This Friday, October the 8th, the Mid County C of C is having their annual auction, a 1920’s Soiree. You can get all of the details here. For about the last decade or so, the kind folks at Frame of Mind Picture Framing Shop and I have partnered to produce a highly collectible image for the chamber to sell. This year we’ve done it again!
For 2021, I have made a composite photograph of very early images of the Wedge at Southwest and Manchester. Elmer Wind Jr., who was born in the upstairs of the wedge building, was kind enough to let me copy his images many years ago for the benefit of the community. Elmer is no longer with us.
I used to stop by Elmer’s beautiful home on Gayola and have a chat. Built by his father, it had many interesting features. I remember vintage high end hardware. An original door closer appealed to me. The front porch has a ring of smooth glazed bricks around the inside base of the porch wall. So the mop won’t hang up on them, Elmer once explained.
It was a museum of Maplewoodiana. Elmer even had a gas pump from the family business, EJ Tire, on the wedge. Hanging on the wall was an original photograph of the Goodyear blimp by Margaret Bourke White. It had been an award for outstanding tire sales. The house was full of cool and fascinating items. Elmer loved to talk about them all. He loved visitors. You would do well to have a prearranged exit strategy before you went.
So plan on going to the auction, bid our picture up and maybe take home a piece of Maplewood history that is already rare. So far, there is just one of these prints.
Doug Houser October 6, 2021