WOMENS HISTORY MONTH: Effects of Leukemia Took Her Life

 This is the story of my paternal grandmother, Delva Auldine Black. Her story is tragic. She had childhood leukemia at a time when little was known about it. This is a photo of Delva. 

But first, the story of Delva's father, Charles Edward Black. The old story passed down from the family is that he was married to two women simultaneously. He had two families in two separate states. Through family history research, I found evidence that it is a true story. He led a double life.

In 1903, Charles married Minnie Donham, and they had a daughter. In 1910, Charles married Luticia Hanlon, my great-grandmother, who lived in West Virginia. They had their first daughter a year later.

 During the years following, Charles is listed in the United States Census records as living in Pennsylvania and West Virginia simultaneously and married to both women. In 1920, he and Luticia moved to SE Kansas. Before 1940, the children somehow learned the truth. The truth came out, and the story was told to future generations. Minnie stayed in Pennsylvania, and the 1940 U.S. Federal Census lists her as widowed. Here is a photo of Luticia (Hanlon) Black, my paternal great-grandmother: 

Charles and Luticia came to Rocky Comfort, Missouri, in 1951, and they both died at the hospital in Wheaton, Missouri, in the 1950s. Minnie Donham Black died in Pennsylvania in 1955. All the children from both marriages are listed in Charles' obituary.

 Delva A. Black, my grandmother, was Charles and Luticia's daughter. She was the middle child in a family of five children. She died before I was two years old, but my mother told me many stories about her. She was born with leukemia and married Perry Utter in Hamilton, Kansas, and they had two sons.

 Childhood leukemia treatments were sketchy during the first part of the 20th century. During that time, X-ray therapy provided remission, but the cancer always returned. Radiation therapy was used to treat chronic cases but was not suitable for acute types. Medications were developed after World War 1.

 Delva and her family moved to McDonald County, Missouri, in 1950 to be close to their families. My mother told me this story: As Delva grew older, she became weary of "taking the treatments and didn't want to undergo anymore. One cold and snowy evening in January 1956, Delva called to tell Mom she wanted to see me. Even though it was cold, Mom bundled me up and took me to see her. Delva was very despondent and quiet, and Mom didn't stay long. The next day, Delva was found dead in her bed. Her death certificate reveals the cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. She was 39 years old. This photo is of Delva and her two boys, Ronald and Wayne. Ronald was my father. Taken about 1940.

 

Her death was mourned by all who loved her. Her obituary reads that she became depressed due to the loss of her mother in 1954 and her father in 1955. No other explanation could be given as to why she shot herself. She was baptized into the Methodist faith on Easter Sunday, 1948. She was a member of the Fraternal Order of the Eastern Star Chapter in Hamilton, Kansas. She transferred to the Wheaton Chapter No. 4, where she was a Worthy Matron and devoted member. She enjoyed fishing and cooking. I have a few of her hand-written recipe cards in my collection.

Depression and illness have always been a real problem. We don't know what people are dealing with. That's why counseling and therapies can help those who may need it. Delva's story is tragic, and although I don't remember her, I know that she held me in her arms and kissed and hugged me. I think of her often, and her story taught me never to take life for granted.

 

 

 

 

WOMENS HISTORY MONTH: Addie Was A Hello Girl

 Imagine that your job is a telephone operator with a local telephone company. But the era is around the turn of the twentieth century, those early days of the telephone. You sit on a stool before a giant switchboard with wires everywhere. You must learn where those wires go to connect caller to caller. That was Adeline "Addie" Cardwell’s occupation. Her death certificate lists her as a “Hello Girl” for the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company. She lived in McDonald County, in Southwestern Missouri. She was a mere twenty-four years old, born in 1890, and died in 1915. Adeline is a distant relative in one of my family trees. 

The term “Hello Girls” is early-day slang for the American bilingual switchboard operators in World War I and any switchboard operators working for telephone companies in our nation.  

It all started with World War I and General John J. Pershing's plea to improve communication between America and European countries. In 1917, the Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators Unit was formed to accomplish this feat. Thousands of women applied, but only 450 were selected; all had to be bilingual in French and English and recruited from the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T). 

 The selected women went through training at Fort Franklin in Maryland, under the leadership of Chief Operator Grace Banker, then were sworn into the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The training consisted of military training and radio and switchboard operator training. They were given navy blue uniforms with dog tags, steel helmets, and gas masks. Later, their uniforms changed to olive green. 

The Army Signal Corps women became known as “Hello Girls.” They were sent to numerous locations in Europe during the war. They relayed messages in military code about troop movements and supplies. They functioned as interpreters between the French and American military units. 

