Who Were They?

I haven’t got a vintage photo of a miniature train for this week’s Sepia Saturday, where the theme shows young people on a miniature train, much like the one we have down at Goathill Junction. The junction is open every third weekend of the month and rides are free but they ask for a donation. My daughter enjoyed it so much we went twice and yes, donated twice. The five miles of track wind through one of the parks that overlook the inlet between Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach. Kids big and small enjoy the volunteer run railroad!

So instead of a vintage train photo, I’ll give you a couple photos of kids having fun.

This is little Ronnie Desbrough at age 1, taken on his rocking horse in Milan, Michigan. This picture may have been taken in about 1938. I found a record for a Ronald Desbrough in Kalamazoo, MI with a year of birth as 1937. Milan and Kalamazoo are about 100 miles apart. I found a Ronald Desbrough in a nearby city to Milan and I’ve mailed off a note to him. Maybe this photo will find its way home?

Next, take a look at this little group of urchins.

This photo is tiny (only 1.5×1.5), but I’m leaving it large so you can see all the fun details. It’s almost as if the photographer said “grab your favorite thing and come out for a photo.” We see a catcher’s mitt, a ball, something looking like a bow & arrow, and a trumpet. The boy on the left certainly has an unusual hat on. I can’t even describe it. They look like a rough and tumble group of kids who had a lot of fun growing up before all the scary things that keep kids indoors these days.

For more photos of kids having fun, and possibly even a miniature train or two, click through to Sepia Saturday, you won’t regret it!