03-13-2009, 07:58 PM
Charlie B Wrote:Thanks MountainMan, Those are great pictures.
The old west could provide some very interesting buildings, and combinations of businesses. Most everyone knows about the combination of the barber as a dentist, but many other providers were in multiple lines too. It was possible to sell hardware and be an undertaker.
I'll bet you know a few of the odd combinations that existed. I guess with a small population a lot of folks did double duties.
Charlie
Makes perfect sense when you think abut it. Barbers, after all, started out long ago as surgeons, hence the red and white stripes. An awful lot of the small mining towns were supported by a few business folk who did double duty, such as a drygoods store that doubled as the post office. Made sense because it was one of the only places for non-drinkers to hang out.
BTW - Lowell Thomas, the world renowned news personality, was from Victor, Colorado, where two of those phots came from.
The very decrepit looking Post Office in Elmo is still in service and lived in. Elmo is one of the best preserved ghost towns in the West, and is open in the summer for walking tours. The rest of the year, you can't really get there anyway.