Who are you?

As many of you know, I am immersed right now in sorting many years worth of photos for a scanning project.  This project has intersected with some photo sorting that has been going on at my mom's house.  When siblings come to visit, they help my mom go through boxes. And during that process, many more photos are found.

My mom can identify many of the pictures that are found.  But many are totally foreign to her.  When my Grandpa Clayton died, Grandma Connie gave boxes of photos, papers, and other documents to my folks.  I'm sure they went through them at the time, but apparently only in a cursory manner.  Then they were boxed up and put away.  And we all know what happens when you put something away!!

It's entirely possible that the above photo is of an ancestor of ours.  Or it is just as possible that it's an ancestor of Grandma Connie and it got in the box by accident.  Or it could be an old photo that somehow got in the box a long time ago and just stayed there.

Whatever it's source, it's a little bit sad to think that such a darling photo goes unclaimed.  On the other hand, it's a charming photo that can tell us a lot about a time and place that is no more.  It could be a boy - because boys wore dresses until they got into short pants.  It's probably a loved child.  And the family had some means, to have such a nicely made dress - and to even be going to a photographer!

I am quick to say there's a lesson here - and the lesson is:  label your photos.  That's almost moot though, since digital photos always have dates - and usually ask us to identify what we're putting on the computer.  But some detail would probably be helpful.

And if you print out photos, some identifying is called for.  And don't forget school pics that come home and get sent off to doting grandparents - be sure to identify them!!  (School photos, although they do show a progression, can get very confusing.)

I have not been good about identifying photos over the years.  And that is making my job harder.  On the other hand, it's also sharpening my skills of deduction as I try to figure out what year the photo happened.  And in the case of photos of babies and small children, it's a job sometimes just to figure out who it is.

Meanwhile, sweet boy or girl above, we're sorry we can't celebrate you here on the blog - at least by name!!