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This is a small group of early Hallowell, Maine real-photo postcards documenting different aspects of community life. Several appear to have been taken by the same unidentified photographer.
Looking at the seven, I divided them into four separate stories:
* The Patriotic- Now the event. Here we have unusually strong evidence. Hubbard Free Library has an independently cataloged photograph dated May 30, 1918, whose description says explicitly:
“The Hallowell Fire Department and Band assemble for a Memorial.
* The boys’ band: likely its own photographer.. Bigelow’s Boys’ They could have posed at their school, a hall, a concert venue, or an outing at another date entirely.
* The quarry workers and the men in front of the store/building: these look like separate occupational/community photographs. The quarry scene is especially interesting because Hallowell’s granite industry was such an important part of the town. The men in suits are another mystery altogether; their clothing and the storefront behind them may allow us to identify a business, lodge, union group, political gathering, or even granite-industry management.
* The snow scene: is a surprisingly interesting card. There are hundreds of people on the snow, apparently organized into long lines or formations, with spectators in the foreground and a settlement/buildings behind them. That looks much bigger than casual skating or neighborhood sledding. “Winter carnival” is a very reasonable first thought, but it could also be a school/community field day, snowshoe gathering, military-style winter drill, or another organized Hallowell event.
THE CARDS OF THE YOUNG MEN AND THE QUARRY WORKERS SHOW DAMAGE.
