The restoration project for the historic trolley, which was first pulled out of the woods in Dewittville in 1996, began back in 2014 and has continued to this day. Johnston has written three historical books — “Early Chautauqua County New York Brewers and Bottlers”, “Milk Bottles of Chautauqua County and Their Stories”, and now “Collecting Chautauqua County, New York Postcards” and all of the money from these books goes towards helping to fund the project for a $25, $15 and $20 donation respectively, through the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation’s trolley fund.

Johnston chose to write this book on postcards as postcards hold a special interest for him.

“I have been collecting postcards most of my adult life,” Johnston said. “I met a postcard dealer in Mayville and they introduced me to postcards. I found postcards about steamboats, and then I really got into it and found other postcards with other forms of transportation including trolley cars, which is how I then got into that.”

Johnston said there are many photo and history books about postcards, but when he began collecting he became interested not only in the cards themselves but also in the people who made them and took the pictures for them. He chose to focus this book on the photographers themselves, collecting as many pictures of as many of the photographers as he could, documenting the photographers, their history, and their stories.

Founder of the Jamestown Trolley Car 93 Restoration Project, Bob Johnston, is pictured, along with his three books helping to raise funds for the restoration project of the trolley, which sits behind him. Submitted photo

“Anyone interested in collecting postcards would be interested in having this book to look at,”Johnston said. “You can learn more about the history of the postcard business in Chautauqua County, which began around 1899.”

One such photographer in the book is George Monroe, who lived in Jamestown and was a postcard photographer. He taught George Eastman about wet plate photography, which Johnston said Eastman hated so much that he developed another form of photography, which is what people know and use today. During his research for the book, Johnston found a photo of Monroe fishing and met with Monroe’s relatives and talked with them. Johnston has been working on this postcard book for 25 years, and many of the people he talked with for the book are now gone.

All three of his books Johnston has printed himself, meaning he updates them regularly. He said while there is always a chance he may do more books in the future, a lot of local history has been covered. He added that he has always wanted to do more with early photographers and has toyed with the idea but has not done anything for sure yet.

Other promotions and fundraisers for the trolley project are coming up, including a walking tour with the Fenton History Center on July 19 where people can come learn more about the trolley, and a Vintage Book and Paper Show on Aug 2 at Chautauqua Suites in Mayville. This event offers different items for those interested in the history of things like steamboats, and will include items such as old photos. All money raised from that goes towards the trolley.

Next year will be the 100th anniversary of when the trolley was first put into service, Johnston added, saying that these days work is continuing to fund a building to put the trolley in.

“We are still looking for an architect to come in and help if they have any interest in the trolley to help us finish these plans and get this building built,” Johnston said.

For more information on the Trolley Car 93 Restoration project, visit jamestowntrolley.org. If interested in donating or helping in some way, Johnston can be contacted at park2@netsync.net, or 716-338-5051 for any comments or questions.