 One group of Hello Girls worked during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. That was the final Allied push of World War I. The women briefly abandoned their positions at their switchboard when their barracks caught on fire but returned immediately after the flames were extinguished. 

 After the Armistice, although the women qualified for veteran status, it took years for them to be recognized. From 1930 to 1948, Merle Egan Anderson introduced bills into Congress and finally helped the Hello Girls gain the respect they earned. In 1979, Congress added an amendment to the GI Bill Improvement Act, granting women veterans benefits, honorable discharges, and World War I victory medals. 

 Numerous websites are dedicated to the history of the Signal Corps and the Hello Girls, outlining several women and their biographies. Michelle Christides wrote her mother’s oral history of her time served in the war as a Hello Girl. 

Here is a vintage photo of a small telephone company and its Hello Girls that I bought on Etsy from BrassMouse. It's in my collection now. 

 As telephone wires were strung on poles nationwide, telephones became a favorite new gadget for homes and businesses. Switchboards needed operators, which led to hiring women for that occupation. 

 The Home Telephone Company arrived in Joplin, Missouri, in 1902, and the Joplin telephone switchboard operators answered the calls by saying, “Hello Central.” The operators knew various daily information, ranging from the weather to train schedules, and they gave that information to customers who rang up Central. Thirty-five women directed calls in the city; by estimation, they took 16,000 daily calls.  

 In 1910, the Joplin News-Herald ran a story about women working as Hello Girls at the switchboard of the Home Telephone Company. The telephone operators worked long hours and even holidays but were treated to a lunchroom that served free meals. The telephone company also provided lockers, a restroom, and baths for their workers. 

 Although Addie didn’t work for the Signal Corps, she is vital in her own way. Her legacy is essential to share with others. She helped implement new technology that arrived in Southwest Missouri, the telephone. What would the Hello Girls think about our handheld, take-anywhere cell phones we use today? 

 References:

Online at http://www.historicjoplin.org/?tag=jasper-county-missouri-history.

Online at http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/hello.htm.

Online at Missouri Digital Heritage Initiation, online Missouri Death Certificates 1910-1959; MO Death Cert; Ancestry.com Operations, Inc./https://sos.mo.gov/records/archives/archivesdb/deathcertificates/:accessed 24 Aug 2014, Lehi, UT USA. 

Wikipedia.org/wiki/Hello Girls.

Website of the Official U.S. Army Signal Corps.

 

WOMENS HISTORY MONTH: The Pioneer Spirit: Bad Water and Wagons Ho!

 Imagine an eight-month-pregnant woman riding in a covered wagon for thirty-four days. That's what my second great-grandmother did in 1880. This is the story of the Utter, the Hunt, and the Russell families, who traveled west by wagon train. 

In the mid-1600s, my tenth great-grandfather was a soldier of the Vestmanlands Regiment in Sweden. He served as a light Auxiliary troop that may have acted as a Flanker, Forager, Skirmisher, Baggage, or Prison guard. He sailed to America on the Orn. He stayed behind in Connecticut when the ship sailed for its homeland. He then served in America for a time during the King Philip War. As the Utter family grew, they migrated to Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Indiana.    

Indiana was the home of my third great-grandfather, Milton Henry Utter, and his fourteen children. In the mid-1850s, Milton's daughter, Hannah, married, and she and her husband left Indiana for Iowa and Kansas. In 1859, they had a child in Peoria, Iowa. By 1862, they were at their destination in Burlingame, Kansas.  

The photo below shows the Leander Scott Utter family as they are leaving Kansas, 1915. 

After Milton Henry died in 1874, most of his boys prepared to migrate to Missouri. In 1876, Elijah and James were the first sons to head west. James was married to Mary Elizabeth Hunt and Elijah was married to Mary Jane Russell. Elijah served as wagon master to forty wagons. Those wagons consisted mainly of the Russell family. From online records, the wagon train arrived in Clay County, Arkansas, in 1876. There, they encountered swampy land. Many died from drinking bad water. Mary Jane was one of them. She died December 4, 1976, and is buried in the Richwoods Cemetery. Later, in 1877, Elijah brought the wagon train to the Ozarks in Southwest Missouri. After they settled, he and James let their brothers know in Indiana what life was like in the Ozarks. That's when those brothers decided to make the change. Here's a photo of Elijah Burton Utter and wife Mary Jane Russell. 

 Christina Hunt, my 2nd great-grandmother, married David Utter. In early autumn of 1880, they left Indiana by wagon and headed for Missouri. During my research I was delighted when I found a 1966 Joplin, Missouri newspaper account that documents Christina and David's journey. 

