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I am an avid collector of intriguing old things including postcards, newspapers, photographs, advertising cards, souveniers, etc. All of the pictures in this blog are from my private collection. If you wish to enlarge any picture, simply click on it.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Old Photograph for "Sepia Saturday"

I thought I'd post a picture of my Grandfather, Charles Langan O'Maley of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and 3 of his fellow police officers from the Gloucester Police Department on their new Harley Davidson ? motorcycles. Can any members out there let me know if these are Harleys? The picture was taken at Stage Fort Park in Gloucester in 1931. I remember as a kid back in the 1960's having "Popper" pull this picture off of the shelf and having me "guess" which one was him! He later became the Captain of the police department (before they had chiefs) and is mentioned throughout the book "Behind The Badge" by Ingersoll and Foote. The book is an interesting listing of the actual police logs for Gloucester including back in the days of prohibition. Pretty rough and tumble town back then! My Grandfather is second from the left.


Other officers as noted on the back of the photo are Left to Right:
Wilkinson
Chas L O'Maley
John J. Coyle
George W. O'Maley

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14 comments:

  1. Christine H.March 24, 2011 at 11:56 PM

    This is a great photo. I would recommend posting it for 'Sepia Saturday' over at http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/

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  2. Mike SchofieldMarch 25, 2011 at 10:26 AM

    Hi Christine, thanks for the tip........this stuff can be a bit addictive!

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  3. North County Film ClubMarch 26, 2011 at 12:49 PM

    Love this photo of popper and his fellow cops. It's so nice that all their names are included. Great photo.
    Nancy
    Ladies of the grove

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  4. Brett PayneMarch 26, 2011 at 4:08 PM

    What a magnificent image of your grandfather. I like the way the background has been faded - or perhaps it was unintentional - to make the riders and their bikes stand out.

    I fear you are right, Mike, terribly addictive, and I look forward to seeing more ephemera from you.

    Regards, Brett

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  5. Tattered and LostMarch 26, 2011 at 4:16 PM

    I'm trying to imagine how the bikes stood upright like that. No feet on the ground. No kick stand. Just perfectly balanced. Great shot.

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  6. HowardMarch 26, 2011 at 6:23 PM

    Great picture. I'm no expert, but the bike on the right is clearly a v-twin so that would mean a Harley or an Indian, but Harley most likely.

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  7. Mike BrubakerMarch 26, 2011 at 6:51 PM

    Super photo. Old motorcycles used a different transmission than modern ones and have a right hand stick shift. The tire treads look new too.

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  8. Betsy BrockMarch 26, 2011 at 7:43 PM

    What a gorgeous photo! My dad was chief of police in our little town in the 60's. No motorcycles, though. :)

    All four of them look so sharp in their uniforms!

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  9. Marilyn & JeffMarch 26, 2011 at 10:16 PM

    What a fantastic photo to have. It is so good of the men as well as the bikes. I hope that someone can tell you what the bikes are.

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  10. Alan BurnettMarch 27, 2011 at 7:21 AM

    Thanks for adding this to Sepia Saturday, I hope you will become a regular contributor. This image is, of course, fascinating and it illustrates to perfection the wonder of being able to zoom in on such images and examine every detail and extract so much interest from them.

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  11. AnonymousMarch 27, 2011 at 9:58 AM

    I can't help with identifying the bikes, but this is a great photo treasure to have of your Granddad Popper :-) Jo

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  12. Bob ScotneyMarch 28, 2011 at 6:14 AM

    They could make up a police formation team.Great photo.

    You header is magnificent. What a top dog!

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  13. UnknownFebruary 1, 2014 at 3:53 PM

    Even though I am an O'Maley it was my maternal grandfather, John J. Coyle, also in the photo that told me they were indian bikes.
    Charles Michael O'Maley

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  14. AnonymousJuly 9, 2014 at 7:29 PM

    The bikes are Indians as they have leaf-spring front ends. Great photo!!

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