Sometimes It's the Simple Reason
Was I a Moody Child?
A few years ago while helping my parents move, I came across a stash of newspaper clippings and photographs from 1974-1975 when I was between six and seven years old. At the time, we lived in East St. Paul and like most towns, ours had an annual festival. The Payne Avenue Harvest Festival lasted three days in September with carnivals and parades and all kinds of things for kids and grown ups to do, including a beauty pageant for little girls.
As a six year old, I was enrolled in the 2nd Annual Little Miss Payne Avenue beauty contest. Probably most girls of the same age in the neighborhood were enrolled. I wasn’t crowned Queen, but I was one of the five finalists.
Even though I have no memories associated with this event, I do know that this was something that I participated in as a young girl and I have a lot of pictures to prove it. But recently when I came across them again, I noticed that there is not one photo where I’m smiling. The first thought that crossed my mind was what type of assumption might a future genealogist make about who I was as a young girl, based solely on these photos?
Why did I look so unhappy? Was I being forced to participate? Was I upset that I wasn’t Queen? Were the other girls mean or ignoring me? Maybe I was just a moody kid.
When I asked my mom if she knew why I wasn’t smiling – even when I met Miss America for crying out loud, she said “you had just lost your two front teeth and were self-conscious about it.” Oh my goodness! How simple of an explanation is that?! Nothing nefarious was happening!
As a first impression, the expressions of our ancestors in a photo make a mark one way or the other, and this experience was a good reminder for me to make sure not to make dramatic conclusions about who an ancestor was based on a handful of photos! Getting the broader context of their life is critical. For example, the article above says that I was having a great time, despite the frowny face.
I know the next time I come across a grim-faced ancestor, I might just wonder if they recently lost a tooth vs. assuming they were a crotchety fellow.
Such a little yet important detail you've uncovered -- and resolved!
That's why we need to collect fresh memories and add captions that explain what is really going on. My husband's Russian family rarely smile in photos. Apparently it is a cultural thing.