Thursday, April 30, 2015

Everybody into the TARDIS, quick!


TARDIS

It's Throwback Thursday again, and we have another appointment on Memory Lane.

First we're going back to 1900(-ish). Mike's unclear about the exact year, but the baby in this picture, seated on her mama's lap, is Gladys Neeld, who was Grandma Grace's mother (M's grandmother). Gladys was born August 24, 1899, and in the picture she looks about two years old. So maybe we're talking around 1901. The lady holding Gladys is Mary Emma Neeld, who went by Emma. Seated to her left is Gladys's youngest older brother, Paul Sawrie Neeld. (Mike's "Granny" was the youngest of the seven Neeld siblings. Originally there was an eighth child, Robert Jackson Neeld, who was born in 1890, but who died in 1892.) And to Paul's left is the family's daddy, William Pingree Neeld.

WILLIAM P. NEELD FAMILY 1901

Standing behind them are Hattie Neeld Wilson (the eldest), Ben Edward Neeld, Ernest Downey Neeld, Botsford Chandler Neeld, and Katie Neeld Miller. Many years after this photograph was taken, Mike would have the pleasure of knowing all of these Neeld children except Ernest, who died in 1928. M doesn't know where this picture was taken, but judging from the backdrop it seems to be a studio portrait.

Now--here's where it's nice when families stick together for a while. Take a look at this next picture:

WILLIAM P. NEELD FAMILY 1924

These are the very same people that were in the first photo, and arranged in the very same order. (Plus that ghosty apparition holding what looks like a push-broom, growing out of Uncle Ben's head!) This one was almost certainly taken May 24, 1924, and definitely at 802 West Henry Avenue, in Tampa. If there's something familiar looking about it, let's have another peek at a bigger family portrait we featured last Throwback Thursday:

WILLIAM P. NEELD FAMILY PORTRAIT 1924

Notice that the people in the (now) middle photo are wearing the exact same clothes as in this mega-portrait by Burgert Brothers (except that William P. Neeld has found his old straw "boater" hat to re-create the first picture.)

Since our post of April 23rd, M has discovered some interesting things about the "big" picture: First, it was, in fact, taken on May 24, 1924. Second, that date was a Saturday, which may help account for all 38 of those people being able to meet at that address at the same time. And third, five days before that--on Monday, May 19, 1924--William and Emma Neeld celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. We're thinking that most of the celebration was postponed until the following weekend.

Another thing we were pleased to learn (and this helped us know the actual date of the big portrait) is that while the one we posted came from our family archives, the original, complete with description, can be found in the Burgert Brothers Photographic Collection held by the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library.

Finally, to see what the house at 802 West Henry Avenue looks like today, just hop back in the TARDIS and follow this link.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Ever feel like you live in a comic strip?

Sometimes this one hits close to home:


Fortunately Puh-PAH never forgets to feed me.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Throwback Thursday: Neelds Galore in '24

Now this is a family portrait! It was taken in Tampa in 1924. That little baby in the middle grew up to be  Mike's mom, who was my Grandma Grace, and the others are her mother's very large family. Grandma's mom is the lady holding her, and to their immediate right is her daddy, holding her sister, Evelyn.

WILLIAM P. NEELD FAMILY PORTRAIT 1924

Grandma turned out to be a very smart lady. One smart thing she eventually did was make up a sketch with the names of all the people in the photo. Notice that most of them are Something-or-other Neeld, but there are some inlaws and outlaws sprinkled in there, too.

WILLIAM P. NEELD FAMILY PORTRAIT 1924 IDENTITIES

M says more people should think to do stuff like that, as it makes looking at old family pictures much easier for their descendants.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Happy birthday to me!

A "5 Years Ago Today" reminder popped up on Jeannie's Facebook page this morning. For some reason I always celebrate my "birthday" (in New Buddy Years) on or about April 13th, by going to the vet to get stuck with needles and have my nails clipped and various other indignities. But it beats living in a sinkhole and sleeping in the rain. Thanks for sharing your home with me, Mike and Jeannie.


Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Happy birthday, Jeannie!

Well, J, wouldn't you know it? On our walk this morning, M informs me that today's your birthday.

"April fools, right?" I asked him.

"Alas, no, dawg," he replied. "I'm sure I mentioned it last week."

He did no such thing. What's more, he knows I count on him to give me a loud and clear heads-up for these special once-a-year dates, since I still struggle with the human calendar.

As you might imagine, it's hard to come up with birthday blog ideas on short notice. But I did find a nice lady named Casey Henry on YouTube who said she'd be glad to play "Happy Birthday to You" on her banjo. She does a great job with it--and there's a nice bonus: After she rips through it up-tempo the first time, she plays it again slower, in case you want to learn how to do it yourself. It looks like all you need is a banjo, nimble fingers, and a pair of opposable thumbs. (To learn more about Ms. Henry and her banjo lessons, go to her website.)



Happy birthday, dear Jeannie!

Love,
Buddy