In one of my many envelopes, I recently found this photo, which I can't recall having made its way into any of the family albums:
This is the car my parents had in my early childhood. The photo is from my paternal grandparents' yard, and was probably snapped by my grandfather Gustaf when we were about to leave after a weekend visit. My grandmother is leaning into the back - probably saying goodbye to little me.
Another photo of the same car, on an icy winter road. Sweden had left-hand traffic back in those days (until 1967). Whether my dad stopped on purpose just to take this photo, or the car stopped by itself, I don't know. I'm probably in the back seat here too. We lived around 100 km away from both sets of grandparents, and did quite frequently drive to visit them on weekends.
In summer, my paternal grandparents Sally and Gustaf liked to go for a drive and have a simple picnic outdoors.
Before my parents bought the Volvo - probably in connection with little me coming into the picture - they (or my dad) had an older car, which they called Patrick.
In this very blurry photo he's doing something with it in his parents' yard.
This I think is my parents setting off on their honeymoon, in 1954.
A couple of years before they got married (I think they had just about started "dating"), my mum was a teacher in a small countryside school, for a small number of pupils of varying age. There weren't many books for the youngest, and my mum then made some of her own (with her own illustrations). One of them is about a young troll getting a lift by an old car called Patrick (with a tendency to sometimes stop "for no apparent reason").
Linking to Sepia Saturday 782
"Sometimes all you need is a name. You can be sorting through a pile of old family photographs, desperately trying to work out if the subject is your Great Uncle Joe or Cousin Mabel's young nephew, when you suddenly find a name pencilled on the reverse of the photograph..."
(Alan Burnett, Sepia Saturday 781)
My grandfather Gustaf was born on Midsummer Eve, 23 June 1904.
Back in those days, Midsummer Day, also known as St John's Day, was always celebrated on the 24th - and Midsummer Eve thus always on the 23rd. Since 1952, however, St John's Day/Midsummer Day is always celebrated on a Saturday, and Midsummer Eve on a Friday. So during my own whole life, Midsummer Eve has always been a Friday, but the date shifting from one year to another.
But for my dad, back in his childhood, Midsummer always coincided with his dad's birthday - and my grandparents liked to make use of that for annual extended family gatherings.
I've never had the impression that these parties involved any dancing and singing etc round a traditional Midsummer Pole (maypole), though. (I suspect my grandmother probably found those traditions "pagan", even if I can't actually recall anyone talking about that.)
I just recently "re-found" a series of six photos from family midsummer gatherings taking place between 1937-1948. (The years added on the back of them by my dad.) I remember using these for a display at my dad's funeral back in 2011, as his cousins, also included in these photos, were also among the guests attending.
 |
| 1937 |
In this photo, my dad, Bertil, born 1931, had not yet turned 6 years old. He's the one furthest to the right of the three standing. The two to the left of him must be his cousins Sten (also born 1931), and Bernt (1932). Their father was my grandmother Sally's brother Nils, who is standing furthest to the left, holding yet another boy, who must be the third one in that family: Olof. The next year, those three brothers would also be getting a little sister, but she's not in the picture yet. Behind my father stands an old woman with head-scarf and glasses - that's my great-grandmother, Selma. I also recognise my grandmother Sally, her sister Hildur, and Hildur's husband. The rest of the people I can't identify, but they're probably "in-laws" from Nils' wife's family.
 |
| 1939 |
 |
| 1940 |
 |
| 1941 |
 |
| 1942 |
 |
| 1948 |
I searched in vain in my old albums for a photo of someone standing next to a chair (as in the Sepia prompt photo.) In my inherited photos, if there is a chair, there is usually someone sitting on it, though!
However, in one of the envelopes I've been going through recently, I found a photo of my grandfather Gustaf as a young man, sitting alone on a chair on/in the "glass veranda" at the farm Storegården, which belonged to my grandmother Sally's family. Gustaf was friends with Sally's younger brother Nils; and in the mid 1920s, when Gustaf was trying to change his career from a shoemaker's apprentice to becoming a journalist, Nils' family let him rent a room with them (probably in a small cottage on the grounds rather than in the main house). (Cf. my post for SS 773 - The Desk.) I would date the photo below to around that time (mid 1920s) - after Gustaf had recently moved to the farm to live, but before he and Sally became romantically involved.
It was not an open veranda, but more like an extra room with many windows - and probably no heating, so primarily used in summer.
In one of the albums, there is this photo of Sally and Gustaf. They seem to be sitting in the same corner of the veranda as in the first photo, but now with plants behind them. My guess is that this is from their engagement (Sept 7, 1929).
