This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt is the ever-popular
GROUP PHOTO. The oldest such photo in my collection is from 1914. The occasion
was the first Jollett Reunion. Likely it was held at the home of my 2X
great-grandfather James Franklin Jollett in Harriston, Augusta County,
Virginia.
It was not a good photo. Fortunately, some were better
than others enabling me to identify a few of the people. Since my grandaunts
Violetta and Velma were there, I can assume my grandfather was likewise, but I
do not see him.
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| Reunion 1914 |
It is clear from the pictures taken over the years that
the group photo was an important tradition.
The WHOLE Group
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| 1921 or 1923 |
Just the “Children”
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| 1914 Children of James Franklin Jollett Standing: Burton Lewis, Victoria, Sallie, Mary Frances (my great-grandmother), Leanna, Laura, Emma Seated: Eliza Jane (James Franklin's 2nd wife), James Franklin, Ulysses |
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| 1921 or 1923 Standing: Ulysses, Laura, Leanna, Mary Frances, Sallie, Victoria Seated: Emma, James Franklin and wife Eliza Jane |
The “Children” and Spouses
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| 1919 Standing: Decatur Breeden and Victoria, Jack Coleman and Emma, Sallie Clift, Laura Sullivan, James Franklin, Mary Frances Davis, Eliza Jane, Walter Davis Seated: Will Sullivan, Ulysses and wife Sadie |
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| 1934 at the latest Standing: James Knight, Sallie Clift, Leanna Knight, Walter and Mary Frances Davis, Decatur and Victoria Breeden, Laura and Will Sullivan Seated: Jack and Emma Coleman |
4 Generations
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| 1925 My grandfather Orvin Davis with his son, mother, grandfather Orvin Jr., Mary Frances, James Franklin Jollett |
The Jollett tradition lives on in my family today but not
at a reunion. We take a group photo every Christmas Eve. Each one is now a
record of family coming and going, weight gain and loss, and, of course, happy
times.
Our Christmas Eve parties are not like most people’s
holiday gatherings. We have a theme each year. Sometimes the theme suggests a specific
way to dress. Although I never intended for the party to become a costume event,
sometimes we can’t help ourselves. Take a look:
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| 2010 - Black & White Party |
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| 2012 - Redneck Shindig We were wearing plastic "Bubba teeth." We laughed so much that it was hard to get a picture. |
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| 2015 - Christmas in Whoville |
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| 2016 - Christmas PJs |
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| 2018 - Groovy Christmas |
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| 2019 - Putting on the Ritz (the girls did better than the guys) |
Please join the group at Sepia Saturday. There is always room for one more.
Wendy
© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.
What great group photos...and you are lucky to be able to name all those generations! But you didn't do the later ones on Christmas Eve...though the themes are hilarious and I'm sure helped people decide what to wear (at least the women!)
ReplyDeleteYour family's lucky to have continued the reunion for generations.
ReplyDeleteLove the pictures of your family at Christmas with the different themes! So cute people go along with it for picture taking! Great to have family pictures like this. My brother would do it whenever the whole family got together but that rarely happens these days :)
ReplyDeletebetty
What a crazy fun idea to have themes for the family gatherings! My favorite? Christmas PJs, although the Groovy Christmas looked like a kick and the guys seemed to do better with that one.
ReplyDeleteI love this family tradition, and the holiday season is a colorful time to keep it going! How fortunate you are to have so many of these photos chronicling your family's history.
ReplyDeleteThe old time photos are fine examples of how the camera changed family events. "Let's put the old folk in the center and see how many kin can fit into the view finder." But your new family tradition is 21st century family fun. I bet the theme committee discussion gets a bit crazy.
ReplyDelete