A Pile of Long-Lost Slides

I found a handful of loose slides and today I'm scanning them. This batch needs a lot of hand-restoration with Photoshop; I'll leave the touchup of dirt and scratches to later, but just getting the colors even remotely correct has been a challenge, since these are old and have not been properly stored.

This one seems to be me, on the right, maybe circa 1969, in Seattle, but I'm not certain where. Is this in my yard at the time? I don't know. I think the boy on the left is Michael, the son of my mom's friend whose name escapes me at the moment. I look to be about two. I've never seen this picture before. There's probably a story behind it. The slide is marked July 1970, and I think my parents' relationship was either hopelessly broken or badly damaged at this point. I don't look happy. But maybe I'm reading too much into it. When I look at it I feel as if I'm on the verge of remembering what it was like to be that two-year-old boy (I had not yet turned three), as if those memories are still in there somewhere!


This next one was over-exposed to begin with and the dyes are very faded, meaning that it lets most light of the light from the scanner through, and comes out almost white. This means it requires a lot of darkening and contrast-enhancement to see much of anything, and there is hardly any color left to correct. I'm sure a pro could get this looking better, but here it is: Richard, Joan, and Susan Armstrong perhaps around 1955. Are they all in the water? The way the shot is framed, it is hard to tell. Hand-written on the slide is "at Sun Lake, Washington."


Next, a fantastic photo of my mom. This one was remarkably well-preserved. The slide is stamped "61R" which I'm thinking might indicate 1961 -- was this taken at Fircrest School?


This next one is my father's family in Eatonville, Washington: Thanksgiving, 1975. I'm not certain who everyone is, but Amby, Mary, Elmer, Sally, Aaron, and Ted I recognize.


And finally, my mother at Niagara Falls. My father wrote "Fascination" on a label on the slide's cardboard holder! The colors have held up reasonably well but this slide is badly stained and very dirty. I was able to clean some of the gunk off with emulsion cleaning fluid but it will still need a lot of touch-up in Photoshop if I'm ever going to use this one for high-resolution printing.

Newly Found Photos of the Armstrong Siblings

These photos came to my mother Susan Zahner from Lenore Frimoth (Beck) in 1996. Some of them were in rough shape; I put Photoshop through its paces to get as much contrast as possible out of the originals, and used my new tablet to do a lot of touch-up to fix dirt, stains, scratches, and even tears. Time-consuming, but I'm very pleased with the results!

Dora Armstrong (Bagley), around 1915.


Ruth Armstrong, Richard Armstrong, and Ella Grace Armstrong (Ruth and Ella Grace later married and took the names Beck and Findley).


Richard and Ruth, exact date unknown. My grandfather looks like he was probably under two years old.


This one indicates 1906 or 1907 on the back of the photo.


Richard, age 12, and age unknown (perhaps around 18).

The Cherry Pudding

Dick Zahner recently found a few more photos and documents that had been my mother's and grandmother's. To introduce these, here is a short story written by Ruth Beck (Armstrong), my paternal grandfather's sister. The Cherry Pudding (PDF file of page images, 513K) The story describes an idyllic day in Iowa nearly 100 years ago, in 1912.

My great-aunt Ruth dedicated this story to the memory of my grandfather, Richard Armstrong. The characters she mentions include Uncle Harvey (I'm not sure who that is), Aunt Harriet (Hattie), "the baby" Ella Grace Findley (Armstrong), Dora Armstrong (Bagley), and "Grandmother" (Ruth's grandmother, who I'll have to find out more about). I know very little about my grandfather Richard's family and childhood, but this story has just helped remedy that. There's even enough detail given that an enterprising cook could probably make the cherry pudding described, or at least a close approximation.

Richard Armstrong's Side of the Family

More pictures from the piles I've been scanning. These are from my grandfather Richard's side of the family. Unfortunately they aren't very clear, but I'll do what I can.

First off is a snapshot of Richard Armstrong with his parents in Granger, Iowa. Dennis and Dora Armstrong are on the right, Richard is in the middle, and on his left is his sister Ruth Armstrong. The woman on the far left is unknown. My grandmother's caption read "Ella Grace?" but this was then crossed out. It definitely isn't her, but that means we have another mystery -- who is the woman on the left?


Next, a couple of close-ups of the picture above. Ruth Armstrong was quite a looker!



Finally, another picture of Dennis Armstrong. I have a couple more but none of them are very good photographs, unfortunately.

Washington Slides (Details)

Amby and Mary Potts, my grandparents on my father's side. These slides are in far better shape than I was expecting. The sharpness and color are wonderful!


I don't remember the circumstances of this next photo. I'm guessing it was about 1977, on a trip to Washington.


This next one was taken at Mount Rushmore:


From left to right (back row): my grandfather Amby (holding Brian), my grandmother Mary, Yours Truly, Ted, my grandmother Marcella, my grandfather Richard, and in front: Sally and my mother Susan. To the best of my knowledge this is the only picture in the collection to show all four of my grandparents together; having them all in one place during my lifetime was an extremely rare, possibly unique, event!

