Photo Sharing Theme of the Week: Together

Question

This week's photo sharing theme: Together.

To participate, simply:

1. Choose a family photo that fits this week's theme.
2. Add it to this week's free-space gallery.
3. Reply with an answer below to let us know which photo you're sharing. If you want to include the photo but don't know how, click here.

The photo you share might be featured on the WikiTree home page and in our social media channels as next week's Family History Photo of the Week.

If you use a social network (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) you might want to share your photo there as well. This can be a great way to involve more family members. Many people love seeing old family photos. Be sure to add #52weeksofphotos and #wikitree to your post.

Answer 1

This photo of my dad (far right) and his four siblings may have been the last one taken of the five of them together.

I believe this photo was taken at their home in Palo Alto, Santa Clara, California in about 1934. The two youngest, Jean and David would both die in their early 20s. And Lois and John Sumner would both live into their 90s.

Comments

Thank you Robin for sharing the photo of your father and his siblings, who would be your aunts and uncles.  It is very sad that Jean and David died so young. Jean just looks like she and David would have been the best aunt and uncle ever.

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Thank you Robin for sharing this with photo with your father and his siblings.

What a treat to own , only how sad two siblings Jean and David died so very young

Thank you Robin for sharing this very special photo

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Thank you Alexis. I would have loved to have known both Jean and David. Jean died with heart problems after a very unhappy and short-lived marriage and David died in a car accident. David had a son who was born after his dad died who was a very special person. I always wondered if he was like his dad.

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Thank you, Susan, for your kind comments. Yes, losing the two youngest children was very hard on my grandparents, as well as the remaining siblings. I think the five children were very close.

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Robin, because of my early interest in aircraft it caught my attention that your uncle, Col. John Sumner Dodge Sr., had a very interesting career as a pilot....I'm glad you could show a photo of when they were all together.

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This is an endearing photo, Robin.  The fact that the two who died young are in the photo makes it extra special.  How I love photography as we can see people who are no longer with us, even if they passed at an early age.  How I wish we had it for people who lived in the 1700s and early 1800s.  Then living to age 90 meant there was still no image of you, unless you were rich enough to afford artwork.

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Thank you, John. If you read John's (Uncle Sumner to me) bio you would have noticed that he continued to fly late into his life. In fact, he flew over the Sierras to scatter my dad's ashes after his death in the area that he loved so much.

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Thank you, Pat. You are so right.  Without the photos our image of what a person looked like would always be just our imagination. And that can end up being totally unlike what they actually looked like.

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I love this photo Robin, there is great character in all the faces.

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Thank you Christine. They come of hearty stock. Their paternal ancestors arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (Salem) in 1629, possibly the first Dodge family in America.

Answer 2

This is a photo taken in Coweta, Oklahoma of the Church Women's Group all together. I am guessing the date to be about 1923. My husband's grandmother Eunice Hennen is standing on the bottom row second from the right.

Comments

Alexis what a wonderful old photo m taken in Oklahoma

Of the church woman’s group

What a amazing photo

Thank you for sharing

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Alexis:

     I always love your pictures.   It always feels like I am looking at my own family, just in a different Oklahoma town.

    Merry Christmas.

                                      Roger

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Another great photo, Alexis. Thank you for posting it. It looks like it must be wintertime -- the women are all bundled up in their winter coats. And one little boy! Can you imagine what it would have been like in the room where these women met? I love being in a large group of women -- it's always so lively.

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Thank you Susan for your lovely comment. Eunice was a wonderful cook and always so sweet. She lived to be 100, so we had many wonderful years with her.

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Thank you Roger for your great comment. With this many Oklahoma ladies—likely at least one of them is a great grandmother or aunt of someone you know, Wish their names were on the back on the photo.

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Robin you have such a good eye for photos. I have to admit that I never noticed the little boy until today when I decided to use it for the together theme. I think I must have only looked at the hats and coats.

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Alexis, my first glance at the photo took me back to my early memories of ladies wearing hats and, as you also mentioned coats, that too reminded me of earlier times.

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John, now that I realize that you are less than a year younger than I am, we probably have may of the same memories. I really enjoy seeing your comments.

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As usual, Alexis, you are posting another wonderful image.  And yes, I love the coats and hats but also notice these women may be ready to work.  Several of them are carrying written material.

