Another throw

Good morning! It's Thursday, so it's throwback time. Here's a selection of really old family photographs.

1. My paternal great-grandfather: Apparently, it was once common to encounter photographers on the streets of downtown Edmonton. They would take your picture and sell it to you. I have a similar picture of my paternal great-grandmother. No wonder people dressed up to go downtown!

2. My maternal great-grandmother: She's on the left; my maternal grandmother is on the right. This picture was taken at a wedding in summer 1974. I remember attending the wedding but have just the faintest memories of my great-grandmother. She died a year or so after this photo was taken.

 3. Christmas dinner, December 1973: As I've written before, I can walk through my aunt and uncle's house in my memory even now; this is their dining room. The brightest figure in the image, just to the right of centre, is my cousin Wendy. That seems fitting. My parents are also in this picture, as are my maternal grandparents. The white hair in the foreground belongs to my paternal grandmother. Strangely, I remember this Christmas well, mostly because of my brother, who was an infant at the time; I was teasing him, and he accidentally scratched my face, giving me a scar that I still have.

4. "Bare skin": My mother helpfully captioned this picture. The rug is a lamb skin, apparently; I remember it well. This picture was taken in my parents' bedroom in June 1970. The only one of its kind!

5. Birthday girl: December 1972, my third birthday. Sitting beside me is my uncle Larry. I remember so many of the details in this photo but have long since forgotten the event itself. One of the most distressing and surprising things I've learned about going through old colour photos is how much they blur with age. Will they be completely unreadable in another few decades?                           

6. Princess Meddler: Apologies for the quality of this image, but I've included it specifically because of the quality. Earl has recently been posting images on his blog of events he can and cannot remember. I've added this photo because I remember it; it's one of my earliest remaining memories, from September 1972. First my mother took a picture of me outside, on our front steps; then she took this one, inside our front door. I was eager to see the picture, so I opened the Polaroid too early, creating the blotches you see on this image. I've always been surprised that my mother kept the picture, yet I think that I remember the event of the photo because she did. Memory is fascinating!

Well, thanks for strolling through the Seventies with me once again. Hope you enjoyed your visit!