Found Photo Project #9 By Eilene Lyon Similar to the Welsh-Adler File, I recently picked up a collection of photos from the local antique mart that had belonged to a single person. I did leave behind a few unidentifiable snapshots, but bought the remainder. Unlike the David R. Young photo that mysteriously turned up locally,... Continue Reading →
The Pines
By Eilene Lyon It’s that time of year when new and returning students head to college campuses: moving into dorms, apartments, sorority and fraternity houses. In honor of my niece moving into the dorm for her freshman year this week, I’m going to share a different living arrangement that my mom had in her college... Continue Reading →
From the Vault: The Footrest Error
By Eilene Lyon Pardon the unattractive photo above. Following up on my last post about Fred Ransom’s on-the-job accident, I thought I’d share my similar experience. Partly due to sheer luck, the injuries to my right foot did not result in the loss of any digits. I’m not so naïve as to think that workplace... Continue Reading →
Too Early for OSHA
By Eilene Lyon Though my great-grandmother, Clara Ransom Davis (1877-1953), passed down a lot of family history, she made a glaring omission: her own birth family. She wrote a brief story about her father, Robert Ransom, who died when she was six. But she left no tales about her mother or siblings. Everything I know... Continue Reading →
Parrish Skies
By Eilene Lyon My Colorado home experiences exquisite sunrises and sunsets on a regular basis. It takes only a few clouds to add rich hues to our morning and evening skies. Whenever I find startlingly deep cyan set off with billowing cumulous clouds in a vibrant pink-orange glow, I’ve taken to calling them “Maxfield Parrish... Continue Reading →
Bio Bite: Evelyn Ethel Halse
By Eilene Lyon Evelyn Ethel (Halse) Hansen (1913–1981) Evelyn was the eighth-born child of Mabel Cutting and Guy Halse. According to my great-aunt, she was the “black sheep” of the family who avoided family reunions. However, she was known to visit cousins in South Dakota. Unlike some of her siblings, Evelyn did complete high school... Continue Reading →
Researching Found Photos
By Eilene Lyon A Place to Start I shop at antique marts looking for 19th and early-20th century photos. We have only one antique store in Durango, which I’ve thoroughly gleaned, so this usually happens when I travel. I look for images that have a name inscribed somewhere on them, first/last or at least the... Continue Reading →
The Company Player
Found Photo Project #8 By Eilene Lyon This portrait of actor David R. Young was taken in Boston in 1896. He inscribed it to his mother, who lived in Connecticut (as did he). How it wound up in an antique store in southwestern Colorado—in the unincorporated, wide-spot-in-the-road known as Gem Village—shall remain a mystery. David... Continue Reading →
The Pomology Prof
By Eilene Lyon I’ve been renewing my interest in botany lately. You may recall this subject is one of my connections to my great-grandmother, Clara Ransom Davis. I recently received communication from the University of Idaho and learned their herbarium contains 144 valuable specimens that Clara collected in her undergraduate years in the 1890s. (She... Continue Reading →