These two old photographs are in poor condition and not labelled. I don’t know who the boys are. The girl could be Alice Leewenhoek, born 1897.
It is likely that the photographs were taken in the Burdick-Balch neighborhood in Kalamazoo.
These boys do not look too happy to be at work. Although the pitchfork made me think gardening, there seems to be a building material stacked behind them. What do you think is going on?
Any insights would be greatly appreciated!
Make it a good week!
UPDATE: Jose challenged me to check out the book the little girl is holding. It looks like Cinderella illustrations to me. Cinderella or Ashenputtel or Cendrillon on our left and the stepsisters on the right. See what you think. I made a Pinterest board with illustrations of Cinderella with her broom: Cinderella with Broom
The Family Kalamazoo 
Luanne, The boys are not smiling because it was not the norm in photos back in the day. https://www.stuffmomnevertoldyou.com/blogs/when-did-people-start-smiling-in-photographs.htm — Also I would say gardening for the boys although one has a broom which I’ve never used in gardening, maybe they were just doing chores around the farm. The book that the girl is holding may give you a clue to the date so get a big magnify glass to view the title.
Hah, you might be right about the smiling, although these are “snapshots” and not portraits and some of them do show smiling people. The two little kids are smiling, in fact. Maybe these boys are trying to look tough? Aren’t they still in short pants? It’s so hard to understand boys clothes in those days. They look like pants to below the knee and then stockings of some sort? I like to think they are mad at having to work in the cold ;). Thanks about the book. The illustrations actually could tell me if I could see inside all the fairy tale books of the day–I think the girl with the groom looks like Cinderella and maybe the other women are her stepsisters? THANK YOU!
OK, I tried to find these illustrations for Cinderella (Ashenputtel, Cendrillon) with no luck. I could be wrong about Cinderella, but I don’t think so.
It is such an odd assortment of tools—a shovel, a pitchfork, and a broom. Could they just have been posing for the photo? If not, I agree that it seems to be farming or garden related. Maybe they were going to lay a patio with the bricks and then sweep off the dirt?? Great old photos.
Do those look like bricks to you? Because they could be there for building a new house and that is why the land is cleared. See how close the houses are to each other!
They definitely look like bricks. Those boys look so young to be doing hard labor!
They must think so ;). Look at their pants! Are those short pants with stockings? So strange.
Don’t you just want to jump into a time machine and ask them? I always want to get into the photograph and interview all those people.
Yes!!! I keep waiting for time travel to be a thing. Who needs self-driving cars? We need that time machine!
If you are a member of “Vanished Kalamazoo” group on Facebook, they can help!
Do you prefer Mary or Mary Ann? I’m assuming Mary since you have your name that way here? Thanks for reminding me. I think I will post over there, although I haven’t had a lot of luck. But it couldn’t hurt to try!
Luanne, these are great and I think you’re right. I don’t think the unhappy workers were going to plant a garden. Looks to me like the materials behind them might be some kind of brick or stone? Maybe some kind of, I hesitate to mention it, but some kind of fence?
Love the expressions on the faces of all the children…Mark Twain must have written about children who looked like this.
The little girl with the book is fabulous.
I wondered if it was bricks. Of course, Alice’s (and Grandpa’s) grandfather was a brick mason, so it COULD have just been stored there. Mark Twain, yes, haha. And they look like boys in a Horatio Alger type book. Not bad exactly, but not the good boy either. Do you think that is a Cinderella book, Sheila? I am thinking it is, but not positive.
You know I tried to see what book she’s holding but I honestly couldn’t tell. Was it too small for a Little Golden one?
Not Little Golden – they got started in 1942. Possible Cinderella.
No, this looks like classic illustrations. But I can’t place it.
Did I tell you that I have a Golden Book collection. I did you not. Of course, I’m at the point where 1) the ones I don’t have are all more than $4 and 2) I don’t really care any more!
Who’s surprised you have a Golden Book collection??!! I grew up loving them…
🤣🤣🤣 me too! The one thing my mom would usually get me that I asked for!
The photos are great. You are right they are snapshots not formally posed photos and so that must help with dating. I don’t know enough about dating photos but a lot of it seems to rely on clues about who printed the photographs and/or took them and using directories to work out when those firms were in business. Clothes and hairstyles also help.
The little girl seems very pleased about her book. I think she is showing the inside pages not the outside. I wonder why. Perhaps she has just mastered reading the book. I think Cinderella is a good guess.
Regards
Anne
Hi Anne, I think it’s the inside pages, too. Maybe it’s a new book and she’s showing it off that way? I kind of wondered when her birthday was by reading your comment, but it was April 16. It must be warmer out than that by what the kids are wearing. But maybe she got it for her birthday and was just learning to read it. I am guessing her at only about five years old. I base that on the fact that I have a lot of photos of Alice, and I see what she looked like at 7 and 9 and 12 and so on.
Certainly an odd assortment of tools. The boys do look a bit disgruntled — perhaps by being asked to pose with disparate tools 😂😂 Definitely looks to me like a pile of bricks in the background. I love how cute the little ones in the second photo are.
Disgruntled! Haha, yes, that’s it! Don’t you think it’s sweet that the little kids are smiling?! Such a special photo because of that IMO.
Yes; they are gorgeous kids. She definitely looks like she’s showing her book with some pride. 😀
Fun pictures. Especially like the younger children with the book. Cinderella is a good guess. I originally was thinking some kind of catalog, but like your idea much better!
I created that Pinterest board with pix of Cinderella with a broom because it’s such an iconic image. I can’t find the illustrator, but this book has to predate Millicent Sowerby’s famous and similar illustrations by at least 12 or 13 years.
Gardening with man-sized tools? Definitely Cinderella, I’d say
You would know about the book, I am thinking, with your collection of antique books!
Actually, I don’t have that one, but, like you, have drawn the conclusion from the illustrations
Hi Luanne~ The picture with the girl and boy is absolutely darling. I am wondering if that is a full book the little girl is holding. It looks more to me like she is holding up pages from her book (middle pages that would pull out together. Magazine photo insert maybe. Cinderella is a good guess. I wonder if it could be cleaned up. There are a few FB groups that will do that for free. I love the boys. I think they look like they are trying to be tough or grown up for this photo, look at us, we’re men! It does look like shorter pants with leggings under them on the boys. Two great old photo’s.
Have you ever noticed that before on old pix–boys wearing pants and “leggings” like that? I wonder if they are related to the puttees that somebody (Su Leslie, I think) pointed out to me in my great-grandfather’s army photo.
So how do I find these FB groups. Free sounds good!
The one I joined was called Genealogists Photo Restoration. Ihave had some wonderful work done by that group, Give them at try ~ couldn’t hurt and then post a picture for us to see, please 🙂
The background behind the children with the book is so distinct. They clearly are posing for the photo, yet it’s not at all clear why the photographer selected that spot.
Uncle Joe used to take photos everywhere around where they lived. He was very modern in the way he approached taking pictures.
When they took the early photos they had to stand still so long it was hard to smile. Hope you get them identified eventually