Coopers and non-Coopers

Here are Josephine and Will Cooper and their adult children. Josie is seated in the front and Will is standing next to her.

Behind them, left to right, are Dorothy Leighton, Kenneth, Gladys, and Harold.


To match this is, of course, the obligatory spousal shot. Left to right are Esther Cooper (Harold's wife), Frank Leighton (Dorothy's husband), and Ruthe Cooper (Kenneth's wife).

On further inspection of the pictures, I have to admit that I'm a little puzzled by the centerpiece on the table. It looks like something for Christmas, but I can't quite figure out if those are really supposed to be reindeer or if this is actually a pair of Easter pictures and those are bunnies. Actually, the women are wearing short sleeves, so likely this is a Spring or summer shot. Those are definitely not reindeer.

Talking a Walk

My great-great uncle Dwight Poage and my Great Aunt Mary (Meeker) Wilson talking a stroll in Albuquerque.

Corny ...

Sorry. I couldn't help myself. What a bad title.
Barbara and Kent eating corn on the cob. The picture cracks me up -- as it probably did my grandmother or grandfather who took the picture. I'm not exactly sure why Barbara is standing next to Kent in the picture -- has she been told to pose? Is she giving him corn-eating lessons? Are they having a contest?

More Coopers standing around

Ruthe and Kenneth Cooper, standing near a bush.

The Swedish connections, part two

This is Teodor's family again, but this time with my great-grandparents, Arvid and Maria.

The Swedish connections

My aunt sent me this picture of my paternal grandfather's older brother's family (got that?). Anyway, this is Teodor, his wife Fydia, and the kids -- the sons are Folke, Ake, the daughters, Gunvar and Eva. Teodor is in the middle, his wife is second from the right.

Don't ask me which kid is which -- I'm not sure. (And family, tell me if I'm spelling names incorrectly.)

Heirlooms and an heir

Sorry I haven't put anything up this week -- it's been busy as we're heading into the last couple of weeks in the semester.

The above picture shows me sitting in the tiny little chair at Grandma and Grandpa's house holding one of the old Cooper family dolls. You can also see a number of old toys in the background of the photo ...

Cowboy Carl

Or at least I think he's wearing a cowboy hat. Anyway, this is my dad, Carl, in 1957 in Chicago.

Preschool Princess

I have no real idea of what that is I'm wearing on my head, but my dad gave this picture its title.

I am far away from that preschool princess these days ...

(By way of explanation, you should just know that I'm surprisingly obsessed with my upcoming 30th birthday.)

Ruth at 22

This is my paternal grandmother, Ruth Isaacson, in 1936. So, that's before she's Ruth Isaacson and was still Ruth Sembach.

I'm particularly enamored of this hat. I always look at older pictures and wonder why we don't wear hats anymore.

Yes? Is this your chair?

Ha! I'm sitting in it.

The problem with being a blond kid is that everyone assumes you have no hair for the longest time. Really, I had hair. It's just very pale and fine.

The Sembachs cruising

This undated picture is of my great-grandparents, Anna and Henry Sembach, taking a cruise on Lake Michigan.

Personally, I prefer the Caribbean cruise because it's warmer, but Anna and Henry look appropriately bundled up ...

Picture thanks to my Aunt Ellen.

Barbara reading

Another reading picture.

Piano Baby

Perched atop the piano at my grandparent's house in Nashville, I listen to my mother play the piano.

Dorothy and Frank

Dorothy and Frank Leighton looking rather jolly in 1971.

Oscar at work

My Aunt Ellen just sent a number of Isaacson family pictures, so I've got more to share from that side of my family.

This is my grandfather, Oscar Isaacson, at work in Chicago.

We've been without a post for several days. I've been at Dallas at a conference -- and a very busy conference, indeed. I don't have an excuse for Bradley. He was busy doing something, I'm sure.

Young American, Young American, She Wants the Young American

From my godson, Will Murphy, comes this picture of Captain America. Please note the explanation.

Young Joe Bradley

For those of you wondering, the reason Emily seems to do more updating of this blog is because she does. But only because I'm a lazy jackass. That, and all of our pictures are on her computer.

But that's gonna change, starting now. Emily's just emailed me a big batch of pictures of my family, so now you can read my insipid prose while looking at pictures of my dazzlingly-attractive relatives.

Here, for instance, is my father, Joe Bradley. This picture was taken, I would guess, around 1792. Maybe a little later. My dad turned 60 this year, and I suck at math.

Along the Key West Harborwalk

Okay, it's not a family member.

