Reposted from 2019-06-11
An unwritten, undated card from my great-uncle Gustaf's postcard album, with the text "The Three Cooks at Highgate, Mont." printed on the front. It sits in between other postcards from 1904 in the album.
From the official website for the state of Montana, I learn that the discovery of gold brought many prospectors into that area in the 1860s; leading to boomtowns growing rapidly - and declining just as quickly when the gold ran out. Later, there was also silver and copper mining. And a lot of cattle and sheep ranches and wheat farming, as the gold-diggers and miners needed to eat... But the gold ran out (and perhaps silver and copper too); and post-WWI droughts and depression meant that a lot of farmers were forced to leave the state as well.
My best guess is that the "Three Cooks" postcard may be from a boomtown restaurant; and perhaps sent with a letter to Gustaf from some friend working in that area for a while. Whether the sender was one of the three cooks himself, or someone eating their food, I don't suppose I'm ever likely to find out.
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31 October 2025
When I saw the prompt photo for Sepia Saturday 799, the postcard above with the three cooks immediately came to mind for me, and I searched my blog for it. As the original post was not shared with Sepia Saturday (and I'm not sure anyone ever read it at all!), I decided to just do a repost.
Gustaf was an older brother of my grandmother Sally. He emigrated to America in 1902 and spent about eight years there; most of the time living in Galeton, Pennsylvania, working at a sawmill. In 1910 or 1911, he returned to Sweden - and as far as I know, he never went back to America again even to visit.
Linking to Sepia Saturday 799
Hey! you zeroed in on the possibility of the Sepia Sat. prompt being about chefs too! The funnel in the background alerted me to the fact they were on a ship & those white jackets just seemed to suggest to me those two fellows were chefs? So "snap". :)
ReplyDeleteThose Cooks Look like they haven’t really done much yet except create a pile of peelings on the floor.Nary a stain on aprons! But They do it as if they’re enjoying life! Thanks for explaining about Montana at that time and Gustav.
ReplyDelete