Three Generations - 1920

My grandmother (Merle Ketner Shoemaker) as a teenager posed with her mom (Ethel Payne Ketner) and grandma (Lydia Burgess Payne) about 1920. The house behind them--2718 North Mason--was built by Merle's father and she would live most of her life in that house. It was always known as "Grandma's House" to me.

"Grandma Payne" (seated) died in July of 1920. "Grandma Ketner" (Merle's mother, Ethel) is a childhood memory to me. By the time I knew her, her hair was snowy white. I recognize her smile here, though.

Nostalgia

The doily was crocheted by my father's mother, Pearl Ford Rutland. That's her in the photo with my Mom sometime around 1950. Our family's roots are in Washington state, where my family names turn up in books on local history.

Merle

Merle Gilamn Ketner
Age 8 about 1912
Tacoma, Washington

I began this journal as a place to share old photos and family history. I named it after my grandmother, Merle Gilman Ketner Shoemaker, who nurtured my love of genealogy.

When I look at this photo, I can see the person that Merle would become, the face that was to become so dear to me a half-center later. She remains with me now, over thirty years since I last saw or spoke with her--a part of me and the icon of a person I would like to be.

This journal is an act of love for this girl and the woman she would become.