The History Old Photo's

The History Old Photo's This page is devoted to history, especially pictorial history. It is updated daily!

Bob Younger, the youngest of the three Younger brothers who rode with the James-Younger Gang, was known for being sharp-...
07/31/2025

Bob Younger, the youngest of the three Younger brothers who rode with the James-Younger Gang, was known for being sharp-minded, quietly observant, and physically imposing. Unlike his brothers Cole and Jim, Bob was less talkative and more reserved, with a calculating presence that often made him the most enigmatic of the trio. At the time of his capture, he was described as a large man with a light complexion, a clean-shaven face, and no beard—his appearance neat, despite the harrowing days he had just endured. Though often overshadowed by his more vocal siblings, Bob’s loyalty to the gang and cool-headedness in tense moments made him a trusted figure in their outlaw circle.

Following the gang’s failed robbery of the First National Bank in Northfield, Minnesota, Bob was severely wounded during the long pursuit that led to the standoff at Hanska Slough. There, he took a bullet that entered just below the right shoulder blade, traveled across his torso, and exited near the front of his chest—an agonizing injury that left a clear path of destruction. Remarkably, his broken arm—sustained earlier during the Northfield raid—had already begun to heal by the time a doctor examined him. Even while suffering from multiple wounds, Bob managed to endure the grueling flight through swamp and wilderness alongside his brothers, never surrendering until resistance was no longer possible.

Bob’s quiet toughness and ability to push through pain earned him respect even among his pursuers. He wasn’t the most expressive member of the gang, but his injuries told a powerful story of resolve and brotherhood in the face of inevitable defeat. Unlike Charlie Pitts, who died during the final gunfight, Bob survived—only to face a long sentence in prison, where the physical toll of his wounds and the harsh years behind bars would eventually break him. Yet his image remains: a man carved from the hard grain of the outlaw life, less known than Jesse James, but every bit as marked by the brutal truths of the dying frontier.

The Last Birthday John Wayne Spent With His Kids — And the Promise He Made Around the CampfireThe desert air was cool th...
07/22/2025

The Last Birthday John Wayne Spent With His Kids — And the Promise He Made Around the Campfire

The desert air was cool that night, the sky glowing gold and purple as the sun slipped away.

On his ranch, John Wayne called out in that familiar deep voice:
"Michael! Toni! Patrick! Melinda! Aissa! Ethan! Marisa! Come on, kids — around the fire!"

One by one, they came.

Michael, 45, stood tall with quiet respect, hands in his pockets. Toni and Melinda smiled warmly, helping 13-year-old Marisa settle onto a blanket. Patrick, 40, sat cross-legged by the flames, watching his father closely. Aissa, 23, wrapped an arm around Ethan, 17, who still had the restless energy of youth.

John sat there in his worn boots and flannel shirt, the campfire lighting his rugged face. He looked at all of them, his big hands resting on his knees, his eyes soft with something they didn’t often see — vulnerability.

It was his birthday. His last one.

The younger kids whispered and giggled, but grew quiet as John slowly set his coffee mug down. His deep voice came low, almost breaking:

"Kids… birthdays aren’t about gifts. They’re about promises. And tonight, I need to make you one."

The fire crackled. No one moved. Even Marisa leaned closer, her small hands folded in her lap.

John poked at the fire, sparks rising into the dark sky, then looked at them one by one — as if memorizing every face:

"One day, I won’t be here to sit by this fire with you. But if you stand tall, live honest, and take care of each other… then every time you light a fire like this, you’ll feel me right here, boots in the dirt, smiling at you."

For a long moment, no one spoke.

Marisa slipped her tiny hand into his. Ethan sat closer, staring at the flames, pretending not to blink away tears. Patrick swallowed hard, while Michael — the eldest — simply nodded, jaw tight, fighting to keep his composure.

That night, they stayed together until the fire burned to embers. Some of the younger ones fell asleep against him. The older ones sat quietly, unwilling to leave, as if holding onto that moment forever.

