Sunday, September 13, 2009

Afternoon on the porch

Most Itawamba families found themselves outside on the porch or under a tall shade tree on Sunday afternoons. In the days before air conditioning, it was more pleasant to spend the afternoon outside, plus the smaller rooms couldn't hold everyone that had come over for Sunday dinner. Although I don't really know the occasion, it appears that the Johnson family were spending such a Sunday afternoon outside on the porch.

Cousin Glenda shared this photo earlier this summer, and I've only recently gotten it and several others scanned in. The photograph is especially meaningful because it has my husband's grandparents and great-grandmother together. From left to right: Nora Thornton Johnson (it's probably her porch?), seated in front is her daughter Glader, then an unknown male (can someone identify him?), then Glader's husband, Henry. To the right of the porch column is Glader's brother Earnest and his wife Quinnie Mae (Watts), and the others are not known. Looks like there were several others out of sight on the right side of the porch.

Notice the clothesline across the porch with clothespins. You can click on the photograph to view a larger image of it.

Our Pennington family used to have afternoons like this in the summer, and thankfully I've got several photographs of these occasions. Perhaps one day a half-century from now, some great-grandchildren will be analyzing those photos and speculating about our identities and past-times.

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