Yesterday Today

Pope John Paul II in a Brand New Ferrari Mondial Cabriolet in Fiorano, Italy, on June 4, 1988

The Popemobile (Pope’s car) is one of the coolest, strangest, and most Catholic vehicles around. It might seem like its primary purpose is to protect the pontiff, but you’d be surprised here Pope John Paul II exchanged his Popemobile for a brand new Ferrari Mondial Cabriolet for a day when he visited a Ferrari manufacturer in Fiorano, Italy, on June 4, 1988.

For Maranello it was an important date, the date of a special visit. The town of the Prancing Horse has been having distinguished guests for years, but this beats them all because the guest in question was Pope John Paul II.

Unfortunately, Enzo Ferrari’s health did not allow him to meet Pope Wojtyla, whom he really liked because as a young man, the Pope had worked as a laborer. They did speak over the phone. Just over two months later, at the age of 90, Ferrari died at his home in Modena.

Despite the absence of the Drake, Maranello welcomed John Paul II who also visited the Ferrari factory. He was fully in the spirit of the place: instead of taking the path and greeting the crowds in his white Papamobile, as he usually did, he asked to ride in a Ferrari that was immediately made available.

Pope John Paul II (18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his death in 2005. He was elected pope by the second papal conclave of 1978, which was called after John Paul I, who had been elected in August to succeed Pope Paul VI, died after 33 days. Cardinal Wojtyła was elected on the third day of the conclave and adopted the name of his predecessor in tribute to him. Born in Poland, John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in the 16th century and the second-longest-serving pope in modern history.

John Paul II attempted to improve the Catholic Church’s relations with Judaism, Islam, and the Eastern Orthodox Church. He maintained the Church’s previous positions on such matters as abortion, artificial contraception, the ordination of women, and a celibate clergy, and although he supported the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, he was seen as generally conservative in their interpretation. He was one of the most travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. As part of his special emphasis on the universal call to holiness, he beatified 1,340 and canonised 483 people, more than the combined tally of his predecessors during the preceding five centuries. By the time of his death, he had named most of the College of Cardinals, consecrated or co-consecrated many of the world’s bishops, and ordained many priests. He has also been credited with helping to end Communist rule in his native Poland as well as the rest of Europe.

John Paul II’s cause for canonisation commenced one month after his death with the traditional five-year waiting period waived. On 19 December 2009, John Paul II was proclaimed venerable by his successor, Benedict XVI, and was beatified on 1 May 2011 (Divine Mercy Sunday) after the Congregation for the Causes of Saints attributed one miracle to his intercession, the healing of a French nun called Marie Simon Pierre from Parkinson’s disease. A second miracle was approved on 2 July 2013, and confirmed by Pope Francis two days later. John Paul II was canonised on 27 April 2014 (again Divine Mercy Sunday), together with John XXIII. On 11 September 2014, Pope Francis added these two optional memorials to the worldwide General Roman Calendar of saints. It is traditional to celebrate saints’ feast days on the anniversary of their deaths, but that of John Paul II (22 October) is celebrated on the anniversary of his papal inauguration. Posthumously, he has been referred to by some Catholics as “St. John Paul the Great”, although the title has no official recognition. (Wikipedia)

Here are more photos of Pope John Paul II visited Maranello and the Ferrari factory on 4 June 1988:

Remarkable Images of the ‘Princess May’ on the Rocks at Lynn, Alaska, 1910

Remarkable images of the steamship Princess May, resting at a seemingly impossible angle, after running aground on rocks in the Lynn Canal, Alaska on 5 August 1910. The passengers, crew and cargo (including a shipment of gold) were all evacuated safely.

The Grounding of the Princess May is one of the most famous shipwreck photographs in the world, after she ran aground in 1910 the photographs spread around the globe with startling speed and the stories of heroism on board began to emerge from the survivors.

