Sepia Saturday: The Maternal Line

For sepia Saturday, I hope it's not illegal to "recycle" past posts, but I'll share this post I did back in December 2006 after making a series of short slide/music shows for the holidays about different branches of the family. It came at the end of a two year stretch of much loss (both of my parents, my aunt, one of my cats, a few friends.) Knowing that those memories were still there, and looking at relatives lost even further back and seeing them so young and stylish is reassuring.

The pair above are my maternal grandparents, Ralph and Nancy Polley, on their wedding day in 1923. I've always loved this photo since it has such a F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald feel to it, and I love the photo of them on their roadster while taking a vacation in the Rockies. That's my mother peering out the back window. My favorite part of this photo is the technical "flub" of the shadow of the photographer at the bottom. Who is it? Another family member along for the ride? A mysterious stranger who kindly took the shot? The outline of the hat adds to the mystery, though I can't confirm if it's a man or a woman. A couple of Christmases ago I had this photo transferred onto a tin box which was a real hit with the family members who received it. They didn't complain about the toffee inside either.