Friday Smiles 262

By now, many of you know I have a ton of photos from the History Museum I visited for Smithsonian Day.  If you want to see a link to this wonderful museum, here it is.  It's now time to share the last of these photos, along with some funny stories, quotes, verse, or jokes I found when I was cleaning my office.  I'll share the funny stuff first, then you can see and enjoy the photos of the museum.  By now you know I'm here for Annie's Friday Smiles.

During the Cold War, there was a foot race between a Russian and an American.
The American won.
The American papers reported that he won.
The Russian press reported that the Russian came in second, and the American came in next to last.


A market researcher for Vaseline Petroleum Jelly was going door-to-door asking people how they used his company’s product. He knocked at one door and it was opened by a young mother with a couple of toddlers.
The researcher told her what he was doing and asked, “Have you ever used Vaseline?”
“Oh sure,” said the mother. “The kids’ father and I use it several times a week.”
“Great,” said the researcher. “Would you mind telling me how you use it?”
The mother replied, “We use Vaseline for sex.”
Surprised at her honesty, he said, “Most folks tell me things like they use it for the baby’s diaper rash or a rusty hinge, but I can see from their embarrassment that they use it for sex. So thanks for being honest. Would you mind being a little more specific?”
“No problem,” she said. “We slather it all over the bedroom doorknob so the kids can’t get in.”


 I’m looking for someone who will love me for who I think I am.


You got friends, then you got your best friend. Big difference. To me, a friend is a guy who will help you move. A best friend is a guy who will help you move a body.


The best way to eat a mango is in the shower with a friend.


She’s always late. Her ancestors arrived on the Juneflower.
~ Anonymous


Give a man a free hand and he'll try to put it all over you.
~ Mae West


Men are stupid and women are crazy. And the reason women are crazy is because men are so stupid.
~ George Carlin


There are two ways to handle a woman, and nobody knows either of them.


By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you’ll become happy. If you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.
~ Socrates


 A bachelor is a guy who never made the same mistake once.
~ Phyllis Diller


The best way to get most husbands to do something is to suggest that perhaps they're too old to do it.
~ Ann Bancroft


My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met.
~ Rodney Dangerfield 

What's the difference between a boyfriend and a husband?
About 30 pounds.


Now let's visit the History Museum again, this time on the fourth and final floor.    

This shows the history of Wichita, KS.  It includes the Oil Industry, Autos, and of course, Aircraft/Aviation.

This is Wichita's flag.  I want one.

This tells about the flag contest, who won, and how much he won.

There's a fool born every minute, and Wichitans were no different, it seems.

I don't feel bad for the investors.  I DO feel bad for the thousands of starving rabbits.

After attending a lecture given by Frank Lloyd Wright in Wichita in 1935, Louise Hoult was inspired and wrote the architect to inquire if he would create a "small and reasonable house" for her and her husband.   He designed Usonia, but it proved to be too expensive for middle class people in Wichita, so was never built.

Looking down at the third floor from the fourth floor, you can see the area we visited several weeks ago.

Looking across the fourth floor space to the different furniture designs from 1860 to 1960, this was all I was able to capture of that area.

Even though Frank Lloyd Wright didn't build Usonia in Wichita, he did leave his mark on the city.

He designed and built the Henry J. Allen home.  Allen owned the Wichita Beacon (a daily newspaper), was also a governor, and a U.S. senator, too.  Today the showcase house, with its original furniture also created by Wright, is a museum. 

This is the design and floor plan of the Allen house.  I have never been there because the cost to visit is rather too expensive ($10.00 USD) just to see the house, the grounds, and the furniture.

This is where my camera died.  I was sick and there was lots more to see on the fourth floor.  But I have some old photos from when I went before.


Unfortunately, they are really sad photos.

No matter how hard I tried to adjust the images in PS, this was the best I could get.  This is the same photo as above.  It shows that a man called Jones designed and built automobiles in Wichita from 1914 to 1920.  His first car, called the Jones Six, was a seven passenger touring car.

According to American Automobile:

In 1917 a four passenger Roadster and Sedan was added. Early Jones engines were a Lewis rated at 22 horsepower. The Jones Six was powered by a 30 horsepower Continental Red Seal engine from 1917 to 1920.

According the same site, the factory caught fire in 1920 and never recovered.  Half the plant and 14 automobiles were destroyed.  The plant put out about 4000 automobiles before the fire.
 Also, according to American Automobile:

The Jones automobiles sold quite well, with peak production in 1918 at 1025 units. In 1915 most Jones car sold for $1,150.00. By 1917 prices were $1475.00 and by 1919 prices were over $2,000.00 for all models. A 1919 Sports Roadster was listed at $2300,00. 

This relives the life and times of Wichita musician Gage Brewer and his Shadowland Night Club.

Lloyd Stearman was one of several aircraft makers in the early years of aviation in Wichita, KS.  He designed crop dusters, kept Lockheed Aircraft aloft, and joined Clyde Cessna and Walter Beech who formed Travel Air Manufacturing, making Wichita, KS the "Air Capital of the World."  The three were backed by prosperous oilmen from the area who offered venture capital.

The last area I visited was the furniture section.  This shows how various styles changed from 1860 to 1960.  Again, I apologize for the horrible photos. 

Looks like I started from the present (1960) and headed to the past.  Look closely and you can see the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit in the background.

It appears that some of these styles are timeless.

Thanks for joining me today and thanks for your continued visits.  Now let's be thankful for my "new" camera and visit Annie's Friday Smiles, where it never hurts to begin the weekend with a big smile, just like sweet Annie's.

Next Friday I will share photos from another museum I visited in the past.