IMMIGRANT DAUGHTER 44

I can remember when cameras were a luxury. Pictures were something you were proud to show your friends and anyone who would sit through your long drawn out stories about them. As a child I can remember dads’ camera that was long and flat that had the flat side drop down so the you could slide the pleated bellows out to be able to look down in the lens to see what you wanted to take a picture of.

This picture is my older brother and I taking a picture with the bellows camera while someone took a picture of us.

Cameras kept improving and taking pictures was a way of keeping memories. The Kodak Company kept improving their cameras and producing color film. We were even given a choice of pictures or slides. Slides were the rage especially for scenery. You can take a multitude of slides and producing a story to show on a
screen. They took up less room than albums but I have to tell you I like picture albums best. There is nothing better than looking at old pictures of family by taking an album off the shelf and not having to put up a projector to show pictures on the wall or screen.

Here is a picture of my family as I was growing up as the youngest in the family. My father loved taking pictures. As you can see we made a graduating line from the smallest to the oldest being able to tell years later who was who.

and I carried on the tradition of taking pictures of our kids at different ages and putting pictures in albums. One year for Carl’s birthday I gave him an Argus C3 that took 35millimeter film. He became quite adept at taking pictures. I mentioned as he traveled all Arkansas he took pictures of barns old and new. I was never very good about advancing the film and I took many double exposures and I have one that I just didn’t have the heart to throw away because it is the only picture I have of that little couch that opened up to be our bed in the little 28 foot trailer we called home in Rhode Island. I tried years later to buy one of these that were armless couches so small that openedto make a bed and was told they just don’t make them that small any more.

While living in this little trailer we had purchased a set of Guardian Service that was waterless aluminum cookware. Our trailer was so small we could only sit four to eat. So we invited one couple as guests for the people selling the pots. They did all the cooking and cleaning up stressing how easy it was to use even in close quarters. This set of pots and pans with glass lids were heavy. I barely could fit them in the cupboard. We had this set a long, long time. When I finally sold them because stainless steel pots became available that was easier to clean and were as not heavy. I had the complete set intact with all the glass lids. This cookware even cooked a pineapple upside down cake on top of the stove that looked delicious.

We had such fun taking pictures that the older child had a Brownie Box camera. When we came to Arkansas the first time we made a day of going to dig for diamonds. There is a diamond mine in Murfreesboro called the Crater of Diamonds. It’s the only Diamond Mine in the U. S. and they allowed you to dig for diamonds. You had to pay to get in and you walked anywhere in the field to dig. It is a great place for family fun. The kids got dirty and had fun digging. It was the blackest dirt I had ever seen. It wasn’t too long go that some one found a good size diamond.

Getting back to my story about cameras, my son left his camera in the car when we went to the Diamond Mine and after all day in the field we went back to the car and he went to get his camera to take a picture and started to cry. We couldn’t imagine what happened until we saw the camera. The sun was so hot it melted the camera to a grotesque shape that we all started to laugh and the harder we laughed the louder he cried. I don’t think I will ever forget that day. We bought him a new camera and all was forgotten that he even laughed when he saw his camera again. One thing for sure he never put his camera or anything plastic up on the back seat ledge again. Here is a picture of his sister with her camera.
I do not have many of our pictures anymore because of the warehouse fire where we stored our furniture to go to Germany for the birth of our second grandchild. I think one of the saddest things about that ordeal was being paid five cent on the dollar for our household goods of antiques we collected. The only clothes we had left were the clothes we traveled with. That brought home what the Lord said, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven when neither moth or rust destroy…” Mt 6:20.

What that did for me was realize what we collect are, just things the Lord gives us to use to enjoy in this life and things can always be replaced but what’s in our heart is secure in the Lord. And things can’t replace Him. Until next time I am Immigrant Daughter