Years later, Patrick would speak for all of them:

"That was Dad’s real gift. Not the movies, not the fame — but that promise. And every time we sit around a fire now, we feel him. Hat tipped low. Boots in the dirt. Proud as ever." See less

John Wayne and Dean Martin - The Last Silent Meeting of Two Old CowboysIn the early months of 1979, John Wayne's health ...
07/21/2025

John Wayne and Dean Martin - The Last Silent Meeting of Two Old Cowboys

In the early months of 1979, John Wayne's health was failing. At the UCLA Medical Center, he lay in bed, gaunt, pale, but his eyes were still sharp and determined. He was looking out the window - where the afternoon light was fading, the scene was quiet, No newspapers. No relatives.

There was only a knock on the door.

Dean Martin walked in, No one expected him. He didn't smile. He didn't joke. He just nodded to the nurse and pulled up a chair next to the Duke.

Wayne was too weak to sit up. But his eyes lit up when he saw his old Rio Bravo co-star.

Dean stared at Wayne for a long moment. A quiet moment between the two old friends, as if they were reading the past in each other's eyes.

"Do you remember the first time we met?"

"Stage 12, Paramount. I was two hours late, you were mad." Dean spoke up suddenly

"I'm not mad that you're late. I'm mad that the director let you hold a gun and didn't know how to unload it." Wayne replied

Dean laughed, choking back tears.

"You know... the audience thinks we're immortal. But I look at you now... and I know. No one rides forever."

I'm not afraid of that. But I hate the feeling of not being the main character in the end of my life. Wayne breathed slowly

Dean said nothing. He looked down at Wayne's hands, old and shaking.

"You're always the main character, Duke. In movies, in real life...
It's just... you can't rewrite the script this time."

John smiled faintly, closing his eyes. The late afternoon sun shone through, giving his skin a golden glow - like a desert sunset.

Dean stood up. He hesitated for a moment - he put his hand on John's shoulder, squeezed it gently.

"See you at the bar in heaven, cowboy."

John didn’t open his eyes, but his lips moved as he whispered something—part farewell, part old line:

“Circle the wagons… We ride at dawn.”

Dean Martin never spoke publicly about the visit. But he must have felt relieved to see his old friend. Later, when asked about John Wayne, he simply tilted his glass and said,

“Hell of a man.” See less

Photo of Rory talking with film stars Trevor Howard and Carroll Baker at the Cork International Film Festival in June 19...
07/21/2025

Photo of Rory talking with film stars Trevor Howard and Carroll Baker at the Cork International Film Festival in June 1974. Rory was in town for the premiere of his documentary film "Rory Gallagher: Irish Tour 74." Carroll seems to have latched on to our Rory.

Happy 95th Birthday to the Legendary Clint Eastwood
07/21/2025

Happy 95th Birthday to the Legendary Clint Eastwood

Remembering the late Robin Williams on his birthday. The celebrated actor and comedian known for his energetic and impro...
07/21/2025

Remembering the late Robin Williams on his birthday. The celebrated actor and comedian known for his energetic and improvisational style, was equally adept at comedic and dramatic roles. His career spanned over three decades, leaving a significant mark on the entertainment industry. His breakthrough came in 1978 with the hit ABC sitcom "Mork & Mindy," where he played the red-suited alien Mork from Ork. He earned critical acclaim and numerous awards for his performances in films like "Good Morning, Vietnam", "Dead Poets Society", "The Fisher King", and "Good Will Hunting". His comedic roles were also highly successful, including memorable performances in "Mrs. Doubtfire", "Aladdin", and "Jumanji". See less

Transistor radios were how we listened to our music
07/21/2025

Transistor radios were how we listened to our music

A Boy and his big Wheel, early 1970's
07/19/2025

A Boy and his big Wheel, early 1970's

The Mount Rushmore of gaming consoles
07/19/2025

The Mount Rushmore of gaming consoles

In the weeks after the release of "We Were Soldiers" in 2002, Mel Gibson received a quiet message, off the press circuit...
07/19/2025

In the weeks after the release of "We Were Soldiers" in 2002, Mel Gibson received a quiet message, off the press circuit and away from the polished interviews. It was about a real man behind the story: Sgt. Charles T. Fitts, a decorated Vietnam veteran who had fought under Lt. Col. Hal Moore during the brutal 1965 Battle of Ia Drang. Fitts, long retired and living in Texas, had recently been hospitalized following a serious injury. He had seen the film, recognized the faces, the terrain, the chaos, and relived it all. Mel Gibson, who portrayed Moore in the film, felt compelled to act, not for publicity, not as a public gesture, but because something about Fitts’s situation struck him as unfinished business.

Gibson made no public announcement. No publicist was involved. He boarded a quiet flight to Texas, requested privacy from his team, and arrived alone at the VA hospital where Sgt. Fitts was recovering. It was a weekday afternoon, quiet in the corridors. The nurses were caught off-guard to see Gibson walk in unannounced, wearing jeans, a flannel shirt, and carrying nothing but a copy of "We Were Soldiers" on DVD and a small black notebook. He asked for no press, no cameras, just permission to sit and speak with a man who had lived the hell he had only portrayed.

Fitts, in his early 60s, was recovering from multiple surgeries. When Gibson entered his room, the former sergeant reportedly saluted him instinctively, mistaking him momentarily for someone else in uniform. Then he laughed, recognized the actor, and said, “You looked more tired in the movie than I ever saw Hal Moore.” Gibson responded with a small smile and replied, “That’s probably because you actually lived it.”

Their conversation lasted over an hour. No staff recorded it, no reporters captured it. But a nurse who was present at times later recalled, “He didn’t come as a movie star. He came as someone who wanted to understand pain and say thank you.” She said they spoke about the difference between real war and cinematic battlefields, about the men Fitts had seen fall, and about the silence that followed when the helicopters disappeared. Gibson asked questions, not for performance, but for clarity. He wanted to know the weight of the gear, the feel of the boots, the sound of the M16 jamming in the dirt. Fitts, once a man of few words, opened up more than he had in years. At one point, he removed a weathered photograph from his wallet, a snapshot of his platoon, most of whom didn’t return, and handed it to Gibson. “You showed their faces. That’s what mattered,” he said.

Gibson later told his team privately that the hour spent with Fitts was “the most honest hour of my entire press tour.” He spoke of the deep humility that settled in him during that visit, something he felt could never be replicated on a red carpet or during a late-night interview. He declined to speak publicly about the meeting at the time, saying only that the film had given him an introduction, but men like Fitts had given him an education.

When Gibson left the hospital, he signed nothing, took no photos, and walked out the same way he came in, alone and quiet. As one VA staff member said, “He didn’t come here to be seen. He came here to listen.” The moment was never scripted, never planned, and it remains one of the few truly human gestures in Hollywood that lived entirely off-camera. See less

Did Elvis Presley have any hangups about his looks or body? He did, and perhaps more than the world ever imagined. For a...
07/19/2025

Did Elvis Presley have any hangups about his looks or body? He did, and perhaps more than the world ever imagined. For all the adoration he received, Elvis quietly carried insecurities that followed him through every stage, every film, every mirror.

He believed the pores on his face were too large, a detail that bothered him deeply even as millions saw only charm. He thought his neck looked too skinny, which is why he often wore his collar popped, not just for fashion but to hide what he didn't like. He felt the tip of his nose looked too round and eventually had it refined. His hair, naturally blond, was dyed jet black to frame his face and make his striking blue eyes stand out.

Though he was nearly six feet tall, he sometimes wore lifts in his shoes to feel taller. When he learned that one of his legs was slightly longer than the other, he didn’t hide it. Instead, he laughed and said maybe that’s why he could move the way he did. That simple joke revealed how he turned even self-doubt into something graceful.

He was particular about the back of his neck, always wanting it freshly trimmed. He disliked the cap on his front teeth but grew to accept it. His legs were powerful, but he often wished his upper body were stronger. Through karate, he found not just physical confidence, but also inner strength, realizing that real power wasn't always about muscle.

In private moments, he could be harsh with himself. Watching his own movies during times when his weight had changed, he would mutter painfully, calling himself names no one else would dare to use. It is heartbreaking to think that the man who made the world feel beautiful often struggled to see that beauty in himself.

Elvis was not perfect. He was human, vulnerable, sensitive, and sincere. And maybe that is why people still love him. Because beyond the legend was a man who searched for acceptance, who gave everything he had, and who simply wanted to be seen for more than his crown. And he was. He still is.

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