Sunday, October 18, 2009

Dad’s Photos #19

I’m not running out of Dad’s Photos quite yet—I figure I have at least enough for the rest of the calendar year given two posts a month—but Dad ran out of captions. Sorry! I know folks like them, but what’s to be done? I pinch-hit the best I could. Clearly these photos—mostly of my mother—were taken during his winter (1939-1940) in the camp in Athens, VT.

Hope you enjoy them!

[The view out the window (the railing) & also the drapes tells me this portrait of my mom wasn’t taken in the Athens, VT hunting camp]


[My father was an accomplished skier—don’t know much about mom when it comes to skiing—she didn’t ski in my lifetime]

[Ski poles, but no skis; I wonder at what caused the striations in this exposure]

[Maybe this answers the skiing question. Although the photo’s a bit blurry, I think the man behind my mom is their good friend Dick Bragg]


[Gotta admit: I wish there was a back story on th
e old wagon]


[Mom in the doorway to the Athens cabin—check out that crosscut saw!]

[Dad & Mom—check out Dad’s ski attire!]


[I’m pretty sure the folks on either side of my mom are their friends (& at one time, next-door-neighbors) Marge & Dick Bragg]






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11 comments:

  1. I love old photos, especially the clothing and surroundings. It's like looking at another world.

    I also love hearing the stories of my parents' lives before us kids. Fortunately, I still have both of my parents, and they got into a storytelling last night. I thought I'd heard it all, but as they become older, their inhibitions lessen, so I'm learning some interesting things! Now I need to find the photos to accompany the stories.

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  2. I thought perhaps your mother was a pioneer in the field of Nordic walking (People are always asking me whether I've lost my skis) -- but apparently she did have some skis to go with the poles. I like the striations in the pole photo. You could label it "Mom and the Aurora Borealis."

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  3. I was intrigued by the winter weather and wanted to know if such conditions were normal for Athens VT (which I assume is Athens in Vermont). I eventually tracked it down on the map and it does seem to be rather far north. Just see what investigative processes such old photographs start.

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  4. Hi Karen & Sandra & Alan

    Karen: That's very true about inhibitions & story-telling as parents get older! Great point.

    Sandra: Great title! Yes, I think she would have been far ahead of her time as a Nordic walker.

    Alan: Vermont in general gets pretty brutal winters--I believe it has already snowed there! The climate as far as that goes varies quite a bit in the states in terms of east & west of the Rockie Mountains. In Idaho, we're as far north as Vermont, yet we're still getting weather in the 60s, which isn't all that unusual, & while the winter seems to be hitting them a bit early this year, the winters there on average are significantly longer than ours, at least at our elevation.

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  5. I always enjoy these album pics, John. Your mother is beautiful. I especially like the shadowy profile shot!

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  6. Hi Willow: Thanks! I also like that profile shot.

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  7. Conclusions like this are always hard to draw, but there seems to be a lot of unforced cheerfulness in these pictures. Aren't they great?

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  8. Hi Dominic: Yes, those look like happy days!

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  9. Your caption on the wagon shot was priceless! Your dad would be proud.

    Always a treat, this feature.

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  10. Hi Kat: & thanks--sorry I missed this comment earlier!

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  11. I was really good at falling down, but at least I waited quite awhile before I broke my hip. I enjoyed the Athens pictures. It was many years ago, how times flies. Love, Ma

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