8/19/11

SUMMERTIME: Part 12


Summertime is sitting on the porch reading a book with grandma.



This post actually has multiple levels, none of which really have anything to do with the other.

Sitting as a child in someone's lap as they read to you is one of the great simple pleasures. Turning the pages, feeling the paper between your fingers; all of your senses are at play. Sitting with an iPad or a Kindle is not the same. A book is not a shiny object. You have to invest yourself into a book. Years later you may again find the same book and have the memories come flooding back. Taking it from a shelf and again holding it will for a few moments bring back that flurry of sensations you remember from so long ago.

The book this grandma is reading to her granddaughter is "Kiddie Land" by Margaret G. Hays.

Margaret G. Hays was the sister of Grace G. Wiederseim who became Grace Dayton, creator of Dolly Dingle and the Campbell's Kids.

Margaret is the author of "Kiddie Land" and her sister was the illustrator. You can see the title page to this book here.
Margaret G. Hays, sister of Grace Drayton, was a comic artist in the first decade of the twentieth century. She created 'Jennie and Jack, also the Little Dog Jap', and was also known for making paper dolls for postcards. She sometimes teamed up with her sister, for instance on the strip 'The Turr'ble Tales of Kaptin Kiddo'. (SOURCE: LAMBIEK.NET)
The next part of this post has to do with grandma herself. Does she look familiar? Is this a face that bears some resemblance to...oh I don't know...maybe Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States? Maybe it's just me. I see what I call Time Traveling Celebrities once in a while in old photos. In this case both grandma and Roosevelt are dead so grandma is not exactly time traveling as the two examples below are.

This photo was taken on April 28, 1939 when Roosevelt was in office. And mind you, this is not the first cross-dressing celebrity I've found.

I give you Will Ferrel in drag. Actually, I have no idea who this woman is. She was in my grandmother's album so she might actually be a relative of mine. This photo was originally posted April 30, 2009.



And then there's Matt Damon, originally posted November 21, 2008. I have no idea who this fellow actually is, but I do remember seeing him staring out of a pile of photos and being dumbfounded by the resemblance to Damon.


Really, you just never know who you might see in photos of people you don't know.

And to tie everything up with a piece of broken wire I'll admit that this hodgepodge is my contribution to this weeks Sepia Saturday. The theme was trees. As you can see I'm not even in a broken branch. More like low hanging fruit.

17 comments:

  1. Never mind about no trees - this was good pick of the fruit crop!

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  2. Thanks Jinksy. It always helps to know I'm not completely rotten.

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  3. These pictures are right bang on for the similarities!!!! Thanks for sharing.

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  4. LOL. What's even better - I have a memory for faces. Names to go with them? I'm losing it.
    I see the resemblance in both of these photos, but telling me Matt Damon means nothing. I look at the fellow in the photo however, and I know I've seen him before. If it were someone I see in real life, I would walk up and ask if he (or she) knew me. I'm not often wrong.

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  5. Great stuff!...I too so enjoy reading books from my own children to now their children....a book is a best friend you'll always keep! The first photo of grandma and grandchild brings back so many memories....my grandma got me my first books ever, and I still have them today! Best on is Big House In The Woods and Alice in Wonderland!

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  6. I don't pay attention to celebrities, so I never would have seen the resemblances. Of course, i do know about Roosevelt. I am sure there are a lot of people with some resemblance to him. I think the older woman and the girl really do resemble each other.

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  7. You are so funny! I loved all of these pictures, especially the one of Will Farrell in drag, lol. The one of Matt Dillon really looks exactly like him.

    Happy Sepia Saturday!

    Kathy M.

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  8. They do say everyone has a ‘doppelganger’ somewhere in the world. What fun you had with these, though I'm drawn to the grandma sharing a book with her granddaughter.

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  9. books are made of paper made from trees.

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  10. Agree with Jinksy, no matter what I liked this post. Food for thought. Who knows what went on years before our time. The stories I don't know I just like to imagine. Great post.
    QMM

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  11. But there is a tree in the first picture. Just enlarge it and you can't miss it.

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  12. But there is a tree in the your first photo so you are not tree-free!

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  13. Trees make books and they most certainly don't make e-books. My grand-daughter is now at the stage where I can sit her with me and read stories. It is such a delight.

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  14. wow I like this kind of photo quest. A time machine for celebrities.

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  15. An interesting narrative thread

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  16. reflection of trees in the first picture and also in "Will Ferrel"'s picture...

    lovely post!!
    say hello to Matt Damon for me!!
    :D~
    HUGZ

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