University of Illinois YW/YMCA Picnic, 1897
University of Illinois YW and YMCA Picnic, West End Park, May 1897 FJ Bird and D. Clara Hartrick identified in white frame Bird family/P.L. Embley collection Great photo, isn't it? I 've been fascinated by this image since I was a child. It belonged to my grandfather, Marion Taylor Bird. I always thought the photo had something to do with Warrenville (Illinois); I think it was in a box with photos of Warrenville ancestors . I wondered about the people in the photo - who they were and why they had gathered. Whose photo was it before it was my grandfather's? There were many very old photos in his collection that had belonged to great-grand-aunts and uncles and cousins. It was not immediately obvious that this photo had belonged to my grandfather's father, and that it was deeply significant to him. About a week ago, I was reviewing my great-grandfather FJ Bird's 1944 memoir narrative - I can't even remember what I was looking for - when I noticed something that ...