Family | Nostalgia | Regrets

A Mystery Photo of My Dad from 1934 Reminds Me of Visiting His Sister

I wish I knew what happened to her

The back of my dad’s old photo from 1934. Author’s own photo library

Thanks to Lu Skerdoo who wrote a story about the “old days” that got me thinking about my old family photos.

Making an effort

For years, I did little more than exchange Christmas cards with some relatives.

My parents were no longer alive when my wife became ill in 2010, and I felt quite alone. That prompted me to get back in touch with my dad’s youngest sister, Jessie.

She was in her mid-80s, and we ended up visiting her a few times.

Still the same

I was surprised that Jessie’s house seemed largely unchanged since my childhood.

There were two holes in the bottom of her living room door, about 1 3/4" in diameter. I remember seeing them as a child, and I never figured out what they were for.

Her bathroom upstairs had a toilet in the corner with a high-level cistern. To flush it, you had to pull a long chain.

It was such a strange feeling to use that same bathroom again all those years later, and pull what looked like the same chain. The room had barely…