Who Were They?

Lost and forgotten photos from the past

Scouting, a family tradition

Mrs Marvel

11 comments

March 16, 2012

This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt was chosen in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts and the recent centennial of the Boy Scouts. Girl Scouting was a big part of life in my family growing up. Back when my sister was a Brownie scout and Mom was the troop leader, I wanted to participate. As a kindergartener in the early 70s, there were no options for scouting, you had to be in 1st grade! Well, Mom called me the troop mascot and I did everything the older girls did. The following year I officially joined the Girl Scouts, and happily found a troop every year.

A fashion show of some type, Troop 1902, 1976

Some of the projects we did were good for us – Mom taught us all to sew a button, make a straight stitch, and do a couple Xs. She did this by having us make a smiley face on a circle of fabric scraps she had in her sewing room. Quite practical but also a fun little thing for girls to do. We went camping a lot. Camping was quite the thing to do in the 70s and 80s in Orange County, California. Probably everywhere, really. We “practiced” for our first campout in the living room. Each girl rolled out a sleeping bag and pretended to be asleep. The rest of us waited a moment, then started caterwauling like wolves howling, owls hooting, and who knows what else. The “sleeping” girl got up, found her flashlight and made her way to the bathroom, returned and got back into bed. Then when the “sun” rose, she got up and rolled up her sleeping bag. Next girl took her place and we did it all over again. I hope the Girl Scouts issued bottles of wine to the leaders!

A junior Scout meeting in the family room, not sure what we were doing!

We also were made to sing at convalescent homes. I really didn’t like that but I knew it was good for the people living there. That activity above all others might have taught me the process of putting others before myself. When the old folks came out to listen to us little girls sing Christmas carols or happy songs for May Day, I could see that it really meant something to them, so I put aside my dislike for the smell and other uncomfortable things, and just sang my little heart out for them.

Through the years, I was able to find a troop at most of the schools I attended. Since I switched schools a lot, this was reassuring. The familiarity of the Girl Scouts welcomed me wherever I went until junior high school; there was not a troop affiliated with my school. Here in California we have a 2-year junior high school for 7th and 8th grade. Fortunately by this point, my older sister had once again forged the way and found a Cadette troop in another school district. I joined up with them and stayed with that group through Seniors. Both my sister and I were Girl Scouts for 12 years, uncommon in modern America. It wasn’t “cool,” it wasn’t “hip.” It was fun and that is why I did it.

I earned many badges and patches through the years and I am coincidentally trying to recover and collect some of the missing insignia for my old uniform as I discovered my badge sash recently. I’d like to get it framed and display it for the little girls when I inevitably become a troop leader for my daughter. My sister earned First Class, which is the equivalent of an Eagle Scout. Unfortunately I didn’t earn it and then the program changed; I was disheartened and so didn’t try to earn the new award. That’s okay, I still look back to my Girl Scout days as some of the happiest and most fun times of my life. I can still remember the troop numbers – 1902, 1035, 616 & Iris 102. Funny how that stuck for so long in my brain!

My old badge sash and a few extra badges

For more great posts and pictures about Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, alternate scouting programs or anything else, click over to Sepia Saturday.

Blazing trails around the world

Baby in a lacy dress

Mrs Marvel

4 comments

March 16, 2012

This lovely cabinet card from the Red Velvet Album features a very cute baby in a dress trimmed with gorgeous lace. The baby is a blondie, and I think might have been a boy by the side part that is sort of there. However, being such a undefined part, it could just be the way the baby’s hair fell and this is a girl. It is unidentified, so we will never know.

The photographer was J. E. Hall in Meadville, PA. The cabinet card itself is interesting with the way the edges are beveled. I have seen deckled edges but not this style. Since deckled edges were popular in the 1890s I’ll date this in the same decade.

Not 1851

Mrs Marvel

4 comments

March 15, 2012

This is a beautiful portrait of a dapper gentleman from the Red Velvet Album. He looks to have been quite stylish, with a crisp white bowtie and starched shirt, carefully groomed mustache over full lips and softly wavy hair. Were I a young lady from 110 years ago I might have sighed over this image. Even though it is twice dated 1851, this photograph is not from year. His personal style is one more consistent with ’91, plus the print has the distinctly lavender-grey cast of a collodion print, dating it after 1892. He also does not appear to be old enough to have been born in 1851, so I can only assume the person who wrote that was confused or misinformed.

The photography studio was Gilbert & Bacon at 1030 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA.  They were known to be in business in the 1880s into the early 20th century. Gilbert & Bacon were renowned photographers in their time. They made images from Sitting Bull to early baseball star Wilbert Robinson. In 2011 a lot of 10 of their proofs sold at auction for $16,000!

Thin on top, full on lip

Mrs Marvel

2 comments

March 14, 2012

Returning to the Red Velvet Album today, we have this unidentified photograph of a substantial mustache and its host. The middle aged man has his hair flattened to his pate in a clear attempt to hide his receeding hairline. He is definitely making up for it on the upper lip! This mustache is full and bushy, long and curly. He could have waxed the ends into a pointy handlebar if he chose to – perhaps for fun but not for photos apparently. He has a standing shirt collar and cravat style necktie, piped edges of his lapels on both his vest and coat, and something…a pocket? to the right.

The photo is mounted on a maroon card, dating it to 1885-1895. The photographer was J. E. Hall in Meadville, PA.

Family reunion: Green Fan Album

Mrs Marvel

5 comments

March 13, 2012

This happy occasion has taken a couple months to come to fruition, but it is oh, so satisfying! As you know, when a photo is identified, the full name(s) are listed in the content of a posting. I had always hoped that someone somewhere would be searching for a family member and identify a photo. I have had several people post about their relative having been the photographer named, but this time, I had a great-grandchild indicate that the photo was of their great-grandmother.

The Green Fan Album

This is the Green Fan Album. You may recall that it contains 22 photos dating from the 19th century through the early 20th century. There are several names, including Vincent Joy, Ellen Wachtel Joy, Marilyn Talbot, and Francis Guisinger Von Kaenel. It is Francis that brought about this family reunion. 

Iggy found out for us that Francis and her sister Clotilda “Vonnie” Guisinger both married Von Kaenels – Hans Otto and Fred, respectively. This is an amazing story and I won’t even be able to scratch the surface here. Hans Otto and Fred were princes in Switzerland (!!!). At the time the Habsburgs were still in control of Austria-Hungary in the late 19th century, there were numerous insurrections and uprisings, bids for democracy and general unstability. (If you remember your history, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand of Austria was the catalyist for the beginning of the Great War, World War 1. There was significant nationalistic unrest in this area for many years.) Hans Otto and Fred came to America in about 1909 to escape the turmoil, and wound up living in the same neighborhood as the lovely Guisinger sisters. Vonnie and Fred married in 1913 and Francis and Hans married around the same time. 

Fred and Vonnie’s child Constance is the grandmother of Kenneth, who I will be sending the Green Fan Album this week. Constance is still alive at age 96, and Kenneth tells me she is sharp as a tack and plays in a band! There are so many stories wrapped up in this album and he believes she will be able to shed some light on who many of the photos portray. I am eager to find out more! Kenneth promised that the family will send us more information about the family and the photos, but also said that he himself is still researching the ties to Europe and the Habsburgs. Apparently, it was a family scandal that Hans Otto and Fred married “common” girls from America, but such uncommonly beautiful ladies they were, how could they have resisted!?

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