Don't judge the slides by these screen images; they tend to be grainy and a little dull. The last image looks particularly bad on the web; my apologies. The original has an extremely wide dynamic range with highlights and shadows from direct sun, and some very saturated colors. To get a good version for printing, I needed to tweak it quite a bit and apply a lot of unsharp masking, and that tweaked image then doesn't look very good when converted back to the sRGB color space (technically, it exceeds the gamut of sRGB) and the highly sharpened image becomes gritty-looking when I reduce it back to screen resolution. Ideally, I'd go directly from the uncorrected 6400 dpi master to the different derived files (for printing and web) in completely separate processes. If this doesn't make any sense to you, be glad you don't stay up late worrying about things like this (but be glad someone does).

There are a lot more slides, but it is 3:30 in the morning and I have to get some sleep! These images are so sharp and lifelike, I really am enthralled with them!

Richard and Ella Grace

An enhanced detail from a larger photo. It looks like they are on a college campus, but I'm not certain which one.

Richard Armstrong as a Boy

I did a lot of print organizing today and came across an envelope holding a series of class pictures of Richard Armstrong, Marcella Armsrong's husband and my grandfather, in 8th, 7th, 6th, 5th, 4th, and probably 3rd grades. The envelope says this was in Omaha.

The images themselves are group shots, but they are quite sharp, so I was able to zoom in a great deal and pick out Richard. I don't have the exact dates, but I think he was born in 1905, so I think we're looking at about 1912-1918.

Let's work backwards, since he looks more familiar in the later grades.

8th grade:


7th grade:


6th grade:


5th grade:


4th grade:


Not specified, but probably 3rd grade:


I don't think I've ever seen these pictures before. I was a bit startled to see how much I looked like my grandfather. Here is a shot of me from around the same grade:


I was a bit startled to come across this girl in the earliest class picture.


Were the Omaha public schools really integrated around 1912? Was it a private or parochial school that was integrated? There is probably an interesting story behind her presence in this photograph, but 95 years have passed and I am not certain anyone who is now alive can still tell it.

UPDATE: Grace pointed out that Nebraska as a Northern state was not segregated like schools in the South. But I still find it hard to imagine what it must have been like for that girl in the overwhelmingly-white classroom around 1912. She was not in any of the other class year pictures.

The Armstrong Family in 1959

This remarkably candid-looking photo was actually staged and taken with a timer. Richard and Marcella Armstrong are shown sipping tea in Kennewick, Washington. It took them several tries to get a good shot!


Here is Susan in her wedding gown. The caption originally read "Susan Armstrong Rose, September 7, 1958, Kennewick, Washington Presbyterian Church." But then "Rose" was crossed out!


She graduated from the University of Puget Sound in June 1959. Here she is receiving her diploma. It's a shame this shot isn't sharper; there isn't much to be gained by enlarging it.


I think this photograph shows my mother with her then-husband Ted. She was listed as Susan Rose in her University of Puget Sound yearbook.


The focus and contrast in most of these photos is relatively poor, but here is a closeup of one of the better ones, processed a bit to sharpen the image, showing a smiling graduate:

The Armstrong Family in 1958

I've been scanning batches of sorted black-and-white deckle-edged prints. This particular group is dated on the face of each print, which is very helpful when it comes to sorting them. Here are some prints from 1958.

My mother, who at the time went by Susan Clarke Armstrong, had a very brief marriage to a man named Ted Rose. I wasn't aware of this until I was, I think, almost 30. She did not talk about it much and apparently the marriage did not last very long. This photograph, dated September 7, 1958, shows Richard and Marcella Armstrong and Helen and Ted Rose (Senior). I think they had come from Long Island, NY. The text on the back, which I think is in my grandfather Richard's handwriting, calls him "Teddy" so they must have been on good terms!


Here are Joan, Marcella, Richard, and Susan decked out for the wedding:


I have pictures of the groom, but they are not part of this batch of prints.

Gift Cards from 1933

These seventy-four-year-old cards from my grandmother's album of shower and wedding mementos are in amazingly good condition. Some of them look brand new.

The Wedding Album, 1933

My grandmother Marcella Armstrong left behind another remarkable artifact -- an album of clippings, notes, gift cards, greeting cards, and visiting cards from her engagement and marriage to my grandfather, Richard Armstrong.






This album is in deteriorating condition although many of the artifacts inside it -- particularly the cards -- look as bright and crisp as the day she received them. They made better paper in those days.

This album poses a preservation challenge. The album sheets are acidic. The newspaper clippings glued to the pages are brittle and yellow. The album itself does not provide much structural support for the pages themselves, so a new binder should be considered. The worst problem was that a block of flowers preserved in wax was tucked between the pages, and oozed wax onto several pages. I have removed this item from the album to prevent further damage but now the flowers are loose and also need protection. I could put the individual album pages into archival sleeves, but part of the fun of looking through this album is that many of the greeting cards can be opened and read. The best bet might be to permanently mount each original album page on some kind of acid-free card stock sheet and put those in a more supportive binder.

It might also be worthwhile to place each sheet on the scanner, although the 3-dimensional nature of the cards means that not everything will be captured this way. Digital photos of the pages might be a better bet.

