The word prompt for the 10th Edition of Smile For The Camera is Costume? No, not as in Halloween. Costume as in dress in general; especially the distinctive style of dress of a people, class, or period. Show us that picture that you found with your family collection or purchased that shows the costumes of the rich to the not so rich, from the civil war to the psychedelic sixties. I know you have them, so share. Admission is free with every photograph!
This is a picture of my maternal grandfather, John Peter Pemberton, taken while he was in the Air Force stationed in Japan as an automotive mechanic second echelon. This must have been taken around 1947-1949. According to his military separation record, he joined the Air Force in Sep 1946 and spent two months in basic training and two months in school in Colorado learning how to be a mechanic. Then he spent 24 months in Japan
[1]. My grandmother said he got a kick out of the smaller clothes in Japan, so he purchased this jacket and took a picture to send it to her back in the States. What I also find interesting about this picture is the girls hanging up on the wall in the background!
This is another photo of John Peter Pemberton, probably taken in the 1950s, when he worked for the Grand Trunk Railroad in Port Huron, Michigan. He is the one in the window of the train. I thought this was a perfect picture to show the working uniforms of the railroad workers. I'm not sure who the other two co-workers are, but if anyone is able to identify them, please feel free. My grandmother told me that the young boy was a son of one of the co-workers, though she did not know his name.
This is one of the few pictures I have of John "Jack" Vital Pemberton. He was my great-grandfather, the father of John Peter Pemberton. This is him in a bathing suit. I just thought it was a good representation of what men's bathing suits used to look like. This must have been taken around 1935 because John Peter was born in 1928
[2], and he is the little boy in the back window of the car.
This is a picture of my great-grandfather, Archibald Currie, the father of my maternal grandmother,
Violet Mae Currie. He was a farmer in Sanilac County, Michigan, and I thought this was a good representation of a farmer's "uniform." Considering Archibald was born in 1889
[3], this was probably taken in the 1940s on his farm outside Marlette, Michigan.
This is a picture of my mother and her siblings all dressed up for their Aunt Betty's wedding in 1964
[4]. My mother is the 4th from the left on the front row. She was actually the flower girl. My mom's twin brother, Mark, who is the second from the left on the front row, was the ring bearer. My mother and Mark were 4 1/2 years old in this picture. Betty, who is not in the picture, is the younger sister of the children's father, John Peter Pemberton.
Okay, I know we said that costume did not necessarily mean Halloween costume, but I couldn't resist. This is my first cousin once removed, Travis, dressed up as John McCain for Halloween 2008. Who would have ever thought of that as a Halloween costume?
Sources:
[1] Military separation qualification record, serial no. AF16 193 223, Sargeant, U.S. Army, John P. Pemberton, discharged 1949, Pemberton/Currie/Drouillard Family Papers; supplied by Violet (Currie) Pemberton Drouillard, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Vinton, Louisiana. Violet was the wife of John.
[2] St. Clair County, Michigan, birth certificate no. 14-142 (1928), John Peter Pemberton; County Clerk, Port Huron.
[3] Sanilac County, Michigan, birth certificate no. 687 (1889), Archie Currey; County Clerk, Sandusky.
[4] St. Clair County, Michigan, Marriage Book 10: 544, Hackett-Pemberton; County Clerk, Port Huron.
I've posted this picture before, but since it's one of my favorites, I thought I would post it again as part of the 15th Edition of Smile for the Camera's "They Worked Hard For the Family." This is my great-great-grandfather, Lovell Hugh Pemberton, in front of his blacksmith shop in Anchorville, Michigan, in 1896. He is the one on the left kneeling in front of the wagon wheel using the hammer. Lovell followed in his father's footsteps as a blacksmith. I wonder if one of the other men is his father. This picture is courtesy of cousin Tami, Lovell's great-granddaughter, who received a copy from her father. This picture was passed from Lovell's sister to his daughter to his granddaughter to his grandson to his great-granddaughter to his great-great-granddaughter (me). Phew!
This is also a picture of Lovell in front of another blacksmith shop. He is the one on the far right with the X on his pants. I believe this was taken about 1905-1910, probably in Mount Clemens, Michigan. Lovell moved to Mount Clemens sometime between 1905 and 1908, when my great-grandfather, John Vital Pemberton, was born. I know from Mount Clemens city directories that Lovell worked for a man named Vital DeKeyser. According to the census records, Vital was also a blacksmith. I have a feeling that Vital may be the man in the middle. It appears that Lovell named my great-grandfather after his employer. This photo is courtesy of cousin Steve, Lovell's grandson.
This is my maternal grandfather, John Peter Pemberton, with his working buddies. He began as a fireman with the Grand Trunk Railroad in Port Huron, Michigan, in 1950. By the time of his death in 1970, he was an engineer with the same railroad. John Peter is the one in the window of the train. My grandmother, before she passed away, told me that the young boy was a child of one of the other guys that he worked with.
