Saturday, April 17, 2010

city girl with a country heart

city girl willow's big catch 1972

It's been years since I've gone fishing. I actually love to fish. My grandmother taught me how to bait a hook with a night crawler and cast it into the stillest, darkest, deepest part of the water, under the trees. I only remember fishing once, after moving away from Grandma, at a summer barbecue of my father's work associates. Grandma taught me well, because I ended up catching the largest fish of the day with my little bamboo pole. I guess you could call me a city girl, with a country heart. Although, growing up in various subdivisions across the Midwest, wasn't exactly city, but certainly not the country, either. The American subdivision is a culture all its own. But, I'll save that for another post.

I wish I had a picture of Grandma fishing. Luckily, I do have one, in my mind's eye, contentedly sitting, pole in hand, on her lawn chair on the bank of Wildcat Creek. While browsing pics, I did, however, find this lovely old boating photo of my great-grandmother Ida Belle, with her two sons, Chester (my paternal grandfather), his brother, Uncle Bright, along with the Williams and Rains families. The picture was taken by my great-grandfather, Glenn. (You remember him, from last week's post, posed with his portable bellows camera.) This tiny postage stamp sized photo enlarged quite nicely. I love how everyone is dressed to the nines in dresses, hats, suites and ties. Every outing was a special occasion. I like that.

Ida Belle Hanna, seated center with my grandfather Chester
circa 1921, Howard County, Indiana

For more Sepia Saturday participants click [HERE].

86 comments:

  1. What great pictures! You are adorable with your catch : )
    And I like the whole clan in the boat. It looks like they all kept their balance really well : )

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  2. Both lovely pictures Willow. You look so happy with your fish and it's BIG isn't it.
    Like you I think it's lovely that people way back when, dressed up to go out and made every occasion special.
    Blessings, Star

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  3. I've fished off and on since I was a kid but it has been awhile. I find it a bit too...inactive to do it very often though.

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  4. Look how cute you were! And so happy. I have a new blog you might like called Donegal Chronicles, hope you can come by.

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  5. Brilliant photograph. Like a Vogue Huck Finn!

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  6. Love the photos! :) I never had the patience for fishing, but I used to go and read while my dad wandered up and down the creek to find our dinner. ;)

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  7. Ha! A Vogue Huck Finn . . I like that! But, I see now you are way too young for me, Willow. After all, I'm no Larry King! 1972 was the year SWMBO and I and her teens moved from Indy to Phoenix. I was 32 and a bit older than that fishing star!

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  8. Mr. Cat, this was taken the summer before I turned 16 that October. Hey, you are certainly NOT old in my little book!

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  9. Adorable. It looks like the cover of Country Life!

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  10. wow. willow. quite an adorable pic of you...nice catch!

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  11. Rule #1 for anyone going fishing. Never forget to bring your camera for wonderful shots like this.

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  12. I love family history stories. This one is a keeper!

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  13. Love the picture of you especially. Nice and slim and happy as can be. True folks dressed up to go everywhere. That is the way HH is. I have never seen him in a pair of jeans or tennis shoes.
    QMM

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  14. I love the meditative aspect of fishing ... a cane pole and a tannin brown Florida river and a shady river bank ... that would be my choice.

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  15. Truly truly an ADORABLE pic -
    I'd say you're a keeper!

    Jjj

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  16. adorable..just adorable


    have a wonderful weekend, my sweet friend

    kary
    xxx

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  17. That's some fish. I used to fish, but not anymore. But I'd go out at night above Hoover dam. I'd sit on a lawn chair, turn on the baseball game on the radio, cast out my line, and hope nothing bit because it was so peaceful there I just want to sit and watch the moon on the water.

    Nice post, Willow.

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  18. Willow what a wonderful picture of you & your prized catch! You were as cute as a button.
    I love the old photo family photo in the boat.. such a precious photo.

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  19. Black n white pictures remind us of good old days.

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  20. Wonderful pictures, Willow!

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  21. A Bonny Top Photo Willow! Yes, I have a few "minds eye" Photos Myself.They are the Best!

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  22. I think you look like a young Sally Fields. By the way I looked up where Tooker lives and it's not far from me, in Hartland VT.

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  23. Suki! You're practically neighbors! You should pay him a visit. Take some cookies. Talk art.

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  24. I especially love how your face has matured .. but it's still the lovely face of a young woman. Though I've attempted fishing, the whole worm/bait thing grosses me out. And then having to handle the slimy fish after its caught. And then having to clean it! My youngest son is a chef and an outdoorsman ... I leave all of that to him, thank you.

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  25. Hi Willow,

    I just love your pic. You had that certain something back then, and never lost it.

    Another Granddaughter of a Fisherman,

    Marjorie

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  26. You look like a magazine model in the picture holding the fishing pole and fish and the straw hat and big smile and bare feet. That is a great picture.

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  27. You know, I just now noticed it looks like Ida Belle is holding a bouquet of flowers out over the edge of the boat. So lovely.

