Thursday, February 28, 2008

Mrs. R.C. WESTABY in Elsie's Place



Source: Westaby, Rebecca Catherine (Snook). Photograph. C. 1920s. Original photograph in the possession of Troy Midkiff, Vancouver, Washington. 2008.

Isn't this a wonderful photo? It features my husband's great-great-grandmother, Rebecca Catherine (SNOOK) WESTABY (1865 - 1960) in "Elsie's Place", probably in Seattle, King Co., Washington in the 1920s. The title of this post is the caption on the back of the photo, which is how I know the name of the owner of this store. I've blogged about Rebecca (and her buttonhook) before, here. But I have no idea who Elsie was. She doesn't appear among any of the names I have related to Rebecca or her ex-husband, George "Rice" WESTABY, II. Perhaps Elsie was a friend or a distant relative. I have another photo of Rebecca outside her daughter Izma's dress shop, which would not have been this same store. I suspect Rebecca was in Seattle to visit Izma when both photos were taken, as she is wearing the same dress--but different shoes--in each of them. Rebecca was living in Salem, Marion Co., Oregon at the time.

This photo reminds me of the I Spy books my children had when they were little:

I spy three Coke ads and one for Hires,
Campbell's Soup and some hanging lamp wires.

If you click on the photo above, it will take you to my Picasa web album, and you can zoom in even more. What other goodies can you spy? Leave your answers in the comments feature below. Extra points if you can make an I Spy rhyme!

2 comments:

Colleen said...

I Spy counters and knick-knacks inside display cases.
Lights and pictures of many people's faces.
Shelves adorn the walls for dust to deface
All to be found
Inside of Elsie's Place.

Miriam Robbins said...

Thanks for playing, Colleen!