Granny, Paul, Tipper – January 1974
I always liked the photo above. There are a few reasons why.
I adore how small Paul is—the photo had to have been taken when he was only a couple of weeks old if that.
I like the little outfit I have on even though it looks dirty. I remember I had a purple outfit just like that orange one.
I like that the photo was taken at the little house we rented over in Martins Creek. You can tell how small it was by the fact that Paul’s crib is in the living room. Till this day we call it Sherlocks because that was the couple Granny and Pap rented it from.
I like the medicine bottle on the tv and the pan in the back ground. Paul was very sick with a staph infection when he was born and there was a strict regimen Granny had to do several times a day to get him well. Both items remind me of the love that was poured out for Paul and the prayers for his healing which were answered.
I love the photo of Steve on the wall behind Granny. I always thought it was neat that his photo made it like all of Granny’s children were there with her even though he wasn’t actually standing in the photo frame. I’m guessing Steve might have been the one taking the picture and if so then he was there with us, just on the other side of the camera.
I like the patchwork quilt hanging on the back of Paul’s crib. I still have that quilt along with the jade/brown bowl sitting on the tv.
The big wood cased stereo the pan is sitting on is in Granny’s living room today. I wish I had the curtains, if I did I’d hang them in my living room. I like Granny’s coiffed hair and her polyester print shirt.
Granny used to drive us crazy taking photos. She was bad for cutting off heads and getting things out of focus. Maybe that’s why we rebelled on her sometimes when she wanted to make our picture.
Of course as usual, Granny was right. What a treasure those photos are to us today. She knew what we as children couldn’t understand.
Granny knew time slips away from you so fast that before you know it you’re grown with a family of your own. She understood having photos that take you back to a time and place that you look back on fondly can warm your heart in a way that no amount of money ever could.
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That is a great picture! I noticed that there was a very tall bottle on the wooden furniture. My Mom had some of those. I still have one that is green with a glass lid. It is so tall I have it in a corner of the bathroom counter because I am afraid I will knock it over. She also had one that was sort of lavender with a little pink.
I like to look at pictures taken of people who are unaware of the camera. Pictures that are posed leave the viewer with an altered perception of reality. In bygone days cameras were slow so you had to stand very still to avoid being a blur so posing is understandable. Now that cell phones have good camera features and real camera are affordable there is no good reason to freeze and say cheese unless you are taking a selfie. I think selfies should be outlawed!
Pictures are priceless and they tell a story in a way that no words ever could. My Mommy always loved taking pictures. I guess I got that from her. 🙂 When she would take a picture she wanted everything in the background to be just right. She’d say people pay attention to that whether you believe it or not and she was right. When I look at a picture I love to pay attention to every detail. I’m thankful for every picture I have especially of my loved ones who’ve gone on. I miss my parents and all the others so much.
That is a great picture, Tipper. I have a sister a couple years older than your mother. That photo with the clothes and hairstyle might easily be one of her. Granny was right. Those old photos become precious to us.
In 1974 most women had their babies in hospitals. It was long after the old days of midwives and before the new wave had much caught on – if it ever did. If Paul was born in a hospital, you can bet that is where he picked up the staph infection. For many, many years hospitals everywhere – even the big fancy ones – could not control staph. I had to have my tonsils removed in the middle ’50s in Raleigh’s top hospital only to be infected with the staphylococcus bacillus. I had boils off and on for about 10 years before I finally got rid of it or it stopped affecting me. I hope Paul has not had continuing problems with it.
These wonderful family photos are pure gold to me!!! I’ve begged and borrowed, to make copies, from every family member who might have them. I started this obsession when I really got into my family genealogy records. I see everything from my Grannie’s wild floral wallpaper to her green kitchen table………every memory in these pictures is filled with love!!!
Love this picture Miss Tipper! This is what I always loved about pictures, they make time stand still in the moment in time they were taken, therefore we can go back to that time through our old photos & memories start to just flood our minds of days gone by. We enjoy looking back through old pictures to.