On August 5, 1910, the Princess May departed from the port of Skagway in Alaska with 68 crew, 80 passengers aboard and a huge load of gold from Alaska’s booming gold rush. She was powering down the Lynn Canal at 10 knots through an impermeable fog when the hull hit an underwater reef off the north end of Sentinel Island. The ship’s weight and speed meant that it’s momentum drove it hard up onto the rocks, the reef tore through the hull and began flooding the engine room.

The Princess May was equipped with a wireless morse code transmitter however it had not been fitted with auxiliary batteries, meaning that if the engines stopped turning the dynamo, the power to the transmitter would be immediately lost. The wireless operator, W.R. Keller knew this, he was unable to transmit an SOS before power was lost to the ship and so he ran below decks and MacGyvered a functioning electrical connection with the engine room’s lamp battery, using this power he was able to send a short message that simply said “S.S. PRINCESS MAY SINKING SENTINEL ISLAND; SEND HELP”.

Largely as a result of this SOS message the ship was evacuated safely, W.R. Keller was revered as a hero and all aboard the Princess May were picked up by the Princess Ena.

Amazingly, less than a month later on September 3, 1910, the Princess May was refloated by a salvage crew and towed to port. In total, 120 steel plates along the hull had been damaged with the largest hole being over 50 feet (15 m) long. The ship was repaired at a (substantial at the time) cost of $115,000 USD and resumed her routes by spring 1911.

The Princess May remained in service for nine more years before she was sold to new owners, the Princess May Steamship Company in the Caribbean. In the end the vessel was scrapped and then scuttled off Kingston, Jamaica in 1930.

20 Interesting Photos of Railways in Hamburg, 1959

Hamburg, officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (German: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; Low Saxon: Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg), is the second-largest city in Germany after Berlin, as well as the overall 7th largest city and largest non-capital city in the European Union with a population of over 1.84 million. Hamburg’s urban area has a population of around 2.5 million[1] and its metropolitan area is home to more than five million people. The city lies on the River Elbe and two of its tributaries, the River Alster and the River Bille. One of Germany’s 16 federated states, Hamburg is surrounded by Schleswig-Holstein to the north and Lower Saxony to the south.

The official name reflects Hamburg’s history as a member of the medieval Hanseatic League and a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. Before the 1871 Unification of Germany, it was a fully sovereign city state, and before 1919 formed a civic republic headed constitutionally by a class of hereditary grand burghers or Hanseaten. Beset by disasters such as the Great Fire of Hamburg, North Sea flood of 1962 and military conflicts including World War II bombing raids, the city has managed to recover and emerge wealthier after each catastrophe.

Hamburg is Europe’s third largest port, after Rotterdam and Antwerp. Major regional broadcaster NDR, the printing and publishing firm Gruner + Jahr and the newspapers Der Spiegel and Die Zeit are based in the city. Hamburg is the seat of Germany’s oldest stock exchange and the world’s oldest merchant bank, Berenberg Bank. Media, commercial, logistical, and industrial firms with significant locations in the city include multinationals Airbus, Blohm + Voss, Aurubis, Beiersdorf, and Unilever. Hamburg is also a major European science, research, and education hub, with several universities and institutions. The city enjoys a very high quality of living, being ranked 19th in the 2019 Mercer Quality of Living Survey.

Hamburg hosts specialists in world economics and international law, including consular and diplomatic missions as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the EU-LAC Foundation, and the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, multipartite international political conferences and summits such as Europe and China and the G20. Both former German chancellors Helmut Schmidt and Angela Merkel were born in Hamburg. The former Mayor of Hamburg, Olaf Scholz, has been the current German chancellor since December 2021.

