This is not an American Gothic painting like Grant Wood's painting, but it could be. They all had the tendency to bring them outside for the good lighting and stand them on the front stoop right in front of the porch. In this particular photo you also get to see the older son peaking through from the screened porch. I do think the shadow is the shape of my mom taking the photo with her box camera. I now have a photo of her with that camera which I will share in a later blog.
The date of the first three photos that I am showing come from a photo album of my mom's which I date around the early 1940's. It has photos in it that I can sequence for a couple of years in relation to what is going on with my mom and dad's life at that time. The early photos in the album show my parents dating and the back of the book shows by oldest brother while young, making it a time spam of at least two years.
I wanted to guess the identity of couple but they I don't recognize the children. It confuses me as they have similar features of some of the relatives. The people who I thought they were though did eventually have four or five children but they didn't have two boys. I guess they really could be neighbors.
Here are the kids all lined up for show. The tall boy is the one you saw on the porch peering out at the camera in the first photo. It must be fall as they are dressed warmly for cool weather. I also noticed the clothing of the mother in the top photo. She has her apron on on top of the dress and then a jacket on top of it all. Women wore their aprons from morning to night on the farm especially of that generation. My grandma had her apron on all the time and my mom didn't wear an apron except the pretty ones for card parties.
The little girl gets her picture taken again with the new lambs on the farm. I am sure they were showing them to the visitors and the photo got taken. Maybe as some of my relatives on my mom sides see this blog that maybe they will be able to identify them. I know they are not from my dad's side of the family.
The privileges of being the first born includes being place anywhere and everywhere to have your photo taken. This is a photo from the album and it says that my brother Ron is 8 months old. He was born in October 1940 which makes this photo to be June of 1941. My dad Jesse had not been drafted into the service yet but will be very soon in the next couple of months. I remember that child's seat as I think all four of us brothers were put into it when young. It was around still in the store room when I was five or six years old and I am sure it went to the dump sometime after that when they cleared that room for making a bedroom.
My brother Ron again the same day sitting on the Farmall tractor. I don't know whose farm this is and the clues are few for me to figure it out at this time. The possibilities are numerous as all the relatives were farmers.
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10 comments:
I especially like the photo of the little girl with the lambs. It's her hat that's the best part of her outfit! I hope you are able to find out who everyone is.
All wonderful shots but I'm really drawn to the little girl beneath the barn window with the two lambs in theshadow. And then her wonderful shadow behind her.
The baby looks so tiny on the huge tractor.
Wonderful photos as usual..I hadn't noticed the shadow of your mum taking the photos at first, so delightful!
Your dad was very handsome. You are so blessed to have so many of these old time memeories.. Just think That is over seventy odd years ago!! sad in one way as you can never get back what is gone.. Blessings to you Larry.
They are classic photographs, all of them - and so true what you were saying about the similarities with "American Gothic"
I nearly didn't see the baby on the tractor. The girl with the lambs is cute.
If you hadn't mentioned that Ron was sitting on the tractor, I probably would have thought it was just a photo of a tractor. These are all wonderful pictures.
Good luck finding out who is who. I like the baby on the tractor best. Looks like he's ready to plow the lower 40.
Thanks for this collection of photos and for your interesting comments.
Fine group of pictures which look very good. Love the toning too. Well done.
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