Old Friends - Sepia Saturday 781

 

Gamle Andersson, Tvärred

Old Man Andersson, Tvärred

If not for a note scribbled on the back of this photo (probably by my dad, when sorting old photos left behind from his dad), I wouldn't have had a clue. I also found it in the envelope marked "Tvärred", though (a place name) - where most of the photos involve the brothers Anders and Evert Andersson (who have appeared in other recent Sepia posts on this blog). So I suppose I might have made a bold guess anyway, that this was probably their father. 

"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)

This photo does not have names scribbled on the back, but (even more unusual) a date: 10.08.64 (10 August 1964), which pins it down in time. And in this case, I can add the names, and even the place, myself. The man to the right is my grandfather Gustaf (at age 60); and the one behind him his brother-in-law Olle. The man to the left is Edvin Kornelius - as I remember it, usually just referred to by his last name. And the place is the small farm Källeberg, where he lived together with his sisters Annie and Ellen. (From another source, I know that the three of them inherited the place in 1937.)

Olle's wife Hildur and Edvin's sister Annie both died in 1964. I don't have the exact date of death for either of them; but I guess that this visit to Källeberg was probably after both those women died. 

In my own early childhood photo album there is an earlier photo that includes them both, from the summer of 1957:

Standing: Olle & Hildur (my grandmother's sister with husband), my grandmother Sally with me (barely 2 years old) on her arm, Annie and Edvin Kornelius. Sitting: Ellen Kornelius, my mum and dad, and my grandparents' dog Zepp. (My grandfather no doubt behind the camera.)

My grandparents, Hildur & Olle, and the siblings Kornelius were all old friends; and the middle photo of the three men brought Simon & Garfunkel's song "Old Friends" to mind for me...

♫ Old friends

Memory brushes the same years

Silently sharing the same fears ♫

Linking to Sepia Saturday 781

 

Midsummer Family Gatherings - Sepia Saturday 780

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

In the photo from 1939, my dad (soon to turn 8) is the boy with glasses, to the left. The baby girl, on her mother's arm, must be cousin Marianne - born 1938. A bit unusual is that for once, the "birthday boy" himself, Gustaf, is also included: standing furthest to the right. (Makes me wonder who was behind the camera!)

1940

In the photo from 1940, my dad is hiding behind a taller cousin...

1941

In 1941, my great-grandmother Selma is no longer in the picture. She died in March that year (five months before she would have turned 80). With the photo enlarged now, I notice that Gustaf is actually included in this photo, too - right in the middle in the back row.

1942

A smaller gathering in 1942, it seems - but all the boys present. My dad still the only one with glasses. I'm not sure who is who among the others, or who the fifth one is - but probably "a cousin of the cousins", on their mum's side. 

1948

Skipping forward to 1948, and who knows what the teenage boys were up to... The girl must be cousin Marianne, now 10 years old. My grandmother Sally behind her, holding a cat. The woman to the left of her I think I recognise as a "friend" rather than relation.

Happy Midsummer to all my fellow "Sepians"!

PS. After having finished this post, I find that I've used the same photos before on this blog, in a post from 2023, entitled Nils, the Bus Driver - for Sepia Saturday 681. (99 Sepia Saturdays ago!) 

Linking to Sepia Saturday 780

The Veranda - Sepia Saturday 779

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