The Swimming Pool

I love this old photo.  Don’t you just love those old swimsuits?  It’s another old photo that makes you sit back and wonder what is going on.  It’s definitely not one of those staid, studio portraits that you might typically find from that era.  I’d like to know more about this photo.  Mainly I want to know who everyone is.  If you can help with that, let me know.

I’ll start by writing about what I do know.  The first time I saw this photo was two days ago.  Joseph messaged it to me after he had ‘rediscovered’ it on his computer.  He and his mom have been collecting old Bucklin family photos for a while now.  Since the photo also includes some Phenice family, he agreed to let me post it with questions to pool our knowledge.  It’s a swimming pool.

I know that the girl on the far right is my grandmother Myrtle Phenice.  I was estimating that the photo was taken around 1928 or 1929, which is before her 1930 wedding to Fred Bucklin.  There seems to be three distinct groups in this photo, yet she stands alone.  Looking back at the others.  Slightly amused…or grinning to bear it.

The first group on the left are the Bystanders. Most of them are looking at the camera, wondering what to do.  “Are we taking a picture or are we goofing around?”  They seem a bit unsure.  I am more than a bit unsure.  I’m clueless.  I have no idea who any of these people are.  I’m not even sure if the person in the striped swimsuit is a boy or a girl.  Which bathroom would you direct them to?

I think of the next group as the Bucklin Brothers Brawlers.  It looks like they’re fighting over a girl.  If one of them is Fred, I can see why Myrtle is not very amused.  Fred has an identical twin, so one of them could be Clarence (b. 1907).  And Herbert has a similar look and he is close to the same age as the twins (b. 1906).  And who is the girl?

I’ll call the next group the Phenice Fraternity Frolickers.  Myrtle had four brothers:  Sylvan (b. 1901), Henry (b. 1909), Orville (b. 1911), and Warren (b. 1916).  Can you tell which one is which and which one is not present?

So many questions.  Is the Bystander boy standing by the Bucklin Brawlers a Bucklin or a Phenice?  Is Myrtle happy or sad?  Where’s Waldo?  Was Waldo a Bucklin or a Phenice?  Where was this taken?  My guess on that would be on the Ouiska Chitto.  It’s only about 10 miles from the China/Hathaway area that they all lived in and it has beaches and wooded areas like that still.

So if you have a few answers (or suggestion or questions), join in on the swimming pool.  The water’s fine.

Check out Part 2