The room we call our office has been getting out of hand recently so I have given myself the task of “straightening it up!” In doing so I had at first made an even bigger mess, but now it is starting to come together.
I have found so many things that have been layered under the debris of everyday life. I am happy to say that the discovery of this photo has pleased me greatly. It was taken by my mother in the spring of 1985? Jim and I took the first leg of moving her from Traverse City, MI to Guernsey, WY. Of course, before we could head south she had to take one last look at her beloved Boardman River and the property her family had once owned. I’ve been using the PhotoScan app on my phone to make digital copies. The original of this photo was about 5” square. I think I can live with a little graininess.
One container held photos from the kids’ early Lenexa years and things I had saved like the photos TC had sent of his paintings as he finished them and hand painted Christmas cards from Habs. I will make sense of them later.
I also found a box containing things that Jim had saved. He was as big of a saver as I am. I have already found a treasure trove of old letters and keepsakes from his misspent youth at Hanscome Pool! I will go through those with his buddies from that time which was so special to them all.
This box contained the diaries he kept of his European travels, first with Joe Chloupek in the 70’s? and later his bicycle ride in 1986. Those I will read in full after my cleanup is completed. There is also a small travel guide from that time with youth hostels and such for every possible town. They printed these things out before the internet!
He also saved maps! Most of which I nearly tossed! Then I thought better of it and actually looked at them. Some were from his geology field trips, stories from which have now become nearly Homeric in the retelling.
One map is of the Black Hills in Custer National Park with Sylvan Lake neatly circled. We spent some time there on a camping trip when the kids were little. To our little family it seemed a magical spot.
There is a very large, very old map with corners damaged from being pinned to a wall, I suppose, from his office in Morrill Hall during his time as a graduate student. It is dated: 5th Ed. Aug 14/43; revised 7/14/58. The title reads Blue Hill Bay and Western part of Mt. Desert Island, Maine. It is a geological survey map. If I had known we had it I would have had it framed for him years ago.
Neatly folded there is also a newspaper ad from Father’s Day 1986 from my time at Miller and Paine. In it he gazes out past the viewer in a new tailored shirt, while our niece, Angie, comfortably leans on his shoulder, her gaze directly at the lens. I used them both often in ads as both were so photogenic.
I recall in detail the day we took that picture. Jim and I, with outfits in tow, drove to Omaha where my sister Susie, Angie’s mother, was in pharmacy school. They were living near Mutual of Omaha in an area which had yet to receive its updated new look and status. We got them all dressed and went out searching for a perfect location. We finally settled on an empty lot in which the north side was held up by a stone retaining wall. There was a ledge where Angie could stand comfortably and be nearly level with Jim. It was not a particularly warm spring day. It was gray with a chilly breeze in the air. They were both real pros and did not complain.
I bet we went for pizza afterwards!
What was it about this particular image that touched his heart enough to save it for 35+ years? He was a sentimental human for such a big tough guy!
Loved this post and the pictures.