This photo is a mini documentary, conveying details of personal history I would not have if I didn't have the photo. It is a cultural artifact, giving me a glimpse into their lives. I love old family photos. I think they are a potent storehouse of long-forgotten memories. I appreciate them for their valued resource for future generations. In this instance, I barely know anything about this time period; imagine how it might stir the imaginations of further generations?
Brother Andrew thinks perhaps this is in Queen City Park in Burlington, Vermont. In the 20's it was considered 'the wrong side of the tracks'. But still, wrong side or not, they are dressed for success.
This may be on a Sunday, but I believe in those days the family always walked to church, living close enough to daily needs to walk. But whenever one left the house, you 'dressed'. I just can't imagine what my grandmother would think of the modern fashion of going into town wearing pajama bottoms! Now I know where my father got the notion that I must always have a hat for Sunday. He prided himself for picking out seasonal hats for church - Ugh!
Here is my worry. As we become more and more a digital society, where will our amazing photos go? So many are on our phones and iPads. When we upgrade to a new device they get transferred. A friend just told me he was planning to digitize boxes of family photos and throw out the paper ones. Really? Even with the organization and storage with digitizing, who is to say that format will be around in 10 to 20 years? By doing so, will you lose all that family history to the abyss of old technology? By doing that, how might we feel when new technology comes out that can extract even more quality and detail than the day we scanned them? Are we being short sighted?
Should I throw out pictures like this one of Gram, Gramps, Uncle Ron and Aunt Eloise? I say a resounding no. Now it is easier for me to make that decision when I actually know who is in the photo. Since old photos map the experience of a family member, I want them to be around for generations. The joy I feel in opening a Heaton box and seeing photos, letters and documents from the 1700 and 1800s is unmistakable. I find such joy in family history.
I actually know the people in this photo; I am related to them! It is astonishing to me that we have shared in life, space and time on this earth.