They loaded their eight children into a covered wagon and migrated from Indiana to Southwest Missouri. It took them 34 days to travel the route. David took a different route than brothers Elijah and James. He likely moved west to St. Louis, Missouri, crossed the Mississippi River, and came by the famous Springfield Road. Research shows that the Springfield Road had many names: the Trail of Tears, the Military Road, the Government Trail, the Old Wire Road, the Telegraph Road, and the Butterfield Overland Stage Route. One month later, in the fall of 1880, my great-grandmother Christina gave birth to a baby girl named Mabel Missouri. This photo shows my 2nd great-grandparents, David Jefferson Utter and Christina Hunt. 

 

Ambrose Hunt was my fifth great-grandfather. His daughter, Leah, was Christina and Mary Elizabeth's cousin. Leah Hunt traveled with her family from Halifax County, Virginia, to Kentucky along the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap at age five. She married Thomas Riggs, and they had eleven children. In her late twenties, she and Thomas moved by oxen cart and foot to Ray County in northern Missouri. When she was 56 years old, Leah and Thomas joined a wagon train with their grown children and set out on the Oregon Trail in the spring of 1846. Shortly after they crossed the Missouri River, Thomas suddenly became ill with "camp fever." He died on May 7, 1846, and was buried along the trail on a bluff overlooking the river.

 In September, the wagon train arrived in Oregon. Leah and most of her surviving children stayed in Linn County. She died September 27, 1857, at age 75. She is listed in the records of the U.S., Early Oregonians. Leah Hunt Riggs had to have been a true pioneer and a strong woman. From caring for her children to burying her husband along a lonely trail, she proved her strength. She truly had the Pioneer Spirit. Here a picture of Leigh Hunt Riggs. 

I love reading about the spirit and bravery of the women in my family. I can't imagine how hard it was to bury your beloved in the wilds of a foreign land and travel on without them. Or being pregnant, riding along a bumpy, overgrown road path for over a month in a covered wagon. My women ancestors were extraordinary, much more than I am today!

 

WOMENS HISTORY MONTH: Emma Faye Laney

 You know those 1950s girls who wore Bobby Sock-wearing sweaters, saddle shoes, and peanuts in their Coca-Cola and who wanted "fun" to be their middle name? Those girls who wore their hair snipped in bobs or in a swinging ponytail made a fashion statement for sure! My mother was one of those girls. And she favored shorter hairstyles.

 Emma Faye Laney, born on the family farm near Laney Ridge Road in Barry County, Missouri, was the third daughter of Charley and Belvia (Ross) Laney. Charley worked for the Works Progress Administration on road projects. He was killed in August 1947 when a hay truck hit the car he rode in. Mom was nine years old. She forever grieved her father.

 Mom told me he teased her in a sing-song voice, “MFA, MFA.” Her name, Emma Faye, resembled the name of the Missouri Farmers Association (MFA), founded in 1914 and serving Missouri agricultural communities. In all the area’s small towns, the MFA store served everyone. When her dad teased her, she would cry, and he would swing her up into his arms and snuggle the tears away.

 Belvia, Mom’s mother, remarried in September 1949. The children were dispersed to adoptive homes. But Mom went to live with her aunt. In 1951, she became the foster daughter of Dr. and Mrs. James Holmes and their daughter, Sandra. Sandra was overcome with happiness to have a sister! Mom and Sandra were best friends, continuing their friendship into adulthood. The Holmes family was beloved in their community. James L. Holmes was a local doctor, and Mrs. Holmes was the model wife. Mom was proud to be part of their family. This is a photo of Mom and Sandra Holmes.

 School days consisted of Mom's favorite studies: Home Economics and Art Class. She was a High School cheerleader. She and her friends were typical 1950s teenagers who loved listening to the radio, parties, and running around small-town America. They wore their lipstick in outrageous reds and shiny nail polish to match. Their rouge pots held perfectly pink blush. One thing is for sure, my mother rocked her lipstick. I have many photographs of her and her friends in their zany, wild, wonderful teenage days.

During each Halloween, the local downtown businesses participated in storefront window painting. The high school kids worked in groups to paint the windows. Prizes were awarded to the best-dressed windows. Mom and her group of painters won multiple times each year. Halloween celebrations included a street dance, a carnival, games, and food galore.

 At the 1953 Halloween Street dance, Mom met Ronnie Utter, and sparks flew. It was love at first sight. They married that December at a local church. They made their home in the neighboring town where Ronnie's folks lived. I was the first-born child and the only girl. They had three more children, all boys.

