three photos, three thoughts; or, once upon a time friday

 I've taken a crash detour down memory lane around here 

(thanks a lot "organized simplicity" 

and my push to get scrapbook albums completed 

so I can pitch the excess scrap).

it kinda clouds my head 

for the rest of the day...

to see so much time, from "so long" ago, 

compressed into a handful of pictures.

("look!  we only kinda knew each other here... and now we're married!")

but it's made me see him,

and us,

again anew,

in a good way.

(top to bottom: dordt may 1995, wedding june 1998)

once upon a time friday

date: august 1977 - I was a year old
people: baby me
location: I was born in Ft. Wayne, Indiana (is that giving out too much info? is someone going to pretend to be me now?), and we didn't move until a few years later, so that's where this is.

this is taken from a slide, since my dad shot only slides when we were kids (um, and still does). actually, as a kid, I didn't think anyone really used print film, and seeing pictures was an event! I still appreciate slide film a lot, but then again, I'm the one with an enlarger in my basement and film in my fridge (don't ask the last time I've shot film, however), so I'm hardly a unbiased opinion.

I have a few more old baby pictures of me, and some of my mom, but I really want to do a post of them next to some baby pics of my girls at the same ages - it's lots of fun (and more than slightly scary!)

but hey anyway? what is that in my hand?!

once upon a time friday

(I know, not a photo, but I'm a bit busy this week!)

This is a neat postcard of the ship Jeff's grandfather came over on when he was a baby, with NYC in the background. I wonder if you can really see the Statue of Liberty (left of the ship) and a bridge (right) in the same background, or if that's artistic license?

Have a very happy Easter!

once upon a time friday

date: 1943, I'd say!
people: Jeff's paternal grandfather
location: family will have to correct me on this - but I think Jeff's grandparents met at a t.b. facility in Michigan, so I'm guessing this is Michigan.



and just for fun - here's the picture before I worked on it, quite a long time ago.

once upon a time friday

date: 1951 - must be early, either winter of 50/51, or spring, since my dad, the little guy there, is so small. He was born fall 1950.
people: my paternal grandmother, my uncle, and my dad
location: Chicago, IL, probably at their home (this being the garage)

On this blustery, snow-flake whirling, so very close to spring morning, I thought this picture was very cute. I love the gnome-hatted outfit on dad, and the pilot cap on my uncle... and of course grandma's lipstick - you can see how red it is, even in black and white!

once upon a time friday

date: (of passage) April, 1921
people: Jeff's great grandmother, great aunt, and maternal grandfather
location: document for passage to the US from the Netherlands.

I love the line that says "nose: straight" !

(Also amused by the "blauw" eyes, as we know well a local Blauw family (dutch themselves, of course).... and our surname is a dutch color also!)

once upon a time friday

date: judging by the looks of the picture, this would have to be the 1920's-early 30's (dad, any clues?)
people: this is probably my paternal grandmother
location: her family was in Chicago, so this is probably there. the only notes I have on the picture say "graduation," which isn't much of a guess with her holding the scroll and the ribbons on her dress. I can't believe it'd be a high school graduation, she looks so young...

I love how the ringlets in her hair repeat the ruffle hem of her dress and the heavy curtains behind her. (Are those real curtains or a trompe-l'oeil? I can't tell on the original, but I think they're real.) and I really love the sweetness of her look. didn't graduation feel good? I can still remember.

once upon a time friday

date: 1944-ish says my notes
people: my maternal grandfather, with a neighbor's dog. he's probably about 20, and if it's in '44, it's just before he married my grandmother in '45
location: probably Chicago

I have the nicest looking grandfathers, if I do say so myself! Isn't he handsome?!

it's interesting that even not dressed up, the men back then still look more stylish than those today. is it the hair? the fact they're always wearing dress shoes? the black & white photo? a bit of each, mixed in with the fact that logo-festooned clothing, plastic flip-flops, and grunge are decades in the future (and as a child of the grunge era, better that than some of the stuff that followed and is currently popular)... meanwhile, I'm going to dress up a little bit more today, even if I am under the weather!

once upon a time friday

as promised, before the snow melts (just being hopeful here...)




date: winter 1922
people: Jeff's maternal grandfather and his year-older sister, about ages 2 and 1
location: Ohio, on the family dairy farm - perhaps Twin Oaks Farm, near South Charleston, Ohio.

