Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Passing Things On

This peony in the Wife's flower garden was in bloom last week, and I am glad I took a few photos, because the recent storms have cleaned it of blossoms.  This peony came from Fannie and Rose Gilbert, of Washington, Iowa.  Fannie passed away in 1963, and her sister Rose died in 1960.  They both reached the ripe old age of 87.
This tintype shows us a young Fannie...
and this photograph shows us Rose.
Rose went to college, and was a school superintendent in Kansas, but we have some photos showing that she visited the home place west of Washington, and she moved back to the farm when she retired.  Fannie never left home, and she helped her brother George manage the 120 acre farm. They had two more brothers and one other sister, who was the only sibling that married.
They moved into town in their later years, and my mother and dad rented their farm.  We have another picture of Rose as a young lady, and she has her hair up on top of her head, the same as in this photo.

I think they would be glad to see that someone is keeping this peony and remembering them.  

2 comments:

Barb said...

Aren't fern peonys the most gorgeous things. Take care of it, they are REALLY expensive to buy! Personal experience!

David aka True Blue Sam said...

Thanks for writing, Barb. It is always good to hear from you. I have several items from Fannie and Rose, and it is a bit troubling to think that I remember so well these ladies who were born in the 1870's. I am starting to think that I may be an antique already.