Fun groupings

IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE
A FUN CONVENTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY BACK IN THE DAY

It seems that photographers liked to spread the folks in an array in front of their homes rather than hae a tight group with just a portion of the house showing. We have a number of such photographs in our collection.  

In these photographs, the house is not an incidental background.  It is a member of the family, its character as reflected from those old days as that of its family.  And the photographer has usually included contextual things in the scope of the photograph.  The house puts the people in context, the trees and out buildings put the house in context.

The Vrtiska family in front of an early family home near Table Rock.  Kim Vrtiska says that the cabin was empty by then, and the family had come out to see it and take a photograph.  This would be Rudolph & John, Jr., in the picture (on the left) and John & Josephine Kovanda Vrtiska on the right.  with Unfortunately, Kim's grandfather Joseph, the third sibling, is not in the photograph because he was the one taking the picture. This is Photo 460;  this copy shared by Kim Vrtiska, and another by Sharylin Vrtiska Knock.  

​Photo 672.  Below is the Purcell family home. On the back is written that this is Mrs. and Mrs. J. H. Purcell, but does not identify the two young men.  It notes that the date was "Monday, March 22, 1897."  The dog is known to be "Old Bob," the family dog. 

Photo 1816. This is the Purcell family home. In this picture are James and Margaret Purcell and their daughter Della Purcell McCoy. And on their left is Bob, the family dog. The Purcells were a pioneer family who came here in about 1860. This house was just a bit north of Table Rock. You took the road that goes north from the ball park, over Clear Creek, go up the hill and turn right. The house was back a ways from there. It burned down in the early 1930s. Many people probably remember Fred Muscheites, Jr., who lived at the turn off to the old place. James & Margaret were his great grandparents. Della Purcell McCoy was his maternal grandmother. His parents were Ruth McCoy Muscheites and Fred Muscheites, Sr., who was county clerk for 30 years, were his parents.

Another view of the family home, all by itself.

Photo1816, retouched by Kristin Quevedo

Photo 1331, unidentified elderly man, looks like he has the start of an orchard, and proud of it!

Photo 1517, the Kalina family with their house in the background: Two labels are with it. One says: Anna, Antonia, father Josef, Ed, mother Karolina, “Babicka Paulas”.  The other says: “The Joseph Kalina farm southeast of Table Rock. Left side of this house was an original log house.  Anna (Pochaska) and Antonia  (Reiman), Eddie, father Josef, mother Karolina,  and grandmother Pavlas.  

Photo 1508.  There is a label affixed to the photo by the Historical Society naming the persons in the photgraph. It appears from that tag that the man on the left is Frank Krofta, Sr. The woman with a child in her arms is Mary Krofta and the child is Henry Krofta. The toddler is Albert Krofta, although the toddler appears to be wearing a blouse and skirt. The man on the right is Anton Krofta.

The Josef Karas family in 1893. Fran Blecha supplies the names: L-R: Josef Hana, little Joseph Edward Karas, Marie Karas Hana, Josef Karas, Marie Juha Karas, Emma Karas, and Bohumil Karas. Fran also says, “Joseph, Emma, and Bohumil were children of Josef & Marie Juha Karas, and they are pictured later in life in Photo 149 on the Karas page. Marie Karas Hana was a sister of the elder Josef Karas, standing next to her. Photo 640.

Photo 674, Karas reunion in front of the same house - enough people to hide the house from view!

Photo 674, Karas family reunion at Joseph Karas Home, about 1903. An attached label, same puncutation and spelling: “Frank and Mae Karas, Minnie and Ed; Martin Karas, wife Louise and daughter Josephine, Fred Blecha, Bertha Blecha, Jim Karas (Elk Creek), Stanley Holecek, Joe Karas, Rosa Karas, Albert Karas, Bohumil Karas, wife Elizabeth and daughter Clementine; Mr. and Mrs. Jim Karas (Chicago), Bertha Karas, Jim Karas (blacksmith), Josef Karas Sr. and Maria Karas; Vaclav Karas Sr. and Josephine holding Emma Karas; Ben Karas, Charlie Hana, Mary and Frank Hana holding Mary Hana, John Blecha, Lou Blecha.” Hana was later Hanna.

Photo 663 is Joe Werner's farm.  [Sharla's note -- I believe this was in the rural Bunker Hill neighborhood, also known as North Table Rock.]