Granny’s love & beauty were on full display in this picture. ❤️
Tipper, I also love old pictures. When my mother was in the nursing home, I fixed a photo album with pictures from her youth, through the years with my dad, her family and the grandkids. On a good day I would get out that album and show her and on occasion I would see just a smile and a little glimmer of hope that she remembered. She and my dad have been gone quite a while, but I still have that album and many more and I enjoy looking at them. Now, I enjoy showing the little ones the pictures. It helps keep the memories alive. Thanks for sharing that precious picture. Have a blessed day everyone!
I know scrapbooking is a wonderful hobby for some; but I feel that by cropping pictures a person loses all the background details and clues about what was going on when the picture was taken. The “clutter” is what makes it interesting to me. A person can date a photograph, determine the location, and many other things by looking at what is going on around the main subject. So much information can be gleaned from the things in the background.
I was just reading all the rest of your comments here so far this morning, and looking at the picture you shared with your post today again. I agree with everyone else, you look so much like your Mom. You are both very pretty. Paul is a mix between your Mom and your Dad. I see both of them in him. I think I am a mix of both my parents, too, although I do tend to favor my Dad’s side slightly more. I love all of Paul’s hair!! I was a bald baby, and I was probably about 14 months old before I finally had as much hair as Paul has in this picture. Why is it boys always get the gorgeous hair and the to-die-for eyelashes??? I am still not running a marathon through my day this morning, but I am slowly getting several things done, with lots of long breaks in between! On my long breaks I have rewatched your interview with Mrs. Hicks from last night, and I have been looking at vintage sites on Facebook and Instagram. You put me in the mood to daydream about what life was like in yesterdays of old this morning. I really love looking at pictures others have posted of everyday life from years past. I enjoy a lot of things from our current times, but my heart feels the most coziness looking at pictures from the 20s to the mid 60s. I don’t know what it is that draws me to that time period, but it does. I like the 70s and 80s, and on up, too, but I think because I have been alive during those years, they don’t hold as much wonderment as the older pictures do for me. Once again, you have made my active mind wander down some rabbit trails. This morning they are trails of vintage life! Thank you!!! And I mean that with much love and appreciation!
Donna. : )
Beautiful picture!! Tipper seeing a picture of Granny as a young mother, I do think you resemble her and you both are beautiful!! Our youngest son was born Christmas morning of 74 so I can well remember items in the living room. I love old pictures of our families and took a lot myself but mercy me I sure do miss talking to my Mother. I’ve mentioned before that Granny is a shinning diamond in your family. She is the crochet queen. One of my dear Aunt’s had that status in our family. She crocheted beautiful sweaters, caps, booties, afghans, shawls, baby blankets and was a master seamstress.
What a wonderful picture! It tells such a sweet story.
I love old photos! They tell life stories of family, friends and events. I have family members that hate getting their picture made and I use to make them, but then I realized they looked miserable in every picture, so I stopped. Now when we look back at pictures they aren’t in, it’s like they stopped existing. It’s sad. As I’ve gotten older, wrinkles and more of me than I care to look at, I feel like shying away from pictures, but I don’t. No matter how I look I want to be present in every picture they want me in so future families will see I was there with them and cherished every moment we were together, because I loved them that much.
One important thing I will add, please while our minds are still good, write the names of every person in the picture, the place it was taken and the date. It will make a big difference to the future family generations and it helps you to remember as you get older because we sometimes forget those things. I tried writing on the back of my parents old photos while they were living. Some names and places they remembered, but sadly a lot they didn’t. One of my dad’s cousins had sent us a picture her mom had after she passed. It was of my dad as a baby taken at her house during a visit. She had written on the back his name, his mom had visited her at her home in Kentucky and included the weather that day. That made the picture extra special knowing the weather that day. She hadn’t noted the exact date, however, the year was printed on the front of the photo. Most older photos have the year on them, but not the actual date, so always include that.
I am afraid these wonderful old pictures are a thing of the past. We all take pics on our phones now, myself included, and that does nothing for any one else. They aren’t kept for others in the future. So sad.
My favorite photos are the ones with clutter. By that I mean life stuff all around. The beautiful, full face photos are beautiful but they don’t tell a lot to the viewer. So much fun to look into the picture like a book and see all the stuff. Those are the memory triggers and best part. What I noticed first is it included the picture on the wall. So glad you described the details.
You got some of that picture taking bug it seems. Only now you can do videos with motion and sound.
