Julia Bressler is my great-grandmother. I’m guessing that Clara Ellis was a friend, perhaps from church. I never heard of Clara, but I love this photo. I like the similarity of their pose, their hands, and the fabric print of their dresses. They are wearing lace-up shoes with low heels. From the look of Clara’s ankles, her feet hurt. Julia was born in 1859; she’s 86 in this photo. February 1945. Probably Wayne, Nebraska.
My aunt, Barbara Claycomb Davis, kept a photo album packed with dozens of photos from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s. I decided to select photos to give you an idea of her life after high school through her years at business college in Chicago.
She was born in 1918 on a farm in Wayne,
Nebraska. After high school she went to the city for more schooling. The farm girl made the adjustment well and had many friends there.
Not all the photos were identified or dated, but it doesn’t seem to matter.
The one thing I’ve learned about Barb is that even if the people aren’t named, the animals will be.
Grandma Ve (Evangeline Shattuck Claycomb) was Barb’s step-grandmother. Her house in Sycamore, Illinois is where my father was born.
This is a little speculation, based on what my mother told me. I believe Floyd Snodgrass was Barb’s first love. I don’t know what happened to them, but they stayed in touch for the rest of their lives.
Barb was always a horse person. It was one of our earliest bonds.
The farm at Wayne, Christmas 1941.
Barbara’s grandmother (Julia Fair Bressler) and her Aunt Dorothy Bressler.
Oh, finally Chicago, big city life, roommates and friends from college.
Sunbathing on the roof.
Montrose Beach 1941
Airplane July 12, 1941.
Printed in reverse.
Barb in dark dress (L).
Risque roommates!
Glea, one of her life-long best friends.
And when the Chicago girls came to Wayne to visit, the farm entertained them.
Travelers ready to see the world.
A trip to Los Angeles in 1943 to see Barb’s brother (my father) Frank’s family.
And a few pages for her brother George, stationed in Alaska during WWII.
Two photos of where I grew up in Eucalyptus Hills in Lakeside, California. The first is about 1948 with my brother and sister playing in the rocks above our house (not in photo). This is my childhood and I loved it. The second was taken by a friend (thanks, Ed) about 2015. It’s why I don’t live there anymore. At least the rocks are still there.
Lakeside, California, USA.
A few mementos from the service of George E. Claycomb in World War Two.
George Claycomb 1942 or 1943 visiting family in Pasadena, California.
My parents, Frank and Harriet Claycomb, moved to Hollywood California in 1939 – in time for their first born child to have that glamorous birthplace. I think this was an exciting time in my parents’ lives. They were in their early 20s and Hollywood star power was at a peak. The Wizard of Oz was released that year and Gone With the Wind in 1940. Mom said she often saw big stars at local stores. It was almost a small town atmosphere.
Dad was a salesman for Anaconda and often entertained customers at night clubs. These are souvenir photos from two of those evenings.
Folder for Florentine Gardens.
(about 1942) L-R: __, Sally Chamberlain, Frank Claycomb, Harriet Claycomb, __, Blair Chamberlain, __, __.
On the reverse of the Florentine Gardens folder, it states one can write for additional copies from Hollywood Nite Club Photos – $1.00 each plus 10 cents for mailing.
February 1940. L-R: Frank Claycomb, Cele Snow, W. E. Sprackling, Harriet Claycomb, Herbert Hawks, Win Snow, Mrs. Hawks, E. A. Casey, Mrs. W. E. Sprackling.
Sounds like a law firm, but it’s just more photos from these families. Previous photos here.
Samuel English, father of Lyman and Frank English. Frank is seated and his brother is standing.
Mamie English and Allen Smith
Allen & Mamie Smith with their sons, Myron English and Harold Allen
Belle English and John Byington.
Front: Harriet Byington and Eliza Duncan English. Back: Belle English and John Byington.
Eliza Duncan is the daughter of our immigrant ancestors, Eliza Cation and Thomas Duncan. She married Dr. Frank English. They had two daughters, Mamie and Belle. Mamie married Allen Newcomb Smith (two sons: Myron English and Harold Allen). Belle married John Edward Byington (no children). Myron provided these photos. Part of his story is here. The family lived in the Dixon, Illinois area.
Eliza Duncan English
Dr. Frank English
Frank, Eliza, Mamie, and Belle English.
Mamie and Belle English
Mamie and Belle English
Mamie English
In Aunt Barb’s walk-in closet by the front door, she hung all her coats – car-coats, dressy coats, light jackets, in red or brown or green or black.
And in the pocket of each coat was a pair of matching gloves, 35 cents, two pieces of hard candy, and a handkerchief.
My mother, Harriet Duncan Claycomb, was in Illinois with her father – I don’t know the details of why she was there, but it appears it was at his request. She’s sending me birthday greetings, updating Dad on her sister Barbara’s plans, and adding a little romantic closing.
This is the residence at Cedarhurst, home of my grandparents, Ruth Bressler and Amos Claycomb in Wayne, Nebraska. The photo was taken about 1920. I think the car is their 1919 Cadillac. I cannot identify the children or the horses, a failure I must admit. Update: the children on the horses L-R: William von Seggern, Jr., John Claycomb, and Bill Mellor.
I wrote about the fate of this house here.
