1953 Photo Archives - LIFE

Rugged Rock Robertson, ‘Strong Man of the North’

Fri, 30 Jun 2017 09:00:39 +0000

In 1953, photographer Wallace Kirkland explored the archetype of the Northern woodsman for LIFE Magazine, with a photo profile of the perfectly named Rock Robertson—”Strong Man of the North,” per the article’s headline.

Rock, at 31, six feet tall and 205 pounds, got his name from a grandfather who, predictably perhaps, had acquired the nickname due to his great strength. As a professional hunting and fishing guide, Rock Robertson regularly carried 300 pounds for miles and could pull off a moose mating call good enough to draw in the bulls that hunters wanted most. He once went more than a week without food, because of a storm, before walking 48 miles in snowshoes to get out of the woods. He faced the forest with a smile and a shrug, embracing the outdoors lifestyle that his ancestors—French-Canadian, First Nations and Scottish—had likewise lived.

“He has been known, when the mood takes him, to pick up a stove and heave it through a cook-shack wall,” the article noted. “But generally Rock’s moods are sunny and his broad shoulders are put to practical and picturesque uses as a woodsman and as a guide.”

Out camping deep in the Canadian north woods, Rock Robertson grinned through the doorway of trapper’s birchbark tepee.

Wallace Kirkland The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Robertson smoked some fish in the wild country between Hudson Bay and the St. Lawrence.

Wallace Kirkland The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Rock (right) and brother Harry arm-wrestled. After winning, Rock said, `He’s good, and I’m good.'”

Wallace Kirkland The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

On a portage Rock packed 300 pounds.

Wallace Kirkland The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Rock’s moosecall got answering grunts from an amorous bull who came up from half a mile away.

Wallace Kirkland The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Rock carrying a moose haunch. North woodsmen preferred moose to beef or venison.

Wallace Kirkland The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A battered canoe leaked furiously but was still afloat, patched up with spruce gum and boughs.

Wallace Kirkland The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A snared partridge flapped futilely after Rock pulled it from a tree.

Wallace Kirkland The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The fire broiled the partridge and also dried out a pair of wet socks dangling from the box.

Wallace Kirkland The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Seeing a black bear in the water, Rock paused to determine the size of quarry and to which shore he would try to herd it.

Wallace Kirkland The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

As the bear neared the shore, Rock raised his rifle. When the bear reached water’s edge he brought it down.

Wallace Kirkland The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Rock approached the bear warily.

Wallace Kirkland The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Bringing back the bear, Rock easily balanced the canoe on his head. Rock said he could walk for hours with this kind of load. `I sweat like hell,’ he said. `Man who don’t sweat get tired.'”

`Wallace Kirkland The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Rock Robertson with his wife and child.

Wallace Kirkland The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The post Rugged Rock Robertson, ‘Strong Man of the North’ appeared first on LIFE.

New Yorkers Beat the Heat in the Sizzling Summer of ’53

Mon, 01 Aug 2016 08:00:13 +0000

The summer of 1953 in New York City was torturous. The temperature was in the 90s (or higher) every day between July 15 and 21, and again between Aug. 24 and Sept. 4 a record-setting 12 days in a row. And that’s not even accounting for other 90-plus days in between.

Keep in mind that air-conditioning was far from widespread. Though the technology has been around since the early 20th century, it was then used primarily in movie theaters and other public spaces.

That meant that, as these Peter Stackpole images show, New Yorkers had to resort to some other, time-tested means of staying cool during those long days of oppressive heat. It meant keeping windows wide open, jumping in the water, keeping a steady supply of icy-cold treats available and of course relying on that most recognizable method of urban cooling: the fire hydrant. When opened, those gushers turn into a city kid’s sprinkler.

Except, of course, that it’s illegal to open a fire hydrant on your own. Today’s city residents can find relief just like their forebears, however: the Fire Department allows citizens to request to have hydrants opened with a proper sprinkler cap, which means residents can cool down without wasting extra water.

New York City heat wave, 1953.

Peter Stackpole The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The post New Yorkers Beat the Heat in the Sizzling Summer of ’53 appeared first on LIFE.