I’m old-fashioned enough I still like the still pictures best. I saw one in ft he hallway at the UK MedCenter I really liked. It was a view down a long swinging bridge into the darkness of deep.green woods. To those who know of it, a swinging bridge picture just says “Eastern Kentucky” because roads are often on one side of the creek and houses on the other side. In that picture, each person had to put their own thoughts to where that bridge was going, or even if it were a look backwards. To me, it recalled my days in school in that country about 50 years ago.
I am “bad to” take pictures only of nature and rarely of people. The only ones of people I like to take is the un-posed ones but then I feel bad about not asking. But if I ask, I can’t get the natural.posture and expression. No good way out of that dilemma I don’t reckon unless maybe a blanket OK. I don’t care for pictures of myself either. I am fussed at because I never smile. I do try but it feels fake to me. Just catch me not watching you.
Granny was a beautiful young Momma that retained her beauty as she became a great grandma.
I have always said if my house ever caught fire my family pictures would be the first thing I would try to grab during my escape. When I was safe at home for several months during the Covid pandemic, I sorted two drawers of loose pictures and labeled each album accordingly. It always makes me sad to look at pictures of loved ones who are no longer with us.
I love looking at old photos and hearing the stories associated with them. My granny was the photographer in our family and I cherish all the old photos of her siblings, nieces, and nephews I inherited when she passed. Because of those photos, even people I never got to meet are just as real to me as someone sitting right beside me.
Thanks for sharing such a neat photo!
Great pictures. I don’t know what happened to the ones from Granny’s house but I loved to look at them as a kid. Granny knew every one of them and had a story with each one. You sure look like your Mom!.
Such a wonderful picture. You look so much like Granny. I treasure all the family photos of my family. Brings back so many memories and love.
Love the fact you identify the location by the owner’s name. We lived in a house we called Bronkey’s. He also owned the farm just to the east AND the cattle in the bank barn. I often visited with him when he came to make repairs & tend to the cows.
Guess that’s when I fell in love with barns as a love for architecture in it’s own right. Many years later I returned to the area byt didn’t have a camera with me, nor cell phone and was overjoyed to see my very old friend still standing. I mentioned it to my cousin & asked her to take a photo for me…but she forgot. When I returned 5 yrs or so later, it was down in a heap. What a disappointment!
Make your memories NOW, was my lesson.
I liked the photo of you, Granny, and baby Paul with Steve’s photo on the wall. I can tell Granny looks a little tired with all that was going on at the time. You were an adorable little toddler, Tipper- really cute you were!!! To me, I see many similarities between you and your beloved mother. And you’re right about those days living forever and lifelike in moments only the camera could capture. Photos today aren’t even the same thing. We always looked forward to HARD COPY. Lol I’d say those were golden years indeed!!! And then there’s wonderful polyester meant for no wrinkles and easy care!!! I too think about curtains and bedspreads. I see them in the Vermont Country Store going forth several HUNDRED dollars- forget about it!!! Lol
My mom loved taking pictures too. She also had the habit of cutting off heads and having them out of focus. I love looking at old photos and reminiscing about the past. Most of the old pictures in our family went from one relative to another after grandma died. When one of my older cousins passed away, her daughter came to me and said, “Mom said to give you all her old pictures.” I was surprised and very thankful. I treasure them. I love the ones that are like old postcards (there’s a way of dating them by looking at the stamp box area on the back of them) and the tin type ones.
make digital copies and store them on a cloud or external device (hard drive, USB stick…)
you don’t realize how much you value them until they’re lost or destroyed. Future generations will be glad you did.
Great picture!!! Love of family shines through.
The glass knick knacks on the left were common in the 70s. I still have a couple of knick knacks like those which are now treasured possessions.
What a wonderful memory, Tipper, and thank you for sharing it with us. Count me as another who loves old photos.
I can spend hours in antiques shops looking through boxes of old ones. For the first time, I noticed the resemblance
between Cory and your mom. Both girls so strongly resemble their father, but this time I could see your daughter’s
likeness to Granny.
Wishing you a blessed day.`
You are just a gem and we, as the readers and listeners, always learn…even the smallest to us might mean the largest to you. You certainly had a wonderful childhood and fond memories that will carry you on and for you girls. I , along with others I am sure, wishes we had some of those memories that could be looked upon with the best of thoughts. Remembering people, places, ideas, names, and more….keep them close, as too often they slip away. God Bless and thanks always.
