Woman fill the jobs during World War II #SOT

Jack Delano's great picture illustrates how the women of the US stepped forward during World War II to help keep the economy moving.

March is Women's History Month and I wanted to take the last day of the month to honor those who served in World War II. Male and Female, on the front lines and at home in the Roundhouse.

All their sacrafices made victory possible for the US in World War II.

(Picture caption: Women workers employed as wipers in the roundhouse having lunch in their rest room, C. & N.W. R.R. /Library of Congress)

Using the real estate stimulus tax credit to buy a home and stimulate the economy

If you are interested in purchasing a home, now is a great time to do it. The real estate stimulus allows up to a $8000 tax credit for homebuyers who are first-time OR WHO HAVE NOT OWNED A HOME IN THREE YEARS! When I hear the "first time buyer" I always thought this eliminated anyone who had EVER owned a home, but that is not true.

The company I work for provides a lot of HVAC systems for new home construction. I'm hoping that the stimulus drives down the home inventory and helps stimulate the construction industry too.

The folks at Coldwell Banker have a great website where you can learn more about the real estate stimulus and how you can take advantage of it. They have useful information and provided the video below.

Aiken Brewing Company

Aiken Brewing Company, originally uploaded by Historic Railways Examiner.

Great place to get a microbrew...

Watson Mill Bridge - Georgia

Cindy and I took a road trip this weekend over to Georgia to re-visit Watson Mill Bridge State Park between Augusta and Athens.

This was shot with the powerplant canal in the front and the rapids in the background.

Except for the cars in the parking lot, it could of been shot anytime in the last hundred yeras or so.

Hodge Podge of relics

Cindy and I took a road trip yesterday.. in Plum Branch, SC we saw this hodge-podge of discarded stuff on the front porch of a closed store.

Finding forgotten treasures

Activity in the Santa Fe R.R. yard, Los Angeles, Calif. Due to blackout regulations, flood lights, switch lights, locomotive headlights and lights on the bridge in background have been shaded to cast light downward. Broad streaks of light are caused by pa
Originally uploaded by The Library of Congress

The Office War Information during World War II produced a great portfolio of work which is now in the common domain.

Flickr has made it easy to find photos from these collections.

Hamlet NC Dusk

Hamlet Dusk
Originally uploaded by Historic Railways Examiner

I'm reading a book about the Orange Blossom Special on the old Seaboard Coast Line. The back cover of the book is the hamlet depot with the Special at the station. The lighting is similar to this photo I took at dusk in Hamlet, North Carolina.

My Blue Ridge Parkway Photos from Fall 2009

Here are the links to some more of my Blue Ridge Photos from October 2009.











http://www.flickr.com/photos/genewashere/sets/72157622533815929/

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75th Anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway - 2010

Hope you will read my article about the 75th Anniversary of the BRP.

    

Remodeling/Building ideas - Stainless Steel Sinks

When Cindy and I get around to building our dreamhome, one requirement will be stainless steel sinks for the kitchen. After having ceramic sinks in many of our homes, the higher quality of the stainless steel, plus the ease of cleaning make it a logical choice. You don't have to worry about stains or other problems like cracking that you can face with ceramic.

I'm planning on having an outdoor cooking area also. The great thing about a stainless steel sink is that if it gets exposed to the elements it won't be damaged.

I found a great site MR Direct that has a great selection of sinks and great prices. When I get ready to buy, they will be my first stop.

You see it everyday.. but have you ever photographed it?

This weekend I got out on Saturday and took a few photos of places I have visited many times but never got around to photographing. Here is the Blackville, SC Depot which has been moved and restored as the library.  When I was working everyday in Blackville, I used to spend lunches there checking out books or looking at the reference materials. Even with the ADA ramps, the library is in good shape and is a highlight of Blackville.

Miller's Breadbasket was packed on Saturday with a motorcycle club and a classic car club both downtown.

Blooming Camelias in South Carolina

The camelias are in bloom around South Carolina. I found these at the Discovery Center near Blackville, SC on 3/20/10

Early flowers

Some early flowers in Aiken, South Carolina.

Iron fence detail #Photoblog

Ward Augusta Fence
Originally uploaded by Gene Bowker

At the Ward, SC cemetary, I found this wrought iron gate. The plate on it drew my attention as it was made in Augusta, Georgia.

The fence is over 100 years old and still in reasonably good shape.

Sharing your passions.. commentary

One of the reasons that I enjoy blogging and the internet is the chance to share my interests with others in a variety of forums...