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  28. You are lovely! I can remember when I was that thin - and young. At least I think I can remember. Maybe not. :)

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  29. Thank you for the introduction to Tooker's art. Very subtle, painterly portraits.

    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  30. Beautiful photo!! Lovely post
    Linda

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  31. Fetching look! Love your pictures, always full of historical significance.

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  32. great post and photos--you are stunning--love the hat and the smile!

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  33. You are so cute! Very nice picture, full of youthful joy. So, I was reading that and looking at your lovely pictures, but then I got distracted when I saw the previous post with a salmon pierog. It's dinner time, so I was easily diverted. Boy does that look delicious.

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  34. Great photos--both of 'em are beautiful. Once, my dad did a lot of business with a printing company, and they took our family out on a yacht when we were kids. The captain said we'd fish and whatever we caught was our supper. As a kid, I was traumatized--I'd never gone fishing before, and I kept catching strange things--a flying fish, an eel, a crab on a fishing line, and finally, a blow fish. I cried, afraid that I wouldn't eat (typical!) and then he took us all out to eat anyway.

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  35. Your photo is priceless. The hat, the bare feet....the photo exudes a joy that's hard to miss. You really haven't changed much - I see the same twinkle.

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  36. What a great picture, Willow. Pretty girl with bare feet, and a trout (?) on the end of a line. What a subject for a painting!

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  37. Gorgeous girl, so proud of her catch. Ah the joy of memories.

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  38. Thank you for your sweet comment on my blog, it makes me so happy.

    Your post today is just wonderful amazing and makes me dream.

    Agneta, the swedish one;)

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  39. Like many lads, I tried my hand at fishing, but I was never patient enough to be successful.

    Your photographs are very nice. 51 years apart, but sharing a certain elegance.

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  40. It's such a coincidence this, willow. Last night when we drove to a lake for the dog walk I spotted an older lady with what looked like her son and they were both fishing. 'How odd for a woman to be out fishing' I said aloud. Mr FF assured me otherwise.You've now proven it.

    It's a lovely photo - you were (and are) gorgeous.

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  41. Dear Willow, Although I have never fished in my life, apart from a jam jar on string as a very small girl, these are enchanting photographs, particularly the boating party.

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  42. My husband is passionate about fishing so I had to rush over when I saw your photo in my sidebar. Both lovely photos Willow but the one of you is great.

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  43. You are precious.

    Thank you for sharing those beautiful memories with us. I love the old days when people dressed up.

    At Gordon's, a place where watermen have been hanging out since the 1920's, there are photos on the walls of men dressed in their Sunday best, holding the catch of the day in the dead of summer when the heat and humidity can be killers.

    As for your photo. The first thing I noticed was how crisp and clean you looked. Even today, if I am wearing white, I look like Pig Pen within an hour.

    Have a great weekend at Willow Manor.

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  44. Hello Willow,

    My father loved fishing and I remember having a few miniature rods, not that I ever caught much. I never had enough patience!

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  45. Isn't fishing a wonderful hobby! I haven't done it in years but when my kids were young I was determined to expose them to fishing, camping, hiking, etc. My husband grew up in a high-rise in Beirut and had no interest in outdoor activities so I was on my own.

    I'm proud to say that my oldest son still loves to fish. Somehow I was glad to have been able to share a simple pleasure with my kids.

    BTW, that is a great picture of you!

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  46. Not only do you take wonderful photos you've certainly had wonderful photos taken of you as well.

    You were certainly the best dressed, bare footed, fisher I've ever seen.

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  47. If I had to fish with a skirt on...well, let's just say it wouldn't be a perty picture!!!

    I too love to fish, but these days, the streams and rivers are too polluted to enjoy the fish...sigh!!!

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  48. The photo of you is gorgeous! You look so proud, so happy, so young. I, too, love the sense of occasion people had in days past. There was a lovely dignity that seems to be lost now.

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  49. You are so beautiful.

    To me. Can you see?

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  50. I repeat what others have said, adorable and sooo cute. Interestingrecollection and nicely presented as always. I never wanted to fish, was 'scared of worms until I started rose gardening seriously 20 years ago!!But I never had the patience to fish either!

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  51. Fabulous picture! You look so calm and poised. At that age I was anything but. Very cool, Willow.

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  52. brilliant post on everything!
    beautiful photo!

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  53. http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/2010/04/16/finally-poetry-awards-for-poets-rally-week-14/

    I pass you two poetry awards,
    the most disciplined poet award,
    the most popular poet award,
    hope that you enjoy them.

    Happy Day!
    You comment in my blog rocks!

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  54. both photos are marvelous....and you are soooo cute - i had a hat like that at one time in my childhood also, what was it with those hats!?

    fishing is quite relaxing - i don't do much of it, but i do like to walk over to the rocky river reservation and watch the anglers at it.... i find it's just as relaxing and i don't have to worry about dehooking the fish!

