Family Keepsakes Fun, Part 1

It's been a while since I posted any of my old family photos, so recently I cracked open one of the boxes where I keep them and went through it, picking out whatever caught my fancy. There's no real rhyme or reason to any of it. I simply found a few things that I thought would be fun to share.

First, let's start with this lovely 1920s bride. I don't know who she is. Either a relative or family friend; there's nothing on the picture that says. I think her 1920s wedding wear is completely fab:

I found a series of souvenir postcards in a small box on which some jokester (probably my maternal grandfather) had written: LANA TURNER'S PICTURES OF HER FRIENDS AND RELATIVES. This one, I really liked the colors. I think my grandpa went to some kind of revival or some such at this place:

This one cracked me up. I mean, honestly, why would anyone think to make a postcard of the celery bleaching process, let alone buy one? I had to look up what it even meant.

I thought this was a real nice view of Columbus, OH. I highly doubt it looks like this anymore.

These steps look killer, but also very cool:

I enjoyed this juxtaposition. Here is a postcard (I'm guessing circa 1930s) view of the mouth of the St. Joseph River, opening out into Lake Michigan:

And here's Grandpa's picture of the same thing. The picture was taken in 1940:

I was thoroughly intrigued by this photo so I had to do a little research. Apparently the Bonus Army was a group of WWI vets and their families who marched to Washington, D.C. in 1932 to demand that their bonuses be paid immediately, rather than in 1945, as was initially promised. It's a rather interesting and sad story. You can read the Wiki about it HERE.

I don't know why this photo was in my family's possession. The note on the front says "We are there B.E.F. 6-24-32." My maternal grandfather's last name began with "F," so it's possible that this came from one of his relatives, an uncle would be my best guess.

My maternal grandmother liked to clip poems out of the newspaper. I have several scrapbooks of hers that are full of them. So I believe that she kept the loose clipping below for the two poems on it. I, however, am including it for the TOTALLY AWESOME ad for Honeymoon Love Drops.

"Secret Aroma Helps You Win the One You Love," it says. "Unforgettable as a lover's first kiss! Bewitch, allure and captivate with this rare, stimulating fragrance. Just ONE DROP of this secret aroma will endure for hours . . . enchantingly encircle lovers like a binding knot . . . and will add a more thrilling, irresistible charm to you!"

Enchantingly encircle lovers like a binding knot? Okay, maybe it's slightly more creepy than funny.

Speaking of Grandma, I'm pretty sure this is her. The picture frame matches the one below of Grandpa, as though at some point they hung side by side in the home they shared. It's not always easy for me to identify Grandma in photos because, if you'll recall, I never met her. (I apologize for the poor quality of the scan. The back of the frame is nailed shut and I didn't want to mess with it/potentially break it, so I just scanned the whole thing. It looks blurry due to the glass front.)

I love this picture because out of all the pictures I have of her, this is the ONLY one where she's smiling like this. She looks so happy!

And here is the matching picture of Grandpa. It has the same quality issues for the same reason. I love this picture because you get a real sense of why he had so many lady friends when he was younger. So dapper!

That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed this trip through my family keepsakes. I only went through the small box this time. Next time, I'll have to crack open one of the bigger boxes, and see what goodies I can find!