POTD

Photo of the Day – January 14, 2015

joelowry1982 1930s, Lowry, Paternal, POTD
My grandfather Chuck Lowry struck quite a post for this photo from the 1937-38 school photo at Ursuline High School in Youngstown, Ohio. This would have been grandpa’s 8th grade year. I would love to see LifeTouch (school photography company) send home to parents school photos with a border like that today.

Source:
Charles J. Lowry (1924-2007), photograph, taken at unknown location, in about 1937; digital image, photocopy of original, scanned in 2013 by Joseph Lowry; privately held by Mary McCaffrey, [address for private use], Canton, Ohio. Young man wearing tie leaning with hands in front. Provenance is Mary Pepperney Lowry to Charles Lowry to Mary McCaffrey to Joseph Lowry.

Photo of the Day – January 13, 2015

joelowry1982 1970s, Bixler, Maternal, POTD, Witt
I probably met my great grandma Witt at some point when I was very young. Helen Bixler Witt died in January 1985, two months shy of my third birthday. This photo of her was taken on her porch on North Osborn Street on Youngstown’s West Side in the late 1970’s. You can get a more recent view of the houses in the background by clicking here (link).
Source:
Helen Bixler Witt (1898-1985), photograph, taken at 24 N Osborn Avenue, in about 1977; digital image, photocopy of original, scanned in 2013 by Joseph Lowry; privately held by Marie Dockry, [address for private use], Austintown, Ohio. Woman sitting in a porch chair in housecoat. Provenance is Marie Dockry to Joseph Lowry.

Photo of the Day – January 12, 2015

joelowry1982 1920s, Lowry, Paternal, POTD
My great grandfather Charles Lowry is looking pretty dapper in a three-piece suit. I can only imagine the color, maybe navy, with a red tie, silver cufflinks, and black shoes. Since the vast majority of the 1,000 Lowry family photos I have are in black and white, sometimes you have to invent the details to add color to life (pun intended). This photo is from around 1921 and was taken in front of the family home in Leetonia, Ohio.

Photo of the Day – January 11, 2015

joelowry1982 Lowry, Paternal, POTD
This photo was taken very close to Youngstown. In 1678, at the mouth of the Niagara River to Lake Ontario was established Fort Niagara, the longest continually occupied military site in North America. It sits just outside of present-day Youngstown, New York.
It was the mid-1950’s when two boys from another Youngstown – Youngstown, Ohio – traveled north and someone said, “Go stand there in front of that cannon and I will take your picture.” My dad Pat Lowry is on the left, his older brother Chuck is on the right.

Photo of the Day – January 10, 2015

joelowry1982 1940s, Maternal, POTD
The only thing I know about this photo are the subjects. My grandmother Barb Wolford (Viti) is on the left with her sister Betty Wolford (Thomas) on the right. I need to ask grandma for some details. Sounds like a project for the evening…

Update!
My grandma responded that the photo was taken on June 14, 1950 in her backyard in Topeka, Kansas. It was the day before my great aunt Betty’s wedding to Walter Thomas. They had turned 18 the previous October and had graduated from high school just four days prior. Betty and Walter were married for 62 years before he passed away in 2011. One of their girlfriends took the picture. The car belonged to their dad, my great grandfather Ray. Any car buffs out there know the make and model?

Source:
Barbara Jean Wolford (1931-) and Betty Jane Wolford (1931-), photograph, taken in the back yard of  the Wolford family home on Madison Avenue, on June 14, 1950; digital image, photocopy of original, scanned in 2013 by Joseph Lowry; privately held by Marie Dockry, [address for private use], Austintown, Ohio. Two woman standing in backyard with car in background. Provenance is believed to be Barbara Wolford Viti to Marie Dockry to Joseph Lowry.

Photo of the Day – January 9, 2015

joelowry1982 1940s, Groucutt, Paternal, POTD, Wedding Wednesday
According to news reports, gladioli and larkspur graced the altar for the wedding of my great-aunt Kathleen Groucutt and Bob Sullivan on 13 Jul 1946. Kathleen’s sister, my grandmother Jean (Lowry), was maid of honor. Bob’s friend Phil Welsh served as best man. Kathleen and Bob were married at Saint Columba Cathedral by Rev. James Malone. Fr. Malone would become bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown in 1968.

Photo of the Day – January 6, 2015

joelowry1982 1980s, Maternal, Porubsky, POTD
My great grandmother Caroline Porubsky Wolford had the gift of the gab, a traditionally Irish phrase, but one that applies nonetheless to this Volga German lady. From her home in Topeka, she made regular phone calls back east to her daughter Barb and granddaughters Julie, Marie and Becky in Youngstown. I’m guessing this snapshot was taken sometime in the 1980’s while great grandma made one of those calls.