BACKGROUNDS
The interesting thing I have found since beginning this web site is the amount of information that is found in the background of a lot of old photographs.  The subject matter of the original taker of the photograph had no idea that in later years the background would be of interest to anyone.  In the original photo the background had nothing to do with the subject being photographed.  Now the background, thanks to digital scanning and the computer, becomes interesting and we can extract from these old photos a window into what the Lago Colony of by gone years looked like and the transformation that has taken place over the past seventy-five years.
When Lago was a transshipping facility and there were only storage tanks and the refinery was not begun, the Colony of those days consisted of about 50 houses built along the cliff of the Big Lagoon, very close to the docks used by the Lake Tankers.  These houses were built for families of the English crews of the Lake Tankers that carried the crude oil from Lake Maracaibo to Aruba for shipment to refineries in Mexico and the United States.  I am sure the lactation had a lot to do with the fact that the men could walk home from the ships.
There is no photograph that I have found of these houses and their relationship to the dock.  However, the photograph at the right, from Donald Rosborough father, was taken in 1934, after the refinery was built but before the houses along the cliff were moved for refinery expansion.   Only when the refinery was made larger the houses were moved.
Using the map at the right you can see that in the 1950's had another photograph  been taken from the same location as the black & white photograph above, instead of seeing houses along the water's cliff in the background, you would see the General Office Building and the No. 2 Power House.  The color photograph to the left, from BOB SCHLAGETER'S collection, was taken in the 1950's from almost the same location as the Black & White above, and it shows the General Office Building, Cat Cracker, Esso Dinning Hall and the Lab.  These buildings and units were all built on the land that was occupied by the houses used by the first English families who came with their husbands to man and skipper the Lake Tankers.   
 There is a gap between the area of the old refinery and Colony and what was there in the late 1940's, after the General Office Building and Cat Cracker were built.  The next photo shows the old refinery and part of what was housing outside the refinery.
TO GO TO A LARGER VIEW OF THE PHOTO CLICK ON THE PHOTO.

Another example of what can be seen in the background of photos is the green house on piles that was just off the shore by the New Esso Club.  You can also see some of the other "shacks" or "party houses" that were located along the shore between the New Esso Club and Rogers Beach.  All these are now gone.  It is interesting to note that Reg Kennerty found the KLIM can in the box in the foreground of this same photo of the boat.  There is a lot to be found in photos.

To see more about the Green House on stilts, click on the photo of the house, above middle, and go to a page about the house.
Still another example of what can be seen in the background of photos is this party house which is found in the background of a photo from Don Blair.  The party house below is taken from the front yard of one of the Bungalows on the lower road.  This same Party House can be seen in the photo above, to the right of the house over the water.

I guess what background in photos show is the same as the subject of the photograph shows, nothing remains the same, a place changes, as seen in background, people change as can be seen in the subject. The people in the background photos from Bill Moyer changed just as the background changed.  They lived, grew old and are now gone.  What I remember of Lago Colony was only a snapshot of the place, from about 1950 to 1957, the time when I really began to understand place and time.  I lived in Lago Colony from 1938 until 1957 but in my early years I did not relate or remember that much about the Colony.  There was no Cat Cracker when I went to Aruba but I always remember a Cat Cracker, now there is no Cat Cracker, things change.  Today in Seroe Colorado, much of what you see on this web site is gone, however, much remains and fifty years from now the photographs people are taking today will show a much different background that what will be there in fifty years.

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE BACKGROUNDS IN OLD PHOTOGRAPHS.