Photo 637, Havel and Barbora Kubicek and son Thomas and Filomena (Minnie) Kubicek.  On the back of this photo is some neat information that Bob and Fran Blecha think was probably written by Minnie Klapka.   Look at those sparkling windows!

“This picture taken in late 1800s.  This picture is of Havel and Barbara (sic, per Frances Blecha it was Barbora) with their son Thomas and his wife Filomina (Minnie) Kubicek. Havel is the father of Thomas. The stone house in background was the home of Havel and Barbara Kubicek, located on 160 acres, homesteaded by them in 1873.  They first lived in a “dug out” and later built the stone house. The old stone house still stands (1980) on a portion of land now owned by Charles Kozak.  It is southeast of Table Rock.  Havel Kubicek, 1814-1900 and Barbora Kubicek, 1828 – 1904, both buried in Bohemian cemetery east of Table Rock.”  Frances Blecha suspects that Minnie Klapka, the daughter of Thomas and Filomina, is the one who wrote this; Minnie was probably was the only person around by 1980 who would know these things. Per Bob, the location of the house is Sheridan precinct, on the east side of section 9 of Sheridan precinct.  As of 2015, Bob and Frances think this house is still standing.  Emil Kozak lived in this house when Bob was a kid, walked to District 51 school. 

When posted on Facebook, Tammy Krofta-Bursovsky provided some additional information about the family, for which we thank her:

Havel and Barbora were the parents of my great-great grandma Anna Shubert. Her brother is Tom. Anna's daughter Jessie, married my great grandpa Rudy Krofta.

Photo 638, the Strejc home.  Second from the left is is Joe Strejc.  The couple on the right are Anton and Josephine Strejc

Photo 642, an unidentified family.

Photo 643 is the Fencl family.  Roy Mullin said in a Facebook post that the picture was taken south of the ZCBJ Hall.  Bob & Fran Blecha have the same photograph; they say it is of the Frank & Celestina Fencl Family.  The peope in the picture are: Charles, Albert, Harry, Celestina, Agnes, Frank, Barbara, Will, Bertha, Emma, Rosie, and Mar.  Fran says that Frank & Celestina had 12 children. It appears that 10 are in this picture (one daughter, Lillie, died in infancy). L-R: Charles, Albert, Harry, Celestina holding baby Agnes, Frank, Barbara, Will, Bertha, Emma, Rosie, and Mary.  Their youngest, Milton, is not in the photo.  Fran estimates that the photo was taken circa 1908, because of baby Agnes. She was born August 9, 1907, and she looks to be maybe a year old or less in the photo. 

Photo 671.  It simply says on the back, "Jack Purcell."  Was Jack Purcell passing by, or was this his home & he was showing off both the home and his horses?  The latter is likely the case, because photographers were not in the habit of snapping candid photographs of passersby. 

Photo 552, the McCourtney family on June 6, 1907.

Here is the "Heer" family.  Photo 673.  At the bottom it says, "Taken in the Fall of 1902.” Names are written in above each person.  Frank Heer, Grandmother Heer, Alice Heer Warner, Charles Heer, Grandpa Heer, Kate Heer Law, Marion Heer, (the little girl: (Annie?) Heer Johnson;  Mae _surname here_____ Heer, baby Ernest Heer held by A_____ Heer, girl holding doll is Ellen Heer (Hastings?), Ma___(Martha) H___ Heer, ____ Heer Carl, _______ Heer, and baby (Pearl) Heer Bowen.” It may be that a family member could fill in the blanks; many of the letters are there but I can’t make sense of them.

Ben Heer's farm. Photo 1516. On the back, it says, "Ben Heer built this."

A later home of Ben Heer. ​Ben Heer was twice widowed. His second wife, Martha, died in 1912 at the age of 57. Ben was then 68.  Martha's obituary says that she spent all her married life but the last one on the farm five miles northeast of Table Rock -- the one above. In 1914, Ben married Anna Belle Hansen Fellers, herself a widow. 

This photograph is labeled as "Mr. and Mrs. Ben Heer," so is this Martha or is it Anna Belle? When Martha died, she was 57 and Ben was 68.  When Ben married Anna Belle, she was 48 and he was 70.  Dot Fellers, a grandchild of Anna Belle's, believed that this was her grandma in the photograph.  We have photographs of Anna Belle but this one is too indistinct to compare.  Does the woman look not more than 57, or does she look to be at least 48? 

