Steve’s Genealogy Blog

Photographs show us people as they were at a specific point in time. As such, we can see what our ancestors looked like, what clothes they wore, and what they did.

Old photographs of ourselves or of events in which we participated can do something even more. They can evoke latent memories and stir in us emotions long forgotten.

That’s the case of this photograph of my sisters and me from February 1960.

I think I remember the day this photograph was taken. I certainly remember the outfits my sisters and I were wearing. This photo is only one of two in which all three of us were wearing hats.

Three in Hats

SOURCE: Three in Hats (Albany, Albany County, New York). Photographed in February 1960 by either Francis J. Danko or Jane A. Danko.

My younger sister’s hat is something like a bonnet. Mine has flaps to keep my ears warm.

My older sister’s headwear is just a narrow band of fuzzy material around her head and over her ears. Her headwear matches her muff, an accessory in which she took great pride.

While looking at lots of old photos of my sisters and me, I’ve noticed one peculiar phenomenon. My older sister rarely looked directly at the photographer, but usually seemed to be preoccupied with something outside the view of the camera. Her distracted appearance, while no doubt disappointing my parents who would have preferred a photo of all three of us looking directly at the camera, lends charm to the photo, revealing something about my sister’s personality - a keen observer of everything occurring around her.

Written for the 5th Edition of Smile for the Camera - Crowning Glory.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

Trying to select my favorite photograph for the next Smile for the Camera Carnival was difficult, but while browsing through my photo albums, this photograph of my sister and me on one of the gliders in Washington Park just struck my fancy.

On the Glider

SOURCE: On the Glider (Albany, Albany Co., New York). Photographed by either Francis J. Danko or Jane A. Danko in July 1957.

During my youth, my parents often took my sisters and me to Washington Park. I remember how I wanted to play on the gliders every time we visited the park.

I love the expressions on our faces in this photo. No wide smiles of delight (how delighted can you get on a glider?), but you can tell we’re enjoying ourselves. I have my eyes fixed on the photographer, while my sister has found something fascinating to her left, out of the camera’s view.

And take a look at my shoes. Now, I don’t know much about fashions for little boys in 1957, but I suspect I was wearing hand-me-downs from my older sister.

Written for the 4th Edition of Smile for the Camera.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

The first house in which I lived is located at 783 Park Avenue in Albany, New York.

Jane Niedzialkowski and Frank Danko on Park Avenue

SOURCE: Jane Niedzialkowski and Frank Danko on Park Avenue (Albany, Albany Co., New York). Photographed by an unknown photographer on 29 Nov 1946.

Park Avenue in Albany bears little resemblance to the street of the same name in New York City, but there is a park - Ridgefield Park - just a few hundred yards from the house.

My uncle, John (Jack) Danko, owned the building at the time my family lived there. The structure is two stories high, one flat on each level, with a full basement and attic. For the first few years of my life my family lived in the second story flat, and then we moved downstairs to the first story flat.

Each flat included a living room, dining room, three bedrooms, a kitchen, a pantry, and a bath. Behind the house are a garage and a small yard partly planted in grass and partly paved. Uncle John, who owned a gasoline station, used the garage to store automobile tires and my parents usually parked their car on the street. The snowplow blade for Uncle John’s truck was stored on the side of the house.

The photo above shows my parents in front of the house on Friday, 29 Nov 1946. My parents were not yet married when this photo was taken and still lived in Worcester, Massachusetts. Because this photo was taken on the day after Thanksgiving, my parents were apparently in Albany to spend the holiday with some of my father’s siblings who had already moved there.

My cousins still own and live in this house, and I usually stop by to visit them when I’m in Albany. The house and neighborhood are still very much as I remember them when my family lived there in the 1950s.

Written for Smile for the Camera - A Carnival of Images.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

My father was discharged from military service in World War II on 25 Jan 1946. Upon returning home, I suspect the year 1946 and the first half of 1947 were very busy for him. He married my mother on 22 May 1947.

Frank Danko and Jane Niedzialkowski - 1947

SOURCE: Frank Danko and Jane Niedzialkowski (probably Worcester, Worcester Co., Massachusetts). Photographed by unknown photographer on 28 Sep 1946.

The photo above was taken about halfway between the time my father returned from the war and the time he was married. From the way they were dressed, I’d guess that they had attended a special event. In 1946, September 28 fell on a Saturday, which leads me to believe that they may have attended someone else’s wedding that day.

Written for the 2nd Edition of Smile for the Camera - Beaus and Belles.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

Way back in September 1955 while on an outing to the park, my father snapped this photo of my mother and me enjoying the warm, sunny weather.

A Mother’s Love

SOURCE: A Mother’s Love (Washington Park, Albany, Albany County, New York). Photographed by Francis J. Danko in September 1955.

The photo was taken in Washington Park in Albany, New York. While I don’t, of course, remember the event, I do remember seeing this set of photographs when I was young. The picture was taken with a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Camera, a camera I still own as a family heirloom.

In the years to follow, our family would make frequent visits to the park to enjoy the open spaces, to feed the pigeons and squirrels with saltine crackers or stale bread, to view the flowers, and to swing on the park swings.

As I’ve grown older, it seems that the park has grown smaller, though indeed it has not actually changed in size at all. Until recently, my Aunt Helen lived across the street from the park, and my older sister worked just a couple blocks away.

My mother passed away 28 years ago. She would have been 86 this year.

Written for “Smile for the Camera - A Carnival of Images”.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko