Friday, January 28, 2011

Warren Super Market, Warren Pennsylvania

Print purchased at Borg Studio, Warren, Pa.

Warren Super Market was located just west of the Pennsylvania Avenue bridge that spans Conewango Creek.  The site now serves as a parking lot for Wendy's.

From an August 1958 advertisement 
in the Warren Times-Mirror

During my infrequent visits there during the 1960s, the store's interior always had a dingy, frozen-in-time appearance.  Not sure when the store first opened for business.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Then and Not Quite Now: Jefferson Elementary School, Warren, Pennsylvania

 A new school was constructed on the same site in the early 1950s.  I suspect this photo was taken in the spring of the school's final months of operation.

Print purchased in mid-1990s at Borg Studio, Warren

Since a consolidation of grade schools a few years back, the "new" Jefferson School stands empty, slowly deteriorating through neglect.  (Following 2 photos from October 2008.)

I attended school here from September 1957 until June 1962.

2nd grade:  Mrs. Duff
3rd grade:  Miss Thoreson
4th grade:  Mrs. Carlson
5th grade:  Mrs. Johnson
6th grad:  Mr. DiMino



The following photos were taken from the upstairs back porch of the Nelson family home in July 2010.  (You can see the house in the black-and-white Borg print, just to the left of the 1st floor of the old Jefferson School.)

Before the school yard was paved over, it served as the playing field for many, many wiffle ball games.





Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Me and my Shadow

Pheasant Branch Nature Preserve
Middleton, Wisconsin
January 9, 2011

Monday, January 10, 2011

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Monday, January 3, 2011

Las Vegas Strip looks to adapt to a changing market



From the January 2, 2011 Las Vegas Sun.

The Strip — and gambling as a whole — face increasing competition from video games and other forms of cheap home entertainment.

A new generation of potential gamblers, now hitting their 40s, grew up with video games and are still playing them for hours on end.

“We haven’t really put them down. Video game developers recognize that and are trying to retain that market with games that appeal more to adults than children,” said Dan Birlew, a Las Vegas resident who has written dozens of strategy books on video games.

Americans spend more on video games, consoles and related equipment than on all casino gambling combined, according to industry sources. And yet, analysts say video games and portable gaming on iPhones and similar devices are capturing time and money that younger generations might otherwise spend at casinos and other entertainment outlets.

“When you play as many video games as I do, it’s nice to get away from a screen and have a real life experience” at a restaurant or show, said Birlew, who gambles infrequently. Still, “if it’s ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops’ versus going to a casino, someone of my generation may have more fun playing a video game all night.”
Casinos have diversified in recent years with elaborate nightclubs and pool parties that attract younger customers who don’t necessarily gamble. They are jumping into social media, with discounts and events promoted via Facebook and Twitter — although marketers say hotels have yet to merge these new media with the rest of their marketing efforts or personalize them enough for individual customers.