Charlotte and I figured that this is the oldest picture in the stack, dating back to about 1895.  Just to give you a little perspective, here are a few things that happened in 1895:

• Volleyball was invented by W. G. Morgan in Massachusetts
• George B. Selden is granted the first U.S. patent for an automobile
• World’s 1st movie theater opens in Paris
• 1st cartoon comic strip is printed in a newspaper
• Frederick E. Blaisdell patents the pencil
• America’s 1st auto race starts; 6 cars, 55 miles, winner avg 7 MPH
• The first professional American football game is played, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, between the Latrobe YMCA and the Jeannette Athletic Club (Latrobe wins 12-0)

While all that was going on, in a tiny town near Vienna, these scrappy looking kids posed for this photo.  Here’s the story:

The five children are my grandmother and her siblings around 1895 in front of their house in a tiny village south of Vienna, Austria. From left to right are: Ferdinand, who later emigrated to Milwaukee, USA; Karola, the oldest girl, who never married, although I was told she had an unhappy love affair in her youth; Emil was the oldest, and he joined the military and became a lieutnant as far as I know; he got married, and his daughter married an American soldier after WWII and moved to Los Angeles; next is Marie (or Mitzi), who married a rich older banker who died soon and left her all his money; and, finally, Josefine, my grandmother, the practical one. Two other siblings, Laura and Paula, were born after the picture was taken.

So, it turns out that the Mitzi in this picture is the very same Mitzi in last week’s post.  Remember her? The one in the wedding photo (the one preparing to board the Titanic – not really but doesn’t she looked like she could’ve been?) with the gigantic hat on.  Turns out she was able to snag the richest guy around, help out her siblings, and live out a comfortable life with her only daughter.

Happy Memory Monday!

We are loving all the snow that blew in over the weekend  and are so happy to be done with school for two whole weeks!  Just one more trip to Target and WinCo and Santa will be welcome with open arms! How about you.  Are ready???