Old Timey Photos

Another thing that I got really into at one point was genealogy. I love putting together a bunch of puzzle pieces to discover some long lost information about my ancestors (they were all pretty well peasants and farmers. There's no blue blood running through my veins.).

A few years ago I had a response to an inquiry I had listed on a genealogy bulletin board searching for information on Heuchert's in Saskatchewan. A lady asked if I was related to a Daniel and Katherine Heuchert. Yes, I am - they are my great, great, great grandparents. Well, she had pictures with their names on the back, and she would like them to get back to the family - would I like them? Of course I wanted them!

My great, great great grandparents, around 1905.

It's kind of a neat story as to how I ended up with these pictures - the lady who contacted me -I think her name was Linda - originally lived in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her neighbour was an older lady whose surname was Schmidt. A Schmidt had married a Heuchert, which is where the family connection comes in. When Mrs. Schmidt passed away, Linda accumulated some of her possessions. At some point Linda, who is an artist, moved to New Zealand. She was doing some work for an exhibit she was giving and was going through some old photos and found these photos. A few had names on them, so she was able to search on the internet and came across my post. Thanks to her kindness, the photos were sent to me from New Zealand.

There were only a few photos that had names on them, so I know where they fit in the family tree. Unfortunately, the Schmidt/Heuchert line is not my direct line of descent (Schmidt married the son of the brother of my Great Great Grandfather) so I have no clue who most of the pictures are of.

Along with the pictures were a whole bunch of negatives. I think they were taken during the 1930's and 40's, maybe even a few in the 20's. And some are pretty cool because they show some farm life from that time. Unfortunately, their condition is not always fantastic, and my photo editing skills are pretty non-existent. But were some hidden gems in there. Especially the pictures that had horses in them.

Hanging off the side of a horse.

Some farm life pictures.

Pigs!

More pigs!

Winter on the prairies.

Note the window coverings of the car.

Proud of his tractor.

Harvest time. A lot of these were in the worst condition of the bunch.

That's a dog in the foreground on the right.

And just some random shots that amuse me.

Maybe I shouldn't complain about the cold and snow so much.

Not sure if the coyote is alive or dead.

Cowboys go to town.

The family did own a gas station at one point.