Tom sits upon the Christmas toy

He's trying so very hard not to fall asleep.

A cold day for Christmas trees

Mary, Ben and Ruthe huddle together while seeking the right Christmas tree.

Summer 1941

In the summer of 1941, Ruthe, John and Georgia took a trip to the California coast (near San Francisco). The caption under this photo in the album announces that they sighted a Japanese freighter.

Church roof in Assumption, IL

Ruthe camping on the roof.

Ben & Trudy Meeker

about 1941

Dorothy

We all love our kitten friends

Church in Herrin, Illinois

Mil, Ben, Ruthe, and Mary
1926

Ruthe Meeker

1918 or 1919

Surviving the Hard Times

The Friends of Chowan University's Whitaker Library will host an event today about life in the 1930s.

If you look closely at the poster, you'll note that these are Meeker and Cooper family pictures from the era. It's been wonderful -- and a little weird -- to walk around town and see pictures of the family

Camping at Mesa Verde

1940

Snow in American Fork, 1916

Mil, Ben and Mary playing in the snow.

The John Meeker family, circa 1911

John, Georgia and Mildred Meeker are to the left in this picture.

Giant hat

My grandmother's cousin Bob Carter and Great-Aunt Phoebe Wells.

I don't know why she's wearing a hat larger than she is, but I love it.

The Lily Class of 1902

John Meeker, front and center

Meekers at American Fort, Utah

1916

There are very few pictures of my great-great grandfather Meeker. But this is one of them.

The adults are my great-grandfather Meeker, Georgia, Aunt Genevieve, and John

The children are Mildred, Cornelius (a cousin), Ben and Mary

Camping at the family homestead

These really have to be viewed as a set. This is the Meeker family, around 1939, at the cabin in South Fork, Colorado. I've always loved these pictures because everyone looks so fancy. I can identify most of the people in the shot, but not all. I'll give it a try nevertheless.

Aunt Genevieve, Mary, Will Meeker, Ruth, Kenneth, Georgia and John

I'm a lot less sure about some of the people in this one -- and my grandmother's label in the photo album isn't a whole lot of help. Here's what I know -- or can figure out from her note -- to the far left are John and Mil, and Georgia is sitting down next to Mil, but is a little difficult to see. I think that's Mary on the saw horse -- or whatever it is. Sitting behind her -- again, I think -- is Ruth. Sitting behind the standing boy -- who I think is Paul Clark -- is Jennie Overstreet. The back row of men are -- starting at the second from the left and going to the right -- Chase Wilson, Kenneth Cooper and Ben Meeker. Uncle Chase looks a bit more comfortable with that sledge hammer than my grandfather looks with the pick-axe. That still leaves two people I don't recognize and who aren't labeled in the album.




Della Wilson, Aunt Genevieve, Mary, Georgia (behind Mary and Ruth), Ruth, Kenneth, John, and Chase.

If you can correct my errors, please let me know in the comments.

The famous Meeker pose

Mil, Ben, Mary and Ruth
1920(?)

I cannot believe I haven't posted this one before, but I don't think I have.

From The Peabody Reflector

Oh family blog! How I have neglected thee! Anyway, here's an interesting one for you:

Kenneth Cooper, second from the left

I'm not sure what's actually happening in this picture -- and it came with no real explanation.

But I thought you needed to see it.

Kenneth lectures

I think this picture was taken for the Peabody yearbook. I've got in my office on campus now to remind me of the reasons that I do what I do.

Happy first day of the semester.

More from Casa BrIsaacson

Some shots from the new house, taken by my super-talented wife. These are the photos Emily put up Facebook, so if you've seen those, you've already read this blog posting.



A porch swing, for whittlin' and wine drinkin'.



The new bed in the new bedroom.





And the living room:







The dining room:











Our collection of "great books," published at around the turn of the 20th century. These came from Emily's grandfather's library, as did the Shakespeare clock:



And here we have Oliver the Cat. He's not ours, though he's pretty much laid claim to the front porch:

Mary and Chase Wilson

Off to the honeymoon

Casa BrIsaacson

It's official. Team BrIsaacson has a permanent home. We signed the papers today.

Peeking through

The Meekers at Mesa Verde

An oldie and a goodie

We're not entirely sure who is in this particular picture, but the note in the photo album suggests that the woman on the left is probably Georgia Poage.

Dime photo

Georgia Meeker

Looking jaunty

Kenneth Cooper in the late 1920s. The quality of the picture isn't great, since the photo itself is quite small. Still, I'm always happy to find pictures of my grandparents when they were children.

Just a high school junior

Ruthe Meeker

Studying away

Kenneth in a history classroom at the College of Emporia.

Fusons and Meekers in Emporia

I've always had this notion that I'm from a fairly small family -- which is sort of true. I'm one of two children and I have only one first cousin. However, when you start to extend beyond the immediate family, the family is actually pretty large, as you can see from this particular reunion in Emporia, Kansas.

So outdoorsy ...

Meeker siblings fishing on a vacation in Colorado

Cousins

The Fusons and the Meekers. I'm not sure where Mil is looking, but it's certainly somewhere else.