06 September 2009

School Days in Kansas


The 16th Edition of Smile For The Camera is "School Days." Now I could have dug up the photo of me - the "Petite Flower" - in my Catholic school uniform, but I found out that there are some people who pay good money for photos like that so I am saving that photo for a rainy day. My boys threatened not to come home for Christmas if I used one of their photos. I have one of my mother's first day at kindergarten and she is wearing a nurse costume, but here again, I will save that one for a rainy day.

I had to dig deep in the suitcase o' photos, but I found one that you should enjoy just as much.





This is the class photo of Maple Grove School in District 46, Allen County, Kansas. It was taken 29 April 1908. The girl holding the sign is the sister of my great grandfather Hillary T. Harris. Her name is Hazel Elizabeth Harris born 9 November 1900 in Elsmore, Allen County, Kansas. In the 1905 Kansas State census and the 1910 federal census the Harris family are living in the same place - just outside the town of Elsmore. My best educated guess is that Maple Grove School is near Elsmore.

I thought this was an interesting photo as far as class photos go because it is actually a postcard. Does anyone out there know if this was usually done with classroom photos?

3 comments:

  1. I haven't seen one with a class photo, but have some with individual photos. Must have been a popular item at the time.
    Marilyn R

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    ReplyDelete
  3. Okay, so where do I pay my money?

    In the mean time, thanks for sharing this one. Yes, postcard photos were occasionally used in this way in the first couple of decades of the 20th Century, because they were far cheaper than other methods. I have several.

    Regards, Brett

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