The text of the newspaper article reads:

MISS MARCELLA CLARKE

Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry E. Clarke of Westfield, whose engagement to Richard Armstrong of Des Moines, Ia., was announced last Saturday. Miss Clarke is an instructor in the English Department of Jamestown High School. Mr. Armstrong is a chemist at Westfield.

MARCELLA CLARKE WILL BE MARRIED

Member of High School Faculty To Be Bride of Richard Armstrong

The engagement of Miss Marcella Clarke, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry E. Clarke of Westfield, to Richard Armstrong of Des Moines, Ia., was announced by her mother last Saturday afternoon at a bridge luncheon at Healy Hall in Westfield. The wedding will take place in the Fall.

Miss Clarke was the honor guest at a luncheon given by members of the faculty of Jameston High School on Monday afternoon at the Apple Inn. Covers were for 32. Miss Clarke was presented with a gift. [A note on the album page indicates that the gift was a "silver creamer and sugarer lined with gold."]

Miss Laura F. Freck assisted by the Misses Madeleine Rogers, Myrtle Paetznick and Wendy Lutzhoff, had charge of arrangements.

Miss Clarke is a graduate of the Westfield High School. She attended Lake Erie College, Painesville, O., and was graduated from William Smith College, Geneva. She is an instructor in the English Department of Jamestown High School.

Mr. Armstrong was graduated from Des Moines University with a B.S. degree and received his M.S. degree upon graduating from William Smith College where he is a candidate for a Ph.D. degree. He is a chemist at the Welch Grape Juice Company, Westfield.

Another clipping:

The engagement of Marcella B. Clarke, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry E. Clarke to Richard D. Armstrong was announced by Mrs. Henry E. Clarke at a luncheon at Healy Hall on Saturday, June, twenty-fourth. Miss Clarke, who is a teacher of English at Jamestown High School is a graduate of Westfield High School and William Smith College. Mr. Armstrong received his bachelor of science degree at Des Moines University and a master's degree at Iowa State College. He is now working for his doctorate. He is a chemist at the Welch Grape Juice Company. The luncheon was followed by bridge at Healy Hall. The guests were Miss Clara Louise Clarke, Miss Gertrude Fuller of Portland, Miss Verna Dodge, Miss Caroline Anderson, Mrs. Harry King, Miss Ruth Horning, Mrs. Melvin Bemus, Mrs. Agnes Weir, Miss Barbara Bedford, Miss Genevive Waterman, Miss Edith THompson and Mrs. C. Wilson Hopson.

And another:

BRIDE-TO-BE-HONORED

Teachers Give Party for Miss Clarke of High School

Miss Marcella Clarke, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry E. Clarke of Westfield, whose engagement to Richard Armstrong of Des Moines, Ia was recently announced, was the honor guest at a luncheon given by members of the faculty of Jamestown High School yesterday afternoon at the Apple Inn. Covers were for 32. Miss Clarke was presented with a gift.

[This next paragraph is scrambled presumably due to typesetting errors]

Miss Clarke's engagement to Mr. charge of the arrangements, assisted by Miss Madeleine Rogers, Miss Myrtle Paetznick and Miss Wendy Lutzhoff.

Miss Clarke's engagement to Mr. Armstrong was announced by her mother at a bridge luncheon Saturday afternoon at Healy Hall in Westfield. The wedding will take place in the Fall.

Miss Clarke is a graduate of the Westfield High School. She attended Lake Erie College, Painesvile, O., and was graduated from William Smith College, Geneva. She is an instructor in the English Department of Jamestown High School.

Mr. Armstrong was graduated from Des Moines University with a B.S. degree and received his M.S. degree upon graduating from Iowa State College where he is a candidate for a Ph.D. degree. He is a chemist at the Welch Grape Juice Company, Westfield.

The Armstrong Family

When Marcella Armstrong was older, she did not like to have her picture taken and would rarely smile for a photo. By comparison, it is startling to see her smiling so unself-consciously in this photograph. Left to right: Marcella, Joan, Susan, Richard Armstrong.

October in Cook Forest, 24 Years Ago

All the photos are marked "Cook's Forest" and that is how I remember hearing it described, but apparently the official name is now Cook Forest State Park.

Inside Haskell Road

The kitchen. Richard Armstrong is the one in the middle. I'm pretty sure I'm the one on the left. Linda, is that you?

Marcella's Immediate Family

Marcella, Richard, Susan, and Joan.

Cast of Characters: Richard Armstrong

My mother's father. He died in 1977, thirty years before his wife Marcella.

Two Portraits

Here is a low-resolution digital photograph of two of the more recent photos in the collection. This one is in pretty good shape, but is suffering a little bit of color deterioration and should be digitized for preservation. The subjects are Marcella and my grandfather Richard Armstrong. These are among my favorites. It had not occured to me, but the daisies my mother Susan made out of polymer clay look a lot like the pin Marcella is wearing in her portrait. Maybe this is the source of my mother's inspiration? I wonder what became of that pin?

I found, in the process of removing prints from frames, that a lot of the framed pictures in the collection have older pictures underneath them! So there may be a surprise or surprises in this one too.