late aughts or early teens.
Two other landmarks in the photo are the Schamber Building further down the west side of Main Street and the sign for “Deere” on the building in the middle of the block on the east side of Main; that was the original home of Fred Haar Company.
While we pay attention to authenticity and strive for accuracy in the photos, documents and historical records in our archives, we enjoy seeing the lighter side of history as well.
We invite you to visit our museum; we’re open weekdays from noon to 4 through April. In May we shift to our new extended summer hours when we’ll be open from 10 to 4 Mondays through Saturdays and other times by appointment; 605-925-7545.