An unfortunate event occurred in 1960. Dad asked for a divorce. Like a slap in the face, his request hit Mom hard, and she fought it. She was pregnant, and the baby was due in October. The court made them wait until after the baby was born. And to her remorse, several months later, the divorce was final. He got what he wanted. Dad worked in construction, and at that time, the oil and gas pipeline and road district projects were abundant in our nation. He married the woman, and they had two children.

Mom remained at home, living with Dad's grandmother, Ollie. Mom was a twenty-four-year-old divorced woman with four young children. In the 1960s, people frowned on women in that category. Life was indeed hard during that time.

 My mother remarried Frank Bartkoski in 1961 and moved back to her hometown. A few years later, they had one son. Mom was the model housewife of the 1960s. She kept a tidy house, and she cooked scrumptious meals. She helped the other mothers at the elementary school. She was a good seamstress and she sewed and sold homemade Barbie Doll clothes. During the elementary school programs and events, she sewed costumes and volunteered her time doing whatever was needed. In later years, she worked as an Avon lady. I remember her Avon samples and products were stored in a pink hardshell case. My brothers and I loved opening that little case. Avon cosmetics were tucked inside, their colors and fragrances tempting us like hard candy at Christmas. 

Throughout the years, Mom stayed in touch with her family, especially her brothers and sisters. Through the years, she organized reunions and get-togethers. Her mother and brothers and sisters were always welcome at our house, and we visited them often in their homes. We grew up with our cousins, and memories were definitely made.

 During summers, my brothers played Little League baseball. We attended all the games. Each Sunday, we were in church. I was a Girl Scout, and my brothers were Boy Scouts.

 Gardening was a unique talent for Mom. She exercised her green thumb, and the garden was alive with all varieties of vegetables. A long row of glorious Zinnias and Marigolds divided the garden. She told us the flowers kept the bugs away from the veggies. Of course, she was right.

 The bounty from the vegetable garden was stored in glass Ball canning jars. The kitchen was a hot mess with Mom and her canning adventures each summer. One year, she had so many Rutgers tomatoes that she learned to make homemade ketchup. The ketchup was delicious, but she never made it again as it took bunches of tomatoes, and processing those tomatoes was a vast and exhaustive chore. Mom loved making blackberry and strawberry jam and jelly.

 I was her sidekick. Where she was, I was. Whatever she attempted, I was beside her learning. She taught me all the secrets to keeping a house clean, washing laundry, hanging laundry on the clotheslines, ironing (sprinkling the clothes and rolling them tight), and cooking and canning.

Mom and Frank divorced in 1971. She found an excellent job working as a Line Supervisor at a poultry plant in another small town. She was loved by her line workers, and she stood beside them, doing as much work as they did. During that time, she bought her first home and embraced life. She never married again.

 Unfortunately, Mom suffered debilitating strokes, which led to early retirement and adapting to the new way of life. The last stroke ended her freedom of living alone. The doctors insisted that she be monitored day and night. She lived in the nursing home until she died in 2013. 

 Through the happiness and hardships of life, Emma Faye Laney never gave up. She stood for her beliefs and taught her children how to live right. I am my mother's daughter. She made me strong and industrious, learning to survive in the world. I celebrate my mother this month during Women's History Month.

  Emma Faye Laney was a fun-loving Fifties Girl.

 

FAMILY HISTORY: Creating A Photographic Timeline For Your Ancestors

 The old saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words," is quite true. And I am so lucky to own many family photographs. I have carefully preserved them in archival-safe clear sleeves and put them in albums. And I scanned all of them into online resources. But an exciting way to use your pictures is to compile a timeline to illustrate people's life stories.

It's part detective work and pure enlightening! Here is how to do it:

Gather all your photos of one family member and spread them out on a large table or workspace. NOTE: remember to protect the pictures from spills, fingerprints, and anything else that might ruin them. (My cats like to be close to me wherever I am, so I don't want them walking on the pictures!) Make a biographical timeline on a sheet of paper by listing the person's name and birthdate. With each image, write down the details you see.   Try to identify that person at various ages (if you can) and put them in chronological sequence. Do all of the photos the same way until you are finished.

When describing details from the photos, write down what is evident in the pictures and include what is subtle. What is happening in the images? What is the immediate impression you get from looking at the picture?

Look at the backgrounds in the photos. Are the backgrounds real or symbolic? Are the pictures taken at home or in a studio? Many real photo postcards were taken at photographer's studios. Look for the imprint on the card mount. Another way to tell if they were taken in a studio is that the backdrop resembles a curtain or "fake" background. Be sure to include that information on your timeline.