Hamburg is a major international and domestic tourist destination. The Speicherstadt and Kontorhausviertel were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 2015. Hamburg’s rivers and canals are crossed by around 2,500 bridges, making it the city with the highest number of bridges in Europe. Aside from its rich architectural heritage, the city is also home to notable cultural venues such as the Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle concert halls. It gave birth to movements like Hamburger Schule and paved the way for bands including The Beatles. Hamburg is also known for several theatres and a variety of musical shows. St. Pauli’s Reeperbahn is among the best-known European entertainment districts. (Wikipedia)

The Amazing Story Behind the Picture of a Soldier Feeding a Tiny Kitten in Korean War, 1952

In the middle of the Korean War, this kitten found herself an orphan. Luckily, she found her way into the hands of Marine Sergeant Frank Praytor. He adopted the two-week-old kitten and gave her the name “Miss Hap” because, he explained, “she was born at the wrong place at the wrong time”. There’s a juxtaposition between the soldier and the human. He’s dressed for war but hasn’t lost the ability to care for another living creature.

It was circulated that her mother was killed by a mortar barrage near Bunker Hill. That was not true. Sergeant Praytor, in a 2009 article in The Graybeards (the official publication of the Korean War Veteran’s Association), stated that Miss Hap’s mother was shot by a Marine up the line because of her yeowling. Since that would have caused negative reactions, Corps publicity told the mortar barrage story instead.

Miss Hap was one of two surviving kittens. Sergeant Praytor took care of her while the other was given to another man – who rolled over in his sleep and accidentally killed it. The photo above was taken by Staff Sergeant Martin Riley. Sergeant Praytor was feeding Miss Hap slightly watered-down canned milk with a medicine dropper. She was later weaned onto meat out of “C” ration cans.

Staff Sergeant Riley’s photograph was circulated and published in more than 1,700 American newspapers in 1953, including The New York Times. After Sergeant Praytor went home, Miss Hap was left behind in Korea. However, she was left in good hands and became a mascot in the Division PIO office. Sergeant Praytor saw her one more time when he returned briefly. Miss Hap’s second guardian was Cpl. Conrad Fisher of Cicero, Illinois who hoped to take her home. On whether or not Cpl Fisher was able to bring Miss Hap home, Sergeant Praytor remarked, “I like to think he did.”

In 2010, Praytor wrote, “Miss Hap was weaned on meat out of C rations and grew into a big girl who thought I was her father. When I left Korea, I left her in the care of another Marine. When I returned in ’55, she was alive and well. At 83, I’m still saving orphans. Have two cats, Molly and Max. They never leave the house.”

“Give Him Air! Give Him Air!” – Ethel Kennedy in the Moments After Robert F. Kennedy’s Assassination, 1968

This dramatic photograph of Ethel Kennedy stirred controversy and debate over the ethics of photojournalism following its publication hours after the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles, 1968. Led to where her husband lay Mrs Kennedy bent down by his side and whispered “I’m with you my baby”. She then stood, turned to the crown and shouted “give him air.”

**Ethel Kennedy, shortly after Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1968. (Photo by Harry Benson)**

Harry Benson has captured this moment of raw emotion and trauma perfectly. Her outreached hand is blurred and slightly obscures her face, yet her eyes engage the viewer and reveal her anguish. Just after securing this shot, Benson was knocked to the floor by a Kennedy aide. Instinctively he changed films and hid the valuable spool, which featured many of his iconic pictures of the scene, down his sock.

“Bobby Kennedy, to me, was the first celebrity political person,” Benson says. “He was like Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney. He was an event.”

**Senator Robert F. Kennedy speaks to a jubilant crowd at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, minutes before his death. (Photo by Harry Benson)**

Legendary photographer Harry Benson is best known for his intimate photographs of the Beatles, but his wide-ranging career as a journalist spanned pop culture, politics, and social upheaval; from relaxed photos of celebrities like Princess Diana and Michael Jackson to shots of the Berlin Wall coming down and scenes of Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral.