Did anyone ever tell you that you look like your mama? People always used to tell me that I looked like mine. I sure do miss her.
Pam-They sure have 🙂 I know you miss your sweet mother!
We have wildfires in our area all too often. That possibility of destruction makes one ponder about WHAT TO GRAB WHEN YOU RUN. Besides all things living, our family pictures come next. They go into a special, protective container we put in the car. Priceless, indeed.
We have a lady at our church-now in her 90’s that was always taking pictures of anything going on at church. I don’t mean funerals or such but anything else. Now those pictures are valuable in the sense they are treasure of knowledge about the old church members or things of the past at church. My church was founded in 1815. My mother and her mother ( my grandmother) both kept their pictures that were not framed in a pillow case. I know this is strange, but in my childhood during bad thunderstorms they would grab their pictures and all of us would sit in a car until the storm had passed. On May 5,1933 a tornado came within 150 yards of their home before turning and totally destroying her aunt and uncles home, killing everyone. Mother was 7 years old and on the back porch in her mother’s arms watching the tornado before it turned and for the rest of her life would be terrified during thunderstorms. I guess in their minds they thought they could drive away from another tornado. If anyone is interested information on this tornado can be found on the internet. Not many years ago, it was at one time considered in the top 5 of the worst tornados in SC. Her family was the Thompson’s of Lebanon community.
I love, love, love looking at old photos of ANYONE really. Doesn’t even matter if I know who the heck the people are in them. They are usually a history lesson. But I hate, hate, hate taking photos. I have this weird concept that the photos we take today will not mean anything to someone 50 yrs from now. That is a completely irrational thought, I know. We don’t have too many photos of us as a family, or even of my girls as they have gotten older. The biggest thing is that I do not like to be ‘interrupted’ while I am enjoying the moment with having to stop, get the camera out, & snap the picture. I do not believe in cell phones & will not have one. That is what most folks use to take photos with nowadays & they can snap them anywhere. I like trying to hold visual memories in my head & live in the moment. And we never had the money for professional photos! Should make an effort to get some done. Cute photo, Tipper! I love your little outfit, too.
Sweet memories, Tipper! Wasn’t Granny lovely in this photo. Now Granny sits and crochets little sweaters for the next generation that is coming along and coming quickly I might add. She loves it as she plans new things to crochet for these babies on the way!
Great memories, little things seem more important as we get older. Thanks for sharing.
Old photos of family are a wonderful thing.
Oh, Tipper! I love this post. I praise God for healing Paul. I am so thankful for the good care he received!! I love all the details you pointed out in this photo. I always sit and look at photos, noticing all the small details of the things in the background – all the scenery, the items, the people. The things in a picture make it as full of memories as the people in them. Not that I treasure things over people, but memories of events, things and places can make us feel close to our loved ones again. And most of all, the picture’s ambiance transports us back to our memories even better. I have a ton of pictures on my phone, my desktop computer, and in a library of photo albums. I also have 6 large antique suitcases that I have stacked in decor groupings in the living room and den, that are full of loose pictures I still have to organize. Half of my pictures are ones I took (I don’t like my picture being taken, so I am typically the photographer, so not a lot of pictures of myself). The other half of my pictures are ones other people gave me that they took of times in their lives. Sometimes I get too melancholy for the past when going through my pictures. I don’t like feeling sad or blue, so I try to avoid those feelings. I try to be more positive, “up”. I am a Pollyanna – I tend to be very optimistic. So it might be awhile between the times I look at my pictures if there is a risk I might become very homesick and lonely. I guess I am weird in that way – avoiding melancholy. It is just the way God made me I suppose. Funny I do that, because I love history, and I love making memories, and I write about bits and pieces of my life in journals, and on loose papers I collect in notebooks. Maybe it is my (highly) sensitive personality that makes me run from feeling that “lonely for the past” mood. But when I do look at my pictures, I can spend hours pouring over them. I do love looking at other people’s pictures anytime, however! Any picture I look at – the details captivate my mind. A picture is worth a thousand words. They really are when you study them.
Donna. : )