Sunday Search: Another Generation Of Baby Photos

Each month that passes, we do our best to take a picture of our son so that we can record his growth over time. Sometimes we manage to get the picture taken on the exact day of the month while other times we might be off by a day or two. Each time we think about the pictures that we have seen of ourselves and it is hard to believe that we are now on the other side of the lens. This time, however, I didn’t look back at some of my baby pictures, I looked back much further and sorted through some of the much older family photos that I discovered over the summer. They were actually included in the same group that I wrote about last month.

My great grandmother, Helen Fulton, was only 30 when she passed away from a stroke but there are numerous pictures from her life both from before she married my great grandfather, William Jacob McKannan, and throughout their 10 year marriage. The first picture, which prompted this post, is from about 1893 or 1894 when she was just a baby...

A few years later, we have a photo of her as a little girl taken in about 1900 (I can actually see my niece in this photo)…

By 1910 (according to the census), my great grandparents were living next door to one another. My great grandfather was living with his uncle (along with his mother and sister) while my great great grandfather was working for the Pennsylvania Railroad while my great grandmother’s family moved in with her grandmother. Some things can be written off as coincidence while other situations, like this one, seem to be fate. My great grandparents married two years later which is around the time when we can surmise that this picture was taken…

A few years later, both McKannan children were married and my great great grandmother, Susan Laura Corner, was still holding her own at home while the railroad continued keeping my great great grandfather away from his family. It was during this time, in the mid-teens (I surmise early 1914 since my grandfather was born in October 1914), when this family photo was taken with my great great grandmother in the middle surrounded by her growing family…  

As I have written before, by the end of 1922 my great grandfather was left a Widower caring for his two sons having lived through the loss of his wife and two daughters over the past two years. But the photos and memories remained allowing the family to remember her, what she looked like, and the happiness that filled her brief life. You never know how life progresses or when life will come to an end but the images continue to maintain the vibrant details, from birth to death, of the family history. It is a great feeling to be adding another generation of details to our tree with every passing month.

Overcoming Able Bodied Bias

As some of you may know I am currently serving as the Sergeant-at-Arms for The Rotary Club of Bala Cynwyd – Narberth. This post is the first in a series regarding the diverse presentations made at my local Rotary club. Occasionally, I will also write posts about the club that I happen to be visiting as well as any events or training that I attend.

This week we welcomed Michael Kelly who serves as volunteer coordinator at the Inglis House in Philadelphia. Our club has a long standing relationship with Inglis and we are proud of the partnership which has continuously strengthened over the years. With that said, we greatly appreciated Michael taking the time to reintroduce us to the services that Inglis provides to those in need and the inspiration that their programs provide to both participants and the community in general.

 

Founded in 1877, Inglis House is a specialty nursing care facility providing long-term, residential care for 297 adults with physical disabilities, including multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury and stroke, among others.  Residents receive rehabilitative medical and nursing care; physical, occupational and speech therapies; and a selection of more than 20 social enrichment and therapeutic recreation programs every day.

Inglis Community Based Services supports more than 800 people living independently in the community through resources including: accessible housing, care management (helping people navigate the health care system), a day program, an MS Evening program and community employment. Inglis is also the largest provider of affordable accessible housing in the Greater Philadelphia region with 208 housing units, and plans for 50 more units by 2015.

All Inglis services and programs are designed to enable people with physical disabilities to enjoy life with the greatest amount of independence and mobility.

It is important to note that Inglis provides services for people from all walks of life and with a wide variety and degree of disabilities all the while emphasizing and encouraging the amazing talents and abilities locked inside uncooperative bodies that are sometimes overlooked by the community.

I encourage you to consider donating your time, either on your own or through an organization such as Rotary, by assisting these amazing individuals in expressing the intelligence and passion that lies just beneath the surface. It will certainly change your perspective and make you appreciate the simple tasks that many of us take for granted. It might also lead you to question your own misconceptions and sever the connection between intelligence and physical ability. To set up an interview with Mike please feel free to call him directly at 215-581-0718. 

For those of you in the local Philadelphia area I welcome you to join us for lunch every Wednesday at 12:15 PM at Aldar Bistro located at 281 Montgomery Avenue in Bala Cynwyd. If you live outside the area or if the meeting time doesn’t work in your schedule I encourage you to find a local Rotary club and learn a little more about who we are and what we do.