Hereabouts, (that'd be Austin, son) if a person could figure out how to keep from going outside, he'd probably be okay. That's how it is in my case. David, Amy, and Gail left last week and should now be celebrating several birthdays and visiting David's uncle Richard in France. I haven't checked, but I suspect the temperatures there are somewhat less oppressive. Gillian, who also visited, is back in Atlanta. For my part, since it's too hot to be outside taking pictures, I've been scanning pictures from Mother's collection. I'd scanned most of them previously, but data storage has gotten so cheap in the last few years that I decided I probably ought to take the opportunity to re-scan some of the especially good ones at a higher resolution and practice my image restoration skills in an effort to enhance the selected photographs. So I scanned about 45 pictures today, which I'll work on as I get the chance, and spent the rest of the day restoring three of them, presented below.
I understand many of you aren't interested in family photos of folks with whom you probably have no connection. But, on the other hand, you could just like old photos - if they're any good; so, take a look and, if I've chosen well, maybe you'll appreciate these.
This first one carried a notation in Mother's hand that the subject is her grandfather, William Alexander Wernet (1847-1923) and that he's standing in front of the corn crib. The original picture is small, about 2 x 3, scratched, and badly faded. I always liked the composition well enough and appreciated the possibilities if I could scan it at a high enough resolution. I also really liked his hat, long before I knew it (the subject of the picture) was my great-grandfather.
This one is my grandfather, Austin Conlin Wernet (1879-1953). He's dressed to the nines, apparently showing off his new horse. I assume that's his barn and haystack in the background, but I can't recall enough details be sure. The hill seems right, though in my day there seemed to be more large trees nearby. Anyway, it's a nice-looking horse and I like his hat too.
This picture had no notes, but I think I'm safe in saying that the subject here is my Uncle Arthur (1917-1997), one of Mother's three brothers. The light-colored overalls in this picture always threw me, but by the time I came along I guess fashions had changed; he and his brother Jim both wore blue denim overalls and billed caps. The straw hat he's sporting here could even be his grandfather's (see picture one). I remember the horse that he's showing off as Jerry. When we were growing up, there were two other horses named Tony and Dick. They were both dark brown with black manes and tails, virtually indistinguishable from each other to someone with my eye for horseflesh. That was enough to make Jerry my "favorite", though it should be said that we're talking about seeing these horses once every few years. But, if I was ever going to be a cowboy, Jerry was the horse for me.
I've got plenty of pictures to work on before I have to start scanning again, but I need to do some planning for my next trip east too. By all reports that's where the rain is and, if we can't get any in Texas, I don't mind driving to the East Coast to remind myself what it's like.
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