My husband and I, along with his brothers and their wives, are in the midst of planning a party in celebration of his parent's 50th wedding anniversary, which is on October 8. In honor of such an outstanding milestone, I thought I'd share the following photo:
The only family member I recognize in the photo is my maternal grandmother, Susie Kleckner Royer, seated at the far right in the dark dress. Obviously the stalwart bride is behind her cake, with her well-turned-out groom to her right, but I have no idea who anyone is. From the dress styles and my grandmother's apparent age, I'd place this photo in the early 1940s, if for no other reason than there's a decided lack of young people present. In 1943, my parents were traveling around the country while my father was being trained in the art of war. So I'm assuming that any cousins, grandchildren, etc. are doing the same and were unable to attend this important event.
I think every house in this era had a print of Da Vinci's Last Supper behind the dining table. I love the old-style telephone, too. Most likely a party line.
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great photo. even better when enlarged. i wonder why hardly anyone smiles in these old pictures? everything was so serious then :)
ReplyDeleteGreat photograph and a fascinating bit of social history. Thank you for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I noticed that you'd just finished reading an Alexander McCall Smith book. I'm reading one of his at the moment, the fourth in the 44 Scotland Street series. Have you read any more of his work?
That's a smashing photograph. I love images which you can explore and find detail after detail. Another excellent post. Thanks (and by the way I have just finished Shirer's "Rise and Fall" as well. Great book)
ReplyDeleteA wonderful photo and I love the detail that you have pointed out. My parents used to have a print of The Last Supper too and I can remember old telephones very similar to the one in this photo and we were on party line - our ring was short short long!
ReplyDeleteOur ring was one short and three long! Party line phones brought their own fun and frustrations! I love this photo. Love the wallpaper!
ReplyDeleteinteresting photograph, but more disturbing, your current reading. the swastika threw me off, but it was a gift, so... imay be canadian and far away from THAT reality, i'm not insensitive...
ReplyDeletehope it was a good read.
:/~
HUGZ
UM -- Thanks! I know what you mean about the serious faces. At least in this one, there's a few who aren't afraid to grin a bit.
ReplyDeleteSam -- This is the first of his books that I've read, although the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series has been on my list for quite a while. I take it he'sa fav of yours?
Thanks, Alan! This one definitely has some visual details, doesn't it? Wish I had more historical/geneological details to go with it. You just finished Shirer? I've just started and keep getting sidetracked. It's a challenging read but he's not "textbooky," which I like.
Marilyn -- we had a party line, too, until sometime in the early 70s. I can remember picking up the phone and hearing the neighbor's conversation, but I can't remember the ring.
Joan -- Did you notice the rather skinny wallpaper border at the top of the wall?
Ticklebear -- My apologies for the glaring swastika; it's simply the cover of the book I'm reading, not a political statement. As a history buff with a special interest in WWII, I understand the power that symbol represented and the emotion it can invoke. As an individual with a predominantly German ancestry, I vacilate between desiring to lay claim to my Teutonic heritage and struggling with the shame of what happened over 60 years ago. I have other books I'm reading; I'll spotlight one of those instead.
personally, i feel germans should feel no shame about their heritage. HITLER was but a moment in a great people's history. a blink as soon forget, but for the hooror that he caused. times heals, they say. i still have to experience that...(long story). but i do not judge modern germany for what happened then. i even don't judge germans back then. it was the actions of some individuals, and the inactions [unfortunately] of the rest that made this all happen. even though the swastika is WAY older than the 20th century, for me, it stands for the nazy phenomenom that rose in the 1930s and cause so much pain, not just to the jews. but no judgement on my part. it was just there, glaring at me... i might even post on SEPIA SATURDAY something surprising, but something which i swore to myself i would burn, once my dad pass on....
ReplyDeletemy stomach just churned, thinking about it... more to follow. not my stomach content, the story!!
:D~
Wonderful photo! My neighbors had a Last Supper picture hanging from a nail in the kitchen. The used the same nail for their fly swatter which hung right over Jesus's face...
ReplyDeleteLOL, Vicki! Perhaps they felt a bit of Divine Intervention made their aim a little more true!
ReplyDeleteSome great details in this photo that I would have missed if you hadn't pointed them out - like the last supper painting and the old phone. Wonderful.
ReplyDeleteWow! Don't you feel like you jumped into a pale-colored Matisse with the geometric floor tile, the fine-covered walls, and the large-flowered curtains?! I think there's a possible family resemblance between your grandmother, the lady behind the cake, and some of the other women. If you know your grandmother's siblings, you might be able to pull out the identities of some of the others in the group, especially if you still have older aunts and uncles and/or second cousins.
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