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  55. What great memories, and you look so gorgeous! Cutest fishing outfit EVER! Have a great weekend :)

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  56. I love your picture holding the fish! Some of our best family memories and stories involve fishing. I think it's high time I took my own kids fishing and give them something to reminisce about when they're my age. Great post.

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  57. Great pix! People have such glee in shots showing them with a fish they've caught. & thanks goodness you do have that always important image of your Grandma fishing in your mind's eye!

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  58. You should have been a model- maybe you were! A wonderful picture of the family in the boat. The only time I ever fished was with a string, safety pin and a wad of bread for bait- oddly enough, I don't remember catching anything.
    I always love your comments!

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  59. I do love the picture of you with the fish. We go fishing quite a bit and do enjoy it. I think that's a lot of people in that boat!

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  60. Have not read through the 60 previous comments Willow (phew!) so will no doubt repeat heartfelt sentiments of how beautiful you look in that photo! The family photos that you share with us are fascinating.

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  61. You have always been beautiful, Willow and, never more so, as in the picture of you with that big fish. Did you all have it for dinner?

    I laugh at the family portrait, on the boat, all decked out in their finest. I guess they were certain they would not end up in the water!

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  62. How adorable were you! And still are, no doubt! I do love these sepia Saturdays --

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  63. My husband is an angler so we have a great appreciation for fish around here! Great catch!

    Beautiful picture of you, and your family pictures are always fascinating!

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  64. i like your hat very much. I think I'd have been too squeamish for the fishing

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  65. delightful photographs willow - yes, here too in UK people dressed up to do quite simple things and a tie for the men was more or less de rigeur.

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  66. delightful photographs willow - yes, here too in UK people dressed up to do quite simple things and a tie for the men was more or less de rigeur.

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  67. Cute photo! Why did you dress up to go fishing ; )

    At the same time, my friends and I were driving N of SF in our sports cars to Lake Pillsbury. There were 2 roads in, one a logging road, and if you waited until after 3pm on fri, no more trucks would be driving that dirt road. We took that one, found a place to camp and had a relaxing time.

    Haven't fished since then and with all we know about stuff being dumped around these parts in the water, I'd never think of fishing around here, although many say it's good!

    Cheers!

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  68. willow, please! As if I wasn't in love enough with your blog, you go and put that photo on it. The Huck Finn / Tom Sawyer in me just fell in love with that country girl in the photo. My wife is OK with it, but how will I ever explain to Aunt Polly what a "flibbertigibbet" is! Looks like another does of cod liver oil for me...

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  69. Ooops, a double whammy of cod liver oil for spelling 'dose' wrong

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  70. I love the photo with everyone in the boat. It had to be a calm lake or people would be falling into the water. You have a great looking blog and this was a very good post.

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  71. I have wonderful memories of fishing with my grandmother! Thanks for reminding me!

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  72. I cannot tell you how evocative this post was for me. Just last weekend I was down on the family farm, and walked a mile into the woods where my own grandfather and I used to fish, so your post on top of that made this one a special read for me.

    Thank you.

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  73. Cute as a button,
    and not only that! :-)

    My father was a fly fisher,
    unfortunately he died before I was able to learn it myself.

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  74. You are darling!!! Your sassy little skirt and smile!

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  75. Great pics, I like black n white pictures :)

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  76. That picture of you is so so fabulous, Willow.
    You are ravishing.


    the fishing excursion is so fascinating. Getting dressed up in Sunday finest. Thanks for sharing this history in a way only you can.

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  77. Ah Willow, what a beauty. And the old river photo is a beauty as well : I agree. it is amazing how scanning some of those old tiny photographs can bring a world of detail to life. Glad you like Chrome.

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  78. Hi Willow

    the family outing on the boat is a treasure to have,they would be proud of your fishing proweress...

    Happy days

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  79. Woo-hoo, what a cutie! *ahem* Uhh... sorry... I meant, "nice post."

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  80. Dear Willow: Fishing is great when you can actually catch fish! I have only ever caught one sunfish! And it was in a stocked pond! Not true sports fishing! I have sat for hours in my hubs doral and caught zip. But the weather was ok. Until we got caught on Lake Superior and our Merc conked out. Thank gosh for the passing by sailor with the stp. It is very relaxing. Do love to catch frogs by hand and crayfish. Wish I could catch something better than a sunfish! You on the other hand sound like a consumate angler. Don't want to touch worms that much. Lots of money in it though; the "night crawlers". Yuck! Loving pic of you my dear! So nostalgic is "sepia". Pretty in sepia!

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  81. Oh my goodness what a little beauty!

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  82. That's a great photo of you, Willow and I love the Tom Sawyer hat! I've only been fishing once - for brook trout, but I caught 11 of them!

    Kat

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  83. The straw hat matches the bamboo pole. I love your post. thanks for stopping by my crazy blog.

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  84. That is YoU>>>>?!!!

    Oh my goodness. You are such a delight! {gush}

    The skirt, the hat, the fish, the smile...

    Of all of the bloggy picts my eyes have cast upon, this one takes the cake. It is pure delight.

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)