Saturday, September 22, 2012

Memory Box - In Remembrance


These two females could be mother-daughter for they have similar features.  Their clothing style about 1890 was that of a well-to-do-family.  Printed in corner is "Vreeland Studio, Alva, O.T" (Oklahoma Territory, USA).
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[Above--The original photo finish is in the style done by a professional photo studio about 1900.  Printed at the bottom of photo on far right with baby sitting in wicker chair is "J.B.Lee & Co. ANTHONY, KANSAS". ]
 
 
[Below--The original photo finish is in the style done by a non-professional about 1900 and in a casual poise and setting.]

 
(22 Sep 2012 – In June 2009, at age 63, I began to research my Family History, not even knowing the full names or birth dates of my grandparents or their parents.  With the help of some Family members, the Internet, findagrave.com, and Ancestry.com, the Story of my Family was revealed.  However, there was a box covered in dust that sat in the back of my closet, where faded photographs some over 100 years old awaited—ready to be awakened.  The faces looking back at me from those photos were members of my Family from my maternal lineage, whose Life's Journey began and finished before I was born--their names not written on the backs of the photos, their Life's Story forever unknown and passed.  In their honor, I post their images here IN REMEMBRANCE with the company of prose/poetry.  Submitted by: Dorothy Hazel Tarr)

 



[Above Photos are of professional studio quality about 1900.  Left-to-right:
Subject--Young girl about age 8 with very curly hair, wearing a necklace and a bracelet on her left wrist, nice dress with lace around the neckline; printing in corner "ELLIOTS".
Subject—Young female about age 17 wearing dress with lace trim and necklace pinned to top bodice button; printing is "Mrs. Reed, Branch House, LaGrange, MO, Quincy, Ill."
Subject—Young female about age 17 wearing light colored dress (probably a wedding dress) with a necklace; printing is "Mayberry Studio".
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Memory Box - In Remembrance
Author:  Dorothy Hazel Tarr, © 2012
 
There is a dusty box of mystery -
Set out of time and place -
Of loved ones' Lives -
Now faded into history.
 
Who are these folks looking back at me -
Through time's photography? 
They are a part of me -
And, I call them Family!


[Photos are of professional studio quality about 1900.  Left-to-right:
Subject—Male about age 27 appears to be well to do by the style of his clothes and the terrific grooming of his mustache, beard, and hair.  This looks to be a newspaper cutout that was mounted on to hard paper.  
Subject—Male about age 30 appears to be well to do by the clothes and grooming of his beard, mustache, and hair.  The photo was done professionally in a studio on a colorized "yellow" paper or else it has colored from age.  Printed on the lower part of the photo is: "MORRISON, HAYMARKET THEATRE, 161 WEST MADISON ST., CHICAGO, ILL."
Subject—Male about age 40.  This fine looking gentleman is dressed in suit and bow tie, with wonderful eyes, eyebrows, mustache, beard, lots of hair, and a wonderful nose.  The photo is very faded but is in good condition.  It looks to be made by a professional photographer or studio for such a well-lighted-close-up.  (I wonder though if he was teased about his large nose during his lifetime.  He has wonderful nice eyes when you look at the photo magnified; he is just MAGNIFICENT and KIND LOOKING.)

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The Old Scrapbook
Author:  C. Nathalie Ellen Milliken, © 2005
 
 
It speaks of times now long ago
In a voice so soft and low,

“Come, my friend, see what you can see,
Come and take a look at me.

My bright colors are faded and dim,
But my spirit is bright within,

Pictures of people in days gone by,
Laughing and crying, we know not why,

Cards and pamphlets, and programs old,
What are the stories they have told?

Wrapping paper, an old gift tag,
Pieces of this, and bits of that,

Little treasures that people have saved,
Celebrations of special days,

So many memories my pages fill,
They’re waiting now to give you a thrill,

So come, my friend, come take a look,
I am a very special old book,

My binding is cracked, but my heart is whole,
Looking at me is like finding gold.



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[Photo is professional studio quality about 1910. 
Subject—Female baby about age 11 months dressed in a VERY fancy dress and barefoot.  The photographer was able to capture the baby with a terrific smile.  The photo was prepared in a very professional folder with fancy tissue paper protectively covering the photo.

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Strangers in the Box
Author:  Pamela A. Harazim, ©1997
 
 
Come, look with me inside this drawer,
In this box I've often seen,
At the pictures, black and white,
Faces proud, still, serene.
 
I wish I knew the people,
These strangers in the box,
Their names and all their memories
Are lost among my socks.
 
I wonder what their lives were like.
How did they spend their days?
What about their special times?
I'll never know their ways.
 
If only someone had taken time
To tell who, what, where, when,
These faces of my heritage
Would come to life again.
 
Could this become the fate
Of the pictures we take today?
The faces and the memories
Someday to be tossed/passed away?
 
Make time to save your pictures,
Seize the opportunity when it knocks,
Or someday you and yours could be
The strangers in the box.
 
*NOTE: The poem Strangers in the Box has been on the Internet with both the words tossed and passed, so I have included them both, for I have not found which one is the word originally intended by the author.  dht 

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[Photo about 1917.  The men are not wearing any badges, decals, or medals.  The male on the far left in the photo is the only one wearing a cap; the other males have a VERY CLOSE haircut.  The footwear is some type of shoe with a "spat like" covering, which I have seen in old war movies.  Two males to the right have some type of square tag on their shirts; but I could not read it when I enlarged this photo.  There are no signs in the yard or on the buildings.  It could be some kind of recruitment training camp for WW I or some type of work-program-camp.  I do NOT believe they are prisoners for they are too well groomed and are looking very happy and content, with some of them putting their arms about their fellows!  The time of year would be Spring or Fall, because of the sparse leaves on the trees in the background.]
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