A Jen Too Many

This photo isn't very clear, I know, but you should see the original. Meet Emanuel Lupkin, age 5. I scanned this photo from a crumbling 94 year old newspaper, where his picture was printed in the Children's Page section of The Commercial Appeal newspaper, on June 6, 1915.

This picture was, obviously, taken before his sister took scissors to his hair and cut off all those curls. According to the family folklore, his mother (Anna Polewoda Lupkin) cried and cried over the loss. She saved the curls in a little box which we still have, tucked in with all the old family memorabilia. (They are a gorgeous color - a rich brownish-blond with just enough red to intensify the color, but not enough that you're consciously aware it's there.)

We have the two sheet section of the newspaper his picture was in, but it was folded several times. Now, anytime anyone touches it, little bits flake off the edges. My sweetheart is talking about getting it laminated, but I'm scared to do that, for fear of it getting damaged even more. At the moment we have it carefully wrapped up in foil to keep it away from any friction.

We have an absolute ton of old newspaper clippings - obituaries, wedding announcements, photos - my husband's family was very big on that kind of memorabilia. This is the oldest one we have, and the one in the worst shape, but the others are heading down that road, too. You can see why I'm so anxious to get them scanned and saved in several different places. My goal is to eventually be in a position where, even if there was some sort of disaster and we lost everything, we would still be able to have all our family photos and papers saved somewhere online.

To see other vintage photos check out Paper Dolls for Boys.