Vintage Postcards - Johnson City, Tennessee

World War II was the high water mark for passenger rail services in the United States. During the 1950s and 1960s, competition with automobile travel and the airline industry as well as railway company decisions to concentrate on the lucrative freight portion of their business, contributed to gradual ridership declines and cutbacks in rail passenger services. Many depots were sold or abandoned. The Southern Railway station in Johnson City, for example, was demolished in 1972 following termination of passenger services in 1970.

While many later postcard issues tended to feature travel services such as motels and restaurants rather than public buildings or street scenes, some of Johnson City's best railway and historic scenes were created in the 1980s by local artist Ted Laws. Ted, who began his painting career at the age of 72, repainted railway images he remembered as a youth in Johnson City in the golden era of railroading and he continued to paint impressive "train" scenes the remaining 10 years of his life. Several of Ted's paintings seem to depict a father with a small boy and I wonder if this could represent Ted with his dad.

Quoting Ted Laws' son Leo: "The trains and steam engines brought back a time in dad's life of good memories, less hectic and easier times. He made a lot of friends in the railroad industry when they were an everyday way of life around here, and I truly think that was what inspired him to paint like he did. He truly enjoyed it, and mom always said that she was thrilled that God gave daddy something he loved to do.”