I love this poem from a vintage children’s book:
“Open Range”
Prairie goes to the mountain,
Mountain goes to the sky.
The sky sweeps across to the distant hills
And here, in the middle,
Am I.
Hills crowd down to the river,
River runs by the tree.
Tree throws its shadows on sunburnt grass
And here, in the shadow,
Is me.
Shadows creep up the mountain,
Mountain goes black on the sky.
The sky bursts out with a million stars,
And here, by the campfire,
Am I.
My father with his parents, probably sometime in the early 1920s.
Again, such stern faces, yet they were parents who outfitted their son to play cowboy and even posed for a photo with him looking badass in that attire. There must have been some childhood fun and spoiling. Whatever life dealt him as he grew into a man and faced grief, deprivation, and war, he never lost his sense of play, and his grandchildren delighted him. One of his favorite stories that made him laugh every time he told it:
Daddy: Well, hello there. Are you a great Indian Chief?
Daniel: No. I’m Daniel Cochrane with a feather on his head.
The back of the 1920s photo is stamped “Lollar’s, B’HAM, ALA.” From the Internet: Lollar’s Cameras was a photography retailer, repair service, equipment rental and photo finisher founded in Birmingham in 1910. The company’s main office and warehouse were located at 2331 7th Avenue South in Birmingham.
great story and poem! keep it coming, becky!
Thank you so much, Geri. =)
THAT is an awesome story!
Thanks, Angie. It’s so funny when little kids put us in our place.
Kid seems pretty legit to me …..
Had to go watch the 2 Legit 2 Quit video after that.
So did they ever live in Birmingham, or did it take a trip to the big city to get a photo developed?
Also, those damn suction cup arrows never stuck to anything.
Of course it probably was just a mail order service. Image waiting weeks for your instant gratification.
I’m trying to remember which mail order services I used. The only one that comes to mind is Skrudland.
Lollar’s did mail order, because when I researched it, people from all over the country were trying to figure out what the Lollar’s stamp meant on the backs of their ancestors’ photos.
Even I, at the mere age of 35, remember what it was like to send my film off for developing. My mother did, as well, and gave me all her coupons for free and reduced-price developing while I was in college. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have nearly as many photos.