Picture of the Day - June 11, 2009

"Granddaddy Parker and his camera"

My maternal grandfather passed away two years before I was born, so I never had the opportunity to get to know him. Although I have many precious memories of Grandma Effie, the very few mental images I have of "Granddaddy Parker" were formed by looking at a couple of grainy old black-and-white snapshots of him that reside in one of my mom's photo albums. Of course I have heard folks talk about him over the years, but I was never really able to come to the point where I felt a real "connection" to him - until now. A few days ago I was watching a slideshow of a bunch of old family photos on my mom's new digital picture frame when this one popped up. I had never seen it before, and when it popped up on the screen I was immediately intrigued. It turns out that, like me, Granddaddy Parker was a camera buff, and he absolutely loved taking pictures! My brother Glen was kind enough to email me a digital copy of the photo along with the following information: "Granddad bought his used camera from a neighbor, Gus Coram (or Corum - not sure about the spelling). Mom has said over the years that Granddad borrowed it at times, and that he eventually bought it. It was his first camera! Mom always said that Granddad loved to take pictures, but he hated to have his taken. I've seen old video clips taken by Uncle Bill and Aunt Viola, and in one of them he was walking toward the camera unaware that he was being filmed. When he saw the movie camera he stooped down and picked up a rock and threw it. The film ended there. Mom has said many times that Granddad was handy with a rock or pebble, usually thrown at us kids for getting in his garden. He used them because he couldn't get around very well." Now I finally feel a real and very strong connection to the man in those grainy old snapshots. Of course I always knew that he was my grandfather, but now, thanks to this one faded old picture and a few precious memories of my mom's, I now feel like I really "know" him - at least enough to feel that very important "connection" to a man that I always "knew about", but really never "knew".     Visitor Comments... Name: Phyllis Helton Town: Bristol, VA Not a Kodak is it. :-) What a wonderful snapshot.     Name: Ron Trees Town: Spokane, WA WOW, I sure am glad that I do not have to lug that camera around!! It is huge. Rick, I enjoy reading about your family. Thanks for taking the time to share your memories with all of us.     Name: Gladys Simcox Town: Chattanooga, TN Some of the best pictures we will ever see are poor quality, faded old snapshots. These timeless treasures are worth more than the finest works of art because they give us a window into our past and or heritage. Mr. Rouse, of all the wonderful photographs you have ever displayed on this site, today's picture is one of the very best.     Name: Carrol Worley Town: London, England, UK Today's picture really hit home with me because my own maternal grandfather had a camera that looked just like this one (perhaps not the same model but surely the same type). Thanks for sharing such intimate details of your life with us Mr. Rouse. I may be "across the pond" from you, but in many ways I feel that we are kindred spirits.     Name: Evan Hill Town: Warren, OH Allow me to simply echo what has already been said: Great photo and an absolutely wonderful narrative! The Internet is flooded with photography websites, but this one is clearly in a class by istself.   Comment on today's picture  |  View previous "Pictures Of The Day"  |  Submit a photo Why I publish the "Picture Of The Day"