Homecoming 1908
Before "How We Do Things," and even before "The Crop on 1909," Johnson was having fun inventing all kinds of humorous ways to lure people back to Waupun and Oshkosh for the summer homecoming celebrations.
The cards in Johnson’s
Welcome Home
series are the first
we see of his humor. Published in 1908, this series shows people
arriving for Homecoming Week
“Any Old Way”
they can. Waupun, Wisconsin held
their 1908 homecoming from July 2nd to the 5th. Nearby Oshkosh held
theirs August 24th to 29th. These nine cards promoted the two
events, and they are among Johnson’s most amusing. When we look at
these we can’t help thinking what fun Johnson and his friends had
designing and posing for these scenes.
These are rare cards. I acquired an
“Any Old Way” in 2013, and Paula King acquired a “Pace Will Be Fast”
recently in 2017.
A copy of "Old Boys" was offered in
2015.
Except for these
examples, the others we have
included
are from the
Morgan Williams collection and were acquired many years ago. Since
they were marketed only locally in Waupun and Oshkosh, they were not
produced in the numbers that national distribution would have
created. Considering the probably small number printed, it is amazing
that any have
found their way into our collections a
century later. People saved their
cards, and we are glad they did.
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Any Old Way to Get There |
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Any Old Way to Get There Home Coming Week Waupun, Wis. July.2.3.4.5. Postmarked 1908 No Johnson signature or business logo. |
The Old Boys and the Merry Widows are good examples of the
hilarity Johnson put his friends through as a continuation
of the Any Old Way To Get There theme he created in the pig
card.
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The Old Boys Are Coming Home Home Coming Week Oshkosh, Wis. August 24-29 Johnson Postcard Works, Waupun, Wis. RPPC Mailed on Aug 08, 1908 from Oshkosh, Wis to Alma Fiker, Random Lake, Wisconsin A second version of this was available in online auction in 2015 for the Waupun July 1908 homecoming. |
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Here They Come, Waterloo Home Coming Johnson recycled his Old Boys in 1915 for the Waterloo Homecoming. |
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The Merry Widows Are On Time Home Coming Week Oshkosh, Wis. August 24-29 Johnson Oshkosh Homecoming RPPC Johnson Postcard Works, Waupun, Wis. RPPC Hats were extreme in this period, but ASJ has exaggerated them even more. Carrying valises, musical instruments and umbrellas, these people are ready for anything as they return to their hometown. My own collection contains this exact same card with Widows misspelled as Widdows. It is otherwise identical. A Waupun version of this surfaced October 2021 in Wisconsin. |
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The Merry Widows Were Caught in the Rain, But They
Will Be Here Just the Same Home Coming Week Oshkosh, Wis. August 24-29 Johnson Oshkosh Homecoming RPPC Johnson Postcard Works, Waupun, Wis. RPPC Pelting rain added by ASJ, first photo manipulation? |
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Come In The Waters Fine Home Coming Week Oshkosh, Wis. August 24-29 Johnson Oshkosh Homecoming RPPC Johnson Postcard Works, Waupun, Wis.
This card
looks like a more spontaneous setting
except for the man in the suit on the diving
board pointing the way to a good time at homecoming. |
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Oshkosh Or Bust Home Coming Week Oshkosh, Wis. August 24-29 Johnson Oshkosh Homecoming RPPC Two Steers 1700 miles to Oshkosh Johnson Postcard Works, Waupun, Wis. Mailed on Aug 11, 1908 from Oshkosh, Wis Unlike the other homecoming scenes, this was taken in the winter and was probably in Johnson's inventory when he was searching for transportation themes. |
| The message on the back of a Waupun version of this card says, "This is a gloomy outlook for our big Picnic. The men are drawing in Hay. Wish we was going to see you tomorrow. write soon- love to all Mother" | |
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And Still They Come Home Coming Week Oshkosh, Wis. August 24-29 Johnson Oshkosh Homecoming RPPC Johnson Postcard Works, Waupun, Wis
“And Still They Come”
is another example of
a shot that could have been two guys driving through
town rather than a posed photo. It is postmarked 20
August 1908 from Oshkosh.
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Whoop With Us Home Coming Week Oshkosh, Wis. August 24-29 Johnson Oshkosh Homecoming RPPC Johnson Postcard Works, Waupun, Wis. Message on back: This is what you will see here next week. |
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The Pace Will be
Fierce Home Coming Week Oshkosh, Wis. Aug. 24 to 29 Johnson Postcard Works on back RPPC "Well Edd what do you think of this trotter ain't he a dandy Chas" Same element as the 23 Skidoo card 1070.1916.H.b (Scene on the Road) Note differences in cropping between this and the M Williams otherwise identical card. (from Paula King Collection) |
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The Pace Will Be
Fierce Home Coming Week Oshkosh, Wis. August 24-29 RPPC Johnson Postcard Works, Waupun, Wis. |
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| For comparative purposes we
show Johnson's 23 Skidoo card published in 1916 as
the H card in the Scene on the Road: Who Cares For
an Auto series. This particular example does not
have the standard overprint, but most do. This is an example of the way Johnson recycled and repurposed his inventory of images. |
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Special Surprise Treat - The 1908 Oshkosh Homecoming Auto Parade