From the family archives

After including an old picture of my grandfather in a post the other day, it reminded me about all the great family photos my mother gave me after cleaning out my grandparents' house. I don't know if every family has pictures that are this cool (to be honest, I've yet to feel compelled to buy up photos of strangers from thrift stores, though I always look) but I was inspired to scan in some of my favorites and post them here. They're more or less in chronological order (with some guesses).

My grandfather's on the left. I don't know why he's on a farm (he's from
Jersey City).

Not sure who these people are.

My grandmother was a stylish lady.

I think one of these ladies is my great grandmother, who I never met. Not sure about the kid in the carriage though.

My mom as a yawning baby.

More people I don't know (besides my grandfather on the end). The kid really makes the picture.

My mom marching in a parade of some kind (she's the one looking at the camera). The girl behind her is my favorite part of the picture though.

My boyfriend looked at this picture and said, "I can't picture your mom riding a bike." But I've seen that--what I really can't picture is my grandfather riding a bike, as he was pretty much sedentary the entire time I knew him (he was a mailman and supposedly upon retiring vowed never to walk again). This picture is taken at their summer home in the Poconos. The expression on my mother's face tells you how excited she is to be there.

I love the colors and light in this picture.

How does he manage to look so refined in that hat?

In the kitchen at the Poconos house. I like this photo despite the blurry foreground.

In addition to the white painted rocks and pink flamingos, they also had ceramic deer lawn ornaments that my brother and I used to pretend to ride.

One of my favorites. He really is citrus royalty.

This reminds me of a Stephen Shore photo. How many people match their outfits to the curtains in their hotel room?

This picture reminds me of a surveillance photo for some reason. Maybe it's the European flair (ha). According to the postcard-type images on the left, they're in Gdansk, Poland.