Two pages from Celia Sconce Cathcart Holton's college scrapbook. I think the years are about 1913-1916. There are about 30 pages/60 sides. We see young people mugging for the camera; camping with the women in long white dresses and the men dressed up with white shirts and ties; parties; attendance at conferences - all the things college students do.
Looking at the women in the long white dresses I thought of this quote - “… parading with the other girls in white attire on clipped green lawns like flocks of egrets.” ("The Girls with No Names" by Serena Burdick)
Celia wrote captions under almost every picture. Unfortunately the ink has faded in 100 years and it's very difficult to read. Unfortunately she doesn't identify many people. At one point Dad wrote on some of the pictures. I'm writing the captions in black ink that can be read when the pages are digitized. Years ago Dad removed about 15 pictures from the scrapbook, mounted them on other paper, and put a note in this scrapbook. He gave the scrapbook and note to me and suggested I throw the scrapbook away. I didn't. Recently I discovered Dad's "new" pages and put the photos back in place in the original scrapbook.
I'll digitize the whole scrapbook so it can be looked at in its original order. Do I also digitize each photo individually or just some of them? Do I keep the scrapbook intact or take it apart and keep just some of the photos? It's already 100+ years old. How much longer will it last?
With all the photo processing I've been doing, I'm recognizing connections, patterns, names, and some faces. I'm probably the last person around who recognizes some of the people and notations on these pages.
"A.B.C. Dinner" - Celia and her friends organized the A.B.C. Club in Sidell, Illinois. They built a cabin at the reservoir outside Sidell. Celia's mother, Anna Sconce Cathcart gave the girls money so they could build a porch on the cabin/clubhouse. Ruth Holton-Hodson had Celia's collection of souvenir spoons. One of them had "ABC" inscribed on it. I haven't been able to determine if ABC stood for anything specific.
By another picture "Wade & I.W.C.& U. of I." That's Wade Holton. IWC stands for Illinois Woman's College in Jacksonville, Illinois. Celia attend there her freshman and sophomore years of college. She and some of her IWC friends transferred to Northwestern University to finish their college years. Some of them joined Alpha Phi sorority at Northwestern. U of I stands for University of Illinois - Caryl Holton and his cousin Frankie Holton Burke were students at U of I.
"A picnic at the reservoir" - I can't determine exactly where this is other than outside Sidell. Based on what Dad said, the young people sometimes rode the train out to the reservoir. Did the steam trains replenish their water supply at this reservoir?
"By the babbling brook (too low to babble much)"
Picture of Grandpa (Caryl Holton) - "Well, any time you're ready Celia"
Picture of girls in nightgowns & long braids - "They say that us A.B.C.'s ain't got no hair/ Got hair all the time / Hair all the time"
"Watching the birdie"
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