This photo shows what the veranda looked like from the outside. (The entrance door is to the right, I know from other photos.) Two of the women are unknown to me. Standing at the back are Gustaf, one of the guests, and Sally. Sitting down are another guest, Hildur (Sally's older half-sister), Selma (mother of Hildur, Sally and Nils), and Hildur's fiancé Olle.
To finish off, a photo of Gustaf some 25-30 years later than in the first photo; sitting and looking contemplative. Possibly on the sofa in his own kitchen (that door behind him could be to the larder). But I'm not sure. It might also be somewhere unknown to me.
Linking to Sepia Saturday 779
The only person in this photo whom I recognise without doubt is my grandmother Sally, in the middle. It's the small girl in front who makes one smile at these photos, though - isn't it?
Because of the photos being found in an envelope marked Tvärred, I'm guessing that the man to the right may be my grandparents' friend Anders Andersson (who lived there) - but I'm not sure. I'm also not sure when to date it. The photo seems to be of later date than most of those in the same envelope. Mid 1950s? I was born in 1955 myself, and I remember my grandfather often wearing a beret similar to those worn by the two gentlemen here. I also have a memory (unsupported by photos) that there was a girl at Tvärred who must have been some 6-7 years or so older than myself. Whether she was the daughter of Anders or someone else, I can't recall. All I really remember is that she introduced me to the dance called "twist", playing music on a small record player up in her room!
Linking to: Sepia Saturday 774 - The Look
If this post seems familiar to some readers, that will be because it's basically the same as my post for Sepia Saturday 713 ("Going to Work"), about a year ago...
My grandfather Gustaf (born 1904) started out as a shoemaker's apprentice in his early teens, but what he really wanted to do was write. He gradually managed to shift to a career as journalist, by taking a few correspondence courses (cf. SS 675 - "Book-keeping, Stenography and Typewriting") + freelancing for a local newspaper, until eventually he got employed there full time as journalist in 1926. He also usually took his own photos when he was out and about on various jobs.
 |
| Young Gustaf at his desk in his room at the farm |
While being a shoemaker's apprentice, Gustaf lived with the shoemaker and his family; but later on, he was offered a room at the farm where his childhood friend Nils lived (with his mother, two sisters and one or two older half-brothers). One of Nils' sisters, Sally, was to be his future wife - but from what I've gathered from letters, when Gustaf first moved to the farm to live, there was not yet any romantic relationship between them. My impression is also that Gustaf's room must have been in a separate small cottage rather than in the main farm house with the family.
This photo shows one of Gustaf's colleagues at the newspaper where he worked between 1926-1938. (In 1938 he was recruited to another newspaper in the same town.)
In this photo Gustaf is obviously older, and I think it's probably from his office at the other newspaper, where later on in his career he also advanced to be editor. But I think his main passion was always to write his own articles about local history and people.
Linking to Sepia Saturday 773 - The Desk
From an envelope marked Tvärred (the name of a place where friends of my grandparents lived; cf my previous post for SS 768), I pick this photo as the closest match for today's Sepia prompt:
In his introduction to Sepia Saturday 768, Alan Burnett writes:
"Just as a good novel guarantees that you are never sure where the plot is going to take you next, a good collection of old photographs means that you are likely to be taken to the most unexpected places and unexpected times. It is this pleasure, this uncertainty, that we celebrate here on Sepia Saturday."
So I'm grabbing the opportunity to share four photos that still involve quite a bit of uncertainty.
The original photo prints are no larger than 6x8 cm. I scanned them to enlarge them on my computer screen, which does help a little bit, though. One thing they have in common is that they probably include some people from the parish where my great-grandmother Selma came from (Tvärred). Whether these people were related to her or "just friends" is something I've never been sure of, though.
In the first photo all but one of the six people are familiar to me, though. The boy at the front is my dad. He was born 1931 and I suppose he must be around 10-12 here (?) Behind him to the left are his parents (my grandparents) Gustaf and Sally; and to the right his uncle and aunt - Sally's sister Hildur with husband Olle. The one I'm not certain about is the man in the middle. From somewhere at the back of my memory I seem to recall that there were two brothers (?) named Anders and Evert, living at Tvärred, whom I even met a few times in my own early childhood. Who of them is who in old photos, I no longer know, though. And if I ever knew their surname, I've forgotten.
This photo is from earlier in my dad's early childhood. (Does he look 3 or 4 years old to you?) The old woman to the left is my great-grandmother Selma. (She died long before I was born, but I recognise her from many photos.) To the right of the boy who became my dad (Bertil) is my grandmother. The woman with curly hair behind him is her sister Hildur; and behind her, her husband Olle. I suppose the two men to the left must be be the afore-mentioned brothers. As for the third man and the other two women, I have no idea, though.
Judging by their clothes, I'd say this photo must be from the same occasion.
