Sepia Saturday always makes me think about the photos in my collection, and sometimes go hunting for something that I feel will match the prompt. This week’s prompt shows one woman serving coffee to another, and I knew right away that I would be looking for kind faces. These two faces feel very “grandmotherly” to me.
This 4″x5″ photo was taken by G. Ashby Short Photo in Bridgeport, West Virginia. The phone number on the back has an area code which dates it after 1947 when the first area codes were implemented. For international visitors, North American telephone numbers have a three-digit area code which indicates a metro area, then a seven digit number which is specific to the phone or house. Area codes were rolled out nationwide by 1960. Here’s a little tidbit I didn’t know about area codes. The lower digit codes were assigned to large metro areas such as New York, Los Angeles or Chicago, because the rotary dial did not have to travel as far to return to the “home” position before dialing the next digit, i.e. they were faster to dial. The original Los Angeles area code was 213. It is still in use but we have numerous additional area codes in use to handle the millions of phone numbers needed in this densely populated area. The photographer was alive as recently as 1984, when I found a record of him making a memorial donation in the name of his ancestors to the Harrison County West Virginia Historical Society. (It is amazing what you can find on the internet these days!)
This is an unidentified 6″x9″ portrait of a truly kind faced woman. The photographers, Jenks Bros, were in business in Freeport, Stephenson County, Illinois between 1901 to 1930. Freeport is a small town in northern IL, founded in 1838. This lady looks an awful lot like someone’s grandmother, with her beautiful pearl necklace, delicate lace collar and soft cheeks.
For more inspiration brought about by one woman pouring tea for another, click over to Sepia Saturday. You will be glad you did!
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Who Were They? 