Keys Reunion Treasures

As I said in my first post today, I am happy.  I’m happy about the success of the 2017 Keys Family Reunion, but the other reason I am happy is that some of the cousins brought some old photos to share with me.  That’s what helped to get this whole event started in the first place.  I shared some old photos and a few stories with everyone, people showed some interest, the photos reminded some of us of the Keys reunions that were fun to attend in the past, and a new reunion was organized.  (Thanks to Julie Phenice Campbell and her cousin Diane Phenice Prejean.)

So I thought I’d share a couple of the photos that I acquired at the Keys Family Reunion 2017. That’s what Throwback Thursdays are about, right? Old photos. And these two photos are from around 1930. From the ages of the children I approximated the date and from the clothes they’re wearing I can tell that the two photos were taken the same day.

It looks like a casual day with the family getting ready for a picnic.  At least that’s what I always thought.  You see, I’ve had a poor version of this first photo for a while.  The old version looks like a Xerox copy of a photo.  But my cousin Shelly Russell (Marguerite’s daughter) brought the original photo to the Reunion and was willing to let me borrow it so I could get a good scan of the photo.  It is a photo of Daisy Keys Phenice with her husband Harry Clifton Phenice and their seven children.

From left to right you can see (or not see) Daisy, my grandmother Myrtle, Grace, Sylvan, Orville, Henry and Marguerite (both behind Warren’s arm), Warren, and H. C. Phenice.  There is no picnic basket and there is a dog in the photo, so I’m not sure why it always brings to mind a picnic.  It’s a really good photo of my grandmother Myrtle and her sister Grace.  They were so pretty.  Too bad Warren’s arm is covering Henry’s and Marguerite’s faces.  It makes me worry about his descendants.

This next photo comes to us by way of Marilyn Phenice Strickland (Orville’s daughter).  I took snapshots of some old photos that she brought to the reunion.  I like to think of this as the Post Picnic Phenice Photo.  As you can see, it was taken the same day as the first photo, but the subjects have been changed.  HC, Warren, and Henry are not present and a sister-in-law and a friend have taken their place.

From left to right are Sylvan and his wife Mary Bucklin Phenice (sister of Fred Bucklin), Daisy Keys, Myrtle, a family friend, Marguerite, Orville, and Grace.  There are several reasons that I like this photo:  1)  Mary Bucklin looks so cute in it that maybe you’ll forget her shrill voice from the Sammy the Dog recording that you heard previously.  2)  Daisy actually looks like she is smiling in the photo.  She doesn’t scowl as bad as my other great grandmother Addie, but sometimes she gives her a run for the money.  3)  It’s another photo that Myrtle and Grace look pretty in.  It must have been a good day for them.  4)  Marguerite’s face is showing, so we can better determine the date of the photo.

What these photos really made me think is that there are a lot more photos out there that I have not seen yet.  Come on people!  Scan those old photos!  If not for yourself, do it for me or posterity!  You can email them to me and I’ll share them with the rest of the family.  And that’s for all you family members out there – Landry, Patureau, Bucklin, Keys, Hine, Phenice, Leveque, Archibald – preserve those old treasures.  Someone will appreciate it someday.  Maybe.