Friday, September 30, 2011

Mystery photos for a Friday

I've been sifting through a stash of old family photographic negatives that my brother found in his garage. Yesterday,  I came across at least two mystery photos. The photo above was taken by my dad, with his old Retina Kodak,  in Germany in 1951. Dad can't recall the woman or the location. He acknowledges that he must've taken it (it was on a roll of other photos that, clearly, he took). As you can see, the photo is blurred by the unsteady hand of the photographer, so it's hard to make out the young lady's features. (Click on graphics to enlarge.)
A close-up. She'd be about 78-years-old now.
Soon after this photo, my folks met on the boat sailing from Germany to Canada.
You know, the girl above looks a lot like Rebel Girl!
UPDATE: talked to my dad. He now says the gal "could have been one of my girlfriends."
Dad used to have lots of photos of old girlfriends. One day (in maybe 1952 or '53), mom gathered up all those photos and saved one picture of each girlfriend. She threw out the rest. Then she informed dad of her editing. "That's the way it's gonna be," she said. "Here's what's left." (Something like that.)
I also found this photo of the interior of a restaurant, one of two photos. The scene is northwestern Germany. Dad was on the Rhine just before he sailed for Canada in late 1951. He says he has no idea whatsoever who the waitress is and why he took this pic. Maybe an acquaintance of a friend?
This is a photo of my mom, circa 1958, likely in Kitimat, British Columbia.  But what is she doing? Just posing, I guess. She says she doesn't remember the photo or the occasion, but she acknowledges that she and dad did fool around a lot with his camera. That's for sure. Some of that stuff is pretty racy.
Sister Annie would have been about 4 and I would have been about 3 at the time of this photo.


This one's no mystery. At some point (in 1957 or 1958), while in Kitimat, my folks bought a new washer and  refrigerator—both by Westinghouse. Boy were they proud. Mom says she had dad take these pics so she could send them to her sister in Germany.
"My sister has never been the same," says mom, mysteriously.
I love the daffy "Mad Men" style of these appliance photos.


It's modern!
My folks' vision isn't what it used to be. They scrutinized this one for some time and only came up with distinctly wrongish theories about what's depicted. It looks to me like the Southwestern desert. I Googled "Desert View Trading Post" and discovered that that is the name of a place near the Grand Canyon. After a little looking I discovered that the Grand Canyon DVTP, which still exists, looks very much like the building depicted here. Voila.
My dad took the pic in 1958, when we traversed Route 66 from near Niagara Falls to LA.


Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...