A Summer Place: Day Trips in the 1950's

Scrape the rust off that barbecue, stuff the Coleman with domestic canned beer, and fire up that bug zapper—it's the July 4th Weekend!

Independence Day is an American tradition, so I thought I'd celebrate by showcasing this 60-ish year-old pile of snapshots featuring a bunch of Ukrainians hanging around Japan and the rural Bay Area in the 1950's. They may not have been celebrating July 4th, but they're in the woods, and drinking soda. So it works.

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The preceding pics were taken in Kamakura, Japan sometime between 1950 and 1953. They feature Natalie Vasilev and the Seoul Sisters—as well as Natalie's boss, "Mr. Grey," a Russian from Australia, and some others—hanging out at Kōtoku-in.

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These final photos were taken somewhere in Marin County in the mid-1950's.

Happy 4th of July!