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Thank you Pat, it would be fun to see the materials that they were studying.

Answer 3

This a photo of my mother , Shirley Ann Williams Isleman with my youngest daughter and her oldest son, photo was taken in 2006 , during that time my mother was going thru Cancer treatments 

Comments

Janine what a very warm photo and very sad

Thank you for sharing this

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Thank you , I know it is sad but there is more to the story, she was first found out she had cancer in 2001 about month after my 2nd husband died, this pic was taken , during the 2nd time she got it again but a different location, she ended up with 2 more times before she passed away in 2011, my younger brother died year before she did , so now its just me and my older brother and our children, he has 3 as well , my mother had ovarian cancer but it went to other places in her body, but she kept on going as long as she could this photo just reminds me how strong she really was kept our family together

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My dear Janice, that is so sad, you loose your 2nd husband, and you loose a brother

When I read your story I can’t help thinking that reality are worst than fiction, you have gone to some terrible years.

I can’t imagine how terrible it most have been for you.

You most miss them very much

I am happy you have a brother with three children

Thank you for sharing the story

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Thank you , I have learned you cherish the moments you have with your love ones, do not take them for granted, and I feel like I honor the ones that have passed on by doing the genealogy and research to honor them

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That is wonderful that is what I do, I lost my parent very young.

Stay safe

Answer 4

When the Ice Shows, the Ice Capades and Ice Follies came to Montreal we attended and loved the experience of seeing synchronized skating and Olympic Stars.  The shows were held in the Forum, better known for being the home of the Montreal Canadians Hockey Team. It was a cavernous place that echoed at times.  Here the routine was top hat and tails.

Comments

Pat what a amazing day I always want to se a iceshow most be a beautiful experience

Thank you for sharing this wonderful photo

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Thank you, Susan. I know this week's topic "Together" most often means a family gathering and I had pictures that fit that meaning but I thought I'd do something different.  The skaters are clearly together on the ice.

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That must have been a wonderful day out, I love watching skating but you rarely  see synchronised skating on television. I am looking forward to watching the winter Olympics in a few weeks time.

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Thank you, Gillian, for your comment and reminding me of the fast approaching winter games.

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Thank you Pat for sharing such a lovely and unique photo for together. Also, congratulations on having the wining photo this week; you are just precious in the photo.

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Thank you, Alexis.  My dad would have been so proud that his photo was selected.  But one thing this weekly photo themed sharing has taught me is how many wonderful photographers there are taking special images for over a century.

Answer 5

Together in spirit? 

This photo is of my MIL and her youngest daughter taken about 1967. I find it fascinating that they are wearing identical outfits. I asked my husband if he knew where the clothes came from, were they purchased or custom made by someone. He doesn't know! 

Would I wear the same clothes as my 1 year old? No!

Comments

(Edited because I replied here instead of answering the main post directly, sorry)

Those matching outfits are so cute though!

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Cute photo how wonderful they both have the same clothes on

Thank you for sharing

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My first thought was that they were homemade. I was in third grade when I found out that you could buy clothes in a store!! This was more astonishing than finding out there was no Santa Claus!! My grandmother made all our clothes; she often made matching dresses for me and my little sister. I loved wearing sister dresses.

But this is the 21st century. I just googled "mother-daughter dresses" and discovered you can buy them. Here's a set to rival the splendor of those 60's flowers. This happy family has not only matching polka dot dresses, but matching things on their heads (I can't call them hats) and even matching eyeglasses!  Here's the link. (Scroll down for more pictures of happy mommy-and-me customers in this outfit.)

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I wondered if the dresses were home made, but as my MIL did not sew, and I can't think of anyone else in the family who did, it is a mystery.

My mum had 3 aunts who were milliners and dress makers plus an uncle who was a tailor almost all her clothes other than school uniforms were home made. I made almost all my kids clothes until they were about 8.

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I love the matching dress fabric. I remember several dresses that Mom made for my sister and me that matched.

Answer 6

First time participating in this!

Here is a picture of 4 generations together. I'm the baby in my great-grandma's arms, my sister is on our great-grandpa's lap, my grandparents are standing, my dad is on the left and my mom in the middle. Pic was taken in January of 1993, I was just a few days or weeks old!

