Family Photos

As you might have guessed from the picture credit, this photo has nothing to do with my family.

I couldn’t find the one I would have liked to share—an old black and white scalloped-edge photo of a terrier named Suzie with a cigarette in her mouth—taken by my mother when I was a child. And no, the cigarette wasn’t lit. It was a just her idea of a goofy prop.

In any case, it brings me to the point of this post. I’d been looking for another photo, one of my grandmother’s sister, Yvette. My mother’s collection of family photos wasn’t where I’d remembered it to be in my father’s home but (very long story short), I did manage to find them, corral them and put them in a safe place.

I recall sitting at the dining table with my mother, many years ago, going through those photos and having her identify family members so I could write their names on the back in pencil. In hindsight, I’m so glad I did! My grandmother was one of eleven and many of her siblings I’d never met although my mother knew most of them well.

Thinking about my own adult children, I wonder who might be interested in this branch of the family tree after I’m gone. It’s helpful to have names with faces in case one of them gets bitten by the genealogy bug. Some of those old studio photographs are gorgeous. Even their cardboard frames are beautiful.

So, if you’ve got a box of old photos around and you’re curious, you might want to ask your family members who’s who before it’s too late.

In my search, I happened to find a box with at least two hundred slides that date back to the sixties and early seventies, an era my father can still recall with some clarity. Time to dust off the old slide projector! But first I’ll need to find it.