Can you identify the social and economic class of people in the photos? Many of the images I have include family members with groups of people. At times, they are working, and at other times, they are playing and enjoying life.

What can you write about the body language of the person or people in the photos? Carefully examine each photo to catch tiny details. What can you say about the emotional state of each person? Are they attractive? Do they portray shyness, depression, fear, or happiness? Do they look proud, strong, curious, arrogant, friendly, or rigid?

Remember to describe the clothing the person or people are wearing. Do a little research about clothing that is not familiar to you. Clothing descriptions add depth to your writing and help you identify a specific period. Also include hairstyles.

When you finish with the photographs of the particular family member, you will find that you have written a fabulous sketch or minibiography of that person that includes photos!

If most of your photos need to be identified with name, age, place, etc., that is where a little detective work comes in. Review the photos you have identified and use family resemblance to help you group people together. Go through your genealogy forms, searching for births, marriages, and death dates, giving you an approximate date for the photos.

You can incorporate more facts using records and certificates when your photographic timeline is finished. For instance, use a marriage certificate to integrate details into wedding pictures. Use census records to continue the story by describing where the person lived and the value of their property, occupation, and neighbors. If you have funeral cards, obituaries, and death records, you can use that information to describe the funeral and the cemetery where they are buried.

I've seen these timelines finished, and it is a beautiful visual of your family history. Also, note it can be a lot to work on. It might be a great family project; get the kids involved in helping you sort out the photos. You might want to buy a few white cotton gloves to protect the pictures. After you finish, you will have a timeline to help you write family biographies. A picture truly is worth a thousand words.

Here are a few photographs from my collection that tell a story: 

My great-grandmother is holding her young son in this picture postcard. On the back, she writes to her sister, telling her she will be home soon. She will be returning to her parents' home after a trip. From the postcard, I find the date and how much a stamp costs, and I see a sample of her handwriting. Her son was born on November 25, 1910, so I know how old they were in this beautiful heirloom. 

In this photo, Rose is the lady in the middle of the picture with family members (I have pictures of some of her family) around her. They appear happy (most of them), and we see their clothing and hats. In the background, we see the town's name, Liberal (Kansas), on the Train Depot arch, electric poles, and a bit of a car. This photograph was taken in the late 1930s or 1940s. 

  

I adore this photograph of Hazel Belle (Farnan) Howell, a friend of one of my family members. I filled out a family tree and gathered information about her and her family, who were neighbors of my family member. In this photo, Hazel promotes votes when women aren't allowed to vote. From the information I found, this photo must have been taken in 1920 in Springfield, Missouri. She wore her hair short, she was married in 1919, and she and her husband moved to Springfield. This photo and many others were given to me by a family member. I am thankful for the good gift!    

WOMEN'S HISTORY: March is Women's History Month

 I love genealogy. When the genealogy bug bit me in 2007, I fell in love with it and haven't recovered yet! I am fortunate to uncover tons of genealogical treasures. When I wasn't working, I scoured area courthouses, museums, historical societies, libraries, and cemeteries, met with people, and gathered photographs and documentation. I filled almost 20 three-ring binders full of family history research! Online sources such as Ancestry.com and Newspapers.com were a wealth of information. I used my paid membership to add necessary documentation to my work. I continue to use their services today.

In a "Man's World," my female family ancestors led interesting, unique, heartbreaking, funny, sad, historically-sound ways of living. My heart soared when I found the information I needed to fill in the gaps of my beloved paternal great-grandmother's life with the records I discovered. She helped raise my brothers and me; I knew a lot about her from living with her and the stories she told as we all went "walking around the block." Then, I devoted my writing time to uncovering more about all the women in my family lines. 

Each nugget of treasured facts is cherished as I build their life timelines and map their stories. I come from a line of strong, determined, Christian, and sometimes crazy women who lived life to the fullest. In the graphic below, my great-grandmother, Ollie Johnson Utter Martin Brier, stands in Kansas all gussied-up in her finest attire. She looks like she "had the world by the tail," as she would say. She was classy, from her bobbed hair and fur to her tiny waist and stocking feet. I hear the echo of her voice in my ear as I write her stories now for those who wish to read them.

In March, I'll post stories about influential women in my life. I've written about many of my ancestors, but there are many more who came before me of whom I must write about. I celebrate March as Women's History Month kicks off!

FAMILY HISTORY: Traveling Photographers and Photography Studios

 Traveling Photographers and Photography Studios

Cameras help us remember our ancestors and history. To look upon a photograph is to experience the past, whether it was only yesterday or hundreds of years ago. Taking photos today is preserving the past, for tomorrow will come and yesterday will be history.