Intimate Pictures of Audrey Hepburn at Home in 1953

Wed, 04 May 2016 07:30:18 +0000

Audrey Hepburn had only had one major film role in 1953’s Roman Holiday when photographer Mark Shaw spent a day with the star. She was a 24-year-old waif (born on May 4, in 1929) who had made a good impression in Hollywood and on the stage but had yet to solidify her fame. Some, like director Billy Wilder, worried that she would somehow slip through the cracks, too hard to classify, neither sex goddess nor girl next door.

The nine-page photo essay that Shaw produced for LIFE’s December 7, 1953 issue, like the outtakes seen in this gallery, provides some hint of what made Hepburn different: rather than trailing her at parties or even in front of the camera, the photographer focused on her workaday life. She got up early for work, went to the studio, got ready to film Sabrina (referred to by the title of the play on which it’s based, Sabrina Fair, in the story), practiced ballet and got ready for another day of work. The most glamorous parts of the day, the actual filming, were elided in favor of behind-the-scenes prep. But the day was a fitting subject for a photo essay, the magazine noted, “not because there is anything so remarkable about it but because whatever Audrey does, she looks pretty remarkable doing it.”

As for the question of whether Hepburn would be more than a one-hit wonder, the years have provided an unassailable answer. In the decades that followed the release of Sabrina, Hepburn become one of the 20th century’s most iconic stars, and it was just as photographer Shaw predicted. In a note at the beginning of the issue, he commented that she was a “monster” when it came to productivity and that the studio technicians who worked with her guessed that she would have a long and illustrious career.

“We can tell,” they told Shaw, “when someone has got it.”

Audrey Hepburn, 1953.

© Mark Shaw / mptvimages.com

Original caption: “Dinner alone is usually eaten on floor where she squats easily because of lifelong ballet training. While eating she often reads classical drama, with heavy helping of Shaw and Shakespeare.”

© Mark Shaw / mptvimages.com

Original caption: Being made up, Audrey has the contours of her eyes skillfully emphasized. They are naturally large, tilted at the corners, with heavy brows.”

© Mark Shaw / mptvimages.com

Audrey Hepburn, 1953.

© Mark Shaw / mptvimages.com

Audrey Hepburn on the set of Sabrina.

© Mark Shaw / mptvimages.com

Audrey Hepburn, 1953.

© Mark Shaw / mptvimages.com

Audrey Hepburn photo essay that ran in LIFE magazine, December 7, 1953.

Mark Shaw LIFE Magazine

The post Intimate Pictures of Audrey Hepburn at Home in 1953 appeared first on LIFE.

When Schoolteachers Could Win Prizes for Being ‘Prettiest’

Tue, 03 May 2016 08:00:18 +0000

In today’s world, the schoolteachers who are appreciated by society are, we hope, those who inspire children to learn and whose classrooms will long be remembered by their students as the places where education came alive. In 1953, those things were important too. But, judging by this LIFE story from that February, skill wasn’t all that mattered.

Nell Owen taught speech class to first- through sixth-graders in Dallas, and she was—according to a contest to which her students submitted her picture—the “prettiest teacher in the U.S.” The contest, as LIFE explained, was sponsored by the hit CBS radio (and later television) program Our Miss Brooks, which starred Eve Arden as a high-school teacher. The prize was a trip to meet Arden in Hollywood. Though the show was a comedy, its subject matter wasn’t all frivolous: the first episode starts with Miss Brooks’ enthusiasm for her work and another episode depicted Miss Brooks confronting the lack of resources for heating fuel at her school.

That juxtaposition of lightheartedness and serious education matters would also prove appropriate for a contest won by Owen. While the ranking of elementary-school teachers by their looks seems quite retrograde these days, her career was about more than her face. The principal of her school told LIFE that he had worried she would be “another discipline case” whom “those kiddos will take…by storm.” After a year of teaching, at only 21 years old, Owen had been dubbed “durable as she is fetching.”

Liz Ronk edited this gallery for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.

Nell Owen, voted “prettiest school teacher in the U.S.” in 1953.

Ed Clark The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Nell Owen listened intently as sixth-grader Kathy Kennmer gave an extemporaneous speech to class.

John Dominis The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Mrs. Owen gave her students tips on speaking: “Don’t look off all around the room…if you don’t know what you’re talking about, nobody else will.”

John Dominis The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Nell Owen addressed her class in Dallas, 1953.

John Dominis The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Nell Owen addressed her class, 1953.

John Dominis The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Nell had been married for nearly two years to George Owen, a chemical manufacturer.

