The Way It Was about 70 Years Ago....

For several days I've been planning to scan some of the Conway Springs photos into my computer so that I could share them here...and I finally did it this afternoon. (102 degree heat has some positive effects, I guess!)

If you will remember, the last time we looked at the old home of John William and Mollie (Pattison) Abbott in Conway Springs, KS, in this blogpost, it looked pretty decrepit. Here's what it looked like sometime around 1940....

There is enough left now that I can see the original house in the remnants, but how much tidier and prettier it was then! I think that the trees out behind the house are still there - grown many times larger now, of course. Now that I've seen the house in person, I can tell you that it faced east, and that this photo was taken from the southeast.

This is an undated photo of John William and Mollie Abbott, taken in front of the south side of their front porch at Conway Springs....

The next and last photo of this group was taken on February 19, 1939, the occasion of theirJohn William and Mollie's 50th wedding anniversary. Again, the photo was taken on the south side of the front porch. From left to right, the people in the photograph are Ray Abbott (son), Marie Abbott Bertram (daughter), Mary "Mollie" Pattison Abbott (wife and mother), John William Abbott (husband and father), Luther Abbott (son), and Roy Abbott (son). Their fourth son, Claude S. Abbott, was unable to make it to their anniversary celebration.

Here is the text from the write-up of their anniversary celebration in the paper (although I do not know which paper this was clipped from)....

"GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATED

On February 21, 1889, John William Abbott and Mollie Pattison were married in Medoc, Missouri.

The fiftieth anniversary of this marriage was celebrated with a family reunion at their home in Conway Springs, Feb. #19.

A remarkable feature of this union is that Mr. and Mrs. Abbott have had five children of their own, 14 grandchildren and one great grandchild, all of whom are living.

Twenty-two were present at this reunion which incluled [sic] three sons, one daughter, eight grandchildren, three daughters-in-law, two neices [sic], one nephew, three great neices [sic] and one great nephew.

Those present were Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Abbott, Conway Springs; Mr. and Mrs. Luther A. Abott [sic] and children, Virginia, William and Betty of Shamrock, Okla.; Mr. and Mrs. Roy Abbott and son, Garth, Delaware, Okla.; Mr. and Mrs. Ray Abbott and children, Darlene and Doreece of Pawhuska, Okla.; Mrs. Marie Bertram and children, Verdis and Mary of Wichita, Kansas; Mr. and Mrs. James Pattison and children, Virginia and Carroll, Mrs. Elda Taylor, Dora Dean and Lilia Jean Meade, all of Joplin, Missouri.

One son, Claude S. Abbott and family of Kansas City, Mo., and two grandsons and families, Claude H. Abbott of Lawton, Okla., and Arville Abbott of Shamrock, Okla., and another grandson, Wendell Abott [sic], attending college in Norman, Okla., were unable to attend."