Bonus Picture Tuesday

We promised a post this week, so figured we had better get on it! A true testament to the quality of photos IN the book is the quality of photos that got left OUT of the book. We were fortunate to get some really wonderful items from so many sources.

This photo, courtesy of the Mount Vernon Mayor’s Office, is one of our earliest scans.

It is a great picture, but there is the double whammy of “Are we *sure* this was Mount Vernon?” and “What story would it bring?” There is no doubt that it could be from here—the area had plenty of giant trees like this. But the sign on the left, which is difficult to make out, seems to be saying something about “Blaine”. Too much uncertainly for our taste. But it is still a wonderful photograph from 1899!

Can you read the bottom? It says “This tree was used to shelter 12 head of cattle”. Wow, lucky for those pioneers that lightning is a rare occurrence around here!