John Dominis The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Nell’s students saw her off on her trip to Hollywood.

John Dominis The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Bound for Hollywood, Nell received farewell hugs from some of her students at the airport.

John Dominis The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Nell and husband George boarded the plane for Hollywood.

John Dominis The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Nell enjoyed her visit to a Hollywood nightclub.

Ed Clark The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The post When Schoolteachers Could Win Prizes for Being ‘Prettiest’ appeared first on LIFE.

Then, as Now, Kids and Baby Animals are an Adorable Combination

Mon, 04 Apr 2016 09:00:30 +0000

Back in 1953, the Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo opened a new children’s section stocked with baby animals, and the kids enjoyed their hands-on experience, perhaps a little too much. Failing to differentiate between the live animals and their stuffed ones at home, the adoring children poked and prodded little llamas and kangaroos until the animals had had enough. LIFE’s story was titled “Zoo’s Babies Get Overdose of Love.”

“Some animals fought back,” the magazine stated. “A monkey grabbed a woman’s lipstick. A baboon hit a boy. A llama who had had his fill of popcorn discovered a way to say so, and a loud-mouthed mother stalked away, yelling, ‘That dirty brazen creature poked me in the rear!'”

The zoo quickly made modifications to the animals’ fencing so as to prevent another love-fueled fiasco. But in these pictures, you can see why the kids had a hard time keeping their distance.

Liz Ronk edited this gallery for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.

This duck’s long neck provided a nice handhold for one boy.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Hands swarmed over a dazed linon cub, Caesar.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Children were drawn to a baby kangaroo.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Children visited Brookfield Children’s Zoo in Chicago, 1953.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Baby llamas at the Brookfield Children’s Zoo in Chicago, 1953.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The attraction here was a sea elephant who had left its pool.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

“He feels funny,” one child remarked about the elephant.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A baby kangaroo was bottle-fed at Brookfield Children’s Zoo, Chicago, 1953.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A lion cub was displayed in a basket at the Brookfield Children’s Zoo in Chicago, 1953.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Elephant, Brookfield Children’s Zoo in Chicago, 1953.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The original LIFE story was titled “Zoo’s Babies Get Overdose of Love.”

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A goat perched on a table at the Brookfield Children’s Zoo, Chicago, 1953.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Popcorn-stuffed baby llamas, too full to walk, were carried to their cage.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The post Then, as Now, Kids and Baby Animals are an Adorable Combination appeared first on LIFE.

Relive Your Childhood With These Photos of Kids Enjoying Autumn Leaves

Tue, 29 Sep 2015 08:00:07 +0000

Any child who grows up with a backyard overhung with deciduous trees will be familiar with a certain seasonal ritual. It goes something like this: spend five minutes raking brittle brown leaves into a pile, spend 15 minutes rolling around in said pile until it no longer resembles a pile, and repeat until the lawn is (eventually) cleared and ready for the next season’s first snow.

LIFE magazine took seriously its mission to cover all aspects of life, from major world events to the everyday joys of children. In keeping with the spirit of the latter category, Allan Grant—who could more often be found photographing the likes of Grace Kelly and Paul Newman—spent a fall day in 1953 in Rockland County, N.Y., preserving this autumnal pastime for future generations.

Liz Ronk edited this gallery for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.

Running away from a soft bombardment of leaves thrown at him by playmates, Stewart Blickman scampered out of a leaf pile to momentary safety.

Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

From a low-hanging branch still carrying its leaves, Heather Heid picked three for silent scrutiny.

Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Royal Heid endured a shower of leaves that he had just tossed into the air.

Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Confident of her brother Vernon’s care, Mary Eagle submitted expectantly to afternoon burial.

Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Paul Fry piloted a magnolia leaf across a pond.

Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Dragging their feet, Raymond Burghardt and Ellen Bassett scuffed through leaves blown against a fence.

Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A disintegrating crown of leaves was about to be dumped by Vicky Blickman on unsuspecting Paul Bassett.

Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Leonard and Michael Sullivan and Edward Coates used fallen leaves as gliders.

Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Autumn leaves floated on the water, 1953.

Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Combining play and a seasonal chore, Doyce Waddell stirred a pile of burning leaves.

Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The post Relive Your Childhood With These Photos of Kids Enjoying Autumn Leaves appeared first on LIFE.