Jeff Reuter is the wonderful person mentioned on my Monday post who found our blog after reprinting images from his family treasure archive of negatives. Thankfully he enjoys photography, and has all the equipment needed to reprint the found negatives. (Jeff has a business called Silver Coast Photography in Bradenton, FL; he may be found on weekends taking and making black & white images at the Coquina Beach Market.)
Here was the first comment Jeff left on our blog:
“Gene and Ruth were friends of my mother and father, Henrietta and Walter Reuter. I have reprinted photos of Ruth and Gene and Henrietta when they were in Colorado in 1940.”
From an email:
“When I printed the photo with the car, I knew that was Gene, but I had never met Ruth. I would have been nine when she died. I did a Google search for Gene & Vada Lee [Vada was Gene’s second wife, after Ruth died.] and found the Heritage [Ramblings blog] website.
“After finding photos of Ruth online I concluded that the other woman in the photo was Ruth.”
From Jeff’s second comment:
“There is also a photo of a sign post in Victor, CO. with directions to Florence, Divide, and Cripple Creek.”
When I saw the above image, I felt that I had been there, and thought it might be Cripple Creek or Victor, Colorado. Jeff’s thorough description of what was in with the photos gives us a more specific clue as to place.
Email:
“The photo [below] of Henrietta and Walter was taken in about 1935 around the time they were married. I have no idea how they met Gene and Ruth. My mother’s maiden name was Fasterling and there is a building in St. Louis called the Fasterling building. She was born in 1913 and grew up in south St. Louis around Magnolia and Brannon. My dad was born in St. Louis in 1908 and grew up on a farm in Batesville, Arkansas. He worked for Southwestern Bell in downtown St. Louis his entire career. The photo with the 1940 Pontiac has a Missouri license plate from 1940, so that pretty much dates the photos.”
Jeff’s second comment included:
“I remember that Gene and Bob would bring fireworks to the home of Mildred and Pete Peterson in Affton, MO on July 4th in the fifty’s. The Petersons were good friends of our family. I can also remember Gene inviting us out on a yacht owned by a drug company and we motored up the Mississippi for a while. That was around 1960 when I was 16.
“The negatives from the Colorado trip that I have printed were stashed in old envelopes that Henrietta kept. I don’t know what happened to the original prints. She died in 2011 at the age of 97. I found the negatives and printed them in my darkroom along with other photos that look to be from that same time. They show Henrietta’s mother Hilda Molin and stepfather Algot Molin and his 1939 Dodge.”
Since the Petersons were good family friends, that might explain how the Reuters met Gene and Ruth Lee- Mildred (Alexander) Peterson was Ruth’s sister. Another tidbit that seems small but can actually provide a link.
When we started this blog, we were hoping it might be ‘cousin bait’ but it has also been a great way to connect with friends, associates, and neighbors, AKA the “FAN Club.” Our family so appreciates Jeff taking the time to contact us and share these wonderful photos!
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Photo from Lee family treasure chest.
2) Commented post: http://heritageramblings.net/2014/09/22/mystery-monday-tressa-cullen-and-eidlh-cullen/
3) October 2014 comments and emails from Jeff Reuter, reprinted with permission.
4) Willard Goodale “Pete” Peterson (1913-1992) was married to Mildred Rosalie Alexander (1912-1981), the sister of Ruth Nadine (Alexander) Lee.
5) Monday’s post about the Lee’s trips to Colorado: http://heritageramblings.net/2014/10/13/mystery-monday-where-are-our-photos-of-the-lee-family-and-friends-visiting-colorado-in-the-1940s/
Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.
Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
Notes, Sources, and References:
Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.
Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.