Comments

Lea, it is interesting to see the 4 generations of your family together.....of further interest were the numerous marriage connections and the paths they took to connect the various members of our families.  

Answer 7

These were the members of my family that were together for Christmas 2002. Most in the photo are descendants of my parents, with in-laws and a few others included.

My mother died two months before this photo was taken, and my father died the previous year. The family has changed a lot in the intervening 19 years, as one would expect. All the children are now adults, and a new generation of children has taken their place. And I count six people in this photo who are no longer with us, including my sister Clara (Wright) Dyrness and her husband Ted.

Comments

My how time flies, Lloyd.....the photo seems quite colorful and well organized, so that you can see everybody.

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Lloyd what a wonderful family photo of your family member

What a treasure

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Thanks for the nice comment, John. I think we got lucky on this one. It isn't always the case with our family's group photos that you can see everyone.

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Thank you for the sweet comment, Susan. It is indeed a treasure.

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Great photo, Lloyd.  With such a large group you would expect someone to be distracted but no, everyone has a happy face.  Lovely to see this.

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Thank you for your kind observation, Pat. My family's group photos don't always catch everyone looking at the camera, that's for sure. It is nice that everything came together on this one.

Answer 8

Butler family of Breckinridge county, Kentucky.  My father estimates this was taken circa 1914, it has to be before 1920 as that is when my 3x great grandfather Foster passed.  My father wasn't sure on a couple of the ids but I recognize all my direct ancestors from other pictures.

Comments

Wonderful photo, Melissa.  Thank you for sharing.  These were the days when all men wore hats and women no longer did.

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Melissa what a wonderful photo of butler family what a treasure

Thank you for sharing this wonderful photo

Answer 9

My sister-in-law, Jeanette "Jan" Kulhavy-Davie (1933-2015), and her husband, Laurence "Larry" Harold Davie (1931-2019) were more than just relatives.  They were very good, close friends.

They lived in California and we are in South Dakota.  But, we visited each other often.  And at times we would get "Together" in another location.

One of those times was in about 1998.  We met in Las Vegas.  We stayed at the Excalibur Hotel.  We went together to the nightly show of the Knights of the Round Table.  They were joshing on horseback.

We all toasted together while enjoying a few large cups of liquid refreshments.

Answer 10

This is the last night of our one week tour of Williamsburg Virgina in Dec 2017. We all had supper at Bush Gardens Christmas Town. Many of the people we have traveled with for many years.

Answer 11

I have chosen this photograph of my Dad's 80th birthday get together taken in November 2011. Mum and dad are in the centre with their 5 children and spouses with assorted grandchildren and great grandchildren. Sadly we could not repeat the gathering for my dad's 90th birthday this year due to Covid but hope to meet up next summer. 

Comments

Wonderful, Gillian, that you celebrate the milestones with a family gathering.

Answer 12

Last week you got to see the grown up table - this week is the inhabitants of the kids table plus their two doting grandparents. I loved my doll - she had a beautiful red satin ball gown!

Comments

Lovely with so many smiling faces! Thank you for sharing this great photo.

Answer 13

My Grandma's brother Douglas Porter (front left) with friends at Lawrence and Scott's Engineering Works in Norwich, England. Taken in 1922.

Answer 14

Kathleen (Kathy) Wagner, sitting on her boyfriend's car, together with her mother, Margaret, in the summer of 1966.  Kathy and I had to scramble to find a photo, in her I-pad, to post after Christmas Eve dinner which included our daughter and son in-law, as well as, 2 future granddaughter in-laws who discussed both wanting daughters.......I think that's sort of like discussing 5 generations in one paragraph.                                               

Comments

Thank you John for sharing this wonderful photo it is so wonderful to see this old photo

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Thankyou, Susan.....we, temporally, turned the 'photo archive room' into a guest room, so we had to be creative.

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What a nice photo John (and Kathy) and fits the topic perfectly even if you didn't have access to all your photos. It's nice to see a mother-daughter photo. (P.S. I hope you enjoyed a nice visit with all your family and family-to-be.)

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Robin, I watched the young couples for several hours, our grandsons, 27 an 29, distinguished looking with their beards and mustaches and the attractive young ladies, all with careers, while I wondered what was going on.....we were watching ourselves from the 60's and 70's all over again.....glad to be watching, not scaring ourselves, thinking we had to conquer the world all over again.