C.E. "Bim" Argyle steamboat albums
Creation: 1936 Creation: 1946-1949Abstract
Captain C.E. (Clarence Edward) "Bim" Argyle (1927-2006) was a riverboat captain for Consolidation Coal and a World War II Navy veteran. He worked primarily on steamers and coal barges along the Monongahela River in Western Pennsylvania. These two albums record Argyle's river experience between 1943 and 1950. There are portraits of his co-workers as well as many photographs of numerous commercial boats.
Dates
- Creation: 1936
- Creation: 1946-1949
Creator
Extent
2 volume(s)
General Physical Description
2 albums : leather ; 8.75 x 12.5 in. (closed). Containing 220 photographic prints : b&w ; 3.5 x 5 in. or smaller. 3 photographic prints : b&w ; 8 x 10 in. 2 newspaper clippings. 2 magazine clippings. 1 photographic print : b&w, hand-colored ; 8 x 10 in. 5 photographic prints : b&w ; 5 x 7 in. 1 item : letter.
Biographical Note
Captain C.E. (Clarence Edward) "Bim" Argyle (1927-2006) was a riverboat captain for Consolidation Coal and a World War II Navy veteran. He worked primarily on steamers and coal barges along the Monongahela River in Western Pennsylvania.
Consolidated Coal Company is an energy company established in 1860. In 1945 the company merged with another energy company, the Pittsburgh Coal Company which Argyle was working for. Argyle worked aboard Pittsburgh Coal Company's Steamer "Champion Coal." During the 1940s and 1950s riverboats were a popular method of transporting bulk cargo as it could be done at lower cost than other options.
Bim Argyle was born to Clarence (1901-1955) and Mary Jane Booth Argyle (1911-1994) in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. He had two sisters; Dorothy Everly (1929-) and Betty McKelvey (1930-2012), and a brother Robert Argyle (1935-). He lived a majority of his life in Dravosburg, Pennsylvania which is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area.
In March 1936 a combination of unusually warm weather and heavy rainfall caused the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers to flood and devastate the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The flood waters peaked at forty-six feet destroying over 100,000 buildings, contamination of the water supply, and sixty-nine deaths.
Scope and Content
These two albums record Argyle's river experience between 1943 and 1950. There are portraits of his co-workers as well as many photographs of numerous commercial boats. The photographs within the albums are not in chronological order, however, Argyle has notated the names of individuals pictured and names of boats shown. He has also dated many of the photographs.
The snapshots of crewmen show individuals and small groups on a ship or dock. There are several individual photographs of Argyle. A few snapshots of people were taken during a visit to a beach. The images of ships are mostly of steamers, there are some diesel ships and motor boats pictured as well. The photographs are often taken a bit of a distance.
There are a few magazine clippings of ship exteriors and two newspaper articles, one about a ship and the other about Argyle's brother. One album includes photographs of the Flood of 1936.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Language of Materials
English
Subjects
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- C.E. "Bim" Argyle steamboat albums
- Author:
- Laurie Sather
- Date:
- 2015
- Description rules:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description:
- English
- Script of description:
- Latin
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Audiovisual Collections Repository
