This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt depicts the joy of
solitude as a young woman paddles her canoe through the calm waters of a
wide-open lake. I was glad for this
prompt because I have been eager to share some more photos from my great-aunt
Helen Killeen Parker’s photo album.
But Helen’s pictures don’t suggest solitude at all.
They tell the story of a camping trip.
I wonder if they brought the boat with them or if it was
a rental. If so, what kind of place was
this? 
Since Helen apparently liked taking pictures but not journaling about them, the reason for the trip is a mystery. Family reunion? Summer vacation with cousins? A getaway-weekend with friends and coworkers? I don’t know. The presence of a rather grizzly older woman and a child makes me think this is an outing with extended family rather than the 1919 equivalent of the senior class trip.
 |
| This photo makes me laugh. Is that guy wearing a sport coat over his swimming trunks? |
Maybe the older woman was simply the chief cook and
bottle-washer. With all the activities
Helen and her friends had planned, they surely didn’t have time to cook.
 |
| Why is that man standing up in the boat? |
They were too busy boating,
fishing and hunting,
 |
| My great-aunt Helen |
relaxing to the sounds of Al Jolson, Henry Burr, or an orchestra on the gramophone
and boxing??
and maybe just getting to know one another better.
Oh wait -- Perhaps a little solitude was on the agenda after all.
Please paddle on over to Sepia Saturday for more stories
of solitude, boats and lakes.
©
2014, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.
I have been looking at so many old photos of boats on water today and saying that there is something about such old pictures - is it the lens, is it the printing process? - which gives a feeling of emptiness. Your collection is the exception that half-proves the rule - they are full of life and people.
ReplyDeleteI have been struck likewise that most of the photos are excellent examples of peace, solitude, relaxation.
DeleteIt looks a fun time, in fact your great aunt seems to have enjoyed her life at that time immensely.
ReplyDeleteI think the same thing -- what fun she had as a young girl.
DeleteLooks like they all enjoyed themselves. I am guessing your photos were taken in Virginia. They look very much like areas here in New York State.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure they were in Virginia, but just not sure where.
DeleteHow many you found! And I love the cheekiness in that last photo too.
ReplyDeleteRather flirty, eh?
DeleteBoy, there are lots of people in that one boat (I count seven, including that nut standing up!). It looks like they're all having a fabulous time!
ReplyDeleteHave you noticed how many Sepians have featured photos of boats jam-packed with people?? I guess no one had invented the concept of a personal bubble back then. Or boater safety!
DeleteThe fellow with his sports coat over his swim trunks was a hoot. I think maybe he did it on purpose as some of the others in the photo are hamming it up. Just for a moment I wondered how they could be playing records on the gramophone out in the middle of nowhere when it occurred to me: Duh! One cranked it up! And I loved the expression on the fellow's face in the last photo. "I'm helpless. What can I do? She beckons!"
ReplyDeleteCarrying a gramophone -- the boombox of its day. You know it had to be heavy!
DeleteSo much to enjoy in these photos Wendy. Perhaps the young man had been for a swim and was feeling a bit chilly until someone offered their jacket. Either that or the sight of his naked torso was too much for some of them.
ReplyDeleteJudging by his legs, he probably didn't win any prizes for body building.
DeleteThey seem to be living it up.
ReplyDeleteI think so too.
DeleteA glorious collection of photos of what was obviously a fun time. But I would beware of the lady with the gun.
ReplyDeleteI have another one of a woman kneeling and aiming, but the photo is glued close to the seam of the album making for a very blurry scan.
DeleteWhat a great selection of photos. And how on earth did I miss the lady with the gun when first scanning. Back I went and looked again....
ReplyDeleteThey were so casual about those guns -- did you see the one draped across the log?? In another photo, the gun is on the table.
DeleteIn the era of long dresses for women, suits seem to have been normal attire for men even on camping trips.
ReplyDeleteYeah, seems so odd today.
DeleteWow! You've knocked this theme outa the park, Wendy. I suppose it's some campsite down in the not-so-Dismal Swamp. Bringing boxing gloves along with all that other stuff is the mark of a real planner, too.
ReplyDeleteI thought Dismal Swamp or possibly Respass Beach along the James River.
DeleteAunt Helen was definitely quite a gal! Loved the last picture -- semi posed, semi of guard, o gosh quality. A fun camping trip --- in retrospect as well.
ReplyDeleteWhen I knew Helen, she was just a sweet ol' auntie. I wish I had known about the fun life she led as a girl and asked her about it.
DeleteI'm beginning to think that lakeside trips/holidays were much more common in America than here in Australia. they look like fun,
ReplyDeleteMaybe so.
DeleteWhat great photos! They remind me of a summer I spent on one of those children's summer camps in Maine. A lot of time was spent in the lake and in boats and being bitten by mossies. I must admit that was one of my first thoughts.. " I bet they were eaten alive on that trip"
ReplyDeleteNow that would have put a damper on things! But in Virginia, mosquitoes are part of the territory in the summer.
DeleteI think if I were around back then I would have gotten along well with Helen :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I can see you rowing the boat and taking a turn at target practice!
DeleteHow wonderful to have such a set of photos.
ReplyDeleteThe more I use them on Sepia Saturday, the more I appreciate them because I spend time REALLY looking at them.
DeleteGreat set!!
ReplyDeleteThose boxing gloves though,
I'm a little perplexed...
:D~
HUGZ
Yeah, I squinted to make sure I wasn't imagining things.
DeleteIt looks like a wide variety of activities were on the agenda for this outing! Great photos Wendy!
ReplyDeleteI guess they didn't have popsicle sticks to make lamps.
DeleteLooks like they were having an idyllic time at Dismal Swamp, despite the depressing name! I'd be a little worried about the possibility of a hunting accident though - they can happen so easily and turn pleasure into tragedy.
ReplyDeleteI think the same way. They seem very cavalier about those guns. In another photo, a guy is balancing his weight on a rifle while he and friends are in a boat floating along. Everyone is smiling and happy. I'd have run for cover.
DeleteWhatever the reason for this holiday, it all looks very nice and cheerful.
ReplyDeleteIt does appear to have been a happy time.
Delete