Porterville High School Girls basketball team, 1918.    This is a scan from the glass negative.  The two girls sitting front center  by the basketball are probably the Sheela sisters, Valetine and Frances (I'm not sure which is which).    Behind the Sheela sisters, in the white dress  is their coach,  Miss Meighen.   The girl in the back row, furthest to the left is Henrietta Cornell.   Back row, furthest to the right, appears to be Elizabeth Velie.  And in the back row, 2nd from the right is Ann Henry.

A couple of Close-ups:

 One of the Sheela sisters.

Henrietta Cornell

A photo postcard of  El Monte Way,  Dinuba CA.   Circa 1907.      I would guess that this photo  was taken somewhere near the present day corner of El Monte Way and J Street.  e.g.  The two story house on the left,  with the upstairs balcony,  looks a lot like the home that is presently on the NW corner of El Monte Way and Villa Ave (Next to Dinuba City Hall).    See next image

(Added 1/6/17)  Here's a present-day view of  El Monte Way near the same location.

From a photo postcard of Camp Sierra, which was  in the Giant Forest area of Sequoia National Park.   Circa 1910.

 Three more photo postcard views from Tulare Co.

 Circus parade in Porterville, CA.  (March 1917).  This photograph was taken near the corner of Main St. and Mill Ave.

  Orosi, CA.   Circa 1911.

Close-up:

 Sequoia National Park,   postmarked 1913.

Close-up:

Interior of the Pioneer Bank of Porterville,  February  1906.     By Porterville photographer  A. R. Moore.

 (Added 3/29/14)  At the lower right corner of this image there's a desk blotter;  when this desk blotter is enlarged it is possible to make out the words: "Richard Bradley,  Porterville California".  I believe Mr. Bradley is the man in this photo with the beard.     Bradley was the bank's cashier and manager during this period.  

(Added 12/12/13)  Another Pioneer Bank photo from this series.

(Added, 10/28/13)  Here's another view of the Pioneer Bank of Porterville,  this time from the other side of the teller's window. 

Photo by A. R. Moore (Arthur Roland Moore).  February 1906.

(Added 3/29/14)   How I came up with the date of "February 1906":  There are three different calendars in these photos,  unfortunately I cannot clearly make out the year on any of them.  But I can see that  it was February, that it wasn't a leap-year (there are 28 days) and that the 1st of the month fell on a Thursday.  This would apply to the years 1900, 1906 and 1917.   A.R. Moore stopped his photography business in 1914, so this would eliminate 1917.        I think I can also rule out the year 1900.  e.g.  Even though I cannot clearly make out the year on the calendars,  none of them look like they have a year ending in "0" (i.e. The ending number looks like a "3", "5", "6" or "8").   Also,  I have seen a photo of Richard Bradley from around 1900, and I don't believe his hair looks quite so gray in that photograph.    

The Pioneer bank of 1906 was a single story granite-block building built in 1904.   Unfortunately this building was so heavy that it began to sink into the ground, and had to be torn down in 1911.

(Added 8/27/16)   A photo of Porterville's  Pioneer Bank (mentioned above),  from a postcard by George Besaw.   Circa 1908.

Photo postcard image of the Springville Hotel (Springville, CA).   Circa 1917.

Portrait of a young child from the studio of  E. M. Davidson,  Visalia CA.  Circa 1890.

Here's two carte de visite  portraits by Visalia photographer  E. J. Kildare,   circa 1875.

  

 Printed on the back of this photo:  "E. J. Kildare,  Art and Photographic Rooms,   Over Baker's Drug Store,      Cor.  Main & Church Sts.,  Visalia   Cal."

 Printed on this photo's back: "E. J. Kildare,  Art and Photographic Rooms,   Visalia and Bakersfield  Cal.".    This is the only reference I've seen to Kildare having a studio in Bakersfield.

After doing a little bit of research, here's what I was able to piece together about the life of Mr Kildare:

E. J. Kildare (Edward James Kildare) was born in Somerville Massachusetts in 1849.   He moved to California sometime around 1870.    During the 1870's he did various jobs at several well known photo studios in San Francisco (i.e. Bradley & Rulofson,  I. W. Taber & Co.  and  Thomas H. Boyd).   He also apparently had a partnership in Sacramento around 1877 (The studio of Wolfe & Kildare).   Kildare was in Visalia sometime between 1872 and 1875.
In 1875 he married Clara Isabelle Skinner (Claribel  Skinner).  They had at least two children together.  
Kildare moved to Guatemala Central America, in the early 1880's...  where he most likely  worked for the pioneering German-born photographer Emilio (Emil) Herbruger, and later he worked with  Alberto Valdeavellano.  
According to one Masonic publication, E.J. Kildare died  around 1901 while still apparently living in Guatemala.   His wife Clara  was killed during the 1902 Guatemala earthquake by "falling walls while trying to escape from her house".

(Added 5/24/14)  Carte de visite  portrait of a child by the studio of  "Kildare & Cook",  "Visalia and San Bernardino,  Cal.".    E. J. Kildare apparently had a short lived partnership with California/Arizona photographer F. A. Cook.   



(Added 5/24/14) From the backs of the three photos above,  as well as an example from one of  E.J. Kildare's Guatemala studios.



A photo postcard view of Main St. Porterville (Circa 1917).  The building with columns at he end of the street is the Morton Street School.   This school was eventually torn-down to extend Main St. 

From a Paris Panel photograph by E.M. Davidson of Visalia.  (Circa 1892).

Written on the back of this photo: "Wm Courtner, Aunt Mary Ann".    This is a photograph of  William Coleman Cortner  (1830-1894) and his wife Mary Ann Jordan (1833-1915).     According to the 1892 Tulare County Atlas (by Thos. H. Thompson & Co.),  William Cortner owned land just east of Orosi (in Stokes Valley)...  Perhaps that is where this photo was taken. 

Photograph by "Hammond. Tulare, Cal" (Circa 1911).   I would guess that this is a photo of Tulare High School's baseball team.
  Written on the back of this photograph:
 "Reading from left to right."   "1. Wood",   "2. Dunlap - passed away May 18 1974",   "3. Smith",  "4. Foster",   "5. Ellis - passed away Oct 20 1956",   "6. Pell - passed away May 1913",   "7. Specklemere",   "8. Dye",   "9. Bedford",   "10. Harris",   "11. Hopkins",    "12. Prof. Walton".          Also written at the top is  "J. L. Dunlap", this along with the "2." player listed above seems to refer to John Leslie Dunlap  of Tulare (born 8/6/1893).  e.g.  John L Dunlap did in fact pass away on May 18, 1974.

The name "Ellis"  may be referring to Lawerence Lynn Ellis (born: 10/23/1893,  D: 10/28/1956).   



Printed on the back of this photograph: "Frank S. Ansley", "Photographer",  "Visalia, Cal." (Circa 1902). 

And written on the photo's back:  "Ethel Smith with Shep and Bob".