Ghosts of Christmas Past- 1934

I've been scanning photographs from my parents and grandparents over the past year or two. There have been hundreds, perhaps thousands scanned. You learn a good deal about your family history as you do something like this. You get the chance to see your parents and grandparents as children, young adults, newlyweds, and how they appeared with their parents. Since we are in December and the Christmas season is upon us I thought I would share a few Christmas photographs with you. I'm going to start with 1934.

My grandfather John J Sutor married Byrdis Oyler on February 16, 1933 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was 25 and he was 26. They set up housekeeping in the Galesburg, Illinois area.

This is a picture of the happy couple from around that time. There isn't a great deal of background to work with but they appear to be on the family farm in Sparta Township. Sometimes with old pictures it is difficult to tell exactly which year you are talking about. I know up above I said Christmas 1934. It seems more likely to me that the pictures are actually Christmas 1933. The photographs are dated 1934 because that was when the film was developed. Since it would have been so close to the end of the year it seems probable that the pictures were taken in late 1933 and developed in early 1934. Christmas then was not the spectacle it has become these days. Stores did not put out their decorations for Christmas before Halloween or for that matter prior to Thanksgiving.

Was the picture taken at the farm house in Sparta Township? It is really difficult to say with certainty. The part of the picture that inclines me to say yes is the trim around the floor. It is the same as the trim that in still in the house. The windows are in the right spots. So, maybe.

There are several things to keep in mind. The United States was well into the great depression at this time. Since they were in the country it is likely the tree was from their property. Gifts, from all appearances were few and would tend to be utilitarian.

If this is 1933 it would be their first Christmas together. Since my work has covered boxes of pictures this is the only two that show any Christmas celebration until my brothers and I come along in the 1950's. If money is tight and you really want to remember something, wouldn't it be your first Christmas together?