Woman in plaid wrangling children
By: usermattw
Tags: dog, photography, vintage photography
What it is:
Two photos, each measuring approx 3.25 x 3.25 inches.
What I know about it:
The woman is identified on another photo as Betty Pence, and the boy is Clifford. The girl and dog are unidentified (unless it’s the dog who is Clifford).
Comments:
When I buy bunches of assorted snapshots, I often assume that I’m getting a lot of discards, the imperfect photos that didn’t make it into the album that the family saved (or that later collectors didn’t find worthy). I assume, for instance, that there probably exist other photos from this day, where Betty actually managed to get her kids to pose nicely for the camera, but that I didn’t end up with them. Still, it’s these photos, with Betty in her dumpy back yard, struggling with her unruly children and that dog, all while trying to look sharp in her snappy plaid outfit, that give us a more revealing look into her life. And that’s why I like them.
Pics of Then 
I like them as well. I’m curious as to why you refer to the yard as dumpy. Being a city person, I’ve never had a yard, so it looks really nice to me!
You’re right, it’s not that bad. It’s not like it’s full of trash or something. There was a third photo I initially included in this post that shows the yard better, with overgrown plants and an ugly shed-like structure (that may actually be on an adjoining property). But the third photo made it harder to see any one of the photos well, so I removed it.
That female child looks like my wife as a child and her mother was named Betty and they had a yard like that and the time frame is correct. I know it is not her mother because the male child is too young and her mother never went anywhere without her witch’s broom. And then Pence dosen’t quite match up either.
LOL, oh man, I’m waiting with mild trepidation for the day somebody actually recognizes a relative (or themselves!) in one of my photos. Hopefully it will turn out to be a good thing.
Mike’s comment about the broom is too funny! Matt, it’s interesting how we tend to fill in, with our imagination, whatever space is beyond the photo’s borders. I imagined that this yard is a beautiful, wide space of trees, shrubs, and grass, with a rosebush here and there. I guess that’s part of the fun of viewing these photos.
It is, indeed. 🙂