First Communion from Olyphant, Pennsylvania
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What it is:
Photo (3.5 x 5.5 inches) mounted into a folding cardboard frame/folder (I have cropped most of the folder from the scan).
What I know about it:
Photographer is Hummler of Olyphant, Pennsylvania. Otherwise undated and unidentified.
Comments:
I have a bunch of First Communion photos, both boys and girls, a few of which I’ve posted already. (I also have a number of photos from Olyphant, of all places, but since they seem to have come from the same source, I guess I shouldn’t find that too odd.) Though First Communions aren’t a part of my own personal history, I find I am fascinated by photos representing ritual, and perhaps the fact that First Communions are outside my experience is part of the fascination. I see props here (rosary, candle, prayer book) that get repeated in these photos. And yet there is individuality (this boy’s shirt/blouse is a style I don’t recall seeing elsewhere, not to mention the way he’s allowed to stand there with it practically untucked, unless that’s part of the style; and the use of the chair as a table strikes me as an unusually artistic touch for the time). In any case, I think this is a handsome portrait of an adorable subject.
Pics of Then 
Yep, handsome and adorable. Having grown up with catholicism, it is only recently that I have been able to look at pictures like these and see how weird they must look to those with no experience of it. I am no longer a believer. If I ever was, the demise of my faith began when at the age of 7 my childhood dog died and a nun told me he wouldn’t be in heaven waiting for me as “dogs don’t go to heaven”. I told her that if that was true I wouldn’t want to go there and got disciplined for the comment!
Oh no! I’m sorry, I can just picture poor disillusioned young Katherine coping with the bad news about her soulless doggie friend. I look at pictures like the one above, and I wonder how long it will be before they have similar experiences.
You made me laugh. Again. Thanks Matt!
Religion is weird and has unforseen effects on young minds. That is all I can say!
🙂