First-Christmas Reunion

Madison, Wisconsin, December 1989. Mr. Irene and I decorated the apartment for the holidays. This is the piece hanging above the fireplace. You may recognize the coffee table.

Kremlin Christmas

Kaunas, Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, December 1972. My Mom's maternal Aunt Dora sends a Christmas New Year's postcard. We're watching you!

Related by Marriage: Handmade Greeting

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Suburban Chicago, about 1965. Here's an item from Mr. Irene's Life Box.

December-Thaw Reunion

Thatcher Woods, Suburban Chicago, December 1975. Dad selected this image from Thatcher Woods for one of his Christmas cards.

Our Christmas Cards: Good-Intentions Edition

Madison, Wisconsin, December 1998. We skipped another year of sending photo cards. Our reason in 1998: I was in my third year of law school, and I didn't get organized in time to prepare the mailings. We did, however, select an image we thought about using for the greetings.

Christmas Cards: Last Edition

December, 1984. The eleventh in my Dad's series of photographic Christmas cards featured another snowy branch.

This was the last photo greeting Dad produced.

If we're all still around next year, then I will post a series featuring the photo cards that Mr. Irene and I have sent out during the last twenty-four years.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Christmas Cards: Tenth Edition

December, 1983. The tenth in my Dad's series of photographic Christmas cards featured a glimpse of the Door County shoreline.

Christmas Cards: Ninth Edition

December, 1980. The ninth in my Dad's series of photographic Christmas cards featured Gigi in her red coat, walking along a lane in Liberty Grove township.

Christmas Cards: Eighth Edition

December, 1979. The eighth in my Dad's series of photographic Christmas cards featured a sprig from a spruce.

Christmas Cards: Seventh Edition

December, 1975. The seventh in my Dad's series of photographic Christmas cards featured a view of the Des Plaines River, at Thatcher Woods.

Christmas Cards: Sixth Edition

December, 1970. I missed one; the chronology now is askew! The sixth in my Dad's series of photographic Christmas cards featured an Indian Paintbrush that Dad had photographed during our trip that previous summer to Glacier National Park.

Christmas Cards: Fifth Edition

December, 1973. The fifth in my Dad's series of photographic Christmas cards featured an Aster. Dad had been ill for much of the year, and I think he decided to keep the card simple.

Christmas Cards: Fourth Edition

December, 1972. The fourth in my Dad's series of photographic Christmas cards featured a pine cone from a tree that grew alongside our driveway.

Christmas Cards: Third Edition

December, 1968. The third in my Dad's series of photographic Christmas cards featured another image from one of our trips to Glacier National Park.

Picture-perfect Reunion

Madison, Wisconsin, December 1994. Pupa and Žulė try posing for the annual Christmas Card.

Christmas Cards: Second Edition

December, 1967. The second in my Dad's series of photographic Christmas cards featured an image from our trip to Rocky Mountain National Park.

Christmas Cards: First Edition

By the mid-1960s, my Dad's interest in photography was flowering. He began an almost-annual custom of sending holiday photo cards. Back then, photo cards were unusual, and they were not as quick to order as they are in our digital era.

Dad usually selected an image from our summer vacation for the photo card. He never chose family pictures or pet photos. The object of the photo usually was a landscape, a tree, or a flower.

I'll post scans of some of those cards in the next few weeks.

December, 1966. Dad chose an image from our trip to Glacier National Park for his first holiday photo card.

Christmas Poodles Reunion

Madison, Wisconsin, December 1999. Our first poodles, Žulė and Pupa, pose for the holiday card.