Happy Birthday Grandma Keener Feb 11, 1924

Edna Reba Keener 11 Feb 1924 - 17 Jan 1995
Her son Jerry Keener 14 Jul 1942 - 22 Mar1983
photo taken in late 1940s 

My Grandma Edna Keener was a strong woman. Her mother died when she was only 9, the oldest of 8 children. Having her own first child at 14, raising three sons along with the many siblings in the home - it must've been a very difficult life for her. As an adult, she worked in some kind of electrical assembly job for most of her life and took care of her husband who was almost 30 years her senior.

Grandma lived nearby when I was young, I recall sunny days on her back porch, in the garden, playing in the yard that seemed so enormous to me. Her kitchen was giant and it seemed she always had something cooking (we were probably there for meals most of the time). Her dining room walls were covered with collected plates and was rarely used, except to pass through to the front of the house. As a child I didn't notice, but whenever I smell old books, or a damp basement - you know that smell? I remember her home smelled just that way.

Edna Keener and her sister Virginia Anderson
photo taken in early 1980s

Grandma moved away when I was in my early teens and I only saw her once or twice when I was an adult,  Too bad that I didn't realize the things that were slipping away at the time - the things that now I would love to talk to her about, her memories, her family, her life.



I am told that I resemble her, tell stories the way she did, and often make facial expressions that were just like hers. Strange how you do those things when you really didn't "know" a person, or spend any time with them to pick up habits such as these.

The last time I saw her, she was on her deathbed. Only a few weeks before she passed away. Oh, the things I wish I had asked! Grandma died on January 17 1995. She was 70 years old. Today would be her 88th birthday.

Happy Birthday Grandma, you're always in my heart!

Wordless Wednesday

John Jerry Keener b. 1942 d. 1983

Photo Booth Pics

Earlier this year I undertook the huge task of scanning most all the photographs that belonged to my grandmother Edna Keener and her sister Pauline Keener Harrington. 

One thing that I quickly noticed was the stack of various of small photographs, many of which were school photos of children in the family, but not all of them were.  I noted that some pictures had strange backgrounds, or that the people were looking "not ready" for their snapshot.   These pictures were from photo booths and what a treasure they are!

I recently saw a post from a fellow blogger entitled In Strips of Four by Nancy at My Ancestors and Me.  While I too had thought of doing a post related to the photo booth pictures I had found in my collection, she beat me to it!

So here's my collection of photo booth pictures.  Taken at what appears to be various stages of my Aunt's and Uncle's late teen / early twenties.  I don't have many from the same strip, only a couple of my uncle that appear to be from the same day.    In an age where we simply hold a camera in front of us and get an instant picture that we can take again and again, it makes me smile to see them change poses in what must have been a few seconds.   Some of them even appear as if they were "made up" for the picture taking. 

Mildred Seek Anderson - my great aunt

The following photos are all of my Aunt Virginia Anderson.   Virginia was born in 1929.   I haven't any clue when any of these were taken, but obviously she loved to visit the booth and share the photos with her sisters.

This one is of my Uncle Charles Anderson.  Charles was born in 1930.

These two are of my Aunt Pauline Anderson Harrington. Pauline was born in 1926 and it's obvious that these two photos were taken sometime apart.

 I've got one of my Grandmother, Edna Reba Keener. Edna was born in 1924.

Finally, there are two of my Uncle Russell Garner Keener. Russell was born in 1927. These are the only two that I've got from the same strip.

Wordless Wednesday

Keener Brothers

Donald, Vernon & Jerry

 Rockville, Maryland

1946

Wordless Wednesday

John Jerry "Pinkie" Keener

May 1943 - 9 months old

One of Grandma Keener's Houses

I don't remember this particular house - Grandma Edna Keener moved from it before I was born.    But she lived there for a few years, and apparently it was situated on a good sized piece of property on a now very busy, very built-up intersection...   one of those pieces of property that you can say "gee, too bad she didn't hang on to that."   In reality, they may not have owned this home at all.  I cannot find any Maryland Land Records for the purchase of this location,  or a record of sale of it when they purchased a home in 1964 and moved a bit further into rural northern Montgomery County.   Grandma did trouble herself in the 80s to take another photo of the corner after the house had been torn down and the 'progress' was moving into the area.  She obviously had an attachment to the place.

In her photos, I found a photo of the home, taken in 1945 with an unknown group of people on the front porch.  

Then in 1960 she took this photo...

Granddad Anderson loved to grow vegetables and large flowering bushes, apparently he had plenty of space to do so when they lived here.  Here's a view of the yard and road.

If you have ancestors in Maryland that may have owned property, you should certainly check out the Maryland Land Records site.  You'll have to register and obtain a password but the site is free and it's a great tool to track property sales in Maryland counties back to the 1700s in some cases.

Wordless Wednesday (almost)

My wonderful parents - Don and Barbara Keener

Today would have been their 43rd wedding anniversary

Wordless Wednesday

Edna Keener

Taken about 1950

Wordless Wednesday

Pauline Keener

Daughter of May Kidwell and Clarence Keener

taken 1936 - 10 years old
This photo is third in a series of children;

Edna - Wordless Wednesday subject on 03/10/10

 Virginia -Wordless Wednesday subject on 03/03/10

Wordless Wednesday - Posing at the water pump?

Cousin - Sally Watkins

Grandmother - Edna R. Keener

Both of these photos were taken at my Grandmother's home on Shady Grove Road in Gaithersburg, Maryland; sometime in 1953 or 54