His front-row seat to history includes the day that Bobby Kennedy was tragically shot in Los Angeles in 1968. Kennedy was giving a speech at the Ambassador Hotel after winning the California presidential primary when he was shot several times by Sirhan Sirhan, a 22-year-old of Palestinian descent who felt betrayed by Kennedy’s support of Israel. Five others were also wounded in the attack; Kennedy died the next day.

“You’d thought of yourself like the guy in the bar who would say, ‘God if I was there that night—I would have done this, I would have done that.’ Now, I’m there; Now I’ve got to do it. So my main thing, purpose was to get as close as I could to Bobby, take pictures and walk around there,” Benson says of the famous night in Los Angeles.

Shortly after the photograph was taken, Benson was knocked to the ground. “They punched me and all that, and while I’m changing film, other people were shot around me. I was the last photographer to leave.”

“I put the film in my sock, because if a policeman comes up to me and says, ‘I want your film,’ and he’s got a gun, I want to photograph for Life magazine; I don’t want to die for it,” Benson recalls.

**Robert F. Kennedy moments after being shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, 1968. (Photo by Harry Benson)**

Some people have criticized Benson for taking the pictures, and that fateful night still haunts him. But he has no regrets: “Other photographers who were there held back, but I knew I needed to record this. History was happening right in front of me. I am a photographer and this is what I do.”

Two Wheelin’ Fun: Pictures of Summertime Street Cruising in San Francisco in the 1970s

San Francisco in the 1970s was a global hub of culture. It was known worldwide for hippies and radicals. The Daily Mail described flamboyant 1970s San Francisco as being characterized by “hippy street life when buskers, bongo players and impressive bouffants thronged the city by the bay.”

These fascinating photographs, taken by LIFE photographer Bill Eppridge, captured people cycling on streets in San Francisco in the summer of 1970s.

(Photos by Bill Eppridge, via LIFE photo archive)

General Theodore “We’ll Start The War From Right Here!” Roosevelt Jr. Was Awarded The Medal Of Honor On Utah Beach

A son will often attempt to live up to the legacy of their father, and when your father happens to be former President, Rough Rider, and man extraordinaire Teddy Roosevelt, that can be quite a tall order. Named after his father, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. fought in both World Wars and demonstrated the type of bravery that must clearly run in the Roosevelt blood.

He made multiple petitions to be on the first wave of the D-Day invasion and when command finally relented, Roosevelt was the only General to be there with the men when the ramps first dropped. General Omar Bradley once noted when asked that the single most heroic thing he had ever seen in combat was Ted Roosevelt on Utah Beach.

For his actions that day, Theodore Roosevelt Jr would receive the Medal of Honor and prove the most difficult thing to do in any war just might be killing a man named Theodore Roosevelt.

An Untraditional Path to Service

Born in 1887 the eldest son of future President Teddy Roosevelt, Theodore was given his father’s namesake and all the burden of living up to it. However, his father would also impress upon him the need for military training and for every man to be prepared to do his part when the time should come.

Roosevelt would go on to attend Harvard and after graduating in 1909, he entered the business world. Proving to be highly skilled, he was able to build quite a personal fortune prior to World War 1 which might have given other men a little more incentive to sit out the war if possible. But other men didn’t have to call the famed Rough Rider of San Juan Hill daddy.

In 1915, the US military had set up a summer camp for business and professional men to receive military training at their own expense. This was used as a method to assess and increase military readiness as war erupted throughout Europe and would prove essential in building a junior officer’s corps for a rapidly expanding army needed to fight World War 1. Three of Teddy’s 4 sons were graduates of this camp and were offered commissions when the US joined the war.

**In his younger days as Assistant Secretary To The Navy**

Now a Major, Roosevelt would find himself in command of a battalion in the war and become notorious for leading from the front with his men. He took it upon himself to see after the welfare of his men and personally purchased combat boots for his battalion out of his great personal wealth.

He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and was given command of the 26th Regiment in the First Division. During the summer of 1918, he was seriously wounded and gassed at Soissons close to the same time younger brother Quentin was killed in combat. By war’s end, Roosevelt had received the Distinguished Service Cross as well as the French Chevalier Legion d’honneur.

