Saturday's Old Photo
Saturday, March 14, 2009 at 7:44PM 
This is a photo of my dad with his younger brother and sister. He says he was in ninth grade, because that was when he got his trumpet. That dates this photo to about 1940.
Little sister Bertha is holding what looks like a toy pig. No one in my family can identify what it is that little brother Bruce is holding. Does it look like a lens of some sort? A magnifying glass, maybe? What I can say for sure is that his overalls look brand new.
I suspect the toys, the trumpet, and the overalls are Christmas presents, but I’m not sure, because I forgot to ask. There aren’t any leaves on the bush in the foreground, which means it might be winter. They aren’t wearing coats, but Christmas in Kansas doesn’t have to be cold. The Kansas Christmas mentioned in last week’s old photo post included some 65°F days.
My dad says that although he was in his high school band, he never did learn to play his trumpet. He’s never been interested in music—not even a little—so I’m not surprised.
The three are standing in front of the farmhouse that my grandparents still lived in when I visited them as a child. That home now belongs to one of the grandsons—one of my cousins—who lives there with his family.
Reader Comments (2)
Could Bruce be holding an old-fashioned kaleidoscope? Just a guess, but that's what came to mind. Glad you're back to posting Saturday Old Photos again!
Yes, that does look like a kaleidoscope, doesn't it?