Saturday, October 10, 2015

Father with Daughters - Sepia Saturday

By the time I knew my grandfather, William Carl Robert "Bob" Meinzen, I thought he was an old man who was disinterested in us grandchildren.  To my child's eyes he went to work, ate meals, smoked his pipe, sat in his chair to watch TV, and then went to bed.  Because I had trouble imagining him interacting with his own little girls I was excited to find this photograph in which he looks pleased to be with two of his little ones.

My grandparents had four daughters.  My mother, Audrey, the oldest, is standing beside Grampa.  Mom was born in 1915 and looks to be about four so I estimate the date of this photo to be about 1919.

At first I thought Grampa was holding his third daughter, born in 1921.  But when I considered ages and birth dates of both girls I realized the baby in his arms is his second daughter, Geraldine, born in 1918.

It's easy to imagine that Grampa, a barber, cut Mom's hair and that Gramma attempted to soften the cut with that huge bow.

Notice that Geraldine's dress has beautiful lace adorning the hem.  Gramma was an excellent crocheter and it's likely she made the lace.  My grandmother also sewed and it's possible she made both of the girls' dresses.

Grampa wears a bow tie and sports a (slightly grown-out) "butch."  I must research whether both popular in 1919.  He also seems to be wearing what I think of as old-style jodhpurs, as in another photograph.  Horsemen generally wore them but I have no oral history suggesting the Grampa rode horses.  Perhaps they were popular in 1919, too.

The photograph is old, faded, and in poor condition.  It needed a little darkening to be able to see the image.  Despite all, I'm grateful to see the pleasure evident in my grandfather's face as he was photographed with his daughters.  (You can click on the image to enlarge it and see details since I'm not using Lightbox.)

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This post is a contribution to Sepia Saturday 300.  I invite you to click through to see what posts others are contributing for this milestone event.

I first discovered Sepia Saturday in May, 2010, only a few months after it began.  I wrote a post to highlight the blog on May 1 and submitted my first Sepia Saturday post on May 8, 2010.  In those early days we participants posted a variety of sepia photographs and each week Alan Burnett, Sepia Saturday host, highlighted one of them as the introduction for the next week's call to participants.  There was such a wonderful variety of posts in those early days:  it was a delight to visit each participant's blog because one never knew what the subject of the photograph would be.  When, toward the end of the first year, the calls evolved to themes my interest diminished and so did my contributions.  I now participate occasionally but not as regularly as in the early days.  Still, I'd like to congratulate Alan, a dedicated host, and the rest of the participants for keeping Sepia Saturday alive for more than five years.  Thank you.

--Nancy.

Copyright © 2009-2015 Nancy Messier. All Rights Reserved.
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19 comments:

  1. The butch haircut is interesting - I don't believe I've ever seen one on anybody in this era. Thanks for the information about the beginning of Sepia Saturday. Your grandfather does look happy with his girls.

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    1. Hi, Helen. I think butch haircuts were popular when I was a child but I don't see them too often these days except, perhaps, among military men. Except that men in the military never let them get as long as my grandfather's. My grandfather's smile, both in his eyes and mouth, is slight but definitely there. Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment.

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  2. That's a very charming photograph, Nancy.

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  3. I like his hairdo and the big bow. I missed those days when there was no theme, I came on board shortly after themes started. As time went on there was closer and closer attention to the prompt until now there are rarely any posts that aren't based on the prompt.

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    1. Although sometimes the link between prompt and post is very tenuous. I've only been a sepian contributor for the last 100 posts or do but I do like the guidance it gives us as a starting point. By butch haircut you mean your grandfather's style I assume, not his older daughter's. They look like they were dressed up for a special occasion.

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    2. Hi, Kristin. His haircut just seems unusual to me but I do love the big bow in my mom's hair. I just wonder how my grandmother tied it so it wouldn't fall out.

      You're right about people sticking with the prompt. In fact, some commenters point out when one has gone astray of the prompt photo. I think Mister Mike may be the only one who (often) posts without using the prompt.

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  4. Yes, Jo, it's my grandfather who sports the butch, though my mom's hair is pretty short, too. They do look dressed for a special occasion, or maybe they had just come from or were going to church on a Sunday. Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment.

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  5. It's funny how we viewed our grandparents. We knew them when they were "old" or at least they seemed older than they really were. Now I have to imagine what they were like as playful children and fun-loving teens and proud young parents.

    I'm glad you mentioned your involvement with SS and some of the history. I joined in shortly after the 100th week celebration so I missed a good bit of the early days. But I must disagree about Mr. Mike -- he is on theme more often than not, but the connection might not be clear until almost the end of his post.

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    1. It helps to imagine them as younger people when we have photographs. I have a few of my grandmother but not of my grandfather, so I suppose he will stay in my memory as an "old" man.

      I'm sure you are right about Mr. Mike, Wendy. Since I don't participate in SS very often these days I probably just hit his occasional posts that are not on theme. And here I was admiring him for going against the grain and sticking with the original ways of SS....

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  6. This is a great photograph- thanks for sharing! I have been hit and miss with my SS posts also. I don't usually try and match the theme...I just don't have too many photos that would work. So I go with my own theme!

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    1. Hi, Terri. Thanks!

      I'm like you with few old family photographs, most of which don't match most of the themes that are presented for SS posts. I sometimes post but not very often these days.

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  7. Great to see you contributing Nancy, and with such a charming photo. As the other ‘host’ of the Sepia Saturday meme I welcome your comments. Regular contributors and members of the Facebook group know of my campaign to get back to the roots, which is why I posted this week’s image with no prompts. Alan sneaks them in though - look what he’s done with the latest post! I guess we have to strike a balance and try to please as many of you as possible. Some like a theme and some don’t but as we often say, there are no rules. I often ignore the themes myself (even if I’ve suggested them!) as there may be an anniversary or specific date, person or event I want to highlight. We welcome all contributions, the more the merrier.

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    1. Thanks, Marilyn. I know bloggers who began contributing to Sepia Saturday after the prompts began seem to rely on them. It's all good.

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  8. A crewcut. My dad had a crewcut when I was growing up. I was so stunned when I first saw a photo of him as a teen with a big mop of hair. I'd never seen him with anything other than very short hair.

    Do items still exist that your grandmother made? Clothing with lace? It would be very special.

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    1. Hi, Tattered and Lost. It is surprising, sometimes, to see how our parents looked when they were younger. My father never wore a crew cut but his hair was fairly thin by the time I was a child. I was surprised to see what thick, dark hair he had as a child and young man.

      Yes, I still have some embroidered linens my grandmother made, but sadly, no lace. I would have loved to have some things she crocheted, especially lace, and some piece of clothing she made, too.

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  9. It is difficult to imagine our elders as being once young.
    My own grandparents looked pretty old too.
    Despite the stories one hears,
    only photographs have the power to restore the youth they once enjoyed.
    :)

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  10. I can so relate to this post, I grew up with my grandfather close by but I feel like I never really knew him. Thanks

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    1. Do you think that older men of that generation tended to be less interested in children and so grandfathers and grandchildren interacted less? I thought that might be possible, but, of course, it could just be the personality of the grandfathers.

      I'm glad to learn my grandfather wasn't the only one who didn't "warm up" to his grandchildren.

      Thanks so much for visiting and leaving a comment, Ellie.

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I appreciate your comments and look forward to reading what you have to say. Thanks for stopping by.

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