A Political Path to War
After the war, Roosevelt would keep up his military training despite injuries frequently requiring the use of a cane. In addition, he simultaneously followed his father’s path into politics. He was elected to the New York State Assembly before being appointed by President Harding to be the Assistant Secretary of the Navy.

In 1924, he was the Republican candidate for Governor of New York where a public feud with cousin and prominent Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt took front stage. Theodore would lose the election and any possible affections he might have had with FDR. The next 10 years would see Roosevelt serving overseas as Governor of Puerto Rico and the Governor-General of the Philippines.

By the mid-1930’s, he was back in America pursuing a variety of business interests while the clouds of war began to gather over Europe. In 1940, he took a military refresher course which saw him promoted to Colonel. Just in time for the shooting to start, Roosevelt was back on active duty and given command of the 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division.

After a promotion to Brigadier General, 1942 would see Roosevelt in North Africa as second in command of the 1st Infantry Division under Major General Terry Allen. Much as in the first World War, Roosevelt could regularly be seen on the front lines making on the spot decisions with complete disregard for incoming fire around him.

However, Roosevelt’s unconventional military background also led him to be criticized by notable Generals such as Patton and Bradley. While his bravery in combat was beyond dispute, his willingness to become over involved with the men and detouring from the finer points of military discipline was the subject of intense debate.

Eventually, General Omar Bradley relieved both Allen and Roosevelt from command of the 1st Division and had them reassigned. Roosevelt would continue to see action in Sicily and Italy before making his way to England in preparation for D-Day.

History on Utah Beach
As part of the 4th Infantry Division, Roosevelt made multiple requests to be allowed to be present for the first wave of the invasion. Casualties were expected to be remarkably high and it wasn’t deemed a good use of experience to have a General fall as soon as the ramps dropped.

Roosevelt thought otherwise as he believed he could paint an accurate picture of the battle in progress and make any adjustments on the spot. The Division commander eventually relented and approved Roosevelt’s request while stating that he never expected to see Roosevelt alive again.

**American Soldiers land at Utah Beach**

History would prove Roosevelt correct as the landing craft for the division had drifted approximately a mile south before hitting the beach. As one of the first men off his craft, General Roosevelt was able to assess the situation and coordinate the impromptu assault.

He was quoted as saying to his battalion commanders, “We’ll start the war from right here!” With his trademarked confidence and calm, he walked up and down the beach directing the action with utter disregard for his own safety.

When the rest of the Generals decided to join the war, General Roosevelt was present to greet them offering top-tier information on which the staff could rely. Roosevelt continued to help the Allies push into France and was put forward for a promotion to Major General and given command of his own division.

However, on July 12th, 1944, the Roosevelt who suffered health problems in part due to his World War 1 wounds suffered a heart attack at the age of 56 and died in France. He was buried at the American cemetery in Normandy and for his actions on June 6th, 1944 he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

When his father, Teddy, died at the age of 60 in 1919 while in his sleep, it was said that “Death had to take Roosevelt sleeping, for if he had been awake, there would have been a fight.” It would seem that a similar trait was true of Junior as it would take a heart attack to do what the entirety of the German army could not.

**The secret funeral of Teddy Roosevelt Jr.**

Like father, like son, both men have secured their place in military history and when Theodore Roosevelt Jr. died, he had made a name that would stand on its own.

Early Agfacolor Photography: Fabulous Found Slides Capture Portrait of an Unknown German Lady in the 1930s

Agfacolor was the name of a series of color film products made by Agfa of Germany. The first Agfacolor, introduced in 1932, was a film-based version of their Agfa-Farbenplatte (Agfa color plate), a “screen plate” product similar to the French Autochrome.

