Helen Harrigfeld

A 1921 letter of application for a teaching job in Wayne, Nebraska. Helen Harrigfeld from Emerson, Nebraska wrote on March 21, 1921.

Lillie Scott

Another applicant for a teaching position in the Wayne, Nebraska, school district. Lillie Scott wrote on May 21, 1923. She even enclosed a self-addressed stamped envelope, which sadly was not returned to her.

Frances Surber

Miss Frances Surber applied for a teaching position at the Wayne, Nebraska, school district where my grandfather, Amos Claycomb, was on the board. This is her letter of June 8, 1923.

Julia Bressler and Clara Ellis

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.

Barbara Claycomb’s Photo Album

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.