JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

 Masthead, Boston Post, December 25, 1920. Click on image for larger version. While scrolling through papers for this series, the illustrations published by the Boston Post stood out in terms of quality and variety. It feels like they put extra effort in gathering material from sources ranging from already published prints to popular humour magazines.  With this lush masthead as our entrance, let's explore what was in the Post 's holiday editions. Boston Post, December 25, 1920. Thoughts from the front page on the state of the world that Christmas, one still emerging from war and pandemic (and one that sounds vaguely familiar to those who have lived through 2020), with a touch of American exceptionalism thrown in.  The following was also expressed on the front page: Christmas 1920! It will be a day of joy and gladness in Boston.  Out of the chaos of the world worries it will dawn filled with good cheer for rich and poor alike, for those that are well and those that ...

This window was an attention-grabber - several fellow bypassers marvelled in disbelief at the fashions on display. As I placed my camera back in its case, a couple stopped for a second, exchanged stares, then uttered in unison " Herb Tarlek !" Photo taken along Boylston Street in Boston on June 11, 2011 - JB

A stripe of red paint substitutes for red brick as the Freedom Trail heads along the Charlestown Bridge (aka North Washington Street Bridge). The lightposts on the bridge were adorned with banners celebrating the Celtics' playoff run. My stay coincided with the Celtics' battle with the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Eastern Conference finals. Take a wild guess as to where my loyalties lay (hint: the team that lost to the eventual league champions). First stop over in Charlestown was City Square , where giant fish watched every move I made. A phoenix may be a more appropriate symbol, given the square's ability to resurrect itself from invasions, fires and elevated freeways . Boston firefighters put out blazes and quench the thirst of thirsty walkers. A memorial to those who fought in the Civil War stands in Winthrop Square. Simmering resentment against the British dies hard on Bunker Hill . I arrived too late to climb up the 221' obelisk but ...

After dodging heavy machinery to cross Harvard Square, I hopped on the subway and headed into downtown Boston. Everyone obeyed the sign not to run down the ramp even as the train was ready to pull away. First stop was Brattle Book Shop , whose bargain carts filled the adjacent lot. A series of author portraits hang above the $3-5 books - I'm partial to the take on Dr. Seuss. Disintegrating 19th century editions of The Atlantic were tempting but looked as if they would crumble before I reached the cashier. I soon discovered I wasn't the only Canadian roaming around Downtown Crossing. While checking out at an Eddie Bauer outlet, the cashier noticed my CIBC credit card and noted I was the sixth or seventh Canadian she had served that day. It wasn't difficult to find traces of home around Boston, if only in the TD logo and colour scheme on Banknorth branches. One of Downtown Crossing's retail landmarks was Filene's, which was famous for yearly "runn...

Day three of the trip began with a leisurely drive to Alewife T station to drop off the car. Everything was smooth until I reached the station, when construction and a closed ramp forced me to circle twice before I was able to enter. Figuring out where to park was an adventure, as most of the deck was marked with signs indicating that any vehicles left after 7 p.m. would be towed. Since I wasn't sure when I would return I looked for areas without these signs, which brought me to the top. The upside was a lovely view of trees gradually giving way to the city skyline. Spacing recently posted an article on Boston's transit system . The CharlieCard system (reloadable smart cards) is a massive improvement over previous frustrations figuring out which fare was the correct one. Among of the distractions of the Red Line was a flip book-style ad for Nestle Quik on the tunnel walls during a long stretch between stations. I hopped off the subway near MIT and wandered west a...

Day two began with a quick bite in the hotel lounge. It was your standard bare-bones continental: juice, cereal, fruit and Otis Spunkmeyer bagels (the latter displayed little spunk, but an application of apple jelly and Philly helped). I took the Thruway to Utica, then hopped onto New York Route 5 to drive along the north side of the Mohawk River . It was a peaceful drive, with few agitated or pokey drivers between Utica and Schenectady. A relaxing winding highway, towns with baby food factories, places my brother-in-law warned me not to linger in, etc. The weather was a damper, with intermittent showers preventing me from shooting photos. I stopped for lunch at the Farmer Boy diner in Colonie. First up was a soothing squash soup with bonus red peppers and bacon. My main was one of the better-marinated half-chickens I've had, bathed in lemon and oregano and flattened, served atop chicken-flavoured rice pilaf. It was roadtrip comfort food gold. After a few hours on the M...