 In the last half of the nineteenth century, the development and increasing recognition of the art of photography rose to popular demand. As the techniques of photography became less cumbersome, transporting equipment became more practical. Photographers opened their own galleries or studios in towns, while some loaded their horse-drawn wagons and hit the road as traveling photographers.

 In the early days of traveling photographers, they documented scenes of everyday life as well as historical monuments and places. They sold their pictures to tourists who collected them as souvenirs of their travels. Many were photojournalists scouring the nation’s countryside searching for those interesting and important daily life images. Here are photos of my 2nd great-grandparents, David Jefferson and Christina (Hunt) Utter: 

       

Traveling photographers used many modes of transportation to get from one place to another. Some used ponies, horses, and mules to haul the camera and equipment while he walked throughout neighborhoods offering to take pictures of anyone interested. A woman recounts that her mother used a photographer and his pony when he came by their home. The man set up his equipment, sat the little girl atop the pony, and posed the pony in an appealing position, snapping the photo. It was a cherished and prized photograph. These photos are of Elijah Burton and his first wife, Mary Jane and the second is of Elijah with his second wife, Mary Magdalene.  Note the difference in the backgrounds of the photos.  

     

L.E. Deubler used a bicycle to carry his camera and equipment, riding throughout Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas in the early 1900s. Charles Allonby, born in England, came to the United States in 1900. He was one of the early photojournalists who was hired to travel the states finding interesting people to write about and taking photos to accompany the stories. He lived in several states before coming to Neosho, Missouri. Allonby photographed many of my family’s reunions that were held at the Big Spring Park, in Neosho. 

Fields Photography was once a leading photographer who, for many years, traveled the Ozarks taking photos of many places, events, and people. Fred Fields and his wife and son grew their business in Cassville, Missouri. Upon their deaths, the Fields Photo Archives is now housed in the Barry County Museum in Cassville. Visitors to the archives can search the files of negatives, and then order those long-gone photos. Here's one of my family line, taken at Fields Photo Shop: 

Victorian photography studios, or galleries, were a popular place to visit. From my family photo collection, I know there were many such studios in our area. Due to prolonged exposure times, photographers used special props to help keep their subjects still while sitting and waiting. 

         

         

These two photos have the same background images with more or less props. They are of the same family line, Elijah B. Utter. 

Look at your photographs and the background of them, especially those that are vintage. Many times, the backdrop features a painted outdoor scene, draperies with a window, or other interesting backdrop. Some of the Victorian photographs I own are from the Paris Art Studio and H.D. McMahan, a traveling photographer in Cassville, Missouri. Other photos are imprinted with the names of the Sims Art Studio in the Opera House block in Monett, Missouri, and the Fogel Postal Studio of Joplin, Missouri.

 

The above photo has the studio imprint at the bottom of it. It's a gorgeous print! Imprints can be found usually on the front side of photos, but at other times will have it on the back. Sometimes the photo card will have the studio’s advertisement specializing in all kinds of portraiture in crayon, ink, oil, or watercolors.  Here are a few more from my collection: 

 

Today, some photographers travel to schools and organizations. At one of our family reunions, we used a local photographer who took beloved photos of everyone gathered together. Travel photographers enjoy their career scouring the world capturing gorgeous photographs of land, animals, and people, and publishing them in magazines and other media.  

 I am fortunate to own many antique and vintage photos! In many of the pictures, I wonder if a traveling photographer snapped them. Because of the nature of the photo with the people and their location, they may have been used in various magazines and journals across the country. Many of my relatives owned cameras and patronized the local photography studios. Here are a few that show the studio’s information imprinted on the picture. My beautiful families sat for portraits with their children and their beloved pets. I’m forever grateful that they did.

 

 

DEVOTIONAL: Learning Life's Little Lessons

 My One Word for 2024 is Learn. What a solid word to focus on this year.  

2023 was full of ups and downs for me. It was in those ups and downs that I knew God got me through all of it. I have arrived at that glorious point that "it is what it is" and usually I can't do anything about it. The Serenity Prayer comes to mind. If I can change it, then I will, if I can't change it, I'll let it go. And God helps me with it. 

Now in my life, I'm extremely happy. I don't wish to travel, I don't wish for grand things, I have exactly what I need, I'm happy living by myself, and I know and love Jesus Christ the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and my Savior.

I'm blessed. I'm content. I look forward to this New Year and what I will be learning. 2023 my learning time was filled with writing. This year it will be same because there's always something to learn! 