In late 1936 Agfa introduced Agfacolor Neu (New Agfacolor), a pioneering color film of the general type still in use today. The new Agfacolor was originally a reversal film used for making “slides”, home movies and short documentaries. By 1939 it had also been adapted into a negative film and a print film for use by the German motion picture industry.

After World War II, the Agfacolor brand was applied to several varieties of color negative film for still photography, in which the negatives were used to make color prints on paper. The reversal film was then marketed as Agfachrome.

These fabulous agfacolor slides were found by apfelauge that show portrait of an unknown German woman in the late 1930s.

How To Take a Steam Bath, And Other Victorian Visual Health Guides

This French edition of Friedrich Eduard Bilz’s 1888 naturopathic medicine guide Das Neue Naturheilverfahren (The New Natural Healing) is charmingly illustrated in the familiar style of early twentieth-century medical art. It offers visual directions to various methods of curing disease, from steam baths to massage to swimming and is one of the best of its kind.

With Copper, Foil and Paint, a Little-Known American Sculptor Saved Scores of World War I Soldiers From a Faceless Future

Born in Philadelphia in 1878, Anna Coleman Ladd was a classically trained sculptress who in 1917 founded the American Red Cross Studio for Portrait Masks in Paris.

Anna was inspired to offer her talent as an artist to help soldiers in France after reading an article about Francis Derwent Wood and his “Tin Noses Shop” in England (where Wood was creating masks for disfigured soldiers).

Anna’s husband, Dr. Maynard Ladd, was already in France organizing pediatric hospitals. Anna prevailed upon his Red Cross connections to help her establish the Studio for Portrait Masks for Mutilated Soldiers in Paris.

By November of 1917 Anna had found prospective clients from the front-line hospitals. Shortly after that, with the help of Diana Blair (from the Harvard Medical unit), Jane Poupelet (a French sculptor) and two English sculptors (Louise Brent and Robert Vlerick), she was ready to open the studio.

Anna didn’t want to just hide the soldier’s disfigurement. She wanted to restore his sense of self – “his personality, his hopes and ambitions.” To do this she created a homelike environment where the men would feel at ease. The studio was filled with light and laughter.

Anna and her assistants took time to talk with the men, to get to know them. She often interviewed friends and family members and pored over pictures of the man before the war.

The first step, in the actual process of restoring a mutilé’s face, was to make a plaster cast of his damaged face. Then, using the information garnered from her interviews and photographs, Anna would build-up the missing or ruined features on the plaster cast until the soldier said, “C’est moi!” (It’s me!).

Next a gutta percha (a type of latex) mask was made of the area that need to be restored. Some masks covered the whole face but most were partial masks, covering a chin and one cheek, or a nose and an eye, whatever had been damaged.

The gutta percha mask was suspended in a copper bath for two days until a thin film of copper was deposited on it, resulting in a light weight copper mask that could be painted. Anna painted the mask while it was on the man’s face to better match his skin tones.

Eyes were painted on if needed but eyelashes, eyebrows and even mustaches were created with fine copper wire that looked natural and would withstand the occasional mustachio twirling so popular with Frenchmen. Most masks were held in place with spectacles but, if a soldier didn’t want glasses, Anna found alternative methods, like thin wire or ribbon, to secure the mask.

To further create a natural effect, a small hole was left between the new lips so a man could smoke a cigarette while wearing his mask. A video of Anna at her studio still exists in which you can see Anna and her assistants creating and fitting masks on soldiers.

The average cost of the masks was only $18 due, in large part, to the fact that Anna’s services were donated.

Reports vary as to the number of masks that Anna and her team created. Some say 60, others say over 100. But the impact on the lives of the soldiers they helped—and their families—is immeasurable.

Anna Ladd returned to the United States in December of 1918 where she resumed her career as a sculptor. Sometime in the late 1930s she and her husband moved to California where she remained active as an artist.

Anna died in Montecito, California on June 4, 1939. She was survived by her husband and two daughters.