However, it is a manatee in the wild. We saw it yesterday in Key West.

How cool is that?

(I'll answer. Very!)

Will Cooper's 80th birthday

In this picture from 1956, you see my great-grandparents, Will and Josephine Cooper.


On the back of the photo, someone (Aunt Dorothy, I think), has written that Josephine is reading Will some of the greetings for his 80th birthday.

(I am very happy that most of my relatives -- for several generations -- have lived to see at least 80)

Some Halloween pictures

Because, um, it's March 1st?
Bradley and his brother as an enthusiastic pirate and vampire.
Emily, Halloween 1985. Colonial Lady.

I don't know where I came up with that idea. But, as I've mentioned before, some of my Halloween costumes were unusual. But my parents never suggested that we should change the outfit.

Swinging

Happy birthday, Bradley.

Reading, again

Seriously, I have a lot of pictures of family members reading together.

I guess we read a lot.

It's apparently important to us.


And by the way, that (sort of) octopus pull-toy in the background is really cool. I wish I still had that. I would pull it around while I teach.

Okay. Maybe not. But it still looks like it was a great deal of fun when I was that small.

On the phone

Sitting in my little rocking chair, the beginnings of what would become a terrible teenage habit.

Young Bradley boys

Little Billy and Stephen looking remarkably like the children in Terms of Endearment.

Home on the range

Some pictures from my dad of the farmer relatives in Minnesota.







I guess some of us farmed. Some of the rest of us can barely keep the houseplants alive.

1980s portraits

I never had one of these profile-portraits. I always thought they were pretty cool, but none of the schools I went to did them this way ...

Sometimes I really miss the 80s. (most of the time, not, but once in a while).

I like how much gravitas young Bradley expresses in the profile and that (sort of) innocent smile in the front-facing portrait.

Craft time

I think Jon and I are doing crafts. However we might be doing homework.

Either way, note the wood paneling throughout the kitchen.

Dressed to go places

Frank and Dorothy Leighton, looking like they're ready to go.

Doll bed

This is another family heirloom -- like the kiddie car -- made by my great-grandfather. The doll bed has served many a doll in the family. That's me making the bed. I'm sure that my parents hoped that having this doll bed -- and making the doll bed -- would encourage me to learn to make my own bed. No such thing happened.


At least the dolls had a neat bed to sleep in ...


edit: I have been corrected on the information about the doll bed: Josephine Cooper's father Michael Schaaf made it for his granddaughters, Dorothy and Gladys.

Mine

I am sitting here. You can have this seat later.

Piggyback rides

Molly looks concerned for her safety. She doesn't seem convinced that Bradley has a particularly strong hold on her.

Gladys on tour

Great Aunt Gladys did a lot of traveling.

Here she is at John Smith's grave.



What is it with this family and standing (or sitting) in front of graves? It's almost as frequent as the way that we stand in front of statues or sort-of-famous buildings.

Clownie Jon

My mother made many of our Halloween Costumes, particularly those when we were young (as we got older, she put them together from things we had. The early ones, she sewed.)

This also meant that the gender neutral costumes got passed down to Jon, who didn't have to go as the Queen of Hearts or a witch (though that would have been funny) but went as the clown.

The clown costume made it into our regular repertoire of costumes -- you know, for daily wear.

This picture is from my dad.

In the gardens

Kenneth in the flowers at Centennial Park, Nashville.

I'm fairly certain that this picture was taken shortly after my grandparents moved to Nashville. Grandpa finished up his Ph.D. at the University of Missouri and took a job as a history professor at Peabody College (now Vanderbilt's College of Education). That was 1947.

Seminarian

My dad ready to head to seminary ...


I'm fond of this shot
.

Baby Emily's Jug Band

I look very excited to be holding this milk jug. I don't know why either.

The Cooper boys

A picture from the late 1920s or early 1930s.

On the left is my great uncle Harold and on the right is my grandfather Kenneth.

I think that grandpa is showing off the flower. Both look a little bored with having their photo taken. But they are both wearing nice ties ...

Reading with grandpa

Another photo of someone reading to me.

Here, it's my grandfather, Kenneth Cooper. The stack of books beside me are copies of the sixth grade social studies textbook my grandfather wrote.

That book made it possible for me to pay for college. Where I read a lot.



(Picture thanks to my dad.)

More baby photos

Baby Kent with my grandmother Ruthe.

Baby Bradley with his mother, Ann.

No relation between the photos, except that these were people who were babies before I knew them.