All posts in the ‘ Real People ’ Category

I’ve got quite a demographic assortment in the biscuit tin–men, women, girls, boys, couples, groups, even a few babies. I’m guessing that the fellows below are in their early teens, since they don’t have the full beards and magnificent mustaches of the older males. Unlike for the girls, the names of several were penciled on the paper sleeves. Here’s J.D. Hill of Starksboro, VT. His tintype is truly teeny–less than 2 cm in height, so it’s dwarfed by …Read More

Here are some more treasures from the biscuit box of photographs. I’m wondering whether these three young women were relatives, friends, or schoolmates. To me, the first one looks the youngest and most innocent, with her wide-eyed expression and loose curls. Also, although she wears a lace collar, brooch, and tie, she’s lacking the ribbon around her neck that the other two have on. Her own little rebellion against frippery? Or did she just forget? The third one …Read More

Well, gang, just call me Ms. Gumshoe. While sifting through the tintypes in the biscuit tin, I actually found one that was labeled. Not dated, alas, but the subject of the portrait was “Mrs. Woodman” and the place, Waterbury, VT. A bit of googling nailed the woman’s identity. She’s my great-great grandmother, Mary Jane Sanborn (1821-1887), who married Albert Alonzo Woodman in 1847 in Compton, Quebec, and then came to Waterbury, VT. She looks terrifying. Was Mary Jane’s …Read More

I’ve been cleaning out closets. In a tin biscuit box, I found a pile of tintypes (photos on metal) and other old photographs dating from about 1860 to 1880. With them was a little scribbled note: “James, Keep all pictures in desk until we can look at them together, Mary.” James would be my grandfather (who died in 1958) and Mary was his sister. Unfortunately, almost none of those pictures had names or dates written on them. I’ll …Read More

In the early 1950s, these three boys with megawatt smiles were frequently seen around the United States Information Service in Chennai (then Madras.) When my dad’s colleague, George E Miller II, returned from an absence of a few weeks, the boys asked where he had been. George replied, “on tour.” Then the boys disappeared for a while. When they returned, they reported that they too had been “on tour.” When I see this picture, I can’t help grinning …Read More

The sixtieth anniversary of the invasion of Normandy was approaching, and my eighty-eight-year-old dad, Everett Woodman, very much wanted to go to the ceremonies at the American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. He’d been a young naval officer in the historic battle, serving on a Landing Craft Infantry that carried American special forces to Omaha Beach and led the way for other such craft. My mom, Ruthie, then eighty-three, would have preferred to stay home; plus, she was having memory …Read More

George and Jeannie Miller were among my parents’ best friends; they live in California and we keep in touch. George grew up in India and returned as a United States Information Service officer. He graduated from Woodstock School in 1940, and has wonderful stories to tell, such as the time he almost burned down the boys’ hostel by running a pakora-frying operation out of his room. He remembers with fondness going to the bazaar and having a double …Read More

Some time in the early 1970s, my parents met up in New York City with their friend Padmini, her husband, Dr. Ramachandran, and their son. As you may remember, Padmini (1932-2006) was the middle sister of India’s Travancore Sisters, wildly popular dancers and movie actors at mid-century. Although they are no longer with us, they still have devoted fans across the globe. My mom hadn’t danced for a long time, but Padmini tried to put her through her …Read More

Hello, all. Here are some more Travancore Sisters pics from my parents’ photo albums. A formal portrait of Ragini and Padmini: A couple more of Ragini: The three informal snaps below are faded and scratched, but I can’t resist posting them anyway. All were taken in Chennai, c. 1954. Ragini with her brother, Chandran: Ragini with my little sister, Jane: Aren’t Ragini’s braids fantastic! Finally, Padmini with Woodmans: Padmini’s got me, and I’ve got Jane. Lee’s on the …Read More

We were the new kids on the block in 1953, the block being Edward Elliot Rd (now Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai) and the city being Madras (now Chennai.) It could have been a difficult adjustment–but instead, it was like falling into a warm bath. This was largely because of the kindess of our hospitable next-door neighbors–the mom, Saraswati Amma, her three daughters, Lalitha, Padmini, and Ragini, their brother, Chandran, and their cousins, Ambika and Sukumari. We were still learning …Read More