My maternal grandmother’s family wasn’t from Kalamazoo, but from Caledonia, Michigan, which is in Kent (not Kalamazoo) County. Both counties are in SW Michigan, but I wouldn’t want to walk between these places! I’ve written before about the high school graduation of my grandmother, (Lucille) Edna Mulder, and her sister, Dorothy. You can find the posts here:
April 17 Always Reminds Me of Grandma
In the new album of photographs my mother gave me, there is a black and white version of this tinted graduation photo of the sisters.
And for the first time I am seeing high school graduation photos of their siblings!
To give a context, here is a little family tree information. Charles and Clara (Waldeck) Mulder had five children. Dorothea Rosa was born on 7 December 1910, the grandma was born 17 April 1912. These sisters graduated together in 1929.
On 20 October 1913, daughter Alvena was born.
My memories of Aunt Vena are of a retired school teacher and a gracious hostess who had a beautiful home with a fish tank inside and bird feeders outside.
Peter Godfrey Mulder was the first boy, born 2 November 1915. He and Aunt Ruby lived in a farmhouse in Martin when I knew them. I will always associate him with the big tree in the backyard and his (remnants of) curly hair. I saw him as a ginger. My mother says his hair was reddish, but she didn’t think of him as a redhead. Like most of the family he had very fair skin. He was named after his paternal grandfather (Peter) and his maternal grandfather (Godfrey). In my memories of him, he is always smiling.
The “baby” was born on 30 July 1917: Charles Peter Mulder, named after his father and his paternal grandfather.
Uncle Chuck had the same sweet smile as Grandma. He joined the U.S. Army right after Pearl Harbor.
I wish the Caledonia school yearbooks were available through Ancestry as so many are now, but alas, there is only a school record through 1925. I am so lucky to have Grandma’s scrapbook from her and Aunt Dorothy’s graduation.
Then I found another photo of an 8th grade graduation.
You see the girl in the second row, third from the left? That’s Grandma! And her sister, Dorothy, is seated in the front row, second from the right. Seated to Dorothy’s left (our right) is probably Blanche, Grandma’s best friend who became valedictorian when they graduated high school. Dorothy was salutatorian and Grandma was class historian.
Lovely photos 🙂
Such gorgeous photos! The siblings definite resemble each other, especially the sisters. Do you know why your grandmother and her older sister graduated the same year despite the age difference?
Thank you! I think it was because they were all very smart and Grandma was probably quite mature. I imagine it was a lot easier that way for whatever reason. I wonder how the girls felt about it. Probably a good thing that Aunt Dorothy was salutatorian and not Grandma since she was almost 1.5 years older ;).
Well, at least Dorothy wasn’t held back! We have friends with kids 18 months apart, and the older one had to repeat kindergarten so his younger sister ended up in the same grade. He was NOT happy!
Oh boy, I bet he was not happy! Poor kid! Grandma would have just turned 17 when she graduated high school :).
Nice photos Luanne.
Great photos! Did you just come by them recently?
Priceless
I was missing your posts. Every photo made me smile. I love meeting your family and reading about them.
Thank you so much, Sharon! I have been so absent!!! How are you?
All good here in genealogy world! I am not sure if you saw but I did have a brick wall crumble ~ always exciting (Hyamovitch Family)
So thrilling Sharon!i have to see what else I’ve missed!
Without a doubt, the photos keep getting better, Luanne!!
Holiday blessings from yourself…
Haha, thanks, Sheila!
Just the hint of color makes the pictures ever so lovely.
The tinting is really beautiful!
These photos are precious, love the stories too
Thank you so much, Deborah!
I love the tinted photos, Luanne. They really add to the shot. Hope you have a terrific holiday and 2019!
You, too, Patti! Happy New Year!!!!
This was a great post. I adore finding old family photos. Wondering about how they lived. https://noelliesplace.com/2019/02/13/little-boy-bobby/
Oh, me too! Thanks for stopping by, Noellie!