Hello, I always love a mystery with old photos comparing them to the new stuff available. The photo below seems like a posed school annual photo. In any location photo, one has to choose the most obvious structure shown. Of all of the early photos, the unusual chimney stood out a****st the adobe construction with the external build poles sticking out. In the original photo above, the long black lines are shadows from almost a 12 o’clock posing. The sun created a direct down shadow on the walls. A similar photo of an adobe construction wall with a distinct fireplace and construction poles. This location is now a fancy, what looks like a high end recovery center in Tuscon, Arizona. The surrounding mountains can be matched to the original old photos. Jnaki Upon further research, the location was once called the Arizona School For Boys. The hand written letter at the end of the old Cobb photos mentions being together for 3 years… It was located on the same grounds as the latest version of the recovery center, now remodeled and being used at this time.
I haven’t read up on any of your posts about Tom, but I guess I should. We had our dean of mech Eng tell us that every year he would have folks approach him with their perpetual motion machine. Haha! Looking at the architecture, and other things like the tapestry hanging, I would hazard a guess somewhere in New Mexico. Google AI search gave me this…
good work sir… I do know that Tom did in fact attend a boarding school in Arizona that emphasized science and engineering. I wonder if “cowboy camp” might have been a nickname of sorts for that school.
When I was a teenager, I worked summers at a boy's camp that catered to the kids of wealthy people. We didn't have a requirement for campers to bring white suits to camp, though.
@jnaki is right on. The other tell is the Saguaros in some of the pictures. They only grow in Sonora Mexico and the Sonoran desert in and around Tucson. Looks to have been fun camp.
It could also be that we are seeing images from both a boarding school and also a summer camp. Having zero context with these photos is half the fun… but it can get frustrating as well.
The ol Google machine said it was the Southern Arizona School for Boys and it did mention horseback riding as part of their program.
For some reason this thread reminded me of one of my favorite Buster Keaton movies, Go West. Search it up if you want a solid hour of belly laughs.
As cool as all of the photos are, I find it fascinating to use my IPad which I can zoom in with and check out the details of the attire from that time period! The detail of the shoes and jackets and cuffs on trousers etc, etc, truly amazing!
Tom was indeed a priveledged boy, and then man. But apparently he had the intellect to make something of that privilege that served his own interests well. Was he ever married? I haven’t heard anything about a wife up to this point.
The Jalopy Journal