Look at those toys the little ones are holding! Hilda has a doll, and W. has what looks like a top and a horse.

and even more fun, on the reverse:

"Jelle took this three weeks ago when we had snow. W is wearing the white sweater belonging to Hilda and her white cap and a pair of velvet pants. It worked out rather well. It's quite a job to get them to stand still. Well now, you all should write and tell us what you think of it."

A bit of random interest as deciphered by our Dutch friends - this note seems to be written by someone who grew up in Holland (he can tell the writer learned to write there by the handwriting), but has lived in the U.S. for quite some time, as the writer has forgotten some Dutch. Dutch nouns are either gendered or non-gender, and an instance of this is self-corrected in the note. Many thanks for the translation, friends!

once upon a time friday

date: sometime in the year 1920 or early 1921, since his birthday is in April
people: Jeff's maternal grandfather
location: taken somewhere in the Netherlands. Jeff's mom's father's family moved to the U.S. in March of 1921, with two young children. they became dairy farmers, like many of the Dutch immigrants, and went on to have more children.

aren't these wool leggings awesome?! these baby leg coverings are popular today, in lots of crazy colors and patterns, for little ones to wear with their cloth diapers. my own cloth-butt babies didn't have these leggings, 'cause they didn't come around (for the 2nd time) until after my oldest was out of diapers! of course, all the clothes the little guy above is wearing were hand-knit, I'm sure.

there's a few family-history buffs in this family, so I have lots of fun pics and documents that I'll eventually share. I also happen to have a friend who's a professional Dutch to English translator (and married to a Dutchman) so hopefully she'll be able to help me a bit! fun to come!

once upon a time friday

date: early to mid-1940's
people: Pearl G (?), Marge V (?), and Nell (my dad's mom)
location: Chicago

...are these not the coolest clothes?! I mean, look at Pearl's coat! the collar on Marge's coat!! Look at my Grandma's shoes!! (size 9.5 please, you can send them my way...) and don't even get me started on their hair. I rub my head in a towel on my way out of the shower and call it a day. (these gals would flip!) I'm lucky to look this cute and put together for church once a week, let alone daily. actually, I'll just take Marge's whole outfit. ...if only I had time to comb the sewing patterns!

(okay, I usually at least part my hair with jeff's comb. then I call it a day.)

once upon a time friday

(with still a few hours to go to be only a day late!)

now we're backing up a bit...

this picture isn't very good, but it's early, and I love how young they are!

date: mid 1940's
people: my paternal grandfather and grandmother, before they were married
location: somewhere in Chicago - where in the world would there be a stuffed bear outside?!

item of minor interest: my grandmother was much older than my grandfather, by nearly 10 years. they met and fell in love when they both worked at the same place (is that right, and do you know where they worked, dad?)

once upon a time friday

I thought I'd try something fun this year... (okay, starting a few weeks late)

You ever browse through an antique store and discover those boxes of old photos? all those strangers, but looking ever so slightly familiar, because they're so similar to all the old photos you (or your parents, or your grandparents) have at home.

I love those boxes!

a bit ago, while looking for something else, I started going through some of the old family pictures I've scanned, either for myself or others, and really enjoyed looking at them again.

so now I'm going to share one with you every friday. the ones following this week will be much older, but I thought I'd start with the one above. I mean, look how cute!

date: spring, 1977
people: baby me (about 9 months), my mom and dad (mid-twenties)
location: ft. wayne, IN; our home for the next 3 or 4 years
~mom made her dress, and maybe even dad's suit. ...and yes, I do remember that couch, as we had it until I was probably in jr. high ~