​In any event, this is "Mr. and Mrs. Ben Heer" in front of their home, which is catty-cornered from the Christian Church.  Ben died in 1925 at the age of 80.  Anna Belle died in 1932 at the age of 66.  Photo 870. 

Edith & Bruce Woods, with a toddler, probably baby Earl. Note the clothes line at the right!  

​Edith was the adopted daughter of M. H. & Maria Marble, born in 1865; the family came to Table Rock in 1870.  Edith & Bruce married in the 1890s.  Edith wanted to adopt a baby, since she herself was adopted, and they adopted little Earl Kenneth Woods, born in 1908.  Based on the reasonable assumption that the baby is Earl, this photo was taken in about 1910.  (Yes, it looks like a little girl, but that's what the mother's were allowed to do with their little boys in their days.  They were often photographed in dresses and with pretty long locks!)

This photograph, Photo 3810, was shared by Jon Woods, whose father was later born in this house.  Jon believes that the house is the one that is within the well-known triangle where highways 4 and 50 intersection, north of Pawnee City and north west of Table Rock. He has a more modern photograph of the house, which appears identical to the one in the picture other than a few modifications made in the last century, like enclosing the front porch. 

Unidentified family. Photo 333.

​
​Photo 986, identified as Charlie Carmichael, his wife, and her sister.  However, that identification appears to have been done in the early days of the museum, and perusal of old photographs located since then suggest that this is Dr. Mary B. Fox with her daughter Allie & Allie's husband Charles Carmichael.  This house sat across the street from the old Presbyterian Church -- which was a block north of St. John's Catholic Church.  Paul and Benita Mullins and family were the last occupants.  Paul passed away, the kids grew up, and Benita lived there into her old age. After her death, it was torn down, in about 2014. 

Photo 472, W. G. Carter's house.

Photo 512, W. G. Carter's general store. It burned down in the 1920 fire.

The Frank family. Standing: Ada Frank Barrett, Arcelia Hall Frank, Mae Frank Heer, "Great Grandpa Hall" (Arcelia's father), William A. Frank. Sitting, Elmer and Ernest Frank and -- probably -- Lou Heer, Mae's husband.

The home of M. H. and Amanda Marble in 1909.  They moved in front the farmstead just south of town.  M. H. came to Table Rock with his first wife, Maria, who died a couple of years later. He married Amanda, who raised his children with Maria (Edith, Alice, and Harmon), and they adopted a little boy (Max) as well.  M. H. was a justice of the peace, a real estate agent, and a poet.  Amanda was a leading suffragist in Table Rock, and attended state and at least one national convention as a representative from Nebraska.  died in 1910.  Photo 1489.  This home still stands, on Luzerne Street, a block west of the Square; Charles Binder is the present owner. 

M. H. & Amanda Marble with toddler Max in front of their farm home, 1980.  Photo 985.

Oscar, Elizabeth, Frank & Bob (Robert) Wiar.  Photo 3510, shared by Diane Gidley Anderson.

The Kent family, shared by Jon Woods. Photo 2214.   Jon says:  “Carl is on the left, Velma standing. Marvin and Glenn sitting in front, George Kent holding Mildred and Cora on the right. Aunt Mildred was born in June of '07 so I would guess this around early '08?”  Mildred Kent Brown was Jon's aunt.

The Barnard home.  As of 2020, it still stands.  It was built by Samuel and Anna Barnard, the original settlers; he was a noted botanist. According to Terry Hunt Purcell, the owner of the photograph, has a little history of it gathered from her mother, Margaret Muscheites Hunt. Margaret wrote that Samuel Barnard built it west of Table Rock, and that it once almost burned in a prairie fire. It was equipped with a dumbwaiter that ran to a sub-basement, where things were kept really cool.  The hired man lived in the basement, where the two lower windows at the right are located. 

Which Barnards?  Terry Hunt Purcell does not know.  The following is speculation. It would not likely be Samuel, who built the house; he died in 1890 at a fairly young age. It is probably the son Clyde with with wife Viola.  Clyde's obituary says that after he and Viola were married in 1885, they set up housekeeping elsewhere but after a few years were able to buy the old homeplace, where he lived until the last year of his life; he died in 1929.  If that is Clyde and Viola, who are the other two? Perhaps his mother, Anna, who died in 1917 at the age of 90.  The fourth person on the porch is seen only indistinctly; is it Charles Hawkins, the hired man who was treated as one of the family, living most of his life there?  Charlie died in 1928 at the age of 69. Charlie's obituary said that he lived in Table Rock for 38 years, all but the last while he lived with and worked for Clyde Barnard. Photo 1878.

