Latvian Displaced Persons

The Lutheran World Federation Service to Refugees preserved a treasure trove of historic images. This photo reminds me of the cultural exhibit my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, helped organize.

Thanks to commenter Peter Hoh for pointing this resource out to me.

Snake Sweater

"Milky Joe is one lucky snake."

Thanks to commenter Peter Hoh for pointing this link out to me.

Napoleon and Vilnius

Typhus in Lithuania, not combat, wiped out many of Napoleon's troops.

History is amazing because it is rarely certain.

Thanks to Peter Hoh (the commenter) for pointing this article out to me.

Thoughtful

Erlangen, Germany, 1946 or 1947. Mom contemplates the blossoms. The flowers likely are Dahlias; Mom does not recall that Zinnias grew in Germany.

UPDATE: In the comments, Peter Hoh identifies the flowers as Zinnias, and he points us to the German origins of Zinnias.

Happy Candid

Suburban Chicago, June 1961. My Mom laughs in the kitchen. I remember that bizarre top with the compass and the sailboats. I used to think the compass was a clock, and I wondered why the time never changed. Behind Mom is the trusty Roper wall oven that served us from 1957 until 1991.

UPDATE: In the comments, Peter Hoh makes a precise correction: the object depicted on Mom's top is a barometer, not a compass.

How much snow is "a lot" of snow?

Weather reports now can predict, within a few hours, when it will begin to snow. Many people who live in snow-prone climates have vehicles equipped with all-wheel drive.

The weather forecasters today predict that we will get about four inches of snow. At every stop we made this morning, people were talking about coming "big snow."

Is a four-inch snowfall "a lot" of snow? Or do four inches of snow seem like a lot of snow because we have had so little snow this winter?

During the way-back-when times, it seemed like we didn't think there was much snow until we broke the eight- to ten-inch mark. And everyone slid around the narrow, city side streets in boat-like, front-wheel drive Buicks, Cadillacs, and Fords.

Suburban Chicago, January 1962. Mom reaches the end of the driveway. She must be on her way to work. I have been playing with the sled.

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Suburban Chicago, January 1962. The neighbor to our north has finished shoveling, and he and his son have taken out the trash.

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 Suburban Chicago, January 1962. Mom talks with the neighbor to our south.

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Suburban Chicago, January 1962. My Toronto Cousin enjoys the snow. She's from Canada, and Canadians are used to winter weather.

UPDATE: Commenter Peter Hoh correctly notes that I should have referred to the 1960s cars as "rear-wheel drive" vehicles, not "front-wheel drive." Even my technology memory lacks chronology.