Lena Funk Hoffman and Dwight Macbeth: 52 Ancestors 2020 Prompt "Favorite Photo"

Great-grandmother Lena Funk Hoffman and her Grandson Dwight Macbeth

Photo taken in 1935, Eagle Lake Minnesota 

           Until this past year, I had seen few photos of my maternal grandmother’s mother, Lena Funk Hoffman, and struggled to find records proving her parentage and determining whether she had siblings. I discovered my brother had taken charge of many of my grandmother’s photos at her death, and he shared them with me this spring and summer. I found several great photos of Great Grandma Lena, including this one. It depicts my great-grandmother and my uncle Dwight Macbeth, and was taken in 1935 when Dwight was just a few months old. The subject matter was exciting on its own, but the photo is rich with period details that make it even more delightful and an important piece of family history.

            So what else is special about this photo? To paraphrase the poet, “let me count the ways…”

•         The baby carriage or perambulator. This incredible, enormous piece used to sit in the upstairs bedroom at my Grandma Nora’s house. It was constructed of a rich brown wicker, and I think the wheels, handle and frame were a pale tan or cream. My grandmother used to store extra bedding in the pram, and when her house was sold, I believe my cousin took the carriage. Just seeing the pram takes me back to my grandmother’s house and that bedroom. I imagine looking out the east-facing window at the farm’s windmill and down the hill to the barn. In my memory, the sun is always shining through the two large windows, bringing out the rich brown color of the carriage and providing plenty of light for me to pull a book from the bookcase and curl up on the floor to read.
•          My uncle in motion. I think this photo was taken with my grandfather Ivan Macbeth’s Brownie camera. He was using natural light from the living room’s bow windows (out of the frame on the right) to light the photo. As a result, the shutter speed was slow enough that when the baby moved a little, he became an adorable blur. Some people would see this as a flaw in the photo and would toss it, but to me, it makes the photo more real and more alive.
•         My grandmother’s outfit: the tiny black hat with the satin ribbon around the crown, the round, dark frames of her eyeglasses, and that amazing white collar on her dress. She was probably quite fashionable for 1935. I love her erect posture and serious expression. My Grandma Nora looked a lot like Great Grandma Lena when she reached a similar age. Great-Grandma Lena would have been about 66 when the photo was taken. Nine years later, she was dead.
•          The room: I believe they are in my grandparents’ house, but it looks far different than what I remember from my childhood in the 1960s. The woodwork and doors are so darkly finished. The walls that were pale green plaster when I was young are covered with elaborately patterned wallpaper. The door behind Great-grandma Lena was rarely used. It led to the “front porch” which faced the road. However, everyone used the “back door” off the driveway to enter and exit the house, so this door was often blocked by furniture. In this case, a small wood-framed sofa is placed there—it has a real Prairie Style vibe—I don’t remember this piece, and I’m sorry my grandparents got rid of it. It has a real presence, although it doesn’t look particularly comfortable!
•           My grandparents’ wedding picture is on the wall behind Great-grandma Lena’s head, along with a lovely old-fashioned thermometer.
•          The fern at the right side of the photo. My grandmother Nora loved plants, and ferns were extremely popular in the 1920s and 30s. It appears to be on a small round table.
•          My favorite item in the photo: a small pinafore style dress hanging on the doorknob of the door leading to the kitchen. The dress would have belonged to my mother, Ione. My Grandma Nora sewed many of my mother’s clothes—I wonder if this was one of her creations.
•       Lastly, my grandmother's handwriting at the top of the photo. I love seeing her handwriting, and am delighted that she called her mother "Ma". 

It’s wonderful to realize how much I can learn and remember from examining a single, charming family photo.