It is reflecting on our day that helps us learn. We renew our spirit, and we rest in that quiet sanctuary where God dwells with us. We must believe, slow down, and listen. And, don't forget to learn those little life lessons that come your way.

BOOK REVIEW: Evening Reflections: Resting In the Treasures of God's Word ~ Merry Christmas!

 It's almost time for my book to be released on Amazon! It's an exciting moment in my life. I've worked hard on it and prayed over it. It's not my book - it's God's book. I asked Him, "Not my words, but yours." Here it is! 

       I love it! The cover portrays resting in the evening and reading about God. I got the idea for REST in February 2023 and from there, I grew it into a 30-day devotional. It has three sections: Believe, Slow Down, and Listen and within those sections are 10 daily focus words. Each evening includes the focus word, a Scripture, a short devotional, and a prayer. Sometimes I offer a quote, a beloved childhood song suggestion, or a suggestion to learn more about a special Bible character.  Readers can decide how long they want to spend each evening: five minutes or thirty minutes, it's up to them. When I discovered that my nightly reading helped me sleep better, that's when I wanted to share what I learned. I practiced turning my thoughts into good ones, not dwelling on the problems of the day, what was going on in life, etc. Sometimes it is still a struggle to wrangle those thoughts back in line, but I focus and it happens!

      God has led me for such a time as this! Since my husband's death, I've come through the fire of grief and deep sorrow to totally depend on God. Jesus wraps His healing arms around me as I step through the day. 

     It is my hope that the book finds its way into all the hands of those who need to discover this routine to help them reflect on their day, renew their spirit, and rest well at night. 

     It's going to be published this coming week...just in time for Christmas 2023! Again, it's God's perfect timing! The book will make a great gift for yourself and for your family and friends who need relief. 

     Merry Christmas from my house to yours and may God bless your New Year! 

     P.S. A New Year, A New You ~ grab the book and start your 2024 reflecting, renewing, and resting! 

   

      

    

HISTORICAL TOPICS: PHOTOGRAPHING THE OZARKS

 PHOTOGRAPHING THE OZARKS 

NOTE: Fields Photography traveled the Ozarks countryside capturing the times of the day before settling down in Cassville, Missouri. I write more about traveling photographers in another blog post, see more...

After I began selling my freelance writing, I decided I wanted to write something for a special magazine dear to the hearts of Ozarkians, "The Ozarks Mountaineer." In my neck of the woods to be published in that magazine meant you were a top-notch writer with a heart for the Missouri Ozarks and the details of Ozarks life. 

I queried the editor at that time, Mr. Clay Anderson, time after time with stories I, and my writing mentor, Kay Hively who is now deceased, just knew fit the Mountaineer like it should. Nope. Anderson turned my queries down every single time. I was devastated as the proverbial writer should be. 

I labored, I toiled, and I wrote/rewrote many articles that I just knew fit the specialized magazine. Never did I publish one single article with Mr. Clay Anderson. 

One day while looking through my old photographs during a family history search, I ran across the family photographs taken by Fields Photo of Cassville, Missouri. Fields had long since passed on and his treasure trove of old negatives was housed at the Barry County Museum located in Cassville, Missouri. 

The idea struck. I would write about the Ozarkian famous photographer, Fred Fields! And I did. I used a couple of my family's photos with the Fields logo imprinted on them, decided to name the manuscript "Photographing the Ozarks," and sent the query to the editor. It was not Clay Anderson! Mr. Fred Pfister had taken over the editor's desk when Anderson died. Pfister loved the article and agreed to publish it! 

When I received the check in the mail for my story, I won. I persevered, wrote, rewrote, and wrote again, and finally found the story that was "just right" for the good old magazine. The Mountaineer is now defunct. But my story is a part of the legacy. 

My beautiful article was published in  THE OZARKS MOUNTAINEER magazine during the Summer of 2011. Here's a photo of the summer edition.

It all started when Fred Fields went to college in Oklahoma and learned photography while working in the college lab. After graduation, Fields went to work in a photographer’s studio in Dodge City, Kansas. It was there he met and married his wife, Cleo. Fields enjoyed photography and he wanted to make it his mission in life. One day he and Cleo took off traveling in the countryside, going from town to town taking pictures. That was back in the good old days of the 1930s. By then, the couple had nicknamed each other “Pa” and “Ma.”  When they rolled into Cassville, Missouri, they decided to make the Barry County town their home.

Here's a photo of the spread.

Photography had grown to be a popular occupation as well as a hobby for people since the early days of its inception, but in the heart of the Depression, money was tight. After Pa and Ma Fields set up their photography studio in an upstairs building on the Cassville Square, they offered tiny gem-style photos measuring one-inch x one-and-one-half inches and sold them three for a dollar. Business bloomed and Fields Photo Shop was born. Fields was living his dream.

