Some time ago
Hot weather is “sticking with us” (yes, pun intended). However, the nice car my friend picked me up in and drove me to church was air-conditioned. The church was air-conditioned, too. I thanked God for those wonderful modern conveniences as I enjoyed the music, message, prayer, Communion and the delicious carry-in meal afterward.
Relaxing at home later, I returned to the “Some Time Ago” column I always enjoy so much in the News Letter Journal, especially the “From the vault …” photo that accompanied it this week.
It caught my eye as I first read through the paper, and I got pretty excited, feeling certain I recognized several people in it. Later, at my leisure, I grabbed my magnifying glass and gave it a second look.
Yep, the faces of some members of that hardworking branding crew “at the nooning,” as the NLJ noted, are familiar to me. As for the time frame, my best guess would be May or early June in the mid-1940s. I’d like to make a stab at identifying some of them.
I’m not sure how to describe it while looking at the photo, but I think the tall man at the left end of the photo, with his hands on his hips (at least his right hand), is my dad, Francis Sedgwick. It could be Sherril Slagle to Dad’s right, with his arms crossed. There is also a possibility Ben Morris Sr. is to Sherril’s right. That man is heavier than I ever remember Ben being, but again, he would have been some years older than I remember him.
Moving to the right (past a tall man who may or may not be a Smith), the woman with her hands clasped in front of her is my mother, Violet Sedgwick. Immediately to her right is quite probably Dorothy (I don’t know her maiden name). I think she was a schoolteacher who married Francis Cowger, who lived within 10 to 15 miles of the Sedgwicks, Slagles and Engles.
A niece who sometimes visited Mom and Dad and would have looked a lot like that then would be Alta, daughter of Mom’s oldest sister, Fern Coy Shannon, who lived in Montana.
The next face is blurred, but I believe the pretty lady in the plaid shirt holding the cute, chubby little girl is Dell Thomas, daughter of Ty and Daisy Thomas. (Ty was Newcastle mayor at that time or earlier, and Dell later married my half-brother, R.C. Donaldson Sr.)
The first man seated could possibly be Fred Slagle. I think Tom Bruce is to his right. I have no idea who the next man is, but the lady with a scarf on her hair, clasping her knees, could possibly be Fred Slagle’s wife, Martha. The man with his arms resting on his knees to her right might possibly be Robert Engle. Seated at the far right, with his arms over his knees and the bottoms of his pant legs rolled up, is probably my mother’s son, R.C. Donaldson Sr.
Hopefully many other readers will respond and either confirm or refute my assumptions. Thanks for offering such opportunities, Bob! It makes the NLJ “more exciting” for old people like me!
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