Likely concocted prank makes a puzzling photo
There once was a time when mischievous children used the telephone to play pranks, like calling the tobacco shop and asking the clerk if he carried Prince Albert in a can.
”You do? Well, you’d better let him out!” the little rascal would say before hanging up.
Maybe kids played practical jokes in person, like the one pictured in this week’s Mystery Photo, but we rather doubt it. Our guess is this scene of two boys teasing a man with a wallet on a string was concocted by the photographer for some unknown purpose.
The photographer is unknown, as well. The clothing looks to be from the late 1930s or early 1940s, when the Observer and Reporter newspapers relied on freelance photographers.
We’re hoping some of our readers can help us attach information to this image for our archives. Although it may be too difficult to identify the people, it’s possible someone might know the circumstances or reason for the photo, or perhaps where or when, exactly, it was taken. The structures in the background visible behind the fence might still exist.
If you think you can help us solve this puzzle, email Park Burroughs, retired executive editor, at pburroughs@observer-reporter.com, or call and leave a message for him along with your phone number at 724-222-2200, extension 2400. With a little help from our friends, we’ll be able to fill in the blanks and report our findings in next Monday’s Observer-Reporter.