Sepia Saturday; Summer 1934

My aunt Helena called Tante Leni and Thomas her husband to be. Bathing in the river Drau, summer 1934. Helene was born 1911 and Thomas 1907. They married in 1936. They already had a daughter born 1930.

It was common in Austria to have children out of wedlock. My mother did not but both my aunts

have born children before they got married.

My great grand mother had both her daughters out of wedlock, my grand mother Franziska Aloisia and an other daughter Helena.She did not have more children. My grandmother also had some of her children out of wedlock.

1934; the taller boy Richard was the youngest child in my mother's family. He was born 1922.

He is now 88 years old and the last alive of my mothers siblings. His mother died at is birth.

The cheerful little fellow Seppel was born 1927. He is the son of my mothers older sister Viktoria

called Tante Dora.

I am not sure who took the pictures, probably my mother who was always taking photos.

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Sepia Saturday; Hunt;

The man on the right standing against the tree is my father.

He always liked to be out in nature. He worked for a few municipalities as a forester; he had to check the woods what to plant and which trees to harvest for the sawmills. He liked this job very much. He had learned a different profession because his uncle owned a shop and he was supposed to work there. He hated it and went a different way. I guess this was probably in the 1930's.

Hunting with some friends. My father is the one smiling behind the sitting man's head. It was not free just to shoot anything. One needed a licence. It was not allowed to kill a female animal. It was also regulated how many animals were to be culled. It provided much needed protein for many families through the cold winters.

At least the animals led a decent and free life in the mountains; not like the farmed cattle in those terrible feedlots like they exist today; where they are injected with hormones, antibiotics and other nasties and lead a pitiful life until they are killed.

As long as I can remember my father had his 10 days of hunting. As older he got as less he wanted to shoot the animals, mostly he came home without shooting anything. He just wanted to be in the mountains and watch the animals. He did not join his friends anymore for the hunt he wanted to be alone.

This was my godmother's husband; he had many children and they all had very fancy names.

His eldest daughter was named Shirlee, after the baby film star Shirlee Temple. Anyway at the baptism the catholic priest said, Shirlee was not a "Christian" name and she had to be renamed "Sirna". We always called her Shirlee!

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Sepia Saturday; being silly...

First the Torero and then...

...dancing the Flamenco!

I do not think such silly pictures are still taken in Spain! This must have been in the fifties.

Gosh, we didn't know each other then!

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Sepia Saturday; Are they family?

Unfortunately there is no date nor names on the back of this photograph.

I am pretty sure the old lady on the right is my grandmother. In the middle beside her is my father. I haven't got a clue who the others are. It looks like a family photo does it not?

I have tried to figure it out but it does not add up with the ages of the people, unless I am guessing the wrong ages.

My dad was born 1903.

My grandmother was born 1869.

Or could this be my great grandmother born 1841. My grandmother had four children. Could it be her holding her last baby born 1908 ?

The pretty girl standing could be her eldest daughter born 1898.

The little boy with the sailor suit could be my father, 6 years old and his younger brother 4 years old.

The picture could have been taken in summer 1909, the last baby girl on the arm of her mother was born in June 1908.

I rather think the other people might be the children from a sister or brother of my grandmother,perhaps! I probably will never find out.

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Chocolate chip c(h)ookies...

Last week Fabrizia could not attend school as she had the German Measels. She spend a couple of days with me. We decided to bake cookies, old favourites which we called Chocolate chip chookies.

Try them and have fun with your grand children.

Sepia Saturday; In a Jonquil field;

1958 a little friend and I gathering Jonquils near Montreux in the French part of Switzerland. Memories of a beautiful spring day.

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Sepia Saturday; School photography;

Some where in this picture is my father. I do not know when this picture was taken. My guess is

1910 or a couple of years later. There are 27 boys and 23 girls. This is a small village school. I guess some are siblings. In my father's family were 4 children 2 boys and two girls. At this time families were still big, generally more then 4 children. Perhaps in this photo is his brother or sisters. His older sister Rosa was born 1898, my father 1903, his younger brother Franz Josef Erwin 1905 and his youngest sister 1908.

This is my school class of 1951. I am the second from left wearing a white blouse. We are 12 years old. The girls had to wear aprons.This is also a village school. There was discipline at school.

Mr. Caderas was a good and kind teacher.

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