This is identified as the Tilman Edwards home. Tilman Edwards, a Civil War veteran who came to Table Rock after the war.  The people in front are not identified.  Following is some reasonable speculation about who they may be.  There is no adult male in the photograph, so Tilman was likely gone by then.  He died in 1885 at the age of 49.  This may be his wife Louisa, who he married in 1862, and four of their seven children who survived infancy.  Their children were Aubry, Allie, Effie, Ellsworth, Miranda, Rosa, Lafayette and Leroy Edwards, and the six whose resting place we have identified were born between 1863 and 1884.  The youngest appears to be about 5 or 6, which would be consistent with the photograph, which appears to be from the 1890s. The three youngest whose resting place we know are Lafayette, Grace, and Aubrey, born in 1875, 1880, and 1884; the oldest child is indistinct in appearance. Another factor is that Louise married again in 1894 (John Stockman), and given the absence of an adult male, this photo probably pre-dates her second marriage. Photo 10724.  (Tilman and Louisa are buried in Table Rock. 

​Identified as the home of G. R. ("Rice") Martin.  The people are not identified.  Is it Rice Martin & family?  It depends.  G. R. died in 1909 at the age of 61 and his wife Phila died in 1914 at the age of 70.   If this photograph was taken after 1900, they seem to be too young to be them.  They had five children, but their children were born in the 1870s and back then.  The children in the picture are too young for the era of the photo, 1890s at the earliest, about 1910 at the latest.  This might be a daughter with their grandchildren.  For example, daughter Mertie married Francis Linn in 1891 and had two children who survived infancy, Lloyd and Marguerite.  It's all fun to speculate about, but in the end all we know is that the photograph is labeled as being the G. R. Rice home.  Photo 585, shared by Kim Vrtiska.

​This is identified as the Linn home.  It is still there, east of the Methodist Church.  There were many Linns in Table Rock. Which Linn family was this? Photo 538. 

The house in 2018. Wouldn't it be lovely if it were restored to its former glory?

​Unidentified house, Photo 1487.  This is an original photo in the Historical Society's collection.  It bears no family name or other information.  No present houses seem to have this configuration, although a door under the front eaves appears as a detail on several remaining houses (but no door in use).  This house may well have been in Table Rock.  Photographs that were not recognized were found in a large label identified as "strangers" and this one was not culled out.

​Another interesting photo of a family in front of their home.  It, too, is from the original collection and was not in the envelope of "strangers."  If it was taken in Table Rock, we don't know where. There does not seem to be a present house that matches.

​This is Photo 7729, and it comes from Richard Boston.  It is of the James & Caroline Boston family in front of their home in rural Dubois. The home sat one mile south of Prairie Star Cemetery, where they are buried.

Rural DuBois: The Stepan family in front of their home: Frank , Bessie, Rose Mae, Mary,  and Henry Stepan. They moved here in 1906.  The photo is undated but probably from about that time.  Photo 4647, shared by Millie Buethe, whose mother was Rose Stepan.

​A dance party at the Stepan home near DuBois in 1909. Photo 4628, shared by Mildred Herink Buethe.

​Photo 4662, unidentified family, shared by Mildred Herink Buethe. This was one of the photos of her mother, Rose Stepan Herink, who grew up in Dubois in her youth. It may be a Dubois or Table Rock area family, or may not -- neat picture, though!

Photo 4664, another photograph from Millie Buethe from her mother Rose Stepan Herink's collection.  Who are they and where was this taken?  We don't know.  The house is a common structure, and indeed appears very like the old and abandoned home of Edwin and Lucille Fritch south of Table Rock's Bohemian Cemetery, although the Fritch home had a little bumpout where the two windows are here.

Photo 4666, again from Rose Stepan Herink's photographs, shared Millie Buethe. It is not the same home as above, but the layout is quite similar, with a front porch on one broad side of the house, and a kitchen with side porch out the back. Looking at the windows, this particular house is smaller than the one immediately above.

​Well, they're on the porch, not in front of the house, but this photo is too good not to share. It is Photo 3773, from Gary Frank. His Burow family lived near Elk Creek and this may be some of them, but they are unidentified for now.