In 1922 my grandmother, Thelma Oakley graduated. Hanging on my wall in my living room is the Bradford Area High School senior class trip photo from Washington, D.C. This picture hung on the wall of my grandmother’s bedroom as I was growing up. Not only do I have the picture, but I have the dresser that it hung above. The picture itself is about 26 inches wide and surrounded with a dark gray simple frame. I scanned the print and have posted a larger version.
Although the class went to the White House, this photo was not taken in front of that building. I have been doing a frantic search to find the location that this picture was taken. The story that was told me was that the White House was under construction and that this location was the temporary White House. From what I can tell through net searches, the White House wasn’t under construction and this was just a part of the trip.
Grandma is on the left, second row, 3rd female from the left. The photo was taken by J. M. Naiman of Washington, D.C. Everyone in the picture was all dressed up, wearing hats, without a flip-flop in sight!
I have her class book from 1922 and it seems that they called her “Teddy.” I wonder where she would have gotten that nickname from. By the time that I knew her she was deteriorating from diabetes. It was my grandfather, who never graduated from High School because he had jumped out the school house window in the 6th grade that would entertain us. With him we walked the woods and went to the City Creamery for big boxes of fudge bars. When the man mixed a Whiskey Sour you could smell it across the room.
For him, ice cream was served in soup bowls, heaping out of the top and beer was 5th food group. Grandma wasn’t supposed to have chocolate but loved it and after her death grandpa found bags hidden around the house. The thing I remember most about her was her turning off her hearing aides when the house was full of people and she had enough of the noise. Her insulin was in small plastic baskets on the dryer that was in the bathroom. She wasn’t that great of a cook and I think she rather liked supplying us with the frozen fried chicken and mash potato meals that we found to be a special treat when we came to visit over night.
The members of the 1922 Bradford Area High School, Bradford, Pennsylvania graduating class that may appear in the photo are: Literary Seniors – Theodore Allen, Agnes Alsterberg, Russell Berwald, Wayne Brawley, Marion Brown, Rhoda Brown, Helen Brinton, Donald Bart, Howard Clark, Martha Cody, Dorothy Currie, Lillian Davis, Mildred Donohue, Mary Downs, Wade Ellis, Francis Ernst, Margaret Evans, Alan Fraser, Helen Frederick, Wilbur Freer, Pauline gash, Earl Gibson, Minnie Hartman, Bessie Hendrickson, Griffith Herold, Myrtle Hoagland, Philip Holly, Margaret Hubbard, Richard Hulme, Gladys Hyde, Gladys Johnston, Robert Kalb, Alton Kunkel, Isadore Levinson, gale Locke, Chester Lyon, Jean McCrum, Charles McIntosh, Ruth Miller, Cora Mortland, Thelma Oakley, Isidor Offenbach, Arthur Parsons, Mary Robinson, Joye Sharpe, Richard Schieffelin, Dorothy Shultz, Margaret Sloan, Ruth Stewart, Ellen Strotman, Esther Sullivan, Paul Tamer, Frances Titus, Fay Upthegrove, James Valentine, Mary Villock, Arthur Wasson, Gladys Windsor, and Irene Winn.
The Commercial Seniors – Wilbur Angevine, Margaret Arnold, Florence Barret, Claude Bedeaux, Virginia Behen, Myron Birmingham, Grace Bullock, Enah Chase, Frances Cole, Esther Crandall, harry Fisher, Theresa Goodman, Lorena Hartburg, Francis Hall, Wilbur hall, Raymond Hausman, Irene Hayes, Frederick Johnson, Lillian Johnson, Rose Koblenz, Rose Lasky, Frederick Lunn, molly Marks, Gerald Maybury, Vivian Merkt, Elizabeth Moffatt, Lucille Moffatt, Helen McIntyre, Ida McIntyre, Myrtle Phoenix, David pitcher, Dorothy Reed, Phillip Rich, Janet Robertson, Gene Scouten, Emily Shay, Helen Shick, Florence Slocum, Marion Stevens, Gertrud Totten, Lyle Travis, Aileen Vreeland, Margaret Ward, Ruth Ward, Erwin Warner, Clyde Wight, Arthur Williams, Edward Wilson, Mary Wilson, Rhea Wittie and Russell Zeigler.
What fantastic pictures! I love them! I also tagged you over at http://www.omchorations.blogspot.com for the non-fiction meme. Details are over there 🙂
P. B. Olmstead
Interestingly, I was researching the photographer J.M. Naiman of Washington, D.C.,who by the the looks of your photo, was the group photographer of choice back in the twenties. I was amazed to see your photo which is apart from the group is the same era as my vintage family group photo. Unlike you, I can’t identify the date or specific family members, but I can tell you the photo was taken in front of the West elevation of Mt. Vernon!
Thanks Philip! Good luck with your research on J.M. Naiman.
Hi Cathy. The photographer is my maternal grandfather J M (Joe) Naiman, (b.1900 Oxford, MD – d.1992 Cobb Island MD.) I was doing research on him when I found your photo. My mom says that he was so enamored with photography that he did not finish high school, and instead started a commercial photography business as a teenager in Washington DC. As you can see, he was very busy by the time he reached his early 20’s. He specialized in group photographs, tour groups, class trips, and college graduations in or near DC. He retired in his mid 70’s, and eventually sold the business to an employee. His Dec 8,1921 photo of the Anti Saloon League, (with Wayne Wheeler visible in the front row in the hi-res version) is archived in the Library of Congress and can be viewed on line with a simple search. It is nice to see that others are researching the work of my GrandDad. I would love to find images that others have of his work. Best Regards, Howard
I have an individual picture of an ancestor that is identified on the reverse as taken at Naiman’s Studio, 521 – 9th St. N.W., Washington, DC. There is also a statement that “the negative of this photograph will be filed. When reordering, please mention number above.” The picture was taken in approximately 1942. I am now anxious to find out if the Naiman’s Studio is still in existence and to contact them about this picture. Google does not provide clear information and the phone number I’ve found just rings with no answer or answering machine. Can you help?
I don’t have any information on the photographer.
Thanks for your response.
As far as I know, the negatives from my grandad’s portrait studio were kept for about 30 years or so. By the 1970’s they had taken up so much space. I am pretty sure they were discarded in the 1980’s. The address given for the studio sounds correct for 1942. The portrait studio was run separately from the business for school trips and panoramic group photos taken outdoors at the major DC area landmarks, and it was also sold. I believe the photographer who purchased it has passed on and the business closed without a successor. Its final location was on “F” Street NW in DC. I will ask mom if she knows any further details. She has mentioned that the portrait studio was very busy during the WWII era. I know that some on-line business directories still list the business on F Street NW in DC., but it has been closed for years.
I really appreciate your feedback and the wealth of information you impart. I look forward to whatever details your Mom can provide. Thanks again.