My newest way to share with others is through my articles at Examiner.com. For the last few weeks, I've been writing a column about Road Trips in the Southeastern US. If you haven't read it yet, I hope you will check it out at: http://www.examiner.com/x-39809-Augusta-Road-Trip-Travel-Examiner. It is a lot of fun to share some of my favorite places with others and also learn about new places from the comments and emails I get.

Now, my newest adventure with Examiner.com is to write a column on Railroad / Railway History called the Historic Railways Examiner, which can be found at http://www.examiner.com/x-41880-Historic-Railways-Examiner. This really helps me come full circle since I got involved in photography as a way to document and share my love of trains and railroads. I do this through the pictures I share here, my Historic Railways blog at http://railfan.biz/ and my RailHistory account on Twitter at http://twitter.com/railhistory.

My loving wife Cindy, who co-writes the Moonlitbridges Blog with me, will be the first to tell you that all of this consumes time. Like any other hobby, it also consumes resources.  However, I really feel the chance to share my work and adventures is worth the investment, I hope you do too.

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Before it's gone... #Photoblog

Electrical-Cabinet BW
Originally uploaded by Gene Bowker

I'm learning quickly that it is a good idea to take photos even under less than ideal conditions of old buildings and landscapes.

Very quickly.. they can be removed and scrapped and we lose a picture of what existed in the past.

This is a picture of the electrical building at the Hamlet Depot in Hamlet, North Carolina. It provides an interesting case study of what equipment would of been used in such situations back in the 1960's and 1970's.

What structures do you pass everyday which you should take a photo of before they are gone?

Remember When: Small Town Post Office - #Photoblog

Remembering the small town post office, this one still in service in 2010.

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Spring almost here

Spring is almost here.. shot at the Vaucluse Post Office 3/14/2010

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Look skyward angel - #photo #SC

This is the monument for Clinton Ward's young daughter in the Ward-Satcher section of the graveyard next to Spann Church in Ward, South Carolina.

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Spann Church - Ward, South Carolina (1875)

Built in 1875, Spann Methodist Church is Ward, South Carolina still serves today.

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some boardwalk shadows

boardwalk shadows
Originally uploaded by Gene Bowker

I liked the contrast between the diagonal shadows and the boards in this photo.

It didn't look good at normal height so I lowered the camera and was much happier with the result.

This was another case too where I preferred the Black & White shot to the color shot. Since I was focusing on angles and contrasts it seemed to work better.

Spring means time to spend outside...

Spring means pollen here in South Carolina. Everything gets a nice covering of green (Happy St. Patrick's Day) which also drives my allergies crazy.

However, Spring also means the chance to spend sometime outside grilling which I love to do. One thing that Cindy and I have been talking about is getting some new furniture for our screened in porch.  With our wi-fi coverage, we'd then be able to work out there on our projects or just surf the web outside before the heat gets here.

The folks at Discount Teak Furniture offer great teak furniture sets which would be perfect for enjoying our deck. Teak offers a lot of benefits over the usual plastic furniture (which we've had for years), besides also looking better and being a better investment.

I hope you'll visit my sponsor Discount Teak Furniture to see what they offer.

Saving money.. Comparison Shopping

I spend my workdays looking for ways to lower the cost of my company's products. This includes a lot of "comparison shopping" to find the best product value for our money. My motto is "Pretend it is YOUR money".

I keep telling my co-workers that the same idea applies outside of the office. There are many things that you can save money on, just be comparison shopping. One of these things is insurance.

With insurance, you have to weigh low costs versus the benefits from the provider. There are many website where you can go to compare many providers at the same time. A great website is NetQuote.com which shows you how much you will pay.
Take a second and see how much you can save on Pennsylvania insurance by visiting their website.

Heron - Edisto Memorial Gardens #photo

Heron - Edisto Gardens
Originally uploaded by Gene Bowker

The heron was not impressed by my attempts to photograph it, and finally decided the best course of attaction was just to ignore me.

You can see more of my Edisto Gardens photos and learn more about the history and activities there in my new Examiner.com article "Road Trip 101: Discovering Edisto Gardens" at http://bit.ly/a2g3Ya

Beach Flower, Edisto Beach, South Carolina (2009) #Photo

A flower on the beach at Edisto Island, South Carolina

Enjoying the ducks.. Edisto Gardens

Statues and ducks at Edisto Gardens in Orangeburg.