Saturday, June 12, 2010

Camping

Ah, the leisure of long-ago summers when life was slower and families spent time together relaxing, fishing, swimming, and playing.

This is a camping photo. It seems that some weekends my mom's family drove to the lake, parked, and put up an awning. I don't know if they spent the night in this type of "tent" or not.

While I can't definitely identify the people in this photo, I believe that the girl in the front is either my mother or her sister.

This photo was taken in 1928 or later - at least that's my guess after looking at photos of old cars and comparing them to the one in the foreground (and the one in the background, too). It appears that the one in the background is a Chevrolet. If anyone reading this post knows cars and can identify make, model, and year, please respond in the comments. I'd love to know.

My favorite part of the above photo is the shadow - though technically, it's a reflection. See it? I didn't notice it at first but as I was examining the photo it popped out at me. Isn't it wonderful? How did the photographer do that, and where could he have been standing? What time of day was it -- morning or evening? And whose reflection is it?

This is another "camping" photo. I can identify only two people: the woman at the back, second from the left, is my grandfather's sister, Lula. The woman on the right in front is my mother, Audrey. Based on how old my mom looks I think this photo was taken later than the one above.

Inside the tent I can see cots so I think they probaby camped overnight in this tent.

The girls look like they are focused on their ice cream. I think it's interesting that 3 of them seem to be wearing identical bracelets.

These photos came from my grandmother's photo album. Many of the photos in that album had been removed from some other album and put into this newer one. None of the individuals were identified. Many of the photos were postcards that had been cut down, and some of the regular photographs had their borders trimmed off (unevenly). Fortunately, some older living family members remembered some of the people in the album so we can tell that it's organized by families: my grandmother's children and their children; her parents and siblings; her husband's siblings; etc.

I hope you're enjoying your summer (if you're in the northern hemisphere). Thanks for coming to look at my blog.


This is a Sepia Saturday post. Go look at the other
Sepia Saturday posts for this week.

20 comments:

  1. What fun and interesting photos today. I did notice the shadow in the first and it's cute how all the women are focused on their ice cream in the second! Have a nice weekend.

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  2. How different camping is now. We now have tents with separate rooms, and even self-erecting tents! It won't be long before they come complete with baths and shower units.

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  3. Greetings from Finland, where we really have the summer now after a long dark cold and snowy winter.
    Our day is 19 h 54 min and never dark :)
    So we can be camping or doing anything outside also during light nights, we have to sleep sometimes unfortunately, but much less than during winters.

    Your camping photos are fine history, thank you for showing them!

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  4. I like how they are all dressed up to go camping. Or, perhaps, they got dressed up for the photo.

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  5. How times change. This is an excellent series of photos. I really enjoyed them.

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  6. Enjoyed the visit. Thank YOU!
    The shadow certainly is intriguing - it took me a sec to find it.

    I love the second shot with the ice cream. I imagine that was a real treat for the girls. Curious about the bracelets. Perhaps they were friendship bracelets?

    Kat

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  7. Lovely set of pictures, Nancy! They really knew how to camp in those days! I love the grouping in their summer dresses and ice-creams. The very epitome of summer bliss. I wonder if the girls are wearing a kind of early version of the 'friendship' bracelet?

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  8. It looks like your mom is wearing bangle bracelets too, one on each arm. I like that dapper hat the gentleman's wearing!

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  9. Sepia Saturday certainly opens up the world to wonderful images. It's rare to find camping photos from long ago. These are a wonderful treasure. To go camping you had to be creative and think ahead, not just pull a behemoth onto a slab of cement next to a another behemoth. Wonderful family shots.

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  10. I have always adored vintage picnic photos. This one takes it to a new level...vintage camping! Just wonderful!!

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  11. What wonderful photos! I love them both. The shadow in the first one and everybody enjoying their ice cream cones in the second one- they must have been a special treat to take a picture of them!

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  12. Also, the man in the second picture looks very mysterious with his sunglasses and hat!

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  13. Nancy, re: your comment over at WM, click to enlarge the pic of James and Sina and you'll see his eyes are open! Sina, on the other hand was said to be blind in her old age.

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  14. Wow if really 1928 or so they were living quite well "camping" I find it so interesting that they could enjoy ice cream on such an outing in the other photo--think they made it there? This has to be pre-portable freezers...Good luck on your ancestral search; I spend hours of time doing the same

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  15. Thanks, Nancy, for all the research you did on Jack Millwater. I actually found a couple of references to him in something called, "Service News" and a newsletter from Scotch Plains, New Jersey at the time of the war.
    With the info you've given me (I'm also on Ancestry.com) I think I may be able to track a family member down.

    Kat

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  16. I believe we appreciate photos more now than in the past.
    My mother had a lot of photos yet they have disappeared in time.
    I'm glad to see you have these. They are a treasure to behold. Our families come to life when we look back through time. Staying in a tent was real pleasure. And not at all unsafe unlike today.

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  17. I love your blog! What interesting and wonderful pictures. your Mom sure looks like someone who would be fun to be a round. Actually that whole group looks like they are having a great time. The shadow is indeed mysterious.

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  18. They look like they're eating ice cream bars and ice cream sandwiches. I didn't know they had them then. Maybe an ice cream man made the rounds of the camp grounds. Great photos!

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  19. The car was like the wagon that they used to travel west. They just loaded the car and headed somewhere and then at night hovered around it like your connection to a home. What neat pictures. I have seen them on PBS but this is a group of relatives, wow.

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