What Happened to These Mystery Gold Diggers?

The following is a community contribution from Urban Archeologist and Patch Blogger Greg Van Antwerp. It originally appeared on Brookfield Patch.  

Other than “gold” my favorite category items to find are old photographs. Visual records of the past can be worth a thousand words, or more. This isn't the first time I've shared a photo mystery.

I have have seen enough old photographs to be an expert in detecting their origin and purpose - I like to call it photo-forensics. However, I still have a lot to learn about the taking and processing of my own photographs, not to mention the photography skills of others.

Last week I found some great old photos and old paper in the basement of a my latest favorite “dig” location. You might want to copy this down because I am about to give away a treasure trove in Connecticut. Main Street Pickers, at 141 Main Street, Oakville, CT. Don the owner, tells me he is closing the store and moving to Florida. Each week he is pulling items from the warehouse and stocking his shelves.

The image above was in a box under a desk in the basement. I picked it up and brought it home despite the condition it looks to be in. A group of well dressed men in the middle of the woods? What year? What are they doing? I know there has to be more to the story.