During the Depression years, the Fields boosted their photography business by advertising they would photograph anything, anywhere, anytime. The couple began traveling around the area photographing people, architecture, events, and nature. My Utter family began an annual reunion in 1935 at Big Spring Park in Neosho, Missouri. Each year the Utters counted on Fields to photograph their event.

In those early days, Fields Photo took pictures of local and area-wide schools. Along with photographing individual children, many graduating classes are preserved in formal groups. The Rocky Comfort Elementary School in McDonald County, south of Longview, owns a vintage set of graduating class pictures.  As a traveling photographer, Fields soon adopted the slogan, “Photographing the Ozarks.”

During World War II, the photography business slowed down as film was hard to get due to military demands. Fields saved what film he had for photographing the spouses and children of those in the military. In the 1940s, Fields bought a parrot and named her Polly. Polly stayed in the studio and was a favorite of customers. The camera captured the smiles and laughter brought about by Polly. To help ease the stress of waiting or sitting for the camera, Ma Fields used many tactics such as tickling children on the belly with a yardstick to make them laugh.

In 1952, the Fields’ son, Max, and his wife, Margie, joined the photography team.

During this time, the studio’s name changed to Fields’ Photo and Camera Shop. Fields added photography supplies such as cameras, film, batteries, and General Electric flash bulbs. They also added a new wholesale route to customers farther south of Cassville. In 1957, Pa and Ma Fields retired from managing the photography studio but continued to help with the Kodak finishing until 196

After moving their photography studio again in 1962, Fields Photo and Camera Shop remained at 903 Main Street in Cassville until the business closed. When Max Fields bought a computer for the office, they used it to begin the monumental task of cataloging the old negatives. It took seven years to finish, but the project helped birth what was to come.

Through the years, the Fields family flew nationwide from New York to California and everywhere in between to photograph weddings, reunions, business and civic groups, military units, fraternal organizations, and schools. Ma Fields passed away in 1984 and Pa Fields in 1987. In 1988, after more than 55 years of serving the public, Max Fields decided to discontinue retail sales and portraiture and specialize in large group photos, school photos, and sports photography

In 1995, the building was sold and the processing laboratory, along with the one million negatives weighing 3900 pounds, was moved to the Fields’ residence. Max and Margie continued to serve the public by offering a place where customers could browse the listing of old negatives, find what they wanted, and have them reprinted. Imagine the excitement this process served when genealogists, looking for long-lost ancestor’s pictures, finally found them! It was also a great endeavor for local historical projects and a Cassville bank began printing yearly calendars featuring historical Barry County photos made from the old negatives.

Eventually, Max and Margie Fields retired, and Max formed a plan to keep all of the negatives of the pictures he had taken safe. The negatives were moved to the new Barry County Museum, located on Highway 112 in Cassville, Missouri. There, the Fields Photo archives, housed inside the museum, is open to the public. Visitors may search the collection by subject name and then request a contact sheet of pertinent negatives. Fees for the reprints vary according to the print size ordered. All profits are donated to the Barry County Historical Society

The Archives is a treasure for genealogists and historians. According to the staff at the Barry County Museum, business is brisk for reprints from the old negatives. Through the years, my family frequented Fields Photo Shop. My personal album of photographs documented generations of grandparents, parents, siblings, and myself posing for the camera.

Fred “Pa” Fields began living his dream in the 1930s. He enjoyed serving the public and traveling miles to preserve people’s smiles, capture regional and local history, and visually record life in the Ozarks. His dream lives on as the Archives continue to serve the public. Photographing the Ozarks is exactly what Pa and Ma Fields did. On the second page, upper right corner is a photograph of my late Grandad, Perry Gresham Utter, who sat for a professional photo session with Fields during the 1950s.

REFERENCES: 

1. Interview with Max Fields, Cassville, Missouri, by Karen Utter Jennings, 03 April 2009. Transcript held in 2009 by Utter Jennings, Neosho, Missouri.

2. BARRY COUNTY REFLECTIONS. Barry County Museum Quarterly Volume 11, Issue 3, (September 2009) 4.

 3. Interview with Margie Fields, Cassville, Missouri, by Karen Utter Jennings, 28 December 2009. Transcript held in 2009 by Utter Jennings, Neosho, Missouri.

 4. Max Fields. HISTORY OF FIELDS’ PHOTO – CASSVILLE, MO. 2004. Barry County, MO online database accessed at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~haddockfamily/